An investigation of problems faced by secondary head teachers in the management of student personnel. The case of public secondary schools in Nairobi Province

Abstract

Head teachers play a key role in the achievement of education goals and objective in schools. In spite of their fundamental role, studies show that head teachers are pronsoted basically on account of efficiency and effectiveness in classroom teaching. There is no empirical evidence to show whether head teachers in Kenya faced any problem in performance of management of the student personnel task area arising from inadequate preparation hence the need for this study. The purpose of the study was to find out the problems faced by Secondary school head teachers in the management of the student personnel due to inadequate preparation. Literature was reviewed addressing the characteristics of effective managers, functions and significance of head teachers, also student personnel management and the need to train head teachers. The population considered was composed of a. total sample of 30 head teachers (14 female and 16 male) from 47 public secondary schools in Nairobi province were involved in the study. The researcher used stratified and simple random sampling in selecting schools which were used in the study. Data was collected through a questionnaire for all selected head teachers and interview schedules for education officials_ Data was analysed using frequencies, percentages and descriptive statistics. The findings of the study were used to generate conclusions and recommendations. After analyzing data it was found out that head teachers faced problems in management of the student personnel due to inadequate training. Secondly, it was found out that the preparation process as a class teacher, head of department and deputy head teacher did not equip the prospective head teachers with adequate management skills in student personnel task area. The major recommendations from the study were that die head teachers should be prepared through pre-service, in-service and on die job training in order to acquire managerial skills. The head teachers should perform their administrative tasks effectively and use guidance and counseling to reduce problems of management of the student personnel.