School administrative job related factors influencing commitment to teaching among primary school teachers in Kenya

Abstract

Teaching as a career has been viewed by students who aspire to join colleges and even teachers in the field as a peripheral profession. For this reason, there is need to understand and to discover the nature and even possible sources of commitment. The purpose of the study was to investigate the Job factors which create positive attitudes towards the job when they are provided and Job factors which create negative attitudes towards the job when they are not provided. The design for the study was descriptive and expost facto. The study was anchored on Eli Ginzberg’s theory on occupational decision-making and commitment. The population of the study was primary school teachers. Thirty schools were randomly selected from three provinces. Three hundred and seventy two teachers responded to research instrument. Data analysis was done through descriptive statistics and inferential statistics namely Chi-square statistics. The study revealed that poor working conditions and terms of service were described as depressing the public image of the teacher and to relegate the profession to a lower status. Therefore, it is imperative for Educational planners to encourage strong parental and community support for the schools. Schools should be well equipped and sufficient classrooms provided. Further, the study established that: a large proportion of the teachers in the sample would continue being committed to teaching because of three major job factors ‘Lack of alternatives’; chance to continue learning and job being close to home. Hence, teachers should not be allowed to stagnate or begin to look elsewhere for greener pastures but could be encouraged to develop within the profession.