Teacher Training and Gender

Demographic Factors and Job Satisfaction: A Case of Teachers in Public Primary Schools in Bomet County, Kenya

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Demographic Factors and Job Satisfaction: A Case of Teachers in Public Primary Schools in Bomet County, Kenya Chirchir, Reuben The success of any school depends among others on the social capital including teachers, students, parents and other stakeholders who support the business of imparting knowledge. Satisfied and committed teachers impacts both on individual student performance and general academic standards of the school. The study explored job satisfaction among primary school teachers in relation to certain demographic variables. The objective of this study was therefore to examine the influence of demographic factors on job satisfaction of teachers in public primary schools in Bomet County, Kenya. This was done by conducting a survey using a self-administered questionnaire. A total of 848 teachers in 129 primary schools participated in the study. Descriptive and Inferential statistics were used to analyze the data. The overall finding was that teachers were ambivalent on job satisfaction, meaning that they were not sure whether they are satisfied with their jobs. However, teachers were satisfied with their colleague co-teachers and happy when assigned administrative duties. Teachers were more satisfied when authority is delegated to them. It is evident that school leadership need to improve on in ways of supervision, systems of reward, ways of communication and working conditions. It was further established that there was significant differences in the level satisfaction of male and female teachers for satisfaction with administrative duties (t = 2.645) and satisfaction with teaching (t= 2.448). It was also found that male teachers are more satisfied with administrative duties (m=3.2; s.d. = 1.05) than female teachers (m=2.91; s.d.= 1.18). Similarly, male teaches are more satisfied with teaching (m= 2.6; s.d.= 0.70) than female teachers (m= 2.5; s.d. = 0.79). This implies that female teachers are not keen on taking up additional administrative duties in the school. Overall, there was no significant difference between the levels of job satisfaction between male and female teachers. On the other hand, it was found that job satisfaction was positively correlated with the ‘age of respondent’ (r= 0.092; p<0.01) and ‘experience in teaching’ (r= 0.081; p<0.05). An article published in Journal of Education and Practice

Guiding and Counselling Pupils in Kenyan Public Primary Schools: Headteachers and Teacher Counsellors Role Perception and Experiences

2011-01-01T00:00:00Z

Guiding and Counselling Pupils in Kenyan Public Primary Schools: Headteachers and Teacher Counsellors Role Perception and Experiences Njoka, Evangeline Wanjira The purpose of this study was to determine the role perceptions of head teachers and the teacher counselors in the guidance and counseling of pupils in public primary schools of Embu District, Kenya as well as determining whether there were any qualitative different ways in which respondents (head teachers and teacher counselors) viewed and experienced these roles. In addition, the study established whether there were any significant differences between the respondents' role perceptions in guiding and counseling pupils and the selected demographic variables of age, sex, marital status, academic qualification, teaching experience, experience in management, training in guidance and counseling, school category and geographical location of school. The study also established if there existed any significant differences between head teachers' perceptions of teacher counselor’s role and the teacher counselors’ perceptions of their role. The study used a survey design with a multi-strategy research approach which provided both quantitative and qualitative data through questionnaires, interviews and observations. The data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The inferential statistics employed were t-test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), which were used to test the hypotheses of the study at significance level of 0.05. The interview data were analyzed phenomenographically. Both the head teachers and the teacher counselors had high levels of perception of their roles in the guidance and counseling of pupils (4.57 and 4.52 respectively out of a maximum of 5.0). The head teachers' level of perception of the teacher counselors’ role was 4.54. The results obtained after testing the hypotheses indicated that there were no significant differences between head teachers' role perceptions and the independent variables of age, gender, marital status, academic qualifications, training in guidance and counseling, administrative experience, teaching experience, school category and geographical location of school. There were also no significant differences between teacher counselors’ role perceptions and the independent variables of age, gender, marital status, academic qualifications, training in guidance and counseling, administrative experience, and school category. In addition, there was no significant difference between the head teachers perception of the teacher counselors’ role and the perception of the teacher counselors about their role. There was however a significant difference realized between teacher counselors’ role perceptions and the geographical location of school. Over half of the teacher counselors (55.6%) and the majority of the head teachers (71.4%) had not received any basic training in the guidance and counseling skills. Observations carried out revealed that 90.7% of schools had not time-tabled for guidance and counseling and was only done when need arose. The majority did not have guidance and counseling offices (93.3%), reference materials (79.0%) and training materials (76.5%). Counseling atmosphere in more than half (57.0%) of the counseling sessions was found to be either tense or suspicious. Phenomenographically analysis of data revealed that there were qualitative different ways in which the respondents viewed and experienced their roles in the guidance and counseling of pupils. The pupils who needed guidance and counseling in public schools had socio-cultural, socio-economic, and academic problems or needs. Drug abuse (socio-cultural) was ranked as the most serious with alcohol being most abused. Early pregnancies and marriages were the leading causes of girl school drop outs, while drug abuse and child labor were the leading causes of the boys drop outs. The majority of the teacher counselors (89.1%) and the head teachers (94.9%) missed out many functions despite having high role perceptions. Lack of support from the stakeholders; intensive poverty and widespread illiteracy; cultural/traditional practices; and negative media influence, were recorded as interfering with their role performance. Several suggestions to solve these problems were offered. Although the respondents listed several indicators of poor role performance in the guidance and counseling of their pupils, the majority still perceived their role performances to be either good or fair. The research findings have justified the need for change in the management of guidance and counseling and several recommendations have been put forward. Some suggestions for further research have also been included. A PHD Thesis submitted to Kenyatta University School of Education

Exploring Sexuality Education and the Burdened Teacher: A Participatory Approach in a Rural Primary School in Kenya

2007-01-01T00:00:00Z

Exploring Sexuality Education and the Burdened Teacher: A Participatory Approach in a Rural Primary School in Kenya Kiragu, Susan Wanjiru Twenty-five years since the onset of HIV/AIDS, young people aged 15–24 now make up half of new HIV infections. This paper advocates for comprehensive sexuality education as an effective panacea to reverse this, with teachers stepping up and embracing their role as sexuality educators. The exploration of this challenge is informed by a small-scale participatory study of teacher responses in a rural primary school in Nakuru district, Kenya. Dialogue was held with 18 teachers (11 females, seven males) on the challenges they faced in teaching sexuality education and teachers emerged as disorientated and embarrassed in conversations about sexuality issues with the pupils. Because sexuality education lacks a curriculum, teachers have found it challenging to integrate it into regular subjects; they also observed that parents seem resistant to addressing this at home, and thus this task falls to them. In the study, a process of self-awareness of the need for them to step up and teach sexuality education emerges among the participants. A key finding is that participatory and dialectical interventions that can prepare teachers and develop their confidence in teaching sexuality education are required. An article published in Pastoral Care in Education

Where is Education for All? Parents’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Schoolboys Becoming Men in Kirinyaga and Nairobi Counties, Kenya

2015-01-01T00:00:00Z

Where is Education for All? Parents’ and Teachers’ Perceptions of Schoolboys Becoming Men in Kirinyaga and Nairobi Counties, Kenya Chege, Fatuma; Likoye, Francis This paper focuses on findings based on analysis of perceptions of teachers and parents on how schoolboys in Kirinyaga and Nairobi counties constructed masculinities as they negotiated manhood in the midst of a clearly defined race towards attaining Education for All (EFA) goals in Kenya, by end of 2015, which is around the corner –metaphorically speaking. The paper is based on a FAWE1-sponsored study conducted in 2012 and 2013 titled “Girl-specific education focus and boys’ participation, performance and construction of masculinities in selected Kenyan schools”. The study posted major school-based findings that were shared through the CICE Research Paper Series No.5 whereby, boys emerged as relatively underperforming in the schooling project compared with their female peers. It was, however, not feasible to include findings of the interplay of parents (fathers and mothers) and teachers and the role and interpretations of constructions of masculinities in their respective school communities. This paper therefore undertakes to fill up this void by foregrounding findings in this regard, specifically the shaping of masculinities among schoolboys as men-in-the-making navigating the pathways to manhood. Conducted in an African Kenyan context, this study raises interest in the multifarious interpretations of the basic feminist standpoint theories that present men as a group that is socialized from childhood to benefit from structures of power – social, economic, political, or otherwise- that are designed to oppress women and girls as a gender category. The study design departed from the traditional Kenyan gender research that often foregrounds girls’ education independent of that of boys, and which consequently fails to problematise boys’ schooling and their construction of masculinities in a comparative manner. For many parents (mothers and fathers) and teachers, schooling in itself did not appear to offer realistic masculine modeling for boys compared with the girls and as such, the boys were disillusioned and distracted from schooling as they searched elsewhere for models of successful masculinities to emulate. An article published in Journal of International Cooperation in Education