INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XV December 2025 | Special Issue on Economics
Page 1587
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Strategy Formulation and Public Secondary School Performance in
Nzaui Sub County
Richard Lovi, Daniel Barante, and Charles Muli
*
School of Education and Business studies, Scott Christian University, Machakos, Kenya
*
Corresponding Author
DOI: https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2025.915EC00774
Received: 12 December 2025; Accepted: 18 December 2025; Published: 30 December 2025
ABSTRACT
Strategic planning remains a central pillar of school improvement, yet the specific contribution of strategy
formulation in public secondary schools in Kenya still needs more empirical work. This article focuses on
examining the effect of strategy formulation on performance among public secondary schools in Nzaui Sub
County, Makueni County. A cross sectional survey design targeted principals, deputy principals, directors of
studies and board of management members, with 183 respondents selected through stratified and simple
random sampling. Data came from a structured questionnaire based on a five point Likert scale and were
analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression. Descriptive results show that all indicators of
strategy formulation, such as clarity of vision and mission, stakeholder involvement and alignment of goals
with school needs, recorded mean scores above the scale midpoint, which points to strong adoption of formal
planning practices in the sub county. Regression results reveal a strong positive effect of strategy formulation
on school performance (B = 0.946, β = 0.813, t = 16.247, p < 0.001) after controlling for strategy
implementation, monitoring and evaluation. The study concludes that robust strategy formulation practices
associate with higher performance in Nzaui public secondary schools and argues for stronger stakeholder
driven and evidence informed planning processes in similar contexts.
Keywords: Strategy formulation, strategic planning, school performance, public secondary schools
INTRODUCTION
School systems in low and middle income countries continue to face pressure to raise learner achievement,
improve internal efficiency and respond to complex stakeholder expectations. In Kenya, secondary school
performance in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) examination remains a key metric for
accountability and progression into higher education. Evidence from several counties shows wide variation in
outcomes across sub counties and schools with similar resource envelopes, which points to differences in
management and strategic practices.
Strategic planning in schools is widely promoted as a tool for clarifying vision, setting priorities and aligning
resources with instructional goals. Studies in different Kenyan settings link structured planning with improved
quality of education and better academic performance, although the strength and consistency of this
relationship varies. Research in Kigumo sub county, for example, reports a positive influence of strategic
planning on quality indicators in public secondary schools. [6] Work on strategic planning guidelines and
academic performance in Nairobi and other Kenyan counties also shows that adherence to formal planning
processes relates to higher student achievement. [7] At the same time, strategic leadership and related practices
influence performance in Lari and other sub counties, underscoring the importance of deliberate direction
setting at school level. [2]
Beyond Kenya, empirical work in developing and developed country contexts confirms a positive association
between strategic planning and organizational performance, but also highlights important contingencies. A
recent synthesis finds that planning processes that involve stakeholders, attend to implementation challenges
and fit the local environment tend to produce stronger performance gains in education and other sectors. [4]
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XV December 2025 | Special Issue on Economics
Page 1588
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More focused studies report significant effects of strategy formulation on institutional performance in public
entities and technical and vocational institutions, including recent work in the North Rift region of Kenya. [1]
Problem statement
Despite these contributions, several gaps remain. First, many school based studies in Kenya treat strategic
planning as a single composite construct and give limited attention to the distinct phases of formulation,
implementation, monitoring and evaluation though the county records persistent variation in KCSE
performance across sub counties. Nzaui Sub County has experienced underwhelming performance compared
with other sub counties in Makueni, despite similar policy guidance and resource frameworks.
Research objective
The objective of the study is to assess the effects of strategy formulation on the performance of public
secondary schools in Nzaui Sub County, Makueni County, Kenya.
Research Hypothesis
The null hypothesis stated that strategy formulation has no significant effect on the performance of public
secondary schools in Nzaui Sub County. Strategy formulation in this context refers to the process through
which schools develop or review their vision and mission statements, involve key stakeholders in planning, set
strategic goals and objectives and base these choices on systematic analysis of internal and external conditions.
Through this lens, the article addresses three guiding questions.
Research questions
To what extent do public secondary schools in Nzaui Sub County report strong strategy formulation practices.
Second, what is the statistical relationship between strategy formulation and school performance when other
dimensions of strategic planning enter the model. Third, how do these findings align with recent empirical
work on strategic planning and performance in education.
By answering these questions, the article contributes to ongoing debates on whether and how strategy
formulation matters for school performance in resource constrained systems. It also offers evidence to inform
county and school level efforts to strengthen strategic planning practice in line with national policy.
METHODOLOGY
Research design and setting
The study applied a cross-sectional survey design in Nzaui Sub County, Makueni County, Kenya. The setting
includes extra-county, county, and sub-county public secondary schools, operating as day, boarding, or mixed
models.
Target population and sample
The target population comprised principals, deputy principals, directors of studies, and Board of Management
executive members across public secondary schools in Nzaui Sub County. The study used stratified random
sampling to select schools and simple random sampling to select respondents. A total of 183 respondents
participated, yielding a 100 percent response rate.
Data collection and measurement
Data were collected using a structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale. Strategy formulation items
assessed vision and mission clarity, stakeholder involvement, goal alignment, and use of environment analysis.
School performance items covered KCSE performance trend, revenue growth, co-curricular performance,
infrastructure improvements, and learner discipline.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XV December 2025 | Special Issue on Economics
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Validity, reliability, and ethics
Content validity was supported through expert review aligned to study objectives and strategic planning
literature. Reliability testing used Cronbach’s alpha with a threshold of 0.70 for each scale. The researcher
secured university approval and research permits, obtained informed consent from participants, protected
confidentiality through coding, and reported results in aggregate form.
Data analysis and hypothesis testing
The analysis used descriptive statistics for indicator-level summaries. Pearson correlation tested the
relationship between strategy formulation and performance. Multiple regression tested the hypothesis using the
model: Y = β0 + β1X1 + β2X2 + β3X3 + β4X4 + ε, where Y is school performance and X1 to X4 represent
formulation, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS
Table 1: Descriptive findings on strategy formulation
Indicator
Mean
Std. deviation
N
Clear vision and mission guide school activities
3.55
0.84
183
Key stakeholders participate in strategic plan development
3.72
0.85
183
Strategic goals align with school needs and resources
3.61
0.77
183
Mean scores above the scale midpoint suggest most schools report active strategy formulation practices.
Standard deviations indicate differences across schools, which points to uneven depth of practice.
Correlation analysis
Table 2: Summarises the Pearson correlation results.
r
p-value
Interpretation
0.792
<0.001
Positive, statistically significant
0.573
0.003
Positive, statistically significant
0.849
<0.001
Positive, statistically significant
0.597
<0.001
Positive, statistically significant
Regression results
The combined model returned R = 0.865 and R Square = 0.748, indicating that 74.8 percent of variance in
school performance is explained by the four strategic planning dimensions.
Table 3: Presents regression coefficients.
Predictor
B
Std. Error
Standardised β
t
p-value
Constant
0.938
0.392
2.395
<0.05
Strategy formulation
0.946
0.058
0.813
16.247
<0.001
Strategy implementation
0.208
0.083
0.121
2.488
<0.01
Strategy monitoring
0.147
0.073
0.158
2.012
<0.05
Strategy evaluation
0.044
0.085
0.041
0.520
>0.05
Strategy formulation shows the strongest effect on performance. A one-unit increase in the formulation score
associates with an estimated 0.946-unit increase in the performance score, controlling for other dimensions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XV December 2025 | Special Issue on Economics
Page 1590
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Hypothesis testing
Table 4: Summarises hypothesis testing results.
Hypothesis
Test
p-value
Decision
H01: Strategy formulation has no significant effect on school performance
Regression
0.000
Rejected
H02: Strategy implementation has no significant effect on school performance
Regression
0.000
Rejected
H03: Strategy monitoring has no significant effect on school performance
Regression
0.003
Rejected
H04: Strategy evaluation has no significant effect on school performance
Regression
0.004
Rejected
DISCUSSION
The results show a strong positive association between strategy formulation and public secondary school
performance in Nzaui Sub County. Schools reporting clearer direction and stronger stakeholder involvement
also report higher performance. The regression results indicate that formulation remains a strong predictor
even after accounting for implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. This pattern supports the view that
direction-setting and stakeholder ownership shape later phases of the strategic cycle.
Strategy monitoring shows a high correlation with performance, which suggests that schools that track
progress, use clear indicators, and respond to feedback report better outcomes. Strategy evaluation shows a
smaller coefficient in the regression, which may reflect weaker evaluation systems or limited use of evaluation
findings for learning and course correction. Research on strategic planning and quality of education in Kigumo
sub county links well-structured strategic plans with improvements in teaching and learning indicators. [6]
Work in Nairobi and other counties associates adherence to strategic planning guidelines with better KCSE
performance. [7]
The present study contributes by disaggregating strategic planning into distinct dimensions and showing that
formulation carries the strongest standardized effect on performance after controlling for implementation,
monitoring and evaluation. This pattern mirrors recent findings in public and educational organizations where
strategy formulation predicts performance more strongly than some later phases of the strategic cycle,
especially when formulation includes broad stakeholder participation and evidence informed goal setting [4]
Several mechanisms may explain the strong association between strategy formulation and school performance
in Nzaui Sub County. First, clear and shared vision and mission statements likely influence staff cohesion and
focus on instructional priorities. When school actors agree on long term purpose and core goals, they can align
daily decisions, resource allocation and instructional practices with these goals. Second, involvement of
teachers, parents and students in plan development builds ownership and commitment, which reduces
resistance and supports later implementation. Third, systematic analysis of internal and external environments
during planning allows schools to align strategies with real constraints and opportunities in the sub county,
including resource levels, learner profiles and policy demands.
The effect size for strategy formulation in this study appears larger than in some related works. For example,
studies on strategic planning in secondary schools in other Kenyan counties report positive but more modest
standardized coefficients. [7] In contrast, work on technical and vocational institutions in the North Rift region
finds that strategy formulation exerts a substantial positive effect on institutional performance, which is closer
to the magnitude reported here. [1] Differences in effect size may arise from measurement approaches,
contextual factors or the maturity of strategic planning practice in each setting.
The present findings also speak to debates in strategic management theory. Mintzberg and others argue for a
balance between formal planning and emergent strategy and warn against overreliance on rigid plans. [8] The
strong association between formulation and performance in Nzaui Sub County does not contradict this view,
but rather indicates that, in a context where many schools previously lacked structured planning, the
introduction of clear vision, mission and strategic goals aligns school efforts and yields performance gains.
The quality of formulation, including meaningful participation and local adaptation, likely matters more than
the presence of a formal document alone.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XV December 2025 | Special Issue on Economics
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One notable feature of the regression results is the relatively small and non-significant coefficient for strategy
evaluation compared with strategy formulation. This suggests that while schools in Nzaui Sub County have
begun to develop formal plans and communicate them to stakeholders, systems for rigorous evaluation and
feedback may still be at an early stage.
The study has several limitations. First, the cross sectional design restricts strong causal claims, since strategy
formulation and performance were measured at the same point in time. Second, performance measures relied
largely on self-reports and school level indicators rather than student level longitudinal data. Third, the
analysis drew on one sub county, which limits external generalization even within Makueni County. These
limitations point to the need for longitudinal and multi-level designs in future work on strategic planning in
schools.
Despite limitations, the results carry practical implications for school leaders, boards and policymakers. For
school leaders, the findings highlight the importance of investing time and effort in inclusive and evidence
informed strategy formulation. This includes regular review of vision and mission statements, structured
engagement of teachers, parents and students in planning workshops and explicit alignment of goals with
realistic resource assessments.
For boards of management, the results support recent work showing the importance of board effectiveness in
setting strategic direction and its influence on academic performance. [3] Boards should prioritize strategic
discussions that move beyond compliance to meaningful reflection on school purpose, contextual challenges
and feasible priorities.
For policymakers at county and national levels, the evidence suggests that support for strategic planning in
schools should not focus only on requiring strategic plans but should also strengthen leadership capacity for
high quality formulation, provide templates that emphasize stakeholder involvement and encourage the use of
local data during planning.
CONCLUSION
This article examined the effect of strategy formulation on public secondary school performance in Nzaui Sub
County, drawing on data from a broader study of strategic planning. Descriptive results show high uptake of
key formulation practices, including clear vision and mission statements, stakeholder involvement and
alignment of strategic goals with school needs and resources.
Regression analysis reveals a strong and statistically significant positive effect of strategy formulation on
school performance, even when implementation, monitoring and evaluation enter the model. These findings
support rejection of the null hypothesis and point to strategy formulation as a central driver of performance in
the study context.
The study contributes to empirical literature on strategic planning in education by isolating the role of
formulation and providing evidence from a sub county with documented performance concerns. It also offers
practical guidance for school leaders, boards and policymakers seeking to strengthen strategic planning
practice in Kenyan secondary schools and similar systems.
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INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND INNOVATION IN SOCIAL SCIENCE (IJRISS)
ISSN No. 2454-6186 | DOI: 10.47772/IJRISS | Volume IX Issue XV December 2025 | Special Issue on Economics
Page 1592
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