Contribution of Administrative Support towards Implementation of Games Programs on Academic Achievement in Secondary Schools in Rongo Sub-County, Migori County, Kenya

Games are part of non-formal curriculum and they do complement the formal curriculum. However, in secondary schools, games have been treated as second rate. Implementation of games varies from one school to another because of the varied support given and its value in enhancing academic achievement has not been established. The purpose of this study was to investigate the implementation of games and its contribution to students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in Rongo Sub- County, Kenya. The objective of this study was to establish the contribution of administrative support towards implementation of games programs on academic achievement in Rongo Sub-County secondary schools. The study adopted correlation, survey and ex post facto designs. The target population included 50 games teachers, 50 head teachers and 2000 form four students in 50 schools in Rongo Sub-county that sat for the Rongo Sub-County Examinations in the year 2010. Saturated sampling technique was used to select 46 games teachers and 46 head teachers used in the study. Stratified random sampling technique was used to select 700 form four students who were a divided into two equal groups (n=350) named as experimental group and control group. Students’ questionnaires, games teachers’ questionnaires, games teachers’ interview schedules, head teachers’ interview schedule and an observation schedule for games facilities were used to collect data. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was received in verbatim form, transcribed and reported according to emerging themes. Findings for the study indicated that; administrative support affects implementation of games, students have a positive attitude towards games, various methods were used in the implementation of games, most students participated in games up to the zonal level T-test results showed that participants in games performed better than non-participants in academics. It was recommended that school administrations should provide adequate material and support for implementing games and special attention should be given to the academic wellbeing of participants in games since games do contribute to better academic achievement of students.