The effectiveness of Kenya Education Staff Institute in-service training for heads of Departments of secondary schools in Kiambu East District

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of KESI in-service training for HODs of secondary schools. The study was conducted in Kiambu East District of Central province, Kenya. The objectives of the study were to establish the views of principals and HODs regarding training of HODs by KESI, teachers' perceptions regarding effectiveness of KESI trained HODs and determine ways in which HOD training by KESI could be improved. The study targeted HODs who have trained with KESI and those who have not had any training with KESI. The study adopted descriptive survey design. Stratified random sampling was used to select 10 schools on the basis of category (National, Provincial and District). From the target population of 59 public schools in the district, 10 schools were selected for the study which constituted 17% of the target population. Purposive sampling method was used to select 10 principals, 20 trained HODs, 20 untrained HODs and 80 teachers to participate in the study. One school not included in the study sample was selected for piloting. Data were collected by use of questionnaire formulated for each category of the respondents. The collected data were analyzed by use of statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) computer programme. The findings revealed that all the principals and most HODs found KESI in-service courses useful and relevant. However, some HODs were found not to be using knowledge and skills gained in their day to day operations. Most HODs in both categories were found to be experiencing difficulties applying knowledge and skills related to their jobs. Many teachers felt that HODs were not performing as per the standards set by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC). The conclusion was that training by KESI was very relevant and useful, but the trainees had not fully grasped the concepts taught during the training, because there were still experiencing challenges as departmental heads. The recommendations made were that KESI training should be revamped and made more inclusive for it to be effective. KESI should come up with a method of assessing the impact of the training offered to HODs of secondary schools as a strategy to improve their performance. The government should develop a policy to that end in order to improve the education standards in the country. This would enable KESI to assist the HODs who still experience difficulties in application of skills and knowledge learnt during the training. The government should develop a policy that is geared towards improving in-service training to raise the education standards in the country.