Influence of Competence on Performance of Teachers in Public Secondary Schools in Kisii County-Kenya

Abstract

Competence is a critical aspect of employee performance; however, there is a dearth of literature on the influence of competence on teacher performance especially in public secondary schools in Kisii County. The purpose of this study was to assess influence of competence on teacher performance. Three null hypotheses were tested guided by Vroom’s expectancy theory. The study adopted sequential explanatory mixed methods research design. The population constituted of 3,426 teachers from whom a sample of 345 teachers was determined using Slovene’s formula. Questionnaires for teachers were used in phase one whose validity was ascertained by two experts in research while reliability as per the Cronbach Alpha method was .779. Descriptive and inferential statistics generated in phase one were analyzed according to the research objectives. In the second phase, 11 teachers were purposively selected and interviewed. Qualitative information obtained was analyzed thematically and presented by direct narration. Findings of phase one were analyzed using the Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient method and yielded r (30) = -.178, p>.05 (teacher qualifications), r (30) = .200, p>.05 (professional development), and r (30) = .188, p>.05 (teacher experience) respectively. The regression model constructed to measure influence of competence on performance yielded Persons’ R=.335 while adjusted R-square was R² =.034 suggesting that competence explained 3.4% of teacher performance. Consequently, qualitative findings showed that the existing performance appraisal system was mute on other teacher competence variables except for professional development. In view of these findings, the three null hypotheses were upheld leading to the conclusion that teacher competence had minimal influence on performance because of gaps in the appraisal and professional development processes. The study recommends that Teachers Service Commission should reengineer the appraisal process to focus on all teacher competence variables including qualifications, professional development and experience. Similarly, there is need to develop a professional development programme for teachers. Finally, it is recommended that further research needs to be undertaken to develop new models for performance management and professional development for teachers. Key Words: teacher competence, development, experience, performance, qualifications DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-3-19 Publication date: January 31st 2020