INFLUENCE OF TEACHER ATTRITION ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN UASIN-GISHU COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

The education sector has experienced occasional confrontations on teacher retention in schools. In an effort to address the aspects, the present study sought to establish the effects of attrition of secondary school teachers on students’ academic performance in selected public secondary schools of Uasin- Gishu County, Kenya. The study was guided by the following research questions: What are the trends of teacher attrition in public secondary schools in Uasin-Gishu County? Which factors contribute to attrition of teachers in the County? How does teacher attrition influence students’ academic performance in the area under study? What challenges face public secondary schools in retention of teachers in Uasin-Gishu County? What could be implemented in public secondary schools to retain teachers in the profession? The study was anchored on the Equity Theory by Adam Smith. The study employed the convergent mixed methods design that employed the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches. A total of 656 respondents that included head teachers, teachers, students and Education officials were sampled using both purposive and simple random sampling techniques. The teachers and students were selected using stratified random sampling methods while principals and education officials were selected through purposive sampling methods. The study also used snowball sampling technique to sample teachers who had left the profession. Data collection instruments included teachers and students’ questionnaires, principals and education officials’ interview schedule and document analysis data were analysed both thematically and by use of inferential statistics. Independent t-test and Karl Pearson correlation was used to test hypothesis. There was a negative correlation between teacher attrition and students’ academic performance. Qualitative data were analysed and reported in narrative form. Findings showed the trend of teacher attrition in the county was on an upward movement in the past five years. The study revealed that most of the teachers affected had master’s degree and above and were mainly of male gender. The study further found out that attrition rate was higher in boys’ schools followed by girls and the least was in mixed day secondary schools. Secondly the study found out that the need for career progression, poor remuneration, and unfriendly working conditions were the major factors that caused attrition in public secondary schools. The results indicated that ethnicity and mismanagement of teachers were the major challenges that faced secondary schools. The study recommended the aligning of teachers’ salary with that of other civil servants, school administration need to be impartial in teacher management and the Teachers’ Service Commission should be considerate when posting teachers where there is a lot of hostility for aliens. These findings can be used by The Teachers’ Service Commission, Researchers on teacher attrition and the Ministry of Education, to develop appropriate policies on teacher retention and develop more in-service packages for teachers’ academic development in order to retain them in the profession.