Principal’s Teacher Working Environment Strategies on Teacher Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Mumias East Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Does the school principal’s strategy for a good working environment affect teacher performance? This study sought to answer the question by exploring the data from Mumias East Sub-County, Kakamega county, Kenya. A mixed methodology which entailed gathering quantitative and qualitative data on strategies of teacher working environment against each of the teacher performance aspects comprising of teacher lesson attendance, students mean scores and TPAD scores, was used. Also, A cross-sectional descriptive study design was adopted. To gather data, the instruments used comprised sampling of secondary data, individual in-person interviews for quality assurance officers, sub-county directors, and school principals, student questionnaires and teacher questionnaires. Collected data was then analysed using linear regression, averages, percentiles, and standard deviations. It was discovered that as earlier studies showed the impact of certain working conditions, like the school compound's lighting and facilities, on teacher performance, this research confirmed the impact of security aspects and workload management strategies on teacher performance. Additionally, from the data gathered, principals were implementing various strategies to improve the teacher’s working environment, and the extent of use of the various strategies affected teachers’ performance. For instance, it was discovered that there was a medium correlation between lesson attendance and recovery (adjusted R2 = 0.049135, at F = 0.001214, p = 0.001, and t = 38.31412), low correlation with the students' means scores (adjusted R2 =0.060101, at F = 0.000325, p = 0.001, and t = 10.86456) little correlation with TPAD scores (adjusted R2 = 0.041847, at F = 0.002887, p = 0.001, and t = 37.73538). After a comparison of data analysed using various instruments, the principals’ strategies for the working environment were established to affect teacher performance. The most affecting factors are highlighted in the summary and conclusions.