Thesis:

Integral leadership practices on provision of holistic training on student-teachers in selected public primary teachers training colleges in Eastern Region, Kenya

Leadership and training influence each other when they work together in a training institution. Integral leadership practices are limitedly demonstrated in the public Primary Teachers Training Colleges (PTTCs) and this has influenced provision of holistic training on student- teachers. The purpose of this study was to assess integral leadership practices on provision of holistic training on student-teachers in selected public PTTCs in Eastern Region, Kenya. The objectives were: To study leadership inclusive vision, examine leadership integrity, establish leadership innovativeness, determine leadership connectivity and assess leadership quality control on provision of holistic training. This study was guided by integral leadership theory and holistic education theory. ‘Integral leadership practices’ was the independent variable while holistic training stood as the dependent variable. This study adopted a mixed method and a concurrent triangulation design involving qualitative descriptive and quantitative survey designs. The target population of 2061 persons included 1850 student-teachers, 190 lecturers, 3 principals, 3 Board of Management (BOM) chairmen and 15 Special Curriculum Committee (SCC) members, who were deputy principals (3), deputy BOM chairmen (3), dean of curriculum (3), dean of students (3) and student leaders (3). Using stratified random sampling technique, a sample size of 633 was taken as 30% of student-teachers and lecturers, while principals, BOM chairmen and the special curriculum committee were taken as whole independent units. The instruments used for data collection were questionnaires, interview guide and focus group discussion. The questionnaires were subjected to a panel of experts and field test for validity and reliability. Cronbach Alpha test confirmed a reliability acceptance index of 0.863. For the purpose of credibility and dependability of the interview guide and focus group discussion, the researcher established a relationship of trust and adequate understanding of the colleges through member checks, cross-checking, consultation of appropriate documents and preliminary college visits. Data was analyzed using mixed analysis method. Descriptive statistics were analysed using measures of relative frequency distribution which included frequencies and percentages. The researcher used Chi-Square Test and established association between the independent variables and dependent variables, being aided by SPSS VERSION 21 for inferential statistics. Qualitative data was analyzed thematically and presented in text-form. Data was summarised in tables showing frequencies and percentages. This study indicated that leadership integrity practices were a challenge in the colleges’ management and this limited preparation and training of student-teachers holistically with the required skills and quality. The study revealed that principals in teacher training colleges lacked integral leadership style to support and implement holistic training. This study concluded that adoption and integration of integral leadership practices would provide holistic training on student-teachers in the public PTTCs. The researcher recommended that integral leadership practices and holistic training be adopted by the BOM and principals and be inculcated to the student-teachers. The study recommended that the Central Government through the Ministry of Education design a policy that incorporates integral leadership practices and holistic training on student-teachers in public PTTCs. Further studies be carried out to enhance the findings of this study.