Principal’s Motivational Strategies and their Influence on Teacher Morale in Secondary Schools in Makueni County Kenya

Abstract

Effective teacher motivation has long been one of the management most difficult and important undertaking. Previous studies have shown that teacher morale has direct relationship with school performance and therefore anything that improves or lowers teacher morale is of great concern to any serious stakeholder. The main concern of the study was to determine whether principal motivational strategies and teacher morale are significantly correlated. The objectives of the study were; to investigate principals commitment on teacher support and teachers feelings on that support accorded to them, to investigate the manner of communication by the principal and teachers feelings on communication attributes of the principal within the school, to examine the commitment of the principal in planning and communicating the school vision to all teachers and teachers satisfaction with the process of achieving the school vision, to investigate the process of decision making as initiated by the principal and teacher feelings on the process of decision making in the school. The study was guided by path goal theory and was undertaken in Makueni County. It involved 976 teachers, and 244 administrators (principals and deputies). The sample of the study comprised of 12 schools 24 administrators and 97teachers which was 10% of the population from each case. Data was collected using two questionnaires one for teachers and another for principals which had largely closed –ended questions with a few open ended questions. Data collected was analysed by use of descriptive statistics for quantitative data. Frequency, percentage tables and graphs were used to present the data. The statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) was used to aid in data analysis. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to determine the strength of the relationship between the study variables. The study established that motivational variables such as proper communication systems, continuous teacher support, participative decision making and well planned implementation of the school vision has an immense influence on promoting and sustaining teacher morale in the county. The study recommends that principals should embrace well thought motivational strategies that address teacher needs and has full support by all teachers. Enhancements of managerial skills in relation to handling emerging issues relating to teacher motivation should be priotised by all training institutions.