Abstract
In order to address performance gaps in management of public primary schools and provision of quality education, the Ministry of Education periodically supports head teachers of primary schools to undertake induction courses in education management. One of the many induction courses supported and organised by the Ministry of Education (MoE) is the Induction Course in Educational Management (ICEM). ICEM is organised by Kenya Education Management Institute (KEMI) for head teachers of public primary schools where they are taken through best management practices to be adopted and implemented in schools. Despite the head teachers undertaking this induction courses, poor management of public primary schools is a perennial problem in many schools. Despite the enormous resources set aside by the Government of Kenya (GoK) for induction courses, poor management of primary schools affects the provision of quality education. The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacies of ICEM in-service training in order to establish its impact on management of public primary schools in Nairobi County. The specific objective of this study was to examine the procedures used in the selection and preparation of head teachers for ICEM in-service training. The study was anchored on Quality Management System’s theory.The study employed a descriptive research design. The target population for the study were public primary schools head teachers, chairpersons of Boards of Management (BOM), senior teachers, subordinate staff members, school prefects and KEMI staff trainers. Stratified random sampling was used to select the target population for this study. Data for the study was collected using structured questionnaires and was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) computer software. This study established that despite the fact that ICEM training were considered to be pertinent in the management of the schools’ resources such as finances, curriculum, plant and human resources, it was revealed that there were no proper policy guidelines on head teacher selection and preparation for ICEM training. The study concludes that time allocated for the trainings were inadequate and lack of follow-ups were challenges that hampered effectiveness of the training. Therefore, this study recommends that the Ministry of Education (MoE) should develop clear policies and guidelines on selection and orientation of head teachers for in-service training. Further, this study recommends that KEMI in partnership with the MoE should review timelines of the trainings and develop a sustainable model of evaluating results or effectiveness of the ICEM training in management of public primary schools in Kenya. Keywords: Efficacy, Education Management and Induction DOI : 10.7176/JEP/10-18-04 Publication date :June 30 th 2019
Highlights
The need to improve the quality of management in schools remains high on the agenda of governments all over the world (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, 2013)
5.1 Conclusions and Recommendations 5.1.1 Conclusions This study set out to examine whether the head teachers of public primary schools were properly selected and adequately prepared for in Educational Management (ICEM) in-service training
The findings established that both the ICEM trained head teachers and staff trainers raised concerns on the duration for in-service training for they felt that the time allocated was not adequate. 5.1.2 Recommendations Based on the findings of this study the following recommendations were made: the Ministry of Education (MoE) should come up with policy guidelines on the selection and preparation of head teachers for in-service training
Summary
The researcher distributed a total of 379 questionnaires to respondents drawn from the 72 schools whose head teachers had undergone ICEM in-service training and was able to receive 374 questionnaires. Modern day training in the work place is designed to provide trainees with knowledge and skills needed for their current jobs and is considered as an investment in human capital (Deming, 2000) Such investment creates competitive advantage for an organization, and provides innovations and opportunities to learn new technologies and improve employee skills, knowledge and firm performance. It is as a result of this realization that institutions such as the Ministry of Education, through KEMI, regularly offer in-service training to school heads in order to equip them with skills that are tailored to make them execute their mandates effectively and efficiently by capacity building them on leadership and other aspects of school management. This position is supported by Keith and Francoise (2001), who in a study on financing secondary education in developing countries, point out the fact that the quality of education depends on the way the school is managed and the quality of management and leadership provided by the head teacher
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