Head Teachers' Project Assessment and Learner Mathematics Achievement in Public Primary Schools in Kisumu County, Kenya

Abstract : The study investigated the influence of head teachers’ project assessment on learner achievement in Mathematics in public primary schools in Kisumu County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following hypothesis H01: There is no significant relationship between head teacher project assessment and learner Mathematics achievement in public primary schools in Kisumu County, Kenya. The literature review focused on the appropriate objectives, theoretical framework, and conceptual framework. The theoretical framework was based on Constructivist Learning Theory developed by Jean Piaget in 1936 and further expanded by Lev Vygotsky in 1978, which posits that learners actively construct their knowledge through interaction with their environment and engagement in meaningful tasks. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The target population for the study was 127 public primary Schools in Kisumu County, 675 head teachers, and 760 teachers of grades three and four in public primary schools in Kisumu County, 1 Sub County QASO, and 7 CSOs. Proportionate sampling was applied to 103 schools, stratified sampling to 103 principals, census sampling to 1QASO and 7 CSOs, and simple random sampling to 78 teachers. Interview schedules for Principals, QASO, and CSO, as well as questionnaires for teachers, were used as instruments for data collection. After data cleaning, the data were coded and entered into the computer for analysis using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations. Inferential statistics were analyzed using the Chi-square test for all objectives. Qualitative data were processed by transcribing and categorizing from interviews and open-ended questions, using content analysis and reported as narratives, verbatim, or converted to frequency tables. The findings showed that the hypothesis was rejected. On the head teacher project assessment and learner Mathematics Achievement Chi square (df=6, Pearson Chi square(χ2) =62.747 and p=0.000 at 0.05 level of significance. This showed that there was a significant relationship between the head teacher’s project assessment and learner Mathematics Achievement. The study concluded that the head teacher’s project assessment influenced learner Mathematics Achievement. It is then recommended that: Head teachers should engage and involve parents and community members in supporting mathematics projects, such as providing real-world contexts or resources for learners’ projects.