INFLUENCE OF PRINCIPALS’ PROVISION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ON TEACHER PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN SAKU SUB-COUNTY, MARSABIT COUNTY, KENYA
Abstract
Statement of the Problem: Principals play an important role in providing instructional leadership by adopting motivation strategies to ensure that teachers perform. However, in Saku Sub-county, the situation is quite different with many secondary school teachers registering low performance. Most of the teachers do not complete syllabus in time and have most of their students register low grades in internal and national examinations.
Purpose of the Study: To assess the influence of principals’ motivation strategies on teacher performance in public secondary schools in Saku Sub-county, Marsabit County, Kenya.
Methodology: The study adopted a mixed methodology and thus applied concurrent triangulation research design. Target population comprised 11 principals and 115 teachers totaling to 126 respondents from which a sample of 96 respondents was determined using Yamane’s Formula. Stratified sampling was applied to create four strata based on the number of zones in Saku Sub-county. From each zone, two principals were sampled using purposive sampling considering schools which have had reported cases of teacher attrition and low students’ academic performance in KCSE for the last five years. However, from each zone, simple random sampling was applied to select 22 teachers. This sampling procedure enabled the researcher to sample eight principals and 88 teachers. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically along the objectives and presented in narrative forms. Quantitative data were analyzed descriptively using frequencies and percentages and inferentially using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis with the help of Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS 23) and presented using tables.
Findings: The study established that teacher performance has been low with many teachers not able to cover syllabus in time which has occasioned low KCSE performance. This is attributed to lack of opportunities for further studies as a form of motivation.
Recommendation: The study recommends that principals must create time to provide sound instructional leadership by undertaking instructional supervision activities geared towards teachers’ classroom pedagogy. The Ministry of Education should create flexible programmes to enable teachers undertake further studies.
Keywords: Principals’ provision of opportunities for professional development, teacher performance, public secondary schools.
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