The Extent to Which Monitoring of Instructional Practices Influences Students’ Academic Performance in Mtama District Public Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the extent to which monitoring of instructional practices influences students’ academic performance in Mtama District public secondary schools. The theory which guided this study is Mwoshe’s Adaptive Competence Development Theory (MACDT). The study was guided by a mixed research approach with a convergent research design. The total sample size for all respondents was 171 respondents (149 teachers, 14 heads of schools and 8 District School Quality Assurers [DSQAs]). Simple random and purposive sampling techniques were adopted to select the participants of the study from fourteen (14) selected public secondary schools in Mtama District. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically, while quantitative data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics through statistical package for social science (SPSS) software, 29.0 version. The findings of the study revealed the extent to which monitoring of instructional practice influences students’ academic performance in Mtama District’s public secondary schools. The study found that monitoring instructional practice improves teaching effectiveness; consistent instructional supervision improves students’ academic performance; feedback from the head of school motivates teachers to work harder and achieve better results; and teaching time is effectively utilised. Moreover, monitoring instructional practice helps improve syllabus coverage in schools and promotes accountability among teachers. The study concluded that, monitoring of instructional practices plays a significant role in enhancing students’ academic performance in public secondary schools. Therefore, it is recommended that School leaders and education authorities should strengthen leadership monitoring of instruction by conducting regular classroom observations, reviewing lesson plans and providing constructive feedback to teachers