Impact of in-service training on head teachers' effectiveness in school development planning: A case of secondary schools in Gatundu District, Kiambu county, Kenya

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to find out the impact of in-service training of head teachers on their effectiveness in school development planning in Gatundu district, Kiambu County in Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to establish whether head teachers have received any in-service training related to school development planning; to find out the impact of such training on school development planning effectiveness; to identify challenges experienced by head teachers in school development planning; and to propose strategies that can be employed to improve on school development planning. The study employed a survey design targeting all the head teachers in all the 32 public secondary schools in Gatundu district. Twenty five schools were randomly selected to participate. Purposive sampling was used to select the 25 head teachers and 25 B.O.G members. A questionnaire designed for the head teachers, an interview schedule and an observation guide were used as the main tools for data collection. Before conducting the actual data collection procedure, a pilot study was conducted in two public schools in Gatundu distict to assist in improving the reliability and validity of the instruments. Data was subjected to both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Quantitative data was coded and entered into SPSS programme for analysis. Qualitative data was analyzed in narrative form. Data outcome was communicated through pie charts, bar graphs and frequency distribution tables. The study established that in-service training is important in school development planning. It was established that a good number of head teachers in Gatundu district had attended in-service training. It however emerged that the head teachers had not attended most of the courses offered in relation to school development planning. The study also established that the head teachers who attended in-service training found it beneficial to school development planning, particularly in the acquisition of knowledge on how to manage school issues and resources. The study further established that the biggest challenges met in school development planning were: drop in performance by students, understaffing and inadequacy of funds to develop projects in the school. The study recommends that the Kenyan government should ensure proper training needs assessments are carried out for all education managers, and that training programmes are based on the findings of such assessments; which would make the in-service training packages offered more relevant and acceptable to education managers; among other recommendations.