Influence of board of managements' motivational strategies on teachers' job performance in public secondary schools in Kakamega county, Kenya

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of Board of Managements’ motivational strategies on teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Kakamega County, Kenya. This study focused on four motivational strategies that are commonly employed by school boards of management in influencing job performance of teachers in schools. Thus the research objectives were: to establish how provision of monetary incentives by BoMs influences teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Kakamega County; to establish how provision of teaching/learning resources by BoMs influences teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Kakamega County; to establish how involvement of teachers in decision making by BoMs influences teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Kakamega County; and to establish how recognition of teachers’ achievements by BoMs influences teachers’ job performance in public secondary schools in Kakamega County. The study was a descriptive survey whose data collection instruments were questionnaires and interview schedules. The study population consisted of the teachers and members of the board of managements (BoM) of the public secondary schools in Kakamega County, Kenya. 31 public secondary schools were selected to participate in the study. A sample of 155 teachers and 62 BoM members was purposively selected to participate in the study. The key findings were: Provision of monetary incentives by BoMs improves teachers’ job performance; provision of teaching/learning resources by BoMs improves teachers’ job performance; involvement of teachers by BoMs in decision making boosts teachers’ job performance; and recognition of teachers’ job achievements by BoMs improves teachers’ job performance. The key conclusion of the study was that provision of monetary incentives and teaching/learning resources, recognition of teachers’ job achievements and involvement of teachers in decision making improve teachers’ job performance. The key recommendations were that BoMs should use combinations of motivational strategies to bring out the best performance amongst teachers. To strengthen the strategies under this study, BoMs should use suggestion boxes to increase teachers’ involvement in decision making; introduce incentives such as housing that can lead to lowering the cost of life for teachers, track teachers’ performance for recognition awards; and use textbook harvests and fundraising to improve the resources/infrastructure for effective teaching.