Student-Teacher Ratio as a Predictor of Academic Achievements in Public Secondary Schools in Kericho County, Kenya

Education is a vital aspect in human life and basic education is considered a human right. This study established the influence of Student- Teacher Ratio on Academic Achievements in Public secondary Schools in Kericho County, Kenya. A conceptual framework was formulated to guide the study. The independent variable was Student-Teacher Ratio while the dependent was Academic Achievements in Kericho County, Kenya. Ex post facto, Descriptive and Correlational Research design was adopted in the study. The study population was 4,457 Principals, Sub County Quality Assurance and Standard Officers, Directors of Studies and form IV students of 2011. The sample size was 485. Snowball and saturated sampling techniques were used to select respondents. Questionnaire, interview schedules, Focus Group Discussion and document analysis guides were used to collect data. Validity of a measurement instrument is the extent to which the instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. Reliability coefficient of the principals’ questionnaire was 0.80 at set p-value of 0.05. Quantitative data was analyzed using cohort analysis, descriptive and inferential statistics. Qualitative data was transcribed and analyzed in emergent themes and sub themes. The study established that there was a moderate positive relationship between Student-Teacher ratio and students’ academic achievement with a coefficient of 0.389* at a p-value of 0.05. Coefficient of determination R2 was 0.151 which means that the student teacher ratio accounted for 15.13% of the variations in KCSE. The study recommended the need to recruit more teachers to reduce the Student- Teacher ratio. This will not only reduce the teaching workload but also give teachers ample time to prepare and effectively engage the learners thereby improving performance. The findings of this study are significant to stakeholders in education as it informs them on the need to review the policy with a view to improving secondary school education so as to achieve education objectives.