Abstract:
Teachers’ retention in schools has been necessary because it enhances academic
attainment. The gist of this study was to evaluate the effect of teachers' retention on
students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools in Kakamega County. The
study was guided by Education Production Function Theory (EPFT), Theory of
Constraint (TOC) and Social Exchange Theory (SET). The target population was 268
public secondary Schools, 1500 teachers, 268 principals and one (1) County staffing
officer. The sample size of 30% of the population was deemed to be adequate. The
sampling techniques were simple random sampling, stratified sampling and systematic
sampling. Data collection procedures were done with the help of administering
questionnaires to respondents, document analysis and interview schedules were the
major principal instruments used. The validity of the research instruments was assessed
with the help of two research supervisors from Kisii University. The reliability of the
index of 0.7 for teachers and 0.89 for principals was obtained using a test-retest
approach. Data presentation was done with the help of tables, graphs and pie charts. A
mixed research method was used. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version
23 was used for data analysis. Findings revealed that 38 (9.3%) teachers had left on
promotion, 240 (59%) voluntarily and 129 involuntarily (31.7%). The study revealed,
therefore, that most teachers (over 66%) either left voluntarily or on promotion. The
study recommended that since most teachers either left voluntarily or on promotion,
this was their right, while others were retained to ensure stability without interference
through uncalled-for transfers, which enhanced students’ academic achievement. The
study was undertaken by ensuring that ethical considerations for research were put into
perspective, such as informed consent from participants and non-usage of unethical
language as a means to obtain data from respondents.
