Demographic Factors Influencing Board of Management Competencies in Human Resource Management in Public Secondary Schools in Chepalungu Sub-county, Kenya

Abstract

Human resource is a vital asset to the school which must be valued. For the board of management to derive the best out of teachers, students, and non-teaching staff, they must be competent in motivating, supervising, training, and providing sustainable welfare policies to personnel. The purpose of the study was to investigate demographic factors influencing competence of board of management in human resource management of public secondary schools in Chepalungu Sub- County, Kenya. Specifically, the study was set to determine the extent to which age, gender, academic qualification, and management experience of the board of management member influences competence in management of human resources in public secondary schools. This study was anchored in Systems Theory Ludwig Von Bertalanffy (1968). The study adopted descriptive survey design where a total of 55 public secondary schools. The target population included 55 public secondary schools which comprised of 55 principals, 55 BoM chairpersons, 55 BoM members and 330 teachers in Chepalungu Sub-County, Kenya. Simple random sampling was used to select principals and teachers. Purposive sampling was used to select male and female BoM members followed by simple random sampling to select 30% of participants. The sample size was 17 principals, 17 BoM chairpersons, 99 BoM members and 17 teachers. The study used questionnaires for principals and teachers and interview schedule for BoM chairpersons and members to collect data. Validity was arrived at by expert judgment by supervisors while reliability was arrived at using test-retest method. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analysed thematically. The study findings revealed that age, gender, academic qualification, and management experiences influenced to a greater extent the BoM competence in HRM such recruitment, Job placement, job satisfaction and work performance in public secondary schools in Chepalungu Sub County, Kenya. The study concluded that age is important in decision making of the BoM and that more women should be appointed in the BOM so that gender equality can be achieved. Academic qualification ought to be considered as a requirement for one to be appointed as BOM members. Experience leads to more efficiency in BOM members’ execution of duties. This study recommends more women to be appointed to the BOM so that gender equality can be achieved.