Principals’ Financial Management Practices, Educational Administration and Performance in Selected Secondary Schools in Kenya

It is no secret that the Kenya Government has made heavy financial investments in the education sector the intention of which is enhancement of access and quality of education. Thus, it is paramount to understand the extent to which school administration and management of financial resources relate to performance. Key duties under educational administration investigated comprised planning, organizing, directing, reporting and evaluation. The study adopted correlational research design and was anchored on Michael Jensen and William H. Meckling’s Agency Theory. The target population comprised 191 principals in Uasin Gishu County, Kenya. A total of 57 principals were selected via stratified sampling technique. The main data collection tool was a closed-ended, self-administered principals’ questionnaire. Thereafter, bivariate and multivariate correlation analyses were employed in data analyses. Findings showed a weak positive correlation, r(48) = 0.152, p > 0.05, between financial management practices and performance. Similarly, a weak positive correlation, r (48) = 0.015, p > 0.05, between educational administration and financial management practices was observed. It was found that financial management and educational administration had negligible contribution to the variance in performance (F (2, 45) = 0.883, p > .05, R2 = 0.038). In addition, financial management level did not significantly predict level of performance (Beta = .122, t (45) = 0.832, p > 0.05). Similarly, the level of educational administration did not significantly predict level of performance (Beta = 0.153, t (45) = 1.049, p > 0.05). This study provides insight into the financial management practices influencing the performance of schools in Kenya. It also broadens schools’ management perspectives on the importance of financial management practices in eliciting performance. One direction of future research would be a replication study using larger simples in wider geographical area