Organisational Culture and the Implementation of Performance Contracting in Public Secondary Schools: Mixed-Methods Evidence from Kenya
Denis Okemwa Mitieka, Pamela Ochieng and Susan Macharia
Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Email: denismitieka@gmail.com
Abstract: This study examined whether organisational culture is associated with service delivery and whether it moderates the relationship between performance contracting and service delivery in public secondary schools in Kisii County, Kenya. The study adopted a convergent parallel mixed-methods design. Schools were stratified by sub-county, and respondents were sampled within the selected schools, yielding 1,079 usable questionnaires from 173 principals, 363 teachers, 322 Board of Management members, and 221 parents’ representatives. One County Director of Education and five Sub-County Directors of Education were interviewed. Data were collected using Likert-scale questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, and were analysed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, hierarchical regression with an interaction term, and thematic analysis. Organisational culture was moderate (M = 3.36, SD = 0.46) and correlated positively with performance contracting (r = .706) and service delivery (r = .595), both p < .001. Culture added a small but significant share of explained variance beyond performance contracting (ΔR² = .007, p < .001), yet the interaction was not significant (B = .045, p = .291); moderation was therefore not supported. Education officers described shared commitment, teamwork, open communication, innovation, and recognition as supportive conditions, and resistance to change, blame, and individualism as barriers. The study concludes that organisational culture matters as a condition surrounding performance contracting but does not change the strength of its relationship with service delivery. It recommends that principals strengthen communication, recognition, and shared accountability, and that education authorities practise supportive rather than blame-oriented monitoring.
