Teacher Appraisal and Its Relationship to Secondary School Academic Performance in Garissa Township Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examines teacher appraisal and its relationship with secondary school students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Garissa Township Sub-County, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to determine whether teachers' professional development is a predictor of  secondary school students’ academic performance, examine the relationship between teacher time management and academic performance of secondary school students, assess whether creativity in teaching has a relationship with secondary school students’ academic performance and examine whether teacher performance appraisal perception intervenes the relationship between teacher appraisal and secondary school students’ academic performance. The study was anchored on the theory of Goal setting. The study used a survey research design. The targeted population comprised all 9 Secondary School Principals, 9 Secondary School Deputy Principals, 1 Sub-County Director of Education and 105 teachers in the nine public secondary schools within Garissa Township Sub-County. The study used the census to obtain its respondents. Data was collected using semi-structured questionnaires and interview schedules. The questionnaire was tested for reliability using Cronbach's Alpha method based on the 0.7 Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient’s threshold, while validity was tested using content validity. Quantitative data was analyzed using regression analysis, and qualitative data was analyzed using content analysis. The findings revealed that all the independent variables significantly related to secondary school students' academic performance in Garissa Township Sub-County, Kenya. Teacher performance appraisal perception is also significantly associated with secondary school academic performance in Garissa Township Sub-County, Kenya. Therefore, the study recommends that school management and Teachers Service Commission (TSC) enhance teacher professional development and time management and motivate teachers to improve creativity in teaching to improve students' secondary school academic performance. The research findings will benefit stakeholders on teachers' appraisal systems in public secondary schools, including the TSC, the Ministry of Education, teachers, and future researchers with needs similar to this problem.