| dc.description.abstract | After the attainment of political independence in Kenya in 1963, the government,
policy makers and leaders at all levels expressed the need for provision of adequate education in order to make the policy of Africanisation a reality. To provide all cadres of
manpower, concerted efforts were made by religious organisations, communities, individuals and the government in order to replace the outgoing European officers. There
was a general hue and cry to provide education which was viewed as a vehicle for social and economic advancement for the individual and the community from which one hailed. As a result of the great demand for education, there was a great mushrooming of
educational institutions to cope with the demand. Headteachers were appointed from experienced classroom teachers who had excelled in their teaching subjects. The assumption by then was that a good classroom teacher could automatically be transformed into an effective administrator. While it may be plausible to consider teaching experience as a prerequisite for appointment of a school administrator, it may not apply in all cases.
Contrary to the assumption that teaching experience is the most vital requirement
for appointment into institutional headship, policy makers, educationists and recent studies
have note that educational systems all over the world are becoming very complex. Management of such institutions, therefore demands individuals with a repertoire of
sophisticated knowledge, skills and attitudes in order to function effectively. The need for trained managers has become more imperative at a time when a great deal of educational inefficiency and erosion of educational quality has been attributed to poor management by school heads.
Since management training can play such an important role in improving the professional proficiency of those trained, there is need for constant appraisal of training
needs of educational administrators so that the training offered can help to address the
challenges that confront headteachers in their day-to-day activities. Such a recommendation is made on the understanding that there is no one training programmes, no matter how comprehensive that can sufficiently impart the needed skills, attitudes and knowledge to those individuals whom it targets for a professional career. The purpose of this study therefore was to identify the perceptions that secondary school headteachers in Kitui district hold towards Kenya Education Staff Institute (KEST) in-service programmes. The study sought to determine whether secondary school headteachers find KESI in- service programmes to be adequate and relevant to meet their administrative needs.
This study examined the introduction and the background information on various administrative malprattrces that led to the establishment of Kenya—Educatiorr of Kenya Education Staff Institute (KESI). It was argued that although in-service programmes by KESI have been in operation for some time, studies have indicated that a discrepancy exists between what organisations claim to be doing and what they are actually doing in practice. The study therefore sought to establish the extent to which each topic in KEST syllabus is perceived to be adequate and relevant to meet secondary school headteachers needs. In order to fulfil the purpose of the study, the following research objectives were formulated:
To establish whether secondary school headteachers in Kitui district perceive KESI in- service programmes to be adequate and relevant to meet their administrative needs.
2. To identify the administrative challenges that such school headteachers face so that their needs can be better addressed during in-service and other professional development activities.
•such variables as administrative experience, level of education, number of times of attending
KESI courses and their age.
To determine whether secondary school headteachers perceptions of KESI are affected by
their school size, the number of years taken since in-service date and their sex.
The purpose of the study was stated four objectives outlined, and seven null
hypotheses generated for the study. The central significance of the study was viewed as
that of providing feedback of KESI in-service programmes to training instructors in a bid to
improve such future programmes. The study basically assumed that secondary school headteachers are in dire need of thorough and systematic preparatory programmes in school administration(h was argued that headteachers and trainers should not take training
as a once-and-for all activity but a continuing process.
The null hypotheses stated that there is no significant difference between secondary
school headteachers' perceptions of KEST in-service programmes and their administrative
experience, level of education, number of times of attending KESI, age, number of years
since KEST in-service, school size or sex. The review of literature focused on an analysis of reasons for professional development. KESI in-service activities were examined in terms of
the topics that are usually covered during in-service training. A need for participant
involvement in programme design and evaluation has been argued for. Research findings
on perceived administrative concerns for school-heads has been analysed. A short
summary is made on the major issues dealt with in chapter two.
The research design adopted is an evaluative case study confined to headteachers in
Kitui district. The study involved a target population of forty secondary school
headteachers who were randomly sampled to provide data for the study. Two types of
questionnaires were used for this study. Headteachers responded to a questionnaire that
was both closed for some items and open-ended for others. Draft questionnaires were given to six lecturers in the Faculty of Education so that the lecturers could appraise the suitability of various items to obtain information that would help fulfil the research objectives. To determine the instrument reliability, questionnaires were given to six headteachers in a pilot study so that any items that were ambiguous, repetitive or faulty in wording and structure could be rephrased. Questionnaires for the training instructors were also discussed with lecturers and dispatched to the respondents. Questionnaires were picked by the researcher after completion by the respondents.
Different forms of data which were generated for this study were analysed depending on their nature. Frequency tables and percentages have been used to show basic descriptive statistics on respondents' perceptions on KESI in-service training components. To determine whether there is any significant difference between secondary school headteachers' perception of KESI and sex, the t-test was used. The same statistic (t-test) was used to determine whether there is any significant difference between graduate headteachers and diploma headteachers. In all the null hypotheses that had more than two cells (sub-groups), the one-way analysis of'variance (ANOVA) was obtained at .05 level of significance. Where information was gathered in statement form, it was presented as descriptive analysis and discussion based on comparison and contrast of findings.
The main body of the research gave information on demographic data and reported findings from the present study. The study has indicated that secondary school headteachers overwhelmingly supported KESI in-service programmes. There were certain areas however where KESI programmes have not met headteachers needs. Management
of school finances, human and public relations and legal aspects of education were
identified as the key areas of concern.
In view of such findings, it was recommended that concerted efforts need to be made by KESI in co-operation with other in-service agencies to train headteachers with
special emphasis in management of school finances, human and public relations and legal aspects in education. It was also recommended that induction courses should be made compulsory before headteachers can assume headship duties. It was also recommended
that the Teachers Service Commission, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, seek
modalities of developing professional educational administrators by offering scholarships for higher degrees in educational administration rather than depending mainly on experience as the main prerequisifefor appointment of school-heads. It emerged from the study that
appointment of school heads should be based on professional proficiency, integrity and headteachers' high conceptual ability of the current educational trends and concerns in the country and not on-basis of nepotism, tribalism or political patronage. | en |
