Determinants Of Implementation Of Strategic Plans In Public Secondary Schools: A Case Of Nakuru Municipality, Kenya

The ministry of education, in its bid to achieve its goals as envisioned in the social pillar of Vision 2030, introduced strategic management in all its institutions of learning. These institutions are supposed to be managed like business enterprises and to achieve this, the Ministry decided to formulate strategic plans for both primary and secondary schools. Although the Ministry provides the blueprint for strategic plans upon which each school develops its internal strategic plan, the procedure of its implementation still remains unclear. This may hinder the full realization of the overall national educational goals. In spite of the first level of formulation of strategic plans, institutions have had a series of challenges in the implementation stage. Some of the challenges have been lack of sufficient finances, lack of prerequisite skills to implement the plans among others. The study sought to identify the insight of the challenges and the determinants of implementation of strategic plans in public secondary schools. The study focused on the planning process, the role of school management boards, effective use of resources and the necessary skills required for successful implementation of the plan. The study was carried out in Nakuru Municipality, Nakuru County. The Municipality has 23 public secondary schools with a total of 322 teachers. The target population was made up of all teachers of public secondary schools in Nakuru Municipality. A sample size of 181 respondents was selected through a cluster sampling technique. The research used both qualitative and quantitative approaches specifically a survey method in the collection of data. The data was then analysed using both inferential and descriptive statistics. Secondary data were obtained from documents analysis of schools strategic plans, and the Ministry of Education guideline for the implementation of strategic plans while primary data was sought from teachers using questionnaires. The data was then cleaned, coded, and analysed using frequencies and percentages. Statistical inferences were then drawn using Spearman correlation analysis; strength of associations was determined using Cramers’ coefficient. The study revealed that most schools have strategic plans in place. The strategic planning process was entirely the responsibility of the school and greatly vested on the teachers and the school board, although the ministry was responsible for developing the blueprint, however there was variation across schools in abiding to all the stages.  Schools which undertook a proper strategic planning process were able to implement the strategies with ease and achieve better results. Teachers had the greatest responsibility for strategy implementation although they ranked low on the skills for effective strategy implementation. Support by the board plays key roles in ensuring successful implementation of school strategic plans. All the teachers indicated that indeed, finances presented challenges in the implementation of strategic plans in their schools. Therefore the study recommends review of the strategic planning process in schools to incorporate the expert opinions and guidance, continuous training and capacity development for teachers and strategy implementation teams in schools should also incorporate key members of the board of governors to ease financing of strategies. This study may be of assistance to school management boards all over the country, in identifying the key issues to address in ensuring successful implementation of strategic plans.