School Management Practices and Its Influence on the Retention of Teachers in Public Primary Schools in Saku Sub- County, Marsabit County, Kenya

Halkano Michael Hargura & Pamela Ochieng
Mount Kenya University
Email: elaochieng@gmail.com

Abstract: School management dynamics play a major role in ensuring that teachers are recruited, retained, and given a conducive environment to perform. However, in Saku Sub-county, the retention of teachers has been an issue with many seeking to leave the teaching profession. This study therefore assesses school management practices and its influence on the retention of teachers in public primary schools. The objectives were to assess the influence of headteachers’ management practices, teachers’ workload, schools’ environment, and remuneration dynamics on retention of teachers. The study adopted a mixed methodology approach and thus applied concurrent triangulation research design. The target population comprised of all teachers and headteachers in public primary schools in Saku Sub-county and a sample size of 178 respondents. Purposive and random sampling was used to select the study subjects for school and respondents respectively. The study adopted questionnaires and interview schedules as instruments for data collection. Data was analyzed quantitatively using frequency tables and percentages using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 23). The study found out that despite improvement in one dynamic, teachers often sought to leave teaching. It was concluded that the main cause of low retention of teachers was lack of collaboration between headteachers and teachers. Some headteachers management practices discouraged teachers staying in the teaching profession. Many teachers were not well remunerated while others lived in deplorable conditions. The study recommends that headteachers collaborate with teachers and with the help of TSC officials to seek the best management practices fitting each school to raise the retention rate of teachers.