EFFECT OF EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES ON TEACHERS’ PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS NAKURU WEST SUB-COUNTY, KENYA

Abstract

According to the Nakuru County Director of Education Office, the performance of public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County is still below average compared to other sub-counties. To address this problem, the study sought to establish the effect of employee management practices on teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County, Kenya. The specific objectives of the study were to assess the effects of employee target setting, employee performance monitoring, employee compensation, and employee work planning on teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County. The study was anchored in goal-setting theory, expectancy theory, Herzberg’s two-factor theory, and the control theory of performance management. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The unit of analysis was 7 public secondary teachers in Nakuru West Sub-County. The unit of observation was 271 TSC teachers and 4 TSC officers at the Sub-County Office. I used the census technique to incorporate all 4 officers. For the teachers, the study adopted Nassiuma's formula to calculate a sample size of 73 respondents. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used in the analysis. Descriptive statistics included percentages, frequencies, means, and standard deviations; inferential statistics involved using correlation and regression analyses to determine relationships between variables. The study's findings were presented in tables. The findings revealed a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between employee target setting and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County (r = 0.899, p = 0.000). Furthermore, the findings indicated a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between employee performance monitoring and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County (r = 0.918, p = 0.000). In addition, the study revealed a very strong, statistically significant, and positive relationship between employee compensation and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County (r = 0.974, p = 0.000). Finally, the findings indicated a strong, positive, and statistically significant relationship between employee work planning and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County (r = 0.898, p = 0.000). Based on the findings, the study concluded that employee target setting, employee performance monitoring, employee compensation, and employee work planning have a statistically significant and positive effect on teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Nakuru West Sub-County. Based on the conclusion, the study recommends that school principals and Boards of Management develop and implement a structured performance-target-setting framework for teachers. In addition, the study suggested that the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), in collaboration with school principals, establish a continuous performance monitoring system that incorporates regular appraisals, constructive feedback, and mentoring.