Influence of boards of management governance practices on teachers’ job satisfaction in secondary schools in Lari, Kiambu county, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of the Boards of Managements’ Governance Practices on teachers’ job satisfaction in secondary schools in Lari Sub-County, Kiambu County. The study sought to determine the extent to which the Boards of Managements’ provision of autonomy to the teachers, involvement in decision making, provision of physical facilities and recognition of teachers’ effort influenced secondary school teachers’ job satisfaction. The target population consisted of all Boards of Management members in the forty secondary schools and all the teachers working in Lari Sub County secondary schools. Stratified sampling was used to sample 100 teachers. The study sampled 20 BOM members among the schools’ Board chairmen and Secretaries. The study used descriptive survey design whereby teachers responded to a questionnaire while the Board members responded to an interview guide. Data were analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and presentations made in frequency tables, pie charts and bar graphs. The study found that teachers were satisfied with the autonomy provided by the Board during classroom teaching, setting of subject targets and exams. However, teachers were dissatisfied with the autonomy given when setting student entry marks. On provision of physical facilities by the Board majority of teachers were satisfied with the staffrooms, furniture, teaching and learning resources, and classrooms. On housing, only a few teachers were housed in the area schools. Most of the teachers thus commute for long distances from outside the Sub-County. Majority of teachers were satisfied with their involvement by the BOMs when making decisions on infrastructure, setting the school target and determining class size. However teachers were not contented with their involvement in school budgeting and responsibility allocation. Concerning recognition of teachers by the BOMs, majority teachers were dissatisfied with the use of; recognition letters for work well done; with training opportunities provided by the BOMs; with provision of monetary incentives by the BOMs and out of school treats. The study concluded that the Boards of Management governance practices played a major role in teachers’ job satisfaction. The study also concluded that BOMs in Lari provided sufficient physical facilities to be used by the teachers but staff housing remain a challenge that continue to contribute to teachers’ job dissatisfaction. It is also evident that low levels of satisfaction result to high turnover rates which in turn results to increased workloads and stress levels for those who remain in the schools hence dissatisfaction and poor performance. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education through BOMs should start a housing scheme in the schools to ensure availability of adequate staff houses. The study also recommends that schools be managed as corporate organizations where good performance purely depends on every worker’s contribution. The Boards should perform their functions as stipulated by the Basic Education Act No. 14 of 2013 and reward teachers in order to motivate them to work hard in their subjects and thus post good results especially in the KCSE examinations.