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The central problem of this study was that although the government is providing direct grants to primary schools under the free primary education (FPE) financing scheme, the allocation for Early Childhood Education (ECE) Centres is still quite minimal. The management of these ECD centres also rests on the headteachers and the community. The purpose of this study was to find the role of the community in enhancing the welfare of the ECE centres in Mwimbi Division of Meru South County . A descriptive survey design was used. Data for the study were collected from 14 headteachers, 14 teachers and 28 parents with children in sampled 14 ECDE centres yielding a sample size of 56. The Study employed questionnaires for headteachers and teachers and Focus Groups Discussion (FGD) guides for parents. Data analysis was conducted using qualitative and quantitative techniques, and results presented using frequency tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The study found out that the, community supported the programme in several ways including: direct financial assistance, participating in physical development, maintaining feeding programme for learners, developing learning materials, amongst others. However, the level of contribution was inadequate due to poverty and ignorance among parents. Therefore, the study recommends that the government should not only allocate substantial funding to this sector but also sensitize the community to strengthen their keen interest on the education of their children in ECE centres.

The study examined the role Graduates from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) towards contributing to the attainment of Vision 2030 in Kenya. The study had two objectives, to determine the perceived importance of TVET and find out the major challenges inhibiting the contribution of graduates from TVET institutions from effectively contributing towards attainment of Kenya's Vision 2030 which is geared towards making Kenya a newly industrialized and middle income country that can provide high quality life for all citizens by the year 2030. The study used 214 participants comprising 38 managers, 72 trainers, and 104 trainees from TVET institutions in Kenya. The Study utilized structured questionnaires, interview guide and observation schedules to collect data. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics especially the mean and standard deviation and qualitative narrative approaches. The study established that the majority of participants were of the opinion that, graduates from TVET were not well prepared for the Kenyan world of work and had negative attitudes towards informal sector employment opportunities. This negative attitude had hindered trainees from choosing TVET and as such were largely unemployed. The TVET training sector has also suffered from fragmentation and lack of coordination having moved from one ministry to the other over the years. It was evident that, students preferred pursuing technical training at university level, causing a serious imbalance between the Technicians and Engineers. This trend has negatively impacted on the efforts made by the Government of Kenya towards being a newly industrialized country as enshrined in Vision 2030. The study recommends that, there should be a new paradigm shift in Kenya by reversing this negative attitude among the youth and making overt efforts through appropriate incentives to ensure success of TVET training in the country.

This study sought to examine the effect of principals' leadership styles on students' academic performances in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) Examinations in public secondary schools in Homa-bay County, Kenya. The study was premised on a combination of modified Bossert's framework and Pitner's moderated theoretical frameworks which contend that principal's role is influenced by intertwined factors including external antecedent variables and prevailing external environmental conditions. The study had two fold objectives, namely i) assess teachers perceptions regarding their principals leadership styles ii) analyze the relationship between principals leadership styles and students' academic performance. The study adopted an ex-post facto research design. From an accessible 39 secondary schools, 36 were randomly selected to provide 36 principals and 216 teachers yielding an overall sample size of 252 respondents. Questionnaires were piloted to determine their validity and reliability before being used to collect quantitative data from sampled subjects. The study established that principals in the study locale used leadership styles that were not conducive to teacher-student interactive learner-centered learning that enhanced students' academic performance. A test of hypothesis using the chi-square test of association (X 2 =15.67, df =5) at ∝ =.05level of statistical significance further established that there was a significant relationship between the leadership styles applied by principals as perceived by teachers and students' academic performance. The schools that embraced more democratic and participatory leadership styles that encouraged group work and team spirit performed significantly better than those that used more autocratic leadership styles that were largely dictatorial. Several recommendations were made key among them being that the Ministry of Education through the Kenya Education Staff Institute (KEMI) should intensify in-service training for school principals on use of ...

The thrust of this study was to examine the effects of principals' leadership styles on students' academic performance in public secondary schools in Homabay County, Kenya. This study was based on combinations of modified Bossert's framework and Pitner's moderated effects model of effective schools. The main objective of the study was to examine the extent principals leadership styles influence students' academic performance in national examinations in HomaBay County Kenya. The study adopted the ex-post facto research design. Combinations of stratified random sampling and purposive sampling techniques were used to draw 216 secondary school teachers and 39 principals yielding a sample size of 255 respondents. The study employed a questionnaire for teachers and interview guide for principals. It was established that school principals utilize diverse leadership behaviour, some pointing to the more democratic and transactional styles while others skewed towards the more autocratic and laissez-faire types. The use of diverse leadership behaviour notwithstanding, it was evident that most principals were deficient in the types of leadership behaviour that support the creation of a conducive learning environment and support to teachers necessary for effective teaching and the expected enhanced students' academic achievement. A test of null hypothesis retained the null hypothesis that that there was no statistically significant relationship between principals' leadership styles and students' academic performance. It was recommended that school principals should aspire to establish a school environment which is conducive for effective teaching and learning (236 words).