Strategic Human Resource Management Practices and Teacher Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

Thesis Title: Strategic Human Resource Management Practices and Teacher Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

Student Name: Khaemba Naswa Pamela

Supervisor:

1. Julius K. Maiyo
2. Muganda Munir Manini

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of strategic human resource management practices on teacher performance as mediated by teacher competence within the context of public secondary schools in Kenya. The study was guided by four objectives: To establish the relationship between in-service training practices and teacher performance, to determine the relationship between employee recognition practices and teacher performance, to ascertain the relationship between performance appraisal and teacher performance, and to determine the mediating effect of teacher competence on the relationship between strategic human resource management practices and teacher performance. The systems theory and the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity theory guided   the study. The study was anchored on pragmatic paradigm and adopted a mixed methods approach to address the research questions. The study targeted the County Director of Education, 185 Principals, 185 Heads of Departments in 185 public secondary schools.  A sample size was 126 Heads of Departments, 19 Principals and 1 County Director of Education. Questionnaires and interview schedules were used to collect primary data. A pilot study was conducted in 38 schools in Bungoma County. Qualitative data was analyzed by content analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation were used. The inferential statistics; Partial Least Square- Structural Equation Modeling statistical method based on Statistical Package for Social Science version 26 Analysis of Moment Structures software was used to test hypothesis. Correlation matrix tested the strength and direction of relationship between variables. Bootstrapping Maximum Likelihood Estimation method with number of 5000 bootstrap samples for percentile bootstrap confidence intervals and 95% level of confidence was used to test mediation effect. The findings of the study were presented in form of tables and pie charts. The study established a unit improvement in the in- service training is likely to result to an improvement in the teacher performance by 53.9% (b = 0.539, t= 1.918, p<0.05). A unit improvement in employee recognition is likely to result to an improvement in the teacher performance by 91.7% (b = 0.917, t= 3.371, p<0.05). A unit improvement in performance appraisal is likely to result to an improvement in the teacher performance by 44% (b = 0.440, t= 0.855, p<0.05). It was established that there is a statistically significant mediating effect of teacher competence in the relationship between strategic human resource management practices and teacher performance.  The study concluded teacher competence partially mediates the relationship between strategic human resource management practices and teacher performance. The study recommended the revamping of the present in-service teacher training and development process, to provide opportunity for teachers to continuously upscale teaching of Mathematics in secondary schools.