Influence of School Sporting Policy on the Development of Student Talent in Public Secondary Schools of Meru County. Kenya

Abstract

The research assessed how specific sports policies affect athletic development among students. The study addressed the critical research question: Howdo clarityand enforcement of sports policies influence the development of student sports talent? A mixed-methods approach was adopted, gathering quantitative datathrough structured questionnaires and qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews, involving 30 principals, 172 games masters, and 30 games captainsfrom a variety of schools across Meru County. Quantitative results were significant. As presented in Table 1, a significant percentage of the participants, 52.9%, was not sure whether there existed policies on sports safety. This is a strong indication of policy non-transparency. Hypothesis testing, using chi-square, provideda chi-square statistic of 66.61 (p < 0.001), which is an indication of strong evidence in support of the proposition that greater policy transparency, coupledwitheffective policy enforcement results in better development of sports talents, as presented in Table 2. In light of the results, this study recommends that schoolsshould adopt policies on sports and pass the information to the relevant school stakeholders for effective implementation. The management of education needs toput in place mechanisms under which school policies are frequently reviewed as well as implemented. These recommendations target the specific stakeholders of schools and local education authorities to ensure that sports programs at school levels are effectively implemented. The current research adds vital informationtothe field of sports education and policy formulation in stating that effective policy management is key to the development of athlete-students. Strategicmanagement of policies would register significant impacts on the development of sporting talents and inform policy development, which is crucial to relevant school administrators with conditions similar to those of this study.