Influence of Principals’ Professional Training on Creating Professional Learning Communities in Selected Kenyan Secondary Schools
Jeniffer Apondi Andedo
Educational Administration and Management, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kenya.
Jack Odongo Ajowi
School of Education, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kenya.
Peter J. O. Aloka
*
School of Education, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology, Kenya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
The present study investigated the influence of principals’ professional training on creating professional learning communities in Kenyan secondary schools. The study population comprised of 194 principals, 1526 teachers, 194 BOM Chairpersons, and 6 SCQASOs. The total population was 1920 respondents and informants. The study used both purposive and stratified random sampling procedures to obtain study participants of 20 principals, 153 teachers, 20 BOM Chairpersons and 6 SCQASOs. Questionnaires and interview schedule were used to collect data for the study. Reliability of questionnaires was ensured by Cronbach’s methods and alpha value was 0.790. The statistical tool SPSS Version 23 was used to analyze the quantitative data, while thematic analysis used to analyze qualitative data. The study findings indicated that there was statistically significant positive correlation between principals’ professional training and creation of professional learning communities (n=135; r= .479; p<.05). It’s recommended that Kenya Educational Management Institute (KEMI) should re-structure their training programmes to include creation of professional learning communities.
Keywords: Principals, professional training, creating professional learning communities, secondary schools, Kenya