Teacher Related Factors Influencing Teaching of Agriculture Practicals in Public Secondary School in Konoin Sub-county, Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate how teacher related factors influenced teaching of agriculture practicals in Konoin Sub-County, Bomet.Four main objectives formed the cornerstones in the research. They included establishing influence of; teacher qualifications on teaching of agriculturepracticals, teacher workload on teaching of agriculture practicals, teacher skill enhancement on teaching of agriculture practicals, and teacher formative experience on the teaching of agriculture practicals. The target population was 27 secondary schools. This comprised of 27 principals, 27 deputy principals or directors of studies where applicable, 27 agriculture teachers, and 1,350 form four agriculture students. Selection of schools was done using stratified sampling and purposive sampling for selecting respondents. A sample size of 165 respondents was selected. The study employed descriptive research design. Data were collected using questionnaires. Quantitative data was analysed by descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and means, while thematic technique was used to analyse qualitative data. Research findings showed that respondents strongly agreed that teacher qualifications had positive impact on the teaching of agriculturepracticals, heavy workload reduced effectiveness of teaching of agriculture practicals hence reducing the performance of students, skill enhancement services directly impact teaching and learning of agriculture. The analysis concluded that teacher related factors affected the teaching of agriculture practicals in secondary schools in Konoin Sub-county, Bomet. From the research several recommendations were made including; provision of skills enhancement services, workshops and seminars that relate to agriculture should be attended by agriculture teachers consistently. Headteachers, deputy headteachers anddirectors of studies should attend workshops and seminars that address the importance and appropriate techniques of handling teachers' workload. Qualified professional teachers of agriculture should be employed to ensure that teaching processes in institutions are enhanced. Provision of in-service training sessions should be implemented in order for the teachers of agriculture to further develop their skills and knowledge and enable them cope with current technological progression. The researcher suggested further research on the influence of parents and learners related factors in he teaching of agriculture practicals. There is also a need to carry out further studies on the effects of these factors in other parts of the country.