Principals’ Provision of Professional Development Strategies on Teacher Productivity in Public Secondary Schools in Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

There has been a worldwide concern on human relation strategies that are applied in schools by the principals to enable healthy teacher productivity. This research aimed at examining the influence of principals’ professional development strategies on teacher productivity in public secondary schools in Machakos County, Kenya. The study was guided by the human relations theory and the theory of educational productivity. The study adopted mixed methodology and the descriptive correlational designs with concurrent triangulation model. The target population was 4,369, consisting of 4,312 teachers, 291 principals, 18 Sub-County education officers and 10 Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) officers. The sample size was 490 participants which comprised of 433 teachers and 29 principals that were randomly sampled, 18 Sub-County directors of education and 10 TSC officers who were purposively sampled. Questionnaires were used for teachers and principals. Interview schedules were used for SCDEs and TSC officers. The content validity was established through judgment by educational management experts. Reliability was established using the split-half method. A reliability index of r≥0.75 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha Method, indicating high internal reliability. Data triangulation through multiple analyses ascertained credibility, whereas dependability was established by detailed reporting of each data collection process. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, tables and inferentially using linear regression with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (Version 24). Qualitative data was analysed thematically and presented in narrative forms and verbatim citations. The findings established that principals were not significantly using professional development among the schools and thus, affecting teacher productivity in schools in Machakos County. It was recommended that stakeholders in education work together with the schools to improve on professional development in the schools so as to improve teacher productivity