Factors influencing principals’ instructional Supervision practices in community initiated Secondary schools in Mwingi Central district, Kenya

Abstract

The study assessed the institutional and individual factor influencing principals instructional supervision practices in community initiated secondary schools in Mwingi Central District Kenya. It sought to establish the influence of principals’ exposure to pre-service, in-service training, advice from the Ministry of Education quality and standards assurance officers, on influences the principal’s instructional supervision practices ,to analyse the influence of principals’ teaching load on their instructional supervision practices in community initiated secondary school in Mwingi Central District. This study may help abate the challenges faced by principals in their instructional supervision practices. Principals may gain knowledge, facts and strategies that are required for effective and efficient instructional supervision practices. The research design used in the study was descriptive survey design. The sample consisted of 30 principals and 152 teachers. The respondents and the researcher used questionnaires for class teachers and interview schedule for principal. The sampling unit was Mwingi District to select the teachers’ Krejcie and Morgan table was used and all the 30 principal we sampled. The data was analyzed using statistical packages for social sciences. The study findings were that principals’ pre-service trainings, inservice training, advice from ministry of education quality and standard officers and principals’ teaching load influence the principal instructional supervision The research made recommendation; that principals’ needs preservices training, advice from Quality Assurance and Standard Officer and reduce work load in order to improve the instructional supervision .As far as the influence of principals’ exposure to pre-service on instructional supervision practices in community initiated secondary schools in Mwingi Central District. Most of the principal had attained pre-service training On interviewing school principals on how they have been trained to carry out instruction supervision practices the study interprets that they were trained during the in-serving training programmes through KEMI and other principals’ conferences e.g. the annual conferences for principals where they learn experiences from each other. As far as the advice from the Ministry of Education Quality Assurance and Standards Officers influence the principal’s instructional supervision practices in community initiated secondary schools in Mwingi Central District. The study interprets that they do not receive much support from Quality Assurance and Standards officers from the Ministry of Education officials on principals’ instructional supervision practices. The study further sought to determine the influence of teaching load on principals instructional supervision practices. The study interprets that their principals teach some lessons in their schools. This can be interpreted to mean that in order for the principals to carry on instructional supervision practices effectively, they should also show example by allocating themselves lessons to teach and that this teaching work load influences their supervision practice

roles as the little time they have for supervision roles is normally spent in class teaching.