Influence of Head Teacher Management of Preschool Programs and Learning Achievement in Mombasa County, Kenya.

Abstract

Management in education is the planning, resourcing, controlling, organizing, leading and evaluating educational institutions and programs. Organizational management is a key factor that influences teaching and learning in schools Chitiavi, (2002). Among key variables that school management influences significantly is children’s ability to learn and perform well which is a key determinant of learning achievement. Therefore head teachers are expected to possess relevant managerial skills to run schools. Physical facilities and human resources are paramount to achieve high learning achievements in schools. The purpose of this study was to establish impact of pre-school management on children’s learning achievement in Mombasa County, Kenya. Samples surveyed were public, private, faith-based and community pre-schools. The assumption was that managers focussed on four levels of management namely; human resource management, curriculum management, financial management and physical resources management. The study adapted descriptive survey design where samples included 11 pre-schools, 11 head teaches and 11 teachers 11 Parents and 106 preschool children. Instruments of this study were questionnaires and interviews schedules. Findings revealed that majority of pre-school teachers are paid very low salary between KShs 5001 and 9001 per month which is below stipulated minimum wage. Despite low salary, 54.5% of teachers prepared for teaching adequately. About 45.5% of all pre-schools have adequate playing and instructional resources. Private schools had an overwhelming 80% of parents who showed direct interest in childrens’ learning. Public primary headteachers manage pre-schools attached to their schools and therefore have no direct impact on pre-school progress. The studyrecommends that public pre-schools should be managed separately from primary schools and the pre-school head teacher should possess essential managerial skills to improve school efficiency and learning achievement for children.