A Hierarchical Linear Modeling of the Effects of School characteristics on Students’ Academic Achievement in Busia County, Kenya

DOI: 10.15580/GJER.2018.2.030818036 Studies on school effectiveness have dominated educational research over the past decade, but still there is much that needs to be done. In an attempt to contribute to knowledge on school effectiveness, this study examined the effects of school characteristics namely; school size, location and school type ( day, boarding and coeducational) on students’ academic achievement in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination in Busia County, Kenya. A two level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) technique was employed with student predictors at level 1 and school characteristics at level 2. A sample of 755 students who were drawn from 100 secondary schools participated in the study. Findings of the study demonstrated that school type, location and size of the school had no statistically significant effects on students’ academic achievement in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination. The findings of the study give implication that parents should not have the perception that school characteristics influence their children’s academic achievement. Submitted: 08/03/2018 Accepted: 26/03/2018 Published: 30/03/2018