Influence of gender on job satisfaction of Secondary School Teachers in Kenya

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of gender on job satisfaction of secondary school teachers in Kisii Central Sub-County, Kenya. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs and Herzberg’s two factor theories formed the basis for the present study. The study’s target population consisted of all the 903 secondary school teachers, and a sample of 306 was selected by stratified sample from all the categories of secondary schools (National, Extra County, County and Sub-County) followed by stratification according to gender. Twelve secondary school principals participated in the qualitative study who were purposively selected. The study adopted an ExPostFacto research design where a mixed method research approach was adopted. Data collection tools were a modified from Sorensen self-esteem scale, job descriptive index questionnaire and interview schedule. Validity of the questionnaires was ensured by expertise judgment from university lecturers while for internal consistency and reliability, coefficient of 0.764 was obtained. Quantitative data was analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics while qualitative data was analyzed using Thematic analysis. Descriptive statistics of job satisfaction among gender, indicated that the female teachers had slightly higher score of 51.52, with a standard deviation of 3.0 and standard error of .240 in job satisfaction, compared to the male teachers who had a mean score of 50.29, with a standard deviation of 5.58 and standard error of .544 in the level of job satisfaction. The findings recommend that the Teachers’ Service Commission should consider recruiting more female teachers given that the female teachers enjoyed a relatively higher job satisfaction compared to the males. The Teachers’ Service Commission should in addition, consider giving opportunities to female teachers for leadership positions.