Influence of Principal-initiated Motivational Speakers Strategy on Academic Achievement of Students in Kenya: A Study across Public Secondary Schools in Mbita Sub County

Abstract : The use of motivational speakers strategy in enhancing students’ academic achievement in schools in Kenya was adopted by many school administrators in the late 1980s after the introduction of private / holiday tuition in the late 1970s. By 2010, many charismatic professional motivational speakers were commonplace in schools on invitation. Currently many schools are utilising services of motivational speakers. This is based on the premise that worldover research has shown that motivation of the students enhance their academic achievement. There was therefore need to conduct a rigorous study to establish the actual position of this strategy in the 21st Century. Mbita Sub County was selected as the site for the study. This is because despite the existence of principal-initiated motivational strategy put in place by principals, the Sub-County still performs least with results showing that between 2018 and 2020, the Sub-County was ranked last in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examinations compared to the five other neighbouring sub- counties in Homa Bay County. Mbita Sub-County was ranked position five with an average mean score of 4.886 compared to Rangwe which was position one with a mean score of 5.354, Rachuonyo South was second with a mean score of 5.022, Rachuonyo East was third with a mean score of 4.988 while Homa Bay town was fourth with a mean score of 4.958. The objective of the study was to establish the influence of Principal-initiated motivational speakers strategy on students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools in Mbita Sub-County, Kenya. The study established that Principal-initiated motivational speakers strategy significantly influenced students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools by enhancing frequent consultation with teachers. The study recommends that Principals should advise motivational speakers on the specific aspects to address as they talk to students targeting the aspect of optimum use of study time, discipline, examination answering skills, change of attitude about difficult subjects and other aspects that lead to students’ academic achievement. The findings are beneficial to policy makers and education administrators in improving students’ achievement.