Teacher Mentorship Practices and Pedagogical Competence in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya

THESIS TITLE: Teacher Mentorship Practices and Pedagogical Competence in Public Secondary Schools in Kenya.

STUDENT’S NAME: Kennedy Amadi

SUPERVISORS:

1. Manasi Echaune
2. Tecla Kirwa

ABSTRACT

Pedagogical strategies of the 21st century worldwide are ever-changing and need constant upgrading through teacher mentorship practices (TMP) that enhance their pedagogical competence. The study focused on the effect of teacher mentorship practices on pedagogical competence among teachers in public secondary schools in Kenya. The study objectives were; to examine the effect of teacher modeling on pedagogical competence, to establish the effect of teacher coaching on pedagogical competence, to determine the effect of teacher role-playing on pedagogical competence, to establish the effect of collaborative teaching on pedagogical competence and to determine the effect of consultative teaching on pedagogical competence in public secondary schools in Kenya. The study was informed by Social Cognitive Theory and Competence Motivation Theory. The study adopted a mixed methods research design with both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The target population was 105,234 teachers from 8,933 public secondary schools in 47 counties in Kenya. The sample size included 428 respondents. Simple random, stratified and purposive sampling procedures were used to recruit participants. Reliability was ensured by conducting a pilot study, Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to measure internal consistency of the research instruments and factor analysis was performed to test validity. The findings collectively underscore the integral role of teacher mentorship practices in promoting pedagogical competence and professional development within public secondary schools in Kenya. Teacher mentorship practices have a positive impact on various aspects of novice teachers’ pedagogical competence. Teacher modeling has statistically significant effect on pedagogical competence in public secondary schools in Kenya (t= 9.328 (B=0.000) p<.0001). Teacher coaching has statistically significant effect on pedagogical competence in public secondary schools in Kenya (t= 7.325 (B=0.000) p<.0001). Teacher role-playing has statistically significant effect on pedagogical competence in public secondary schools in Kenya (t= 6.235 p<.0001). Collaborative teaching has statistically significance effect on pedagogical competence in public secondary schools in Kenya (t= 6.235 p<.0001). Consultative teaching has statistically significant effect on pedagogical competence in public secondary schools in Kenya (t= .863 p<.0001). The study concludes that teacher mentorship practices are a critical component in enhancing novice teachers’ pedagogical competence in schools. Based on the results, the study recommends that, The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) should re-evaluate teacher mentorship policy and strategies while undertaking massive retooling of teachers in Kenya, by seeking to enhance their classroom practices and quality of education, particularly through integration of competence-based curriculum approaches.