Influence of Headteacher’s Transactional Leadership Style on Public Primary School Teacher Productivity in Trans Nzoia West- Sub County, Kenya

Abstract

Teacherproductivitywastypicallyreflectedinlessonplanning,learningimplementation, learning evaluation, mentoring, implementing additional tasks, and professional development.Theeffectiveleadershipstylebytheheadteacherswasexpectedtoenable primaryschoolteacherstoperformattheirbest.However,teacherproductivitywasfound tobelowdespitetheleadershipstyleemployed bytheheadteachers.Thisproblemwas particularlyevidentinTransNzoiaWestSub-County,wherepersistentlow performance in the Kenya Certificate ofPrimaryEducation (KCPE)examinations raised concern about the effectiveness ofheadteachers'leadershipstyles infosteringteacher productivity.The studycovered a period from Januaryto September 2023, during which data on teacher productivityand leadership influence was collected and analyzed. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the headteachers' transactional leadershipstyleontheproductivityofteachersinpublicprimaryschoolsinTransNzoia West Sub County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to investigate the influence of intellectualstimulationonteacherproductivity, assesstheinfluenceofmanagementby activeexceptiononpublicprimaryschoolteachers'productivity,exploretheinfluenceof individualconsiderationonpublicprimaryschoolteacherproductivity,anddeterminethe influenceofinspirationalmotivationonpublicprimaryschoolteachers'productivityin Trans Nzoia West Sub County, Kenya. In terms of comparison, neighbouring sub- countiessuchasTrans-NzoiaEast,Kiminini,Kwanza,andEndebesswerealsoanalyzed. The KCPE results for Trans-Nzoia East consistently outperformed Trans-Nzoia West, while Endebess exhibited even lower performance. This comparative analysis highlighted the need to investigate specific leadership approaches influencing productivityinTransNzoiaWest.Thestudywas anchored onHumanrelationstheory. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population comprised 912 teachersfrom72publicprimaryschools,1Sub-CountyQualityAssuranceandStandards Officer,and1Sub-CountyDirectorofEducation.However,atotalof271respondents, including 264 teachers, 5 CSOs, 1 Sub-County Director of Education, and 1 Quality AssuranceandStandardsOfficer,wereselected.TeachersandCSOswereselectedusing simple random sampling, while the Sub-CountyDirector of Education and the Quality AssuranceandStandardsOfficerwereselectedthroughpurposivesampling.Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires, while qualitative data was collected through interviews. A pilot study was conducted in Trans Nzoia East Sub County using 30 respondents to test the validity and reliability of the research instruments. The results revealed that the instruments were clear and consistent over time, confirming their reliability.Validitywasensuredthroughexpertjudgmentbyuniversitysupervisorsand education specialists who reviewed the instruments to assess whether they adequately captured the constructs beingmeasured. Face and content validitywere emphasizedto ensurethatitemsreflectedthestudy’sobjectives.Reliabilitywasdeterminedusingatest- retestmethodoveratwo-weekinterval. Theconsistencyofresponseswascalculated using Cronbach’s Alpha, which yielded a coefficient above0.70, indicating that theresearch instrumentswerereliableforuseinthemainstudy.Quantitativedatawasanalyzedusing frequencies,percentages,andstandarddeviations,whilequalitativedatafrominterview schedules was thematicallyanalyzed inlinewith theresearch objectives.Theanalyzed datawaspresentedintheformoftables,charts,andnarratives.Thestudyresultsshowed that majority of respondents agreed that the headteacher helps teachers to grow academically and professionally (Mean=3.76, standard deviation=1.23). Head teacher methods and techniques used in internal supervision are good, friendly and effective (Mean=4.16,standarddeviation=1.17).Themajorityofrespondents(83.5%)agreedthat ix theheadteacherensuresthatissuesaffectingteachersintheirschoolaresolvedwithinthe school.Thisindicatesapositiveperceptionoftheheadteacher'sroleinproblem-solving. The study findings noted that 203(85.7%) of the respondents agreed that head teacher allowsteachersfreedom tohandleissuesand challengesinthe course oftheirdutiesin order to successfully attain the set targets. Management by active exception (MAE) enhancesteacherproductivitybyprovidingtimelyfeedback, adherencetorules, proactive problem-solving, supportive supervision, curriculum monitoring, and individual performance appraisal. Inspirational motivation, autonomy, trust, and reward systems also contribute to productivity. Headteachers should provide intellectual stimulation, strengthen management by active exception strategies, prioritize individualized consideration, foster inspirational motivation, and enhance teacher productivity. They should recognize and reward teachers' achievements, create a conducive working environment,andfosteracultureofcontinuouslearning;hencethestudytodeterminethe influenceofheadteacher'stransactionalleadershipstyleonpublicprimaryschoolteacher productivityinTransNzoiaWest-SubCounty,Kenya.