Factors affecting career development of primary school teachers in Eldoret West District

Abstract

The research was conducted to identify factors hindering / facilitating the career development of primary school teachers in Eldoret West District. The background is on the need of the teachers to realize their contribution to their career development and that of their students. The statement of the problem is why many teachers stagnate and retire in the same entry grade. From this review it is apparent that for equivalent positions, there is a pay gap between the primary and secondary sectors. The objectives were to find out whether; personal factors, classroom environment, teaching team, job satisfaction, and finances affect career progression of the teachers. The hypotheses were that there were/were no factors that affected career development of primary school teachers. The theoretical framework was based on the super development concept theory by Donald Super. Data was collected by use of questionnaires and administered to schools in the district. Schools were selected in simple random sampling per zone. A total of 200 questionnaires were submitted to teachers, and head teachers to fill in. The questionnaires had a wide scope, exploring career path, job satisfaction, current position and aspirations, factors identified as affecting their career, experiences and views on school training policies and opinions of the respondents. The factors were tested whether they affected or not the career development of primary school teachers in the workplace. The analysis was drawn on the questionnaires equally spread among the district. The data was discussed, analysed and interpreted in tables and graphs and brief narration of the findings were made. The discussions of the findings and recommendations were drawn from the tables. The conclusions of the research study was drawn as per the hypotheses and objectives stated in the study.