Peer Teacher Utilization in Secondary Schools: Varying Trends in Selected Counties 0f the Western Region, Kenya.

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There has been an upsurge in the utilization of peer teachers in secondary schools in Kenya in the recent past. This is despite the Ministry of Education and the Teachers Service Commission having insisted on only registered teachers being allowed to teach in Secondary schools. This study aimed at investigating, analyzing and documenting the varied trends in peer teaching in Kenyan secondary schools and their implications for adherence to teacher competence standards in selected Counties of the Western region of Kenya. The study was descriptive in nature and the data collection method was an intra-national case study. This study was guided by Pierre Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice (1990) and was heavily influenced by the Scientific Method Approach as propounded by Noah and Eckstein (1969). Three research instruments were utilized, namely; questionnaires, interviews and document analysis. The questionnaires were used to collect data from students, regular teachers, peer teachers and Head of Department. The interviews were conducted with the Principals, County Director of Teacher Service Commission, Board of Management members, parents, students, peer teachers, regular teachers and Head of Departments in the selected schools. Document Analysis was done on past Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education results records and the teachers who taught the classes. The data collected was analyzed using a mixed method with a bias on qualitative data analysis approaches. Qualitative data was analyzed through thematic analysis: that is, coding and categorization of emerging themes from the data according to the objectives. While quantitative data was analyzed using both Descriptive statistics such as percentages and means and inferential statistics that utilized t-test. The data indicated that there was a drastic increase in thenumber of peer teachers in secondary schools in the years 2010 to 2016. Majority of these were found in sub county schools. The schools assigned them all the duties of a teacher although in varied proportions depending on the school’s needs. In light of these findings, the study recommended that the government should design and adopt a law to legalize the utilization of peer teachers.