Barriers To Effective Human Resource Management Faced By Public Primary School Headteachers: Mwea East Sub-County, Kirinyaga County- Kenya

ABSTRACT

Education is recognized as the most important form of human resource development. It refers to any act of physical experience that has formative effect of individual mind, character or physical ability. In this technical sense, education is the formal process by which society through schools, colleges, universities and other institutions deliberately transmit cultural heritage and accumulated knowledge, values and skills to the next generation. The purpose of this study was to establish barriers to effective human resource management by public primary school headteachers. The objectives of the study were to investigate the issues faced by the head teachers in relation to recruitment, induction, teacher development, motivation of teachers and other managerial challenges. It examined the effects of the challenges faced by the headteachers in relation to human resource management; and lastly, the study determined the coping strategies adopted by the headteachers to deal with the challenges they faced in managing human resources. The research was based on expectancy theory. In this theory, the headteachers are elaborative on what to expect when they use certain managerial styles. It was accompanied by a diagrammatic conceptual framework on the independent and dependent variables. The target population of the study was thirty-five (35) public primary school headteachers and two (2) TAC tutors in Mwea East District. The sample of the study was fifteen (15) head teachers and the two (2) TAC tutors. The sampling technique used was random sampling ensuring all participants in the population had an equal chance of being selected. The main research instruments were questionnaires for headteachers and an interview guide for the TAC tutors. The researcher acquired study permission from the relevant offices before collecting data. The research findings were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to describe quantitative data. For qualitative data, detailed explanation was used to summarize the information. It was analyzed systematically using the themes originated from the study objectives. Tables, graphs and charts were used to present the data, as it were analyzed statistically in frequencies and percentages. The study findings revealed that there were barriers to effective HRM by headteachers. These included low staff establishment represented by 73% of respondents agreed and 27% strongly agreed with the response, lack of relevant knowledge among the BoM members to recruit staff, represented by 80% of respondents strongly agreed whereas 20% agreed, and lack of enough fund for teacher motivation represented by 100% strongly agreed. The study recommended that the government through the TSC should publish a policy for employment of SMC staff through giving clear guidelines on employment issues. The study further recommended that headteachers should have regular consultative meetings with other staff so as to deal with issues affecting school as they emerge, SMC members should be trained by KEMI on issues pertaining to management and school governance and that another study should be carried out on barriers to effective HRM on curriculum and instruction.