SUPERVISORY ROLES OF PRINCIPALS AND EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NAIROBI COUNTY

Abstract

This study sought to establish the influence of supervisory roles of principals on effective implementation of Life Skills Education in public secondary schools in Nairobi County. The study investigated the following: supervisory activities undertaken by principals during the teaching and learning of Life Skills Education; types of instructional materials principals provide to teachers; how principals facilitated teachers with Life Skills Education professional development; challenges faced by principals and possible solutions to the challenges in the implementation of Life Skills Education. The study applied transformational leadership theory which is grounded on moral foundations and role modeling to inspire followers to change their perception and attitude towards achieving the set goals for greater productivity. The study adopted convergent mixed research design, specifically descriptive survey and phenomenology. The target population comprised of 77 principals, 2,451 teachers and 37,258 students from 77 secondary schools in Nairobi County. Stratified random sampling was used to select, 101 teachers of Life Skills Education and 311 students, while 27 principals were selected using purposive sampling. A total of 439 participants were involved in the study. Data were collected through questionnaires, interview guide and document analysis guide. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, tables and charts with the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 24, while Qualitative data were summarized into themes and presented in narrative form and direct quotes. The results of the study revealed that Life Skill Education in public secondary schools of Nairobi County was not implemented fully as expected. In the majority of schools, Life Skill Education was not being taught and principals rarely supervised or observed classroom teaching and learning. It was also found out that the principals rarely organized staff development programmes on Life Skill Education. In addition Life Skill Education materials were either inadequate or completely lacking. Challenges faced in the implementation of Life Skill Education included the non-examinable status of the subject. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education should ensure; full implementation of Life Skills Education through: inspection by Quality Assurance Officers to ensure principals carry out classroom supervision; organize for sensitization, training workshops for principals and teachers to enhance their supervisory skills and teaching competencies respectively; Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development should review Life Skill Education curriculum and support materials to incorporate desired psychosocial emerging issues such as radicalization, drug and substance abuse among others and that the Ministry of Education should make Life Skill Education examinable to address the challenges of non-examinable status for effective implementation.