Social Cultural Factors Influencing Participation of Women in School Administration in Public Secondary Schools in Mvita sub-County, Mombasa County, Kenya

Abstract

Women participation in secondary school administration in Kenyan public secondary schools is a powerful means to contribute to social economic development. However, it is not known how social cultural factors influence participation of women in education administration in public secondary schools in Mvita sub county, Mombasa County Kenya. The study therefore investigated social cultural factors influencing participation of women in education administration in public schools in Mvita sub county, Mombasa Kenya. The target population was 223 respondents in 20 public secondary’s in Mvita sub county. Census and random sampling methods were used to choose the participants. The sample comprised of 100 teachers and 20 headteachers, one sub county director of education, one sub county staffing officer, and one sub county quality assurance officer. Questionnaires and interview guides were used to collect data. The validity of the instruments was checked by my supervisor. The instruments were piloted in three secondary schools in Mvita county to establish their reliability. Test – retest method was used to compute reliability coefficient from the data collected from the pilot study. Reliability coefficient of the instruments was 0.75 for each instrument. The descriptive statistics used were frequencies and percentages. The data collected in this study was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) computer programme version20.0. The research findings established that family responsibilities cause gender imbalance in education administration in public secondary schools in Mvita county. It was therefore recommended that the government should come up with more affirmative action policies at the school and college level and ensure that they are implemented in order to correct gender imbalance and guarantee women opportunities for participation in school management positions and policy making. The study findings also revealed that personal interest in leadership positions influenced negatively participation of women in education administration in public secondary schools in Mvita sub county. It was recommended that Teachers Service Commission should encourage female teachers to apply for vacant management positions whenever they are advertised.