Stakeholder Participation and Monitoring and Evaluation Practices in Performance Contracting: Evidence from Public Secondary Schools in Kisii County, Kenya
Denis Okemwa Mitieka, Pamela Ochieng and Susan Macharia
Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Email: denismitieka@gmail.com
Abstract: Performance contracting links institutional priorities to measurable commitments, but implementation also requires stakeholder participation and follow-up. This article examines perceptions of stakeholder involvement and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) in public secondary schools in Kisii County, Kenya. It uses a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, drawing on 1,079 usable questionnaires from principals (n = 173), teachers (n = 363), Board of Management members (n = 322), and parent representatives (n = 221), along with interviews with six education officers. Questionnaire results are presented descriptively by respondent category, and interview accounts are organized thematically. Category-specific mean scores ranged from 3.33 to 3.38 for stakeholder involvement and from 3.35 to 3.40 for M&E, within the study’s predefined moderate band (2.50–3.49). Officers described participation through meetings and consultation but reported variation across schools, limited access to information, resource constraints, incomplete records, and inconsistent follow-up. Questionnaire wording differed across categories; consequently, the results reflect role-specific perceptions rather than measures designed to be equivalent across groups. Small numerical differences are not interpreted as evidence of group differences or a ranking of implementation stages. The findings identify communication, inclusive review, and documented corrective action as processes for further examination. Because the study is cross-sectional and perception-based, with respondents clustered within schools, it does not establish causal effects or population-level differences. The article interprets performance contracting as a participatory cycle of planning, review, feedback, and context-sensitive follow-up rather than target setting alone.
