ASSESSMENT OF FACTORS LEADING TO EARLY RETIREMENT OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN KAJIADO COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

There has been a noted trend of Kenyan Public Secondary school teachers opting out of teaching profession. This may affect quality of teaching, examination performance, as well as planning by the Ministry of Education and Teachers Service Commission to achieve their objectives. Therefore this study assessed factors leading to early retirement of teachers of public secondary school teachers in Kajiado County, Kenya. The study was guided by five research questions and Adams’ Equity theory of motivation. The study adopted descriptive survey research methodology. The target population comprised all teachers who worked in public secondary schools in Kajiado County, all the TSC staff and all teachers who retired early from Kajiado County. The sample was made up of 180 participants. Data was obtained by using questionnaires and interview guides. The instruments were pilot tested to improve on validity and reliability. Quantitative Data were coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 16. Qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. Findings of the study were that the number of teachers retiring early from their jobs was increasing; majority had a Masters degree and above, and were female teachers in the middle of their career. Factors that influenced early retirement of teachers included low salary, posting to remote hardship areas, stagnation in job groups, conflict between teachers and principals, joining their spouses, and affinity for further studies. Early retirement of teachers influenced teaching/learning by increasing teacher shortage, increasing teachers’ workload, affecting curriculum implementation, contributing to poor KCSE performance, and interfering with teacher balancing in schools. Teacher promotion policy discriminates against teachers who have attained Masters and PhD thereby influencing them to retire early. Strategies for teacher retention centered on dealing with hardship conditions, aligning teacher salaries with those of civil servants, encouraging professionalism among school administrators and promoting teachers regularly.