| dc.description.abstract | ABSTRACT
Leadership in schools is critical to the attainment of educational goals. This is especially true regarding the role head teachers play in directing the affairs of their respective schools. Management of schools in Kenya has come under scrutiny .following cases of resource mismanagement, revelations of incapacity among head teachers and the wave of student strikes that has swept across the country in recent years. All attributed to ill preparedness on the part of the head teachers. This can be avoided mainly if such head teachers are effectively trained for school leadership before appointment and then developed continuously to enhance their performance of duties as school leaders after appointment. In Kenya, KEMI (Kenya Education Management Institute) is the institution that is mandated to train and develop managers for the education sector. Though KEMI has been training head teachers in school management, a lot of evidence shows that many head teachers are not up to the task in school management. This brings to question the effectiveness of the in-service training offered to the head teachers. The purpose of this study was to find out the head teachers' evaluation of the effectiveness of the in-service training offered by KEMI. The objectives of the study were; to find out whether head teachers receive in-service training before and/or after appointment as head teachers, to determine the content of the training offered to head teachers in school management in Igembe Sub-county, to find out the challenges faced by the head teachers in the process of school management in Igembe Sub-county and to assess the effectiveness of head teachers' in-service training in school management. In looking at the head teachers' evaluation of the effectiveness of their in-service training, the study used the human capital theory. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Igembe Sub-county has a population of 218 in-serviced head teachers in both primary and secondary schools comprising of 44 female and 174 male head teachers. The researcher used stratified sampling technique to select 28 female and 112 male head teachers to form a sample of 140 head teachers. Before collecting the actual data, the researcher conducted a pilot study in the same district among five head teachers. Questionnaires were used for collecting data from the head teachers. Validity of the instruments was done through experts in research and piloting while reliability was determined by use of Spearman Brown Prophesy formula. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics, quantitative data was analyzed using frequency counts and percentages while qualitative data was analyzed by tallying the numbers of similar responses. Data was presented using frequency distribution tables, bar graphs and pie charts. The research found that head teachers in Igembe Sub-county received the in-service training in school management after appointment as head teachers. Head teachers encountered challenges in school management especially in finance and human resource management. Head teachers were not consulted before KEMI in-service training, the content of KEMI in-service training was not adequate enough to equip head teachers with managerial skills, the time allocated to KEMI in-service training was not adequate, head teachers considered KEMI in-service training to be relevant. The study recommends that head teachers should be trained before appointment as school heads, adequate time should be allocated to KEMI training, KEMI should consult head teachers before training them and KEMI personnel should be trained to improve their content delivery. | en_US |
