Thesis:

Influence of headteacher’s instructional supervision on teachers’ job performance in public primary schools in Bureti sub-county, Kenya

Education is the primary agent of transformation towards sustainable individual, socio - economic growth and development of the society. It increases people’s capacities to transform their visions for the society into reality. The primary aim of any learning institution is to provide quality education to its learners by imparting knowledge, skills and attitudes. Instructional supervision is an educational process that ensures that educational goals of a learning institution are achieved through overseeing the implementation of learning programmes and empowering teachers to provide meaningful learning experiences to the learners. Institutional heads use instructional supervision to enhance teaching and learning by providing support to teachers and guidance after their initial teacher training. The goal of this study was to investigate the influence Headteachers’ Instructional Supervision Practices on teacher’s job performance in Bureti Sub-County. This study looked at how the instructional supervision of the Headteacher affects teacher performance in Kenya's public primary schools in Bureti Sub-County. Thus, the study specifically focused on the following four objectives: to examine the influence of headteachers’ lesson observation on teachers’ job performance in public primary schools; to assess the influence of headteacher’s provision of instructional resources on teachers’ job performance in public primary schools; to examine the influence of headteacher’s checking on teachers’ professional records on teachers’ job performance in public primary schools; and to determine the influence of head teacher's mentoring practices on teachers’ job performance in Bureti Sub-County. The research used a descriptive survey approach. There were 9 teachers per school, or 30% of the sample, distributed across the 10 schools. A total of 105 teachers which included 95 teachers and 10 head teachers were included in the sample. The data was amassed through questionnaires which was both semi structured and structured and was given to teachers, interview schedules were also used to gather data, from the headteachers. Frequencies and percentages were used to objectively examine the data that was obtained. Data was amassed via both qualitative as well as quantitative data collection techniques. For data to be trustworthy, an internal consistency was checked using a reliability test and a Cronbach's Alpha was to be accepted if the score was above 0.7 which reflect good quality of data. Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling suitability and Bartlett’s test of Sphericity were used to test the validity of the instruments used for data collection variables. Descriptive statistics were used in examination of statistics. Based on the responses, the participants strongly agreed that the head teacher permits and encourages them to pursue further education with a mean of 3.00 as well as a Standard Deviation of 1.360, other participants agreed that they are stimulated by supervision, not intimidated or fault-found with a mean of 3.41, SD=1.161). The study concluded that head teachers’ checking of teachers’ professional documents influenced pupils’ academic performance in public schools in Bureti Sub-County. Classroom observation creates harmony in working place, good relationship between head teacher and teachers which in turn leads to effective curriculum implementation. Head teachers need to observe their teachers formally on regular basis, make notes in the classroom and work with a clear commitment. The study recommends that head teachers should beep up monitoring of academic standard in the school to ensure that there is enhanced and quality of education offered in the schools. The supervisors should ensure that all the required professional documents are of high accurately done before commencement of instruction. The supervisor should also improve and give immediate and effective instructional feedback to the teachers.