Influence of Supervision as a Motivation Factor on Stress Levels of Teachers in Public Primary Schools in Kajiado Central Sub-County, Kenya

Abstract

Educationists and other stakeholders have recognized teachers' psychological wellbeing as a key aspect in teacher motivation. It has been used to judge the ability of teachers and thus the main determinant of teachers' performance and employment. Motivation hence has played an important role in the management of schools, because it may have a positive relationship with the stress levels of the teachers. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of the teachers' supervision as a motivation factor on stress levels among public primary school teachers in Kajiado Central Sub-County. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The target population comprised of 826 public primary school teachers, and 80 deputy head teachers and 80 head teachers from the 96 public primary schools from Kajiado Central Sub-County. However, 16 of the public primary schools were located in areas with intercommunity clashes and poor road transport and therefore the entire target population was not practically accessible. The accessible population comprised of 697 public primary school teachers, 80 deputy head teachers and 80 head teachers from the 80 public primary schools. Sampling of the public primary schools and teachers was done using stratified random sampling while the sampling for head teachers and the deputy head teachers was done using purposive sampling. The total study sample size was 256 respondents, which comprises of 248 teachers and eight head teachers from eight public primary schools. Data was collected through questionnaires for teachers and interviews scheduled for head teachers. Data was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. The study found that teachers' supervision significantly influenced the teachers stress levels in Kajiado Central Sub County. The findings may inform the Teachers Service Commission and the government policy makers on what needs to be changed or enhanced to promote motivational factors and reduce job stress among the primary school teachers.