Perceived Factors Influencing Teachers Resistance to Implementation of Performance Contracting in Public Secondary Schools in Ndeiya Division, Limuru District, Kenya

Abstract

The Kenyan government introduced PCs in 2003. The general perception by that time was that the performance of the public sector in general and government agencies in particular had consistently fallen below expectations. The PCs were therefore introduced to try and improve the situation. The teachers in public school have however strongly resisted the PC. Despite this acknowledgement little research has been done to determine the factors that have influenced public secondary schools teachers to resist the implementation of performance contracts. The objective of the study was to establish the factors that have influenced secondary schools teachers in the Ndeiya Division of Limuru District into resisting the implementation of performance contracts. The study utilized the descriptive survey design. All the 150 teachers in public secondary schools in Ndeiya were targeted for study of those only 88 responded. The main method of data collection used was questionnaires. The study established that the following factors were indeed influencing teachers’ resistance to PC: communication barriers, performance measurement, leadership commitment to change, motivation, organizational structure, targets, reward and punishment, organizational culture and performance appraisal. The targets that were set to be met by teachers was ranked first among the nine factors and was followed by performance measure which was ranked second and communication barriers which was ranked third. The organization structure in the institutions was ranked the fourth among the factors while leadership commitment to change was ranked fifth. Organization culture was perceived as the least important factor influencing resistance with a ninth rank among the nine factors. Reward and punishment was ranked the second least important factor influencing resistance to PC. It was ranked eighth. Motivation was ranked sixth while appraisal and review was ranked seventh among the nine factors. The study concluded that the same factors that have been cited by other researchers as influencing resistance to change were indeed influencing the resistance to the implementation to PC in public secondary school in Ndeiya Division, Limuru District. These factors were communication barriers, lack of performance measurement, lack of leadership commitment to change, low motivation, poor organizational structure, poorly formulated targets, lack of proper reward, unsupportive organizational culture and inadequate performance appraisal. Based on the findings the following recommendations were made: communication barriers should be removed, proper performance measure should be established, head teachers should be encouraged to be committed to the implementation of PC, teachers should be properly motivated, organization structure should be redesigned to accommodate PC, the targets set to be met by teachers should be realistic and achievable, teachers should be properly rewarded for their efforts, a proper culture should be cultivated that favors the implementation of PC and the performance appraisal should be adequate.