Relationship between Availability of Institutional Resources and Academic Performance of Catholic-sponsored Secondary Schools in Kericho Diocese, Kenya

Abstract

The academic performance of the most private and public secondary schools in Kenya has indicated rapid decline, which has hindered the learning institutions from achieving their set goals. The deteriorated performance may be attributed to several factors, such as insufficient resources. One vital mechanism to be employed by the schools in achieving good performance is the effective utilization of institutional resources. However, there is limited literature on to what extent institutional resources availability can improve the performance of secondary schools. On this note, the paper sought to examine the relationship between institutional resources availability and academic performance of Catholic-sponsored secondary schools in Kericho Diocese, Kenya. The study was anchored on resource-based theory. A correlational research design was employed, and the target population was comprised of 789 graduate teachers. Stratified random sampling was also used to determine a sample size of 266 respondents. Primary data was obtained by use of a structured questionnaire. Quantitative data were analysed using correlation and regression analysis and presented using frequency tables. The findings from the study revealed a statistically significant relationship between institutional resources availability and academic performance of Catholic-sponsored secondary schools (R = 0.659; β = 0.223; p < 0.05). The study results indicated that institutional resources availability influenced Catholic-sponsored secondary schools’ performance by 67.2% (R2 = 0.672). Therefore, the study recommends that secondary schools effectively utilize institution resources to implement the strategic plan, which will improve their performance.