Role of the head teacher on the motivation of teaching staff in public secondary schools in Imenti North district, Meru county, Kenya.

Abstract

ABSTRACT ith the increased levels of expectation and responsibilities in the world of teaching, it is essential for teaching staff to feel that they have the opportunity to develop so as to meet the new demands being made of them. Having a motivated team is easier for the head of the school to organize and co-ordinate the activities of the school in accordance with the education policies in the achievement of the defined objectives. In Kenya motivation of teachers by salary only is quite challenging for the government as it is difficult to compete with the private sector universities in compensation hence they must have to give attention to the non monetary factors through the head teachers such as recognition, feedback and opportunities for career development to retain their high quality. Thus, teachers were less motivated and thus not satisfied with their job. The purpose of the study was to establish the role of the head teacher in motivating individual teachers in accomplishment of the assigned duties, their performance in carrying out responsibilities, innovation on emerging issues and the degree of consultation with the head of the school. A descriptive research design was used in conducting the study. The target population was 600 respondents comprising of 40 principals and 560 teachers in 40 public secondary schools in Imenti North District. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 20% of the population of 8 principals and 112 teachers. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and then presented in tables and graphs. The study found that head teachers used democratic leadership styles which in tarn influenced teachers' motivation positively. The study also deduced that teachers were rarely allowed to participate in major decision making and rarely felt as part of leadership. The teachers' personal needs were not well catered for like day offs and the working environment was not conducive. The study concludes that high workload, large number of students in classes and burden of non teaching activities are the problems in creating a good job design for teachers in public secondary institutions. Lack of feedback further leads to increased frustration in teachers and this disturbance impacts negatively on teachers' performance. The study recommends school Principals should create and communicate vision for the school, possess superior knowledge about curriculum development and teacher instructional effectiveness. Head teachers need to know about curriculum evaluation and improvement and ensure that the curriculum is well delivered to meet the learners' needs. The study recommends head teachers to clearly state what e expect from teachers. The findings of this study would be important to all stakeholders e.g. the Ministry of Education, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), School Administrators and Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs) as they can be used to make policies on deployment, promotion, remuneration, and general work additions that would improve motivation of teachers.