Career plateauing and its relationship with secondary school teachers’ pursuit of post-graduate studies in Nyandarua and Murang’a counties, Kenya

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.sidebar##

Published Oct 20, 2020
https://doi.org/10.47434/JEREDA/1.2.2020.153
Download
PDF
Statistic

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.
Vol. 1 No. 2 (2020)

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##

Mary Gaturu
National Office, Assurance and Standards, Ministry of Education, Kenya
Felicita Wanjiru Njuguna
Education Management Policy and Curriculum Studies, Kenyatta University, Kenya

Abstract

Introduction: Kenyan teachers showed signs of plateauing in employment. This research examined whether the career plateauing was related to of teachers seeking postgraduate studies.


Purpose: The study aimed at determining the types of career plateuing faced by public school teachers in secondary schools and to determine the relationship between career plateauing and the decisions of teachers to undertake different postgraduate courses.


Methodology: The research employed correlational study design. The target population was 5,022 teachers, and 304 from Nyandarua and 348 from Murang'a Counties. A representative sample was determined using the formula by Krejcie & Morgan, which is used to calculate a sample size of 652. A questionnaire was used for data collection, and its relevance was reinforced by the experience of supervisors and other lecturers at the university. Test-Retest methodology was used to determine the reliability of the questionnaire and found a correlation coefficient of 0.86.  The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson Product Moment correlation coefficient, variance analysis and chi-square were used at 0.05 level of confidence.


Results: Most teachers in the study did not experience career plateauing. There was a significant relationship between structural plateauing and nature of postgraduate course attended although there was no significant relationship across the entirety of the courses attended and overall career plateauing.


Recommendations: The Teachers Service Commission should create a consistent roadmap for teachers' career development to address career plateauing and, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, should improve teachers' skills upgrades through capacity-building initiatives that should form the basis for promotion.

##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.details##

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite
Gaturu, M. ., & Njuguna, F. W. . (2020). Career plateauing and its relationship with secondary school teachers’ pursuit of post-graduate studies in Nyandarua and Murang’a counties, Kenya. Journal of Educational Research in Developing Areas, 1(2), 153-166. https://doi.org/10.47434/JEREDA/1.2.2020.153
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

  1. Allen, T. D., Russell, J. E. A., Poteet, M. L., & Dobbins, G. H. (1999). Learning and development factors related to perceptions of job content and hierarchical plateauing. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 20 (7), 11-13.
  2. Amin, E. M. (2005). Social science research: Conception, methodology and analysis. Makerere University Printery.
  3. Atteberry, A., Loeb, S. & Wyckoff, J. (2013). Do first impressions matter? Improvement in early career teacher effectiveness, Working Paper No. 90. http://auth.calder.commonspotcloud.com/publications/upload/wp90.pdf
  4. Bardwick, J. M. (1986). The plateauing trap. American Management Association.
  5. Bluedorn, A. C. (1982). A unified model of turnover from organizations. Human Relations, 35 (2), 135-153.
  6. Burke R.J., Mikkelsen, A. (2006). Examining the career plateau among police officers. International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 29 (4), 691-703.
  7. Chao, G. T. (1990). Exploration of the conceptualization and measurement of career plateau: A comparative analysis. Journal of Management, 16 (1), 181-193.
  8. Choudhary, S. A., Ramzan, M. and Riaz, A. (2013). Strategies for career plateau: Empirical investigation of organizations in Pakistan. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research in Business, 4 (9), 712-726.
  9. Cohen, L., Manion, L. and Morrison, K. (2007). Research methods in education (6th ed.). Routledge/Falmer.
  10. Coolahan, J. (2013). Attracting, developing and retaining effective teachers: Country background report for Ireland. Department of Education and Science.
  11. Drudy, C. (2014). The in-service training of teachers in the twelve Member States of the European Community. Presses Interuniversitaires Europeenes.
  12. Dixon, H., & Ward, G. (2015). The value of masters’ study to teachers’ professional practice: Contradictory discourses within the workplace. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 40(2), 52-65.
  13. Edwards, R., Sieminski, S. & Zeldin, D. (eds) (2013) Adult learners, education and training: A reader. Routledge.
  14. Ference, T. P., Stoner, J. A. F., & Warren, E. K. (1977). Managing the career plateau. Academy of Management Review, 2 (4), 602-612.
  15. Harvey, P. (2005). Motivating factors influencing teachers’ engagement in postgraduate study: The results of a study of five schools. A paper presented at the Australian Association for Research in Education Conference 2005.
  16. Mellors-Bourne, R., Kemp, N., & Humfrey, C. (2013). The wider benefits of international higher education in the UK. BIS Research Paper 128. DBIS.
  17. Milliman, J. F. (1992). Causes, consequences, and moderating factors or career plateauing. University of Southern California.
  18. Katula, J. M., & Orodho, J. (2014). Teachers’ turnover: What are the explanatory variables in public secondary schools in Mbeere sub-county; Embu county, Kenya. Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19 (12), 11-24.
  19. Kellaghan, T. (2012). Preparing teachers for the 21st century: Report of the working group on primary pre-service teacher education. Stationery Office
  20. Kirby, S., & Grissmer, D. W. (1993). Teacher attrition: Theories, evidence, and suggested policy options. Santa Monica, RAND Corporation. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 364533).
  21. Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W. (1970): Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30, 607-610.
  22. Lee, P. C. B. (2003). Going beyond career plateau: Using professional plateau to account for work outcomes. Journal of Management Development, 22 (6), 538-551.
  23. Loberman, G., & Tziner, A. (2011). The influence of the parent-offspring relationship on young people's career preferences. Journal of work and Organizational Psychology, 28, 99-105.
  24. Lohr, S. L. (2010). Sampling: design and analysis (2nd edition). Brooks/Cole.
  25. Mungai, C. (2017): Africa’s teachers skip school due to poor pay? Yes or No! Special Report.
  26. Thompson, B., Diamond, K. E., McWilliam, R., Snyder, P., & Snyder, S. W. (2005). Evaluating the quality of evidence from correlational research for evidence-based practice.http://www.cec.sped.org/Content/NavigationMenu/ProfessionalDevelopment/ProfessionalStandards/Copy%20of%20Final%20ManuscriptCorrelational%20Research204-6-04.pdf
  27. Tremblay, M., & Roger, A. (1993). Individual, familial and organizational determinants of career plateau: An empirical study of the determinants of objective and subjective career plateau in a population of Canadian managers. Group & Organization Management, 18 (4), 411-425.
  28. Shasti, R., & Benjamin, P. F. (2011). Mentoring, career plateau tendencies, turnover intentions and implications for narrowing pay and position gaps due to gender - structural equations modeling. Journal of Applied Business Research, 27 (6), 71-84.
  29. Waga, R. A., & Simatwa, M. W. (2014). Hygiene and motivational factors that influence job satisfaction and dissatisfaction among teachers of public primary schools in Kisumu East and West sub-Counties, Kenya: An analytical study. Educational Research, 5 (8), 296-314.
  30. Williams, R. (2005). The role of academic study in teachers’ professional development. Journal of In-service Education, 31 (3), 455-470.
  31. Wood, P. (2012). Continuing professional development in higher education: A qualitative study of engagement in the field of nursing and midwifery. Journal for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching, 4(1), 12-21.