| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of public secondary school head teachers' leadership styles on teachers' levels job satisfaction in Tetu district, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to: identity the head teachers' leadership styles used in public secondary schools in Tetu district; determine the levels of job satisfaction among public secondary school teachers in Tetu district; establish head teachers' leadership styles associated with job satisfaction and dissatisfaction of teachers in public secondary schools; and examine whether teachers' personal characteristics (age, gender, work experience, and levels of education) affect their levels of job satisfaction. The study employed a descriptive survey design.
The study targeted all the 30 headteachers and 311 teachers in the 30 secondary schools in Tetu district. Simple random sampling was used to select 28 headteachers while stratified random sampling technique was used to select 169 teachers (six teachers per school).The study employed questionnaires as the main instrument for data collection. A pilot study was conducted to pre-test the reliability and validity of the instrument. Data was both quantitative and qualitative. Quantitative data was edited then coded, entered, analyzed and interpretations made out of the information gotten. The study established that the most used leadership styles used by head teachers in Tetu District were democratic and laissez-faire. It was established that the head teachers sometimes engaged in autocratic leadership, which the teachers did not like.
The study also established that the teachers were mostly satisfied with their jobs except for some factors like their teaching load, the way head teachers handled grievances and the extent to which they were involved in decision-making. Teachers whose heads Engaged in democratic leadership style seemed more satisfied with their jobs compared to those whose heads engaged in other leadership styles. The study found out that age had an effect on job satisfaction since the younger teachers were more satisfied with their jobs than the older ones. The study further established that teachers' work experience had an effect on job satisfaction as those who were more experienced were more satisfied with their jobs. It however emerged that teachers' level of education had no effect on their job satisfaction.
The study recommends that head teachers should engage in democratic leadership more often so as to make teachers feel free and part of the institution; teachers should be allowed to participate fully in decision-making in schools as this would allow ownership of policies and result of their implementations; among other recommendations. | en_US |
