Establish the Influence of Student Mentorship on Learners Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Nyandarua County, Kenya

Abstract

Most counties in Kenya have recorded low academic performance in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Nyandarua County has in the past registered low academic performance with 77% and 86% of candidates obtaining below grade C in 2017 and 2018 respectively. This study sought to examine the influence of student mentorship on learner's academic performance in public secondary schools in Nyandarua County. The study used Systems Theory by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1972). The study used correlation research design. The target population comprised of 166 principals and 1622 teachers and parents from public secondary schools in Nyandarua County. Stratified sampling was used to sample 162 teachers at 10% and 50 principals at 30% for the study, while 20 parents were purposively sampled as a benchmark to participate in the study. Two schools from Nyandarua County not included in the main study were used for pilot study. Content validity by use of expert judgment drawn from educational administration was utilized to establish the validity of the study. The researcher conducted an internal reliability on the tools and tested it using Cronbach Alpha where a coefficient of 0.7 and above was accepted. The researcher used questionnaires for teachers and principals and interview schedules for parents in data collection. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive statistics, in particular, measures of central tendency and dispersion and inferential statistics; in particular, Pearson Product Moment Correlation was used. Qualitative data obtained from open ended questions and interviews was organized by content and discussed within quantitative results. Results were presented using tables, graphs and pie charts. From the findings, the study concludes that mentorship enhances learners' academic performance through motivation of learners and assisting in improving learners studying habits and sharpening the focus of students to academic performance. The study recommended that the ministry and school administration should establish more structured support for school mentorship programs through the ministry and school administration. The study also recommends that school principals develop internal mentorship capacity to reduce the reliance of external motivators for cost efficiency.