Utilization of Textbooks and Its’ Influence on Students' Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Makueni County, Kenya

Abstract

School resource utilization is important in the functioning of learning institutions as it enhances better achievement of school goals. There is evidence of poor performance in public secondary schools in Makueni County hence the reason to have conceptualized this study. The purpose of this study was to examine utilization of textbooks and their influence on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Makueni County. The objective of this study was to establish the level of utilization of textbooks and its influence on students’ academic performance in county secondary schools in Makueni County. The study adopted a mixed methods research design, specifically a convergent parallel research design, and was supported by Education Production Function Theory. Research instruments were questionnaires and interview schedules. Validity was achieved through expert judgment and reliability by test-retest technique. The target population was 60 county secondary schools, 60 principals, and 1004 teachers. Simple random and stratified sampling techniques were used to select the schools while systematic and purposive sampling was used to sample teachers, HoDs, and principals. The selected sample was 30 county schools, 30 principals, and 286 teachers inclusive of HoDs. Total number of respondents was 316. Descriptive and inferential statistics (means, percentages, and multiple regression) and thematic analysis worked out the level of utilization of textbooks on students’ academic performance. The findings showed that the utilisation of textbooks had a mean of 4.06, high correlation coefficient of 0.664. Multiple regression showed that textbooks strongly influenced learners’ academic performance. Qualitative data revealed that effective utilization of textbooks positively influenced students’ academic performance in county secondary schools in Makueni County. Major conclusion was that there was need to ensure effective utilisation textbooks resources in order to improve academic performance.