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Factors influencing teamwork effectiveness of public primary school teachers in enhancing KCPE performance in Turkana Central district, Turkana county.
No full textABSTRACT
In Schools, people must work closely together, perform different roles and work effectively to ensure school objectives are achieved. It should be the desire of every head teacher to have a motivated and a cohesive team of teachers who can work together productively. The purpose of the study was to investigate factors influencing teamwork effectiveness of public primary school teachers in enhancing KCPE performance in Turkana Central district, Turkana County . The target population included teachers, deputy head teachers and head teachers in public schools in the four zones in Turkana Central district. The total population of teachers is three hundred and ninety six in Turkana central district. Simple random sampling procedure was used to pick one hundred and eighteen teachers representative of the whole population from which generalizations was done without biasness. This formed 3 0%
. of the total population .. The method of collecting primary data was done through the use of well Structured and unstructured questionnaires, directed towards respondents to give appropriate answers. Statistical methods of data analysis were employed. Secondary data was collected from the District Education Office indicating the number of schools, staff establishment record for easy sampling of the target population, and standard eight performances in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education results analysis of schools in the district for the last four years. Data was analyzed with the aid of statistical package for social science (SPSS) computer Program. The researcher hopes to explore ways of establishing and sustaining high performing teams in public schools in Turkana Central district, Turkana County. The findings of the study showed head teachers understand the importance of motivation team members as implied from the research findings that all head teachers agreed that they reward and recognize team members. The research findings showed that team members are given enough time to prepare and are assigned a task he/she can perform best. Clear communication is predominant in the institutions under investigation. The researcher concludes that majority of the school administrators have sufficient work experience to deal with pupils and teachers issues. Further, school administrator's base their selection of team members on interest and expertise of the tasks. Few of the head teachers use qualification as the basis for assigning duties and responsibilities to teachers. It was clear that head teachers understood the importance of motivating team members as implied from the research findings. The study recommends that school administers should encourage teamwork to enhance learning of new aspects from each other and realize that staff are not all motivated in the same way
The role of counseling in addressing work stress among chiefs in Tigania East District, Meru county, Kenya.
No full textChiefs coordinate and implement government policies in their respective areas of jurisdiction. They maintain law and order, coordinate disaster management responses, act as intelligent agencies and coordinate conflict resolution and peace building activities for the government. As a result of this myriad of responsibility the chiefs are faced with the danger of getting work stress that if not well managed may affect their performance. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of counseling in addressing work stress among chiefs in Tigania East District, Kenya. The personal emotive behavioral theory, Conducive production model and person environment fit theory formed the theoretical framework in understanding the causes of work stress and the role of counseling as a suitable remedy. The population of the study was 72 chiefs and Assistant Chiefs working in Tigania East District. Since the population was small the entire population was used for the study. Structured questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics were used as methods of analysis. The analyzed data was presented in percentages, means, frequency tables and graphs. The respondents strongly indicated that counseling can played a major role in addressing work stress among chiefs and assistants chiefs. Majority strongly believed that counseling had a major role in addressing work stress The study findings may be useful to the office of the president, ministry of state for provincial administration and internal security in developing policies and possible employee assistance programs (EAP) on the prevention or management of stress among chiefs. It is recommended that the government needs to employee and make available competent counselors for both preventive and curative interventions to chiefs and assistant chiefs. All legal and ethical issues were strictly observed and adhered to during the entire period of study
Coping strategies for widows : A case of Meru South District of Tharaka-Nithi county
No full textThe purpose of the study was to high-light the success story cases of widows who had successfully coped with widowhood, explore the secret behind their success and use this information to empower other widows who are living with widowhood. The study examined the adjustment strategies employed by widows in adjusting to widowhood. The significance of the study was to serve as an encouragement to widows to cope with widowhood and supply widows with useful information on adjustment strategies and on how to cope with widowhood and be respected in the society as heads of their families and also provide them with useful and relevant accounts of how other widows were able to cope with widowhood as well as providing valuable source of information to scholars and professional counselors in the field of counseling on how to help widows acquire valuable adjustment strategies on how to cope with widowhood. The study used qualitative design and was carried out among 46 widows who are struggling to cope with widowhood and who were purposely selected through purposeful sampling. The data was collected using self-scoring questionnaire for widows. Validity of instruments was achieved using the modified questionnaire; piloting and consulting supervisors who ensured that the questionnaire captured the objectives of the study. The data was analyzed using frequency percentages and was presented using tables and pie charts. The study established that the development of adjustment ( coping) strategies was affected by the social-economic status of the widow, age, widows religious group and the degree of commitment to a particular religion, closeness to her children, relatives, friends, community and widows support groups among other factors. The study recommended a countywide study on the coping strategies of widowhood be carried out, involving such communities as pastoralists' communities, slums and urban population among others, that a legistration be put in place to protect the rights of widows and an office be established to deal with the initial trauma, and protect widows from various forms of abuse and exploitation
An assessment on the effectiveness of corporate governance on the detection of fraud within Kenyan Universities
No full textCorporate governance is the system by which organizations are directed and controlled. Empirical evidence suggests that corporate governance has a direct and direct effect on fraudulent activities within institutions. It's for this reason that this study sought to establish the effectiveness of corporate governance on the detection of accounting fraud within Kenyan universities. The objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the effectiveness of internal controls adopted by Kenya Universities to detect accounting fraud; (2) to examine the effectiveness of the monitoring activities adopted by the Kenyan Universities to detect accounting fraud; (3) to examine the effectiveness of the policies and procedure adopted by Kenyan universities to detect accounting fraud; (4) to identify. Other risk assessment measures that can be adopted by Kenyan Universities to enhance the detection accounting fraud. The findings from the study were to help interested investors and institutions to embrace corporate governance. In addition, the study was to bridge the gap in the existing body of knowledge since not much had been done in this area. The study employed descriptive research design and further used qualitative and quantitative research approaches. The target population for the study was 48 individuals. The 48 individuals were financial controllers, chief accountants, and internal auditors within the 1 ~ universities located within Nairobi. The study did a census on the target population of the study. Questionnaires were used as the instrument for data collection. Data analysis was done quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings of the study revealed that the universities located within Nairobi employed the following measures with in an effort to detect accounting fraud: internal controls, monitoring activities, policies and procedures, and risk assessment measures. The findings further revealed that the four measures were effective in the detection of accounting fraud. The study recommended that other measures have to be developed to enhance the detection of accounting fraud within Kenyan Universities
Harambee as an alternative source of financing secondary education in Igembe South district, Kenya.
No full textABSTRACT
Harambee is a community initiative to contribute money through a call over gathering of well wishers to support the bright needy students to continue education and also support infrastructure development in school. The study has tried to reveal the gap between the intended purpose of the Harambee and the actual allocation of released funds to real purpose. The other purpose of this study was to investigate the 'Harambee' as an alternative source of financing secondary education .The study has attempted to determine the effect of Harambee on accessibility to secondary education in public secondary schools in Igembe South District, it has established the effect of Harambee on infrastructure development, it has explored other sources of funds for financing secondary education and also has determined the main of education development targeted by Harambee. The study was limited to Harambee as of private funds for financing education and also limited to Igembe South district only. This study was based on the theory by Musgrave and Musgrave (1985) that financing of • education in general is by two main forces, that is public and private sources. This _ employed descriptive survey design since the. study was• geared towards determining - extent to which institutional growth is influenced by Harambee and how the trend of disbursement affects public secondary schools' programs. The study was also meant to establish whether the harambee funds were used for the intended purposes. The study drew a le of 30 percent of the population in each category of the population. The used a total sample size of 36 respondents, these categories included; the principals who are school managers, the parent teacher association (PTA) chairpersons and the chairpersons. of board of management (BOM) in each secondary school. The study utilized both primary and secondary data. Primary data was collected from Head teachers through questionnaire comprising• of closed and• open ended questions. • In addition interview schedules• were used for Secondary data on enrolment of students per school was collected from school admission records and class registers. To establish the validity of the research instrument the research opinions of experts in the field of study especially the researcher's supervisor and lecturers at Kenya Methodist University-Department of Education. Reliability of the research instrument was enhanced through a pilot study that was done on one of the school. ‘Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the data collected using SPSS version 17.0 software. This study revealed that harambee has played a significant role in both increasing education accessibility and infrastructure development in the district. It was recommended that all secondary schools in Kenya to embrace harambee as financing mode incorporating all stake holders as well as identify different sources of funds. Schools to• embrace investment proach by engaging in income generating projects to earn revenue for development. development
Factors influencing access to employment by Ex-Offenders
No full textPrevious studies have found that several factors influence the ability of ex-offenders in accessing employment after release. The purpose of the study was to investigate these factors and determine the degree to which they do influence access to employment of ex-offenders. The study targeted prisoners who have been released from the Meru GK Prison during the last five years totaling to 4200. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling was used to select a sample of respondents. A list consisting of individuals who had been released from prisons was obtained from Meru GK Prison. Using the list, and with the help of three research assistant, the ex-prisoners were traced using the Warrant contact information. Once traced, the respondents were explained the purpose of the study, and requested to complete a structured questionnaire and 58 respondents were successfully traced and agreed to participate, of these 6 questionnaires were spoilt. The chi-Square analysis was used to test the hypothesis, and from the analysis, the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between personal characteristics of ex-offenders and access of employment after prison is rejected. Also the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between Job Search of ex-offenders and access of employment after prison is rejected since the observed Chi-square (15.028) was greater that critical chi-square (9.49). The null hypothesis that there is no relationship between Legal Framework of ex-offenders and access of employment after prison was also accepted as the observed Chi¬square of 7.044 was greater than that critical chi-square of 12.53. Finally, the null hypothesis that there is no relationship between Nature of Crime of ex-offenders and access of employment after prison is rejected
Role of the head teacher on the motivation of teaching staff in public secondary schools in Imenti North district, Meru county, Kenya.
No full textABSTRACT
ith the increased levels of expectation and responsibilities in the world of teaching, it is essential for teaching staff to feel that they have the opportunity to develop so as to meet the new demands being made of them. Having a motivated team is easier for the head of the school to organize and co-ordinate the activities of the school in accordance with the education policies in the achievement of the defined objectives. In Kenya motivation of teachers by salary only is quite challenging for the government as it is difficult to compete with the private sector universities in compensation hence they must have to give attention to the non monetary factors through the head teachers such as recognition, feedback and opportunities for career development to retain their high quality. Thus, teachers were less motivated and thus not satisfied with their job. The purpose of the study was to establish the role of the head teacher in motivating individual teachers in accomplishment of the assigned duties, their performance in carrying out responsibilities, innovation on emerging issues and the degree of consultation with the head of the school. A descriptive research design was used in conducting the study. The target population was 600 respondents comprising of 40 principals and 560 teachers in 40 public secondary schools in Imenti North District. Systematic sampling technique was used to select 20% of the population of 8 principals and 112 teachers. A questionnaire was used for data collection. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and then presented in tables and graphs. The study found that head teachers used democratic leadership styles which in tarn influenced teachers' motivation positively. The study also deduced that teachers were rarely allowed to participate in major decision making and rarely felt as part of leadership. The teachers' personal needs were not well catered for like day offs and the working environment was not conducive. The study concludes that high workload, large number of students in classes and burden of non teaching activities are the problems in creating a good job design for teachers in public secondary institutions. Lack of feedback further leads to increased frustration in teachers and this disturbance impacts negatively on teachers' performance. The study recommends school Principals should create and
communicate vision for the school, possess superior knowledge about curriculum development and teacher instructional effectiveness. Head teachers need to know about curriculum evaluation and improvement and ensure that the curriculum is well delivered to meet the learners' needs. The study recommends head teachers to clearly state what
e expect from teachers. The findings of this study would be important to all stakeholders e.g. the Ministry of Education, the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), School Administrators and Quality Assurance and Standards Officers (QASOs) as they can be used to make policies on deployment, promotion, remuneration, and general work
additions that would improve motivation of teachers
Effectiveness of guidance and counseling in discipline management in public primary schools; a case of Kangeta zone, Meru county, Kenya.
No full textThe government of Kenya in the year 2001 outlawed corporal punishment as a means of instilling discipline in schools. Guidance and counseling was introduced as the best alternative in the schools by the Ministry of Education. (Republic of Kenya 2001) The teachers counselor are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that indiscipline cases are curbed through carrying out guidance and counseling. There has been increase in the number of indiscipline cases in primary schools, regardless of the allowed program of guidance and counseling. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of guidance and counseling services in management of discipline in public primary schools in Kangeta zone, Meru County. The study was based on the behavior theory as viewed by Carl Rogers. The reseacher used a descriptive survey design because it gives the researcher a chance to create rapport with the respondents as the researcher carries out the study. The technique used in collecting and analyzing data was quantitative .Data was presented in tables and figures for clarity. All the respondents namely; the head teachers, teacher counselors and pupils filled in questionnaires. The population of the study comprised all public primary school teacher counselors, head teachers and pupils in Kangeta zone. The target population was 19822 pupils of Kangeta Zone, 26 head teachers and 26 teacher counselors. 800 pupils from standard six were selected purposefully for the study The sample size of the standard six pupils was 20% of the pupils' population which gave a total of 160 pupils. Random sampling was used to select 15 schools to represent all. The instrument used was pilot tested at Maua Education zone to ascertain their reliability and validity. A test-retest technique was used to measure reliability. Data was also analyzed using descriptive statistics which include percentages, mean and frequencies. The findings show that guidance and counseling has not been effectively used in promoting pupils discipline in primary schools. This is due to various discipline cases, physical punishment as a disciplinary method and lack of support of guidance and counseling teachers by the school administration and school board of management. The study established recommendations to the Ministry of Education and the Schools to provide a policy document in guidance and counseling and organize in-service courses to teachers on guidance and counseling. The schools are to provide facilities like counseling offices and facilitate the implementation of decisions made during the counseling sections. It is hoped that the findings of the study will assist the policy makers, institutional managers, parents, NGOs and other interested parties that they will use the results from the proposed study in order to make guidance and counseling a success
Factors that influence discipline among the students in Imenti North District Secondary schools - Meru county.
No full textOne of the goals of education is to mould good citizens. This molding is done in schools where everybody's effort is directed. One of the subjects taught to prepare students to be responsible citizens is Christian Religious Education. One of the specific objectives of CRE is to make learners God fearing and well behaved people. A lot of guidance and counseling is done in schools nowadays to ensure that students behave well. Despite those efforts teachers, administrators, and parents are all complaining about the discipline • of the young people in secondary schools. The purpose of this study was therefore to establish the factors that influence the state of discipline among the youth in North lmenti District Secondary Schools. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Questionnaires were used to collect primary data from principals, teachers, and students .Prior to the administration the questionnaire was pilot tested to facilitate validation and assessment of reliability. The district has a total of 43 secondary schools with a student population of 10,663.Twenty two schools were randomly sampled .The sampled schools had 5,660 students and 600 teachers. The actual sample which was randomly selected from the population was 335 subjects comprising of 22 principals, 30 teachers and 283 students. The data was analyzed manually and then converted into frequency distribution tables and percentages. Results obtained were presented using graphs and frequency tables, in addition to narratives. The study concluded that parenting was factor number one in influencing discipline of students. The other factors included, drug and substance abuse, school administration, peer influence, curriculum demands and examinations. Christian Religious Education is also a factor that influences discipline through teaching of moral values. Those who apply the learnt values to their daily living are said to be well disciplined. The study therefore, recommends that parents should play their role properly, by being good role models in all aspects. This would ensure disciplined students in schools. It is hoped that the results will enable the stake holders in education, who include Ministry of Education, and teachers to seriously address the issue of moldings discipline among students
Effects of corporate social responsibility on competitive advantage of commercial banks
No full textIn order to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of activities, reliability of information and compliance with applicable laws, banks need to have adequate corporate social responsibility. Drastic and fundamental changes increasingly occur in the environment in which organizations operate. An obvious manifestation of the responses towards this turbulent change in the society and the environment is due to the introduction of corporate social responsibility. Corporate Social Responsibility is a process that is designed to help an organization achieve its goals and objectives. The purpose of this study was to establish the effectiveness of corporate social responsibility on competitive advantage, among the commercial banks in Meru, a survey of Equity bank branches in Meru municipality. The study responded to the effects of environmental support on competitive advantage, the effect of employee support on competitive advantage and finally the effect of society support on competitive advantage. Target population was nine bank managers (9) and one hundred sixty five (165) bank employees. Simple random sampling was used to select the three bank managers and sixty five bank employees to participate in the study. The study utilized descriptive design. The procedure for carrying out the study involved the use of questionnaires addressed to the managers and other bank employees. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and means. Results were presented using frequency tables and bar-graphs. The study endeavored to help the bank to appreciate, understand and improve more on the usefulness of having and utilizing effective corporate social responsibility. This study is necessary in the bank where bank management would be in a position to assess the corporate social responsibility that has been put into practice. Through corporate social responsibility, the bank is able to improve its competitive advantage by showing social responsibility to employees, society and caring for the environment in which they operate. Sound corporate social responsibility practices are essential to the prudent operation of banks and hence promoting competitive advantage in the banking industry. In this study it was found that the concept of competitive advantage has received considerable treatment in the banks. It has undergone appreciable growth in popularity among both academics and practitioner as firms have been forced to respond to global competition and economic recession by continually seeking cost savings and greater efficiency in order to attain an attractive relative position in relation to its world's best rivals