Psychosocial Support for Newly Recruited Teachers of English Language in Kenya

Abstract

Various forms of support frommore experienced teachers help Newly Recruited Teachers (NRTs) to quickly adjust to the expectations of the new job as well as the respective place of work.Today, support of NRTs is even more crucial considering that since 1998,the Teachers Service Commission (TSC)currently established under Article 273 (1) of the Constitution of Kenya (2012); the sole employer of teachers in Kenyaapplies a demand-driven-teacher recruitment formula. Teachers are recruited and posted subject to availability of vacancies in any part of the republic of Kenya. The posts are advertised and recruitment follows successful interview conducted in the schools with vacancies or of late in certain central venues that cater for particular sub counties.TheNRTs face a myriad of challenges given that many of them get employed in environments they are not familiar with and sometimes in counties that are far away from their counties of origin. Unfamiliar environments are bound to create heightened feelings in an individual. The NRTs are not an exemption to this. They obviously needpsychosocial support:-opportunity to have someone to talk to and need to feel comfortable in asking for advice and assistancesuch as helping them feel at ease, attention for stressrelief, and stimulating self-confidence.This paper seeks to report the findings of a study with regard to such support strategies that various school managements use to get the NRTs acclimatize to their new schools in particular and the teaching profession in general. It also makes recommendations for improvement of such support in pursuit of better teaching environments for quality education in Kenya.