| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of the study was to determine the training needs of headteachers
in public secondary schools in Nandi South District and also to find out if
there were any relationships between training needs of headteachers and some
selected variables. The objectives of the study were; to identify the training
needs of the headteachers and to establish areas of in-service training
perceived by the headteachers as necessary to improve their administrative
skills. Also, the study was aimed at determining whether there were
relationships between the identified training needs and some selected
variables. These variables were gender, academic qualifications, teaching
experience, professional qualifications, experience in headship and present
grades of the headteachers.
A conceptual framework of the study was formulated based on identification
of formal training of headteachers in colleges and Universities, ending with
the provision of training and evaluation of training effectiveness. All the six
identified independent variables were captured in the framework.
The literature review was organized in the following themes; Role of the
secondary school headteachers; Administrative tasks of secondary school
headteachers; Training needs of secondary school headteachers both in Global
and Kenyan perspectives, and finally, a summary of the literature reviewed.
In the study, null hypothesis was employed. The hypotheses of the study were;
there was no significant relationship between the headteachers' gender and
training needs; there was no significant relationship between the headteachers'
educational levels and training needs, and there was no significant relationship
between the headteachers' teaching experience and their training needs. The
study further sought out to test the following hypotheses; there was no
significant relationship between the headteachers' professional qualifications
and their training needs; there was no significant relationship between the
headteachers' experience in headship and their training needs, and finally,
there was no significant relationship between the headteachers' present grades
and their training needs.
The research design used in the study was a survey and the target population
was 43 headteachers of public secondary schools in Nandi South District.
Sampling technique employed in the study was a three stage sampling
procedure. At the initial stage, proportional stratified sampling was used.
At the second stage, was stratification of the cluster of schools and finally
simple random sampling technique was used. However, in a situation were
only one school ruet the selection criteria, purposive sampling technique was
used.
A pilot study was done in order to determine the reliability and the validity of
the research instrument. Item difficulty or ambiguity was sorted out by the
researcher before the main study.
Data analysis was done by use of descriptive statistics, that is by presentation
of tables of frequencies and percentages and also by use of Inferential
statistics. Inferential statistics employed in the study were the use of Chisquare
(X2) test and Pearson Product - Moment Correlation (r) in order to the
test the hypotheses.
In the study, the following were the research findings; Gender Variation does
not in anyway influence the levels of training needs, there is a positive
relationship the headteachers' educational levels and the training needs on
both student and personnel management tasks; There is also a strong positive
relationship between the headteachers' teaching experience and training needs
on both curriculum and instruction, and finance and business management
tasks. There is also, a positive relationship, though weak, between the
headteachers' experience in headship and training needs on both curriculum
and instruction, and finance and business management tasks.
There is no, relationship between the headteachers' professional qualifications
and all the levels of training needs. Finally, there is a strong positive
relationship between the headteachers' present grades and training needs on
both school plant organization a~d school community relations tasks.
The researcher recommends that training programmes should be mounted by
Kenya Education Staff Institute (KESI), Teachers Service Commission (TSC),
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST) and Kenya
Secondary School Heads Association (KSSHA) for headteachers in all the
administrative tasks of the headteachers.
The areas that headteachers should train in as a matter of paramount
importance are on, Curriculum and Instruction, Finance and Business
Management, School Community Relations and School Plant Organization
tasks.
The researcher suggests that: A study should be done to find out why there is a
high turnover of headteachers in secondary schools; a study should also be
conducted to investigate why there are no, or fewer if any, female teachers
heading mixed secondary schools; a study too, should be carried out to find
out factors affecting acceptability of the headteachers by the community and
sustenance of the schools' stability and that the study should be replicated in
other districts, at different period of time and in a larger area probably the
whole province to see if the findings hold the same. | en |
