Teacher Working Conditions and Job Commitment: Empirical Evidence from Public Primary Schools in Vihiga Sub County, Kenya

Gregory Kinyaga Kisamba, Dr. Jane Amunga and Dr. Risper Watindi
Department of Educational Management and Curriculum Studies,
Mount Kenya University, Kenya
Email: kinyagagregory@yahoo.com

Abstract: Job commitment is a very significant value for both the employer and employee since this has an impact to the organization’s characteristics. According to Vihiga Sub County Education office (Kenya), (2021) statistics showed that some teachers had left teaching to join other institutions. Thus, the aim of carrying out this research was to critically establish how motivational strategies influence the commitment of teachers in public primary schools in Vihiga Sub-County. The specific research question was, “What is the influence of working conditions on the commitment of teachers in public primary schools in the Sub-County of Vihiga?” This study adopted Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs theory coupled with a descriptive survey design and a target population of 818 teachers (inclusive of 67 head teachers), and 11 education officers. A sample of 36 schools was used to collect data using Observation schedule, a questionnaire and an interview guide. The study findings showed that many teachers in the government sponsored primary schools in Vihiga Sub County were not comfortable with the working conditions. This affected their commitment to their work leading the below average performance of their learners. The study concluded that working conditions influenced teacher commitment in the public primary schools in Vihiga Sub County. The study recommends that all the government sponsored primary schools should be provided with enough and quality school learning facilities such as equipment, clean facilities and maintenance which catalyze the attitudes and commitment of teachers.