International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention
ISSN (Online): 2319 – 7722, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 7714
www.ijhssi.org ||Volume 5 Issue 10||October. 2016 || PP.33-40
www.ijhssi.org 33 | Page
Influence of Inspirational Motivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment
in Public Primary Schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County,
Kenya.
Kamola Phoebe Malela1
, Dr. Anthony Mungai Gathumbi2
1
School of Education, South Eastern Kenya University, P. O Box 170 – 70200, Kitui, Kenya
2
South Eastern Kenya University, Gideon Katolo Nthakyo, South Eastern Kenya University
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers’ job
commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya. One research objective guided the
study. The study employed descriptive survey design. The sample for the study was 25 head teachers and 169
teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaires. Pearson product correlation coefficient was used to
analyze the data. Findings revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between inspirational
motivation and teachers’ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). Based on the findings, the study concluded that
inspirational motivation increased teachers’ job commitment and thus head teachers should increase
inspirational motivation which is a key to increasing teachers’ job commitment. The study suggested that
comparable studies in other public primary schools should be carried out in other parts of the county to find out
whether the findings can be generalized to the entire county. Secondly, since the study focused on one element of
transformative leadership style, a study should be conducted to establish how other elements of
transformational leadership styles influence teachers’ job commitment.
Keywords: Inspiration motivation, job commitment, transformational leadership, leadership styles
I. INTRODUCTION
Leadership has been defined in many ways for different situations (Northouse, 2007). Generally all the
definitions precipitate to influence, direction or persuasion of a person or a group to move in a given direction.
School leadership is no exception. It is the process of influencing and guiding the teachers, other staff and pupils
toward achieving common educational objectives. Head-teachers lead and manage all aspects of the school with
an aim of improving the standards and performance of learners. Like all other institutions, the success of any
school is dependents on its leadership and commitment of all its stakeholders. Leadership is a process whereby
an individual influences a group or other individuals to achieve a common goal (Lunenburg, 2013).
Although there are many definitions of leadership made from different aspects, most of them point at
leading followers to reach a specific achievement. (Rossmiller 2012) viewed leadership style as the pattern of
interactions between leaders and subordinates. Leadership is a way of influencing people to achieving a
common goal. Schneider and Snyder (2007) further expound that leadership is the inspiration and mobilization
of others to undertake collective action in pursuit of a common goal. It includes controlling, directing, indeed all
techniques and methods used by leaders to motivate subordinates to follow their instructions. It is a procedure to
influence the people in order to achieve the desired result.
Theories of leadership have been developed with an aim to explain the various leadership styles which
have emerged. These theories are classified into four categories, namely; trait, behavioural, and situational/
contingency, and charismatic leadership approaches (Rost, 2013). Schools are institutions that provide
instruction, training and coaching to learners under the direction of teachers (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989).
According to Leithwood and Jantzi (2009) the more complex society gets, the more sophisticated
leadership must become. Thus, Rowold and Schlotz (2009) assert that school administrators are expected to
cope with a rapidly changing world of work to be effective at their schools. For this reason, they require abilities
such as being team-oriented, strong communicators, team players, problem solvers, change-makers and
transformational leaders. Many researchers have been made to define leaders‟ roles in organizations. In this
regard, transformational leadership has been frequently studied in the leadership fields (Stewart, 2006). Initiated
by Leithwood (2012) in the late 1980s and early 1990s, numerous studies have demonstrated positive
relationships between transformational leadership in various schools and teacher organizational conditions
(Anderson &Wahlstrom, 2004).
According to Northouse (2007), in the simplest terms, transformational leadership is the ability to get
people to want change, improve, and be led. It involves assessing associates' motives, satisfying their needs, and
valuing them. Besides, some researches claim that transformational leadership is the leader‟s ability to increase
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organizational members‟ commitment, capacity, and engagement in meeting goals (Rehman, Shareef &
Mahmood (2012); 1997; Omidifar, 2013).
There are four components or elements of transformational leadership namely; inspirational motivation,
intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration and idealized influence. Inspiration motivation arises
where the leader inspires confidence, motivation and a sense of purpose in his followers. The head teacher
communicates an appealing vision and creates team spirit among the teachers. The head teacher models the way,
is respectful and ceases opportunities to celebrate individual contribution or progress (Bass, 2008). This enables
teachers to grow continually and achieve higher potentials.
Commitment is basically the loyalty and attachment to the organization (Bello, 2012). In the school
context, it is the extent to which the teachers identifies with their institution and desires to continue working or
promoting the vision of the school. Organizational commitment has three dimensional construct namely;
affective, continuance, and normative commitments (Balfour & Wechsler, 2006). Affective commitment is the
emotional feelings, identification, and involvement with the organization. It is the strong belief and acceptance
of the goals and values of the organization. Normative commitment is the extent to which the employee‟s
believed on organization and the willingness to make considerable efforts for the benefit of the organization.
Continuance commitment is defined as the perceived costs associated with leaving the organization. It is the
willingness to remain in the organization because of the „non-transferable investment‟ already committed such
as retirement benefits, relationships with other employees, unique benefits from the organization among others
(Johnatha, Durroux & Thibeli, 2013).
Among determinants of job commitment, leadership is viewed as an important predictor and plays a
central role. Employee job satisfaction depends upon the leadership style of managers. Job commitment is the
totality of employees‟ social and psychological well-being relative to job performance (Lok & Crwawford,
2004). It leads to satisfactory interpersonal relations, fringe benefits, financial rewards, decision-making, free
channels of communication, staff development among others. This influences employees to work hard for
optimum productivity.
Studies on the influence of leadership style and organization commitment reveal a positive significant
relationship (Rehman, et. al, 2012; Saeed et. al, 2013). The level of impact varies with the type of leadership
style and component of commitment. Studies in the educational sector in Pakistan indicated that both
transformational and transactional leadership have a positive influence on commitment (Rehman et al. 2012).
Yahaya, Chek and Samsudin, (2013) conducted a series of large-scale quantitative studies analyzing the effects
of TL on organizational conditions and student engagement in Canada. Organizational conditions reflected both
broader school conditions related to decisions taken outside of the classroom to support student learning and
classroom conditions more directly related to learning in the classroom. In all three studies, student engagement
had a psychological or affective component measured by the degree to which students identified with the school
and a behavioral component indicated by the degree to which students participated in school functions (Yahaya,
et al. 2013).
Shurbagi (2014) found that leadership behaviors were significantly related to school conditions but
only weakly or negatively related to classroom conditions. Wiza and Hianganipal (2014) reported not only that
TL had strong direct effects on school conditions but also that these conditions had strong direct effects on
classroom conditions. Additionally, TL had weak yet statistically significant effects on the student identification
subscale of student engagement.
In the Netherlands, Kruger (2009), for instance, found that principals appear to respond favorably to
teachers‟ job commitment. Thus, head teachers might be responding to higher levels of teachers‟ commitment
by practicing more flexible and inclusive leadership behaviors. Additionally, Kruger (2009) reported that school
size played far more significant roles in explaining student commitment than did principal leadership.
In United States, Gkolia, and Koustelios (2014) showed that TL styles were positively associated with
teachers‟ job commitment. He further found that TL behaviors positively affected academic achievement
through their positive influence on teacher job satisfaction. Moreover, the minority achievement gap was lower
in schools where teachers rated their principals‟ transformational leadership more favorably. Surveying 443
teachers in 131 Missouri high schools, Koustelios (2011) found that articulating a vision and providing a model
had greater effects on teachers‟ job commitment than instructional leadership did. Although these studies point
to the benefits of transformational motivation, neither study examined changes in teacher agency or behavior.
Moreover, while Kruger (2009) did not examine the effects of specific transformational leadership style,
Koustelios (2011) compared different types of leadership styles without including intermediate school variables
that might help explain how those behaviors affected teachers‟ job commitment.
Exploring the relationship between TL behaviors and teacher commitment, Leithwood (1994) and Yu
(2002) highlighted the important role of TL style related to strategies that help define and promote common
future goals for the school. These behaviors are often referred to by various labels including vision building and
direction setting. Similarly, Yu,Yunus and Ibrahim,(2015) in their Hong Kong study found that all of the TL
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behaviors were significantly associated with and explained differences in all four components of teacher
commitment and three of the components of school support for change namely culture, strategies, and structure.
Of the variables measuring teacher commitment, TL had the greatest effect on teachers‟ context beliefs, which
reflected the degree to which teachers believed that the administration would actually support their efforts, and
teachers‟ capacity beliefs, which reflected the degree to which the teachers considered themselves capable of
accomplishing change. Once again, direction-setting behaviors related to establishing future goals explained the
greatest amount of variance in teacher commitment.
In Canada, Meyer and Allen, (2007) found that a principal‟s individualized consideration of teachers
contributed slightly to their capacity beliefs and negligibly to their context beliefs. They also found that teacher
capacity and context beliefs mediated the relationship between TL style and teacher willingness to participate in
decision making and professional development activities. Similar to Yunus et al. (2007) study, Meyer and Allen
(2007) reported that TL had greater effects on teacher context beliefs than on their capacity beliefs. More
specifically, behaviors related to vision building and to the intellectual stimulation of creativity and innovation
had the greatest effects on context beliefs while individualized consideration of teachers‟ needs had the least
significant relationship with both commitment and extra effort.
Overall, the three TL styles, most notably those related to vision building, explained a substantial
amount of variance in teachers‟ extra effort. Capacity beliefs served as the main link between TL and teachers‟
extra effort in the Dutch study, while context beliefs played a more prominent role in the Canadian study.
Although Geijsel and Meijers (2005) provided no explanation for the differences in the findings, the
comparative study confirms the mediating roles of teacher agency beliefs, especially context beliefs. They
recommend exploring how other TL behaviors relate to teacher extra effort, which they claim is essential to the
success of reform initiatives.
Surveying 168 teachers from nine secondary schools in Canada, Leithwood et al. (1994) found that TL
behaviors accounted for a significant amount of the differences in teacher commitment to change. Specifically,
vision building and developing a consensus among staff about goals significantly predicted differences in
teacher commitment while the other TL behaviors related to providing models and individualized support made
no contribution. Although most of the TL effects were mediated by in-school and out-of-school conditions,
vision building activities directly affected teacher commitment.
In Africa, Hukpati (2009) conducted a study to investigate the relationship between transformational
leadership style of the heads of departments and employee job satisfaction in tertiary institutions in Ghana. The
study sought to examine the relationship between transformational leadership style of heads of departments and
the job satisfaction of lecturers in private and public tertiary institutions in Ghana. The results showed a positive
correlation between transformational leadership and employee job satisfaction. It further revealed no differences
in transformational leadership and job commitment of lecturers in both private and public institutions. The
results of the survey show that heads of departments do not differ in their transformational leadership practices
in both types of institutions (Hukpati, 2009). The Hukpati study focused on transformational leadership and job
commitment. The current study will focus on inspirational motivation and job commitment in a very different
situation. The study was carried out in Ghana which is regionally and geographically different from Matinyani
Sub County in Kenya.
In Kenya, Gitaka (2014) conducted a study on influence of head teachers‟ leadership styles on teachers‟
job satisfaction in public primary schools in Kajiado North District, Kajiado County, Kenya. Findings were that
head teachers‟ transformational leadership styles positively influenced primary school teachers‟ levels of job
satisfaction. This study focused on a number of other leadership styles and did not specifically focus on the
inspirational motivation hence the current study filled that gap.
Kibiwot (2014) did a study to investigate the influence of head teachers‟ leadership styles on students‟
discipline in public secondary schools in Mogotio Sub-County, Baringo County, Kenya. The specific objectives
were to establish among other variables, how transformational leadership style influenced students‟ discipline.
The findings revealed that transformational (charismatic) leadership style was practiced since teachers were
highly inspired by their head teachers in the performance of their work. Kibiwot did not however focus on how
inspirational motivation influenced teachers job commitment hence this study filled the gap.
Chirchir, Kemboi, Kirui and Ngeno (2014) conducted a study on leadership style and teachers
commitment in public primary schools in Bomet County, Kenya. Teachers perceived their head teachers to
practice transformational leadership more than transactional leadership approaches. The overall commitment of
teachers was moderate. Affective and normative commitment was moderate implying that teachers fairly
identified and feel obliged to continue serving with the school or teaching profession.
The low job commitment implies that teachers have low appreciation and emotional attachment to the
schools or teaching profession. The study by Chirchir et al 2014 further revealed positive correlations between a
transformational leadership and normative commitment of teachers. The low correlation between variables was
attributed to other factors which may be overwhelming such as the poor working environment and lack or
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limited teaching tools. Chirchir et al (2014) conducted the study in another geographical area hence the current
study was carried out in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County. In order to make any organization a better
performing place, administrators‟ inspirational behaviors become more important especially at schools as they
are the dynamics of change for the society in which they operate.
1.1 Statement of the Problem
Like any other institution, the success of a school depends on good leadership. It is therefore important
that schools are properly led in order to define the quality of the next generation. As stated earlier, the
responsibilities of head-teachers are to manage the school and provide leadership. They must therefore be
persons with skills, dedication and good character to mold students. They must also be able to face the
challenges of management and leadership.
Leaders in educational institutions face the same challenges as leaders in other organizations.
According to a document from Sub County Education Officer of November 2015, teachers are not committed in
their jobs since some skip attending their periods others absent themselves with no apparent reason. Therefore,
understanding the important factors affecting teacher job commitment is vital to attain the required information
to support an educational system to succeed in its objectives.
Since the head teachers‟ transformational leadership style is one of the positive factors that have a
direct relationship with job commitment, considerable research has been carried out on the influence and impact
of leadership behavior on job satisfaction. Nthuni (2012) for example found that there was need to adopt
transformational leadership style in order to enhance motivation. Gitaka (2014) found that head teachers‟
transformational leadership style positively influenced primary school teachers‟ level of job satisfaction.
Different studies have been conducted on factors affecting teacher commitment but very little or non-attention
has been given to the influence of inspirational motivation on teacher job commitment in Matinyani sub county
Kenya. It is against this background that the current study is designed to examine the influence of head teacher‟s
inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kenya.
1.2 Objective of the study
The study was guided by the following specific objective:
i. To establish the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani
Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya.
II. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Inspiration Motivation and Teachers Job Commitment
Inspirational motivation motivates and inspires those around them by displaying enthusiasm and
optimism, involving the followers in envisioning attractive future states, communicating high expectations, and
demonstrating commitment to the goals. Inspirational motivation is creation of team spirit by the leader to reach
organizational objectives and to increase the Performance (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki, & Kepner, 2002).
Inspiration motivation arises where the leader inspires confidence, motivates and communicates an appealing
vision. The head-teacher creates team spirit among the teachers. It describes managers who motivate associates
to commit to the vision of the organization. Managers with inspirational motivation encourage team spirit to
reach goals.
Inspirational motivation involves leaders‟ ability to motivate followers so that they are able to perform
beyond the expectation. This characteristic involves the leader‟s ability to communicate clearly the shared vision
so that the workers get inspired to achieve important organizational strategic goals. They excite and challenge
their followers so that they are able to accomplish great things.
Bycio (2013) explored the relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational leadership
and organizational commitment. The study was conducted on the sample size of 1376 nurses in some US health
organizations. The study found a positive relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational
leadership and organizational commitment.
Yunus and Ibrahim, (2015) conducted a study to identify the relationship between inspirational
motivation and organizational commitment. The further aim of the study was to examine whether leader –
member exchange moderates the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational
commitment. The data was collected from the sample of 122 employees of Small Medium Enterprise (SME)
companies at Shah Alam. Among all the dimensions of transformational leadership, only individual
consideration was found to have significant relationship with affective commitment. The result further revealed
that Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) does moderate the relationship between transformational
leadership and organizational commitment.
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III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Descriptive survey research design was used in this study and it is a strategy that involves interviewing
or administering questionnaires to a sample of individuals. The sample was 25 head teachers and 169 teachers.
Data was collected by use of questionnaires. Data was collected by use of Pearson‟s Product Moment
Correlation Coefficient to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
4.1 Influence of Inspirational Motivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment
To establish Influence of inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment head teachers were asked
to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with several statements pertaining inspirational motivation.
Their responses are presented in Table 1.
Table 1 Head teacher‟s responses on inspirational motivation
Statement Strongly agree Agree
F % F %
I create enthusiasm among teachers 23 92.0 2 8.0
I have a vision to make us work in teams 20 80.0 5 20.0
I help teachers develop and maintain a collaborative 18 72.0 7 28.0
I help teachers solve their problems together more effectively 22 88.0 3 12.0
I set high academic standards and motivate teachers towards them 23 92.0 2 8.0
Data on the extent to which head teachers conducted inspirational motivation showed that all of them
either strongly agreed or agreed that they create enthusiasm among teachers as shows by 92 percent who
strongly agreed and 8 who agreed, they had a vision to make us work in teams as indicated by 80 percent who
strongly agreed with the statement and 20 who agreed, majority also agreed that they help teachers developed
and maintained a collaborative as shown by 72 percent who strongly agreed and 28 who agreed. It was also
revealed that 88 percent strongly agreed that they helped teachers solve their problems together more effectively
with 12 agreeing and lastly 92 percent and 8 percent strongly agreed and agreed respectively that they set high
academic standards and motivate teachers towards them. The findings show that head teachers had inspirational
motivation practices in their schools. These findings are in line with Hall et al (2002) who found that inspiration
motivation arises where the leader inspires confidence, motivates and communicates an appealing vision. The
head-teacher creates team spirit among the teachers. It describes managers who motivate associates to commit to
the vision of the organization. Managers with inspirational motivation encourage team spirit to reach goals.
Table 2 Gender distribution of the respondents
Gender Head teachers Teachers
F % F %
Male 3 12 114 71.3
Female 22 88 46 28.7
Total 25 100 160 100.0
From the above findings, the study established that majority of the head teachers were female (88%)
while 12 per cent were males. This shows gender imbalance in appointment to leadership positions suggesting
that primary school leadership is female dominated in the sub county. This may suggest that the female are
given priority in appointment of teachers for headship positions in the sub county. This could also imply that
male teachers do not apply for this position while others seek jobs in urban areas as most of primary schools in
Matinyani Sub County are located in hardship areas. Among the teacher respondents majority were male which
again presents a disparity in the distribution of teaching staff in the area.
Table 3 Distribution of respondents by age
Age distribution Head teachers Teachers
F % F %
Below 24yrs 0 00.0 10 6.3
26-30yrs 0 00.0 28 17.5
31-35yrs 0 00.0 16 10.0
36-40 2 8.0 48 30.0
41-45 1 4.0 12 7.5
46-50 16 64.0 33 20.6
51 and above 6 24.0 13 8.1
Total 25 100 160 100.0
Data presented in table 3 above revealed that most of the head teachers were aged between 46 to 50
years (64.7%) followed by those aged between 51 years and above years (24%). The data showed that most of
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the head teachers were relatively middle aged and generally balanced their leadership styles because their rich
experience has taught them that the situation around their school affects the leadership style of the head teacher
hence may have experience that is likely to influence their leadership styles D‟Souza (2006). The high level of
experience and maturity of many head teachers was vital in adding value to the trend of the findings for this
study.
On the teachers‟ age distribution, data showed that they were almost evenly distributed across all ages.
Most of them however were in between 26 and 40 years. The older the teachers are the more satisfied they
would be expected to be with their jobs since as age goes by; they tend to settle into one‟s job for security
purposes as opposed to young teachers Nzuve (2007). It is also evident that most teachers in the sub county are
both mature and energetic as they are at their prime age in the teaching profession. Due to the current TSC
recruitment policy, teachers are staying out after graduation before they are recruited by the TSC.
Table 4 Professional Qualifications of the Respondents
Professional qualifications Head teachers Teachers
F % F %
M.Ed 0 00.0 27 16.9
B.Ed 9 36.0 56 35.0
Diploma in education 10 40.0 55 34.4
P1 6 24.0 22 13.7
Total 25 100 160 100.0
Findings on the analysis revealed varied qualifications for head teachers and teachers. Most of the head
teachers as presented above indicated that 40 per cent of them were diploma holders, 36 per cent were Bachelor
of Education degree holders, and whereas 24 per cent of the respondents indicated their highest academic
qualification asP1 graduates. On the other hand, 35 percent of the teachers had a Bachelor of Education degree,
34.4 percent had a Diploma in Education while 16.6 percent had a Master of Education degree. These results
imply that majority of the head teachers had basic professional qualifications desirable for primary school
teaching and should be encouraged to further their studies to enrich their professionalism, competence and
acquire new approaches and skills pertaining to new educational trends in the country. Head teachers who are
well educated and trained are likely to adopt leadership styles that foster teachers‟ job commitment. At a glance,
teachers in the sub county were also highly academically qualified and this is an indication that the respondents
were well trained and educated as teachers and would therefore be expected to be more committed with their
jobs since they are well equipped with the knowledge they need to perform their duties effectively and
efficiently
Table 5 Distribution of Respondents by Teaching Experience
Teaching experience in years Head teachers Teachers
F % F %
Below 1 0 00.0 24 15.0
1-5 0 00.0 27 16.9
6-10 0 00.0 41 25.6
11-15 0 00.0 18 11.3
16-20 2 8.0 26 16.3
>20 23 92.0 24 15.0
Total 25 100 160 100.0
The analysis on the head teachers‟ teaching experience in the teaching profession revealed that majority
23 of them representing 92 per cent had taught for a period of over 20 years This is an indication that that
majority of the respondents had served for a considerable time ,showing they had adequate experience to
dispense their duties. In addition, they had a chance to work in various schools and have experienced different
ways of teaching. A research conducted by Ward (1997) among elementary head teachers in Virginia ,USA
indicated that head teachers who had six years or more of service had a stronger feeling regarding inter-personal
relationship with teachers than head teachers who had five or fewer years of experience.
The analysis above also revealed that most of the teachers (25.6%) had 6 to 10 years of teaching
experience , 16.9 per cent who had a teaching experience of between 1 to 5 years followed by 16.3 per cent who
had between 16 and 20 years suggesting that a number of teachers had been employed recently by the
government. However, it was discovered that most of the teachers felt that the greater the experience the less
need to use autocratic style of leadership and the greater the use of democratic style of leadership. This is
because teachers who had taught for more than 10 years and longer detested the use of strict methods of
leadership. They felt that head teachers needed to involve them in the decision making because they also possess
some leadership experience. The way the teachers perceived and appreciated the head teachers‟ leadership styles
varied on the basis of the number of years of service. This was an indication that majority of respondents had
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served for a considerable period of time and their vast knowledge on the influence of head teacher‟s
transformational leadership style on teachers‟ job commitment could be relied upon in this study.
Table 6 Duration of service and teaching in the current school
Duration in the school Head teachers Teachers
F % F %
1-5 years 7 28.0 28 17.5
6-10 years 6 24.0 74 46.3
11-15 years 3 12.0 4 2.5
16-20 years 3 12.0 32 20.0
21-25 years 2 8.0 4 2.5
>20 4 16.0 18 11.3
Total 25 100 160 100.0
Information in table 6 above shows that 28 per cent of the head teachers had served for a period of
between 1 to 5 years as heads in their current schools while 24 per cent of them had served for a period of
between 6 to 10 years. This is an indication that majority of the head teachers had headed their current school
for quite some time and thus they were in a position to give credible information about their teachers‟ levels of
job commitment and how they relate with their transformational leadership style. The data as presented above
also indicated that 46.3 per cent of the teachers had taught in their current school of deployment for a period of
between 6 to 10 years, 20 per cent for a period of between 16 to 20 years. This indicates that majority of
teachers had taught in their current school for a much longer period and thus they were in a better position to
give credible information pertaining to the leadership styles of their head teachers and how their leadership
styles influenced their job commitment.
Table 7 Pearson‟s correlation between head teachers‟ inspirational motivation and teachers‟ job commitment
Variables relationship Inspirational Motivation Teacher’s job commitment
Inspirational Motivation Pearson Correlation 1 .774 **
Sig. (2-tailed) 000
N 160 160
Teacher commitment Pearson Correlation .774 ** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000
N 160 160
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
A Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine whether there is a relationship between
inspirational motivations with their teachers‟ job commitment in primary schools in Matinyani Sub County. The
results revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between inspirational motivation and
teachers‟ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). The high level of teachers‟ job commitment was associated with
high level of inspirational motivation by the head teacher. These findings agree with Bycio (2013) who explored
the relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational leadership and organizational commitment.
The study found a positive relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational leadership and
organizational commitment.
V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Findings on the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment revealed that head
teachers had inspirational motivation practices in their schools. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to
examine whether there is a relationship between inspirational motivations with their teachers‟ job commitment
in primary schools in Matinyani Sub County. The results revealed that there was a significant and positive
relationship between inspirational motivation and teachers‟ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). The high level
of teachers‟ job commitment was associated with high level of inspirational motivation by the head teacher.
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendation was made:
i. That head teachers should increase the practice of inspirational motivation since it influenced teachers‟ job
commitment.
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Influence of Inspirational Motivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya.

  • 1.
    International Journal ofHumanities and Social Science Invention ISSN (Online): 2319 – 7722, ISSN (Print): 2319 – 7714 www.ijhssi.org ||Volume 5 Issue 10||October. 2016 || PP.33-40 www.ijhssi.org 33 | Page Influence of Inspirational Motivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya. Kamola Phoebe Malela1 , Dr. Anthony Mungai Gathumbi2 1 School of Education, South Eastern Kenya University, P. O Box 170 – 70200, Kitui, Kenya 2 South Eastern Kenya University, Gideon Katolo Nthakyo, South Eastern Kenya University ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to establish the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers’ job commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya. One research objective guided the study. The study employed descriptive survey design. The sample for the study was 25 head teachers and 169 teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaires. Pearson product correlation coefficient was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between inspirational motivation and teachers’ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). Based on the findings, the study concluded that inspirational motivation increased teachers’ job commitment and thus head teachers should increase inspirational motivation which is a key to increasing teachers’ job commitment. The study suggested that comparable studies in other public primary schools should be carried out in other parts of the county to find out whether the findings can be generalized to the entire county. Secondly, since the study focused on one element of transformative leadership style, a study should be conducted to establish how other elements of transformational leadership styles influence teachers’ job commitment. Keywords: Inspiration motivation, job commitment, transformational leadership, leadership styles I. INTRODUCTION Leadership has been defined in many ways for different situations (Northouse, 2007). Generally all the definitions precipitate to influence, direction or persuasion of a person or a group to move in a given direction. School leadership is no exception. It is the process of influencing and guiding the teachers, other staff and pupils toward achieving common educational objectives. Head-teachers lead and manage all aspects of the school with an aim of improving the standards and performance of learners. Like all other institutions, the success of any school is dependents on its leadership and commitment of all its stakeholders. Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group or other individuals to achieve a common goal (Lunenburg, 2013). Although there are many definitions of leadership made from different aspects, most of them point at leading followers to reach a specific achievement. (Rossmiller 2012) viewed leadership style as the pattern of interactions between leaders and subordinates. Leadership is a way of influencing people to achieving a common goal. Schneider and Snyder (2007) further expound that leadership is the inspiration and mobilization of others to undertake collective action in pursuit of a common goal. It includes controlling, directing, indeed all techniques and methods used by leaders to motivate subordinates to follow their instructions. It is a procedure to influence the people in order to achieve the desired result. Theories of leadership have been developed with an aim to explain the various leadership styles which have emerged. These theories are classified into four categories, namely; trait, behavioural, and situational/ contingency, and charismatic leadership approaches (Rost, 2013). Schools are institutions that provide instruction, training and coaching to learners under the direction of teachers (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989). According to Leithwood and Jantzi (2009) the more complex society gets, the more sophisticated leadership must become. Thus, Rowold and Schlotz (2009) assert that school administrators are expected to cope with a rapidly changing world of work to be effective at their schools. For this reason, they require abilities such as being team-oriented, strong communicators, team players, problem solvers, change-makers and transformational leaders. Many researchers have been made to define leaders‟ roles in organizations. In this regard, transformational leadership has been frequently studied in the leadership fields (Stewart, 2006). Initiated by Leithwood (2012) in the late 1980s and early 1990s, numerous studies have demonstrated positive relationships between transformational leadership in various schools and teacher organizational conditions (Anderson &Wahlstrom, 2004). According to Northouse (2007), in the simplest terms, transformational leadership is the ability to get people to want change, improve, and be led. It involves assessing associates' motives, satisfying their needs, and valuing them. Besides, some researches claim that transformational leadership is the leader‟s ability to increase
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    Influence of InspirationalMotivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in…. www.ijhssi.org 34 | Page organizational members‟ commitment, capacity, and engagement in meeting goals (Rehman, Shareef & Mahmood (2012); 1997; Omidifar, 2013). There are four components or elements of transformational leadership namely; inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration and idealized influence. Inspiration motivation arises where the leader inspires confidence, motivation and a sense of purpose in his followers. The head teacher communicates an appealing vision and creates team spirit among the teachers. The head teacher models the way, is respectful and ceases opportunities to celebrate individual contribution or progress (Bass, 2008). This enables teachers to grow continually and achieve higher potentials. Commitment is basically the loyalty and attachment to the organization (Bello, 2012). In the school context, it is the extent to which the teachers identifies with their institution and desires to continue working or promoting the vision of the school. Organizational commitment has three dimensional construct namely; affective, continuance, and normative commitments (Balfour & Wechsler, 2006). Affective commitment is the emotional feelings, identification, and involvement with the organization. It is the strong belief and acceptance of the goals and values of the organization. Normative commitment is the extent to which the employee‟s believed on organization and the willingness to make considerable efforts for the benefit of the organization. Continuance commitment is defined as the perceived costs associated with leaving the organization. It is the willingness to remain in the organization because of the „non-transferable investment‟ already committed such as retirement benefits, relationships with other employees, unique benefits from the organization among others (Johnatha, Durroux & Thibeli, 2013). Among determinants of job commitment, leadership is viewed as an important predictor and plays a central role. Employee job satisfaction depends upon the leadership style of managers. Job commitment is the totality of employees‟ social and psychological well-being relative to job performance (Lok & Crwawford, 2004). It leads to satisfactory interpersonal relations, fringe benefits, financial rewards, decision-making, free channels of communication, staff development among others. This influences employees to work hard for optimum productivity. Studies on the influence of leadership style and organization commitment reveal a positive significant relationship (Rehman, et. al, 2012; Saeed et. al, 2013). The level of impact varies with the type of leadership style and component of commitment. Studies in the educational sector in Pakistan indicated that both transformational and transactional leadership have a positive influence on commitment (Rehman et al. 2012). Yahaya, Chek and Samsudin, (2013) conducted a series of large-scale quantitative studies analyzing the effects of TL on organizational conditions and student engagement in Canada. Organizational conditions reflected both broader school conditions related to decisions taken outside of the classroom to support student learning and classroom conditions more directly related to learning in the classroom. In all three studies, student engagement had a psychological or affective component measured by the degree to which students identified with the school and a behavioral component indicated by the degree to which students participated in school functions (Yahaya, et al. 2013). Shurbagi (2014) found that leadership behaviors were significantly related to school conditions but only weakly or negatively related to classroom conditions. Wiza and Hianganipal (2014) reported not only that TL had strong direct effects on school conditions but also that these conditions had strong direct effects on classroom conditions. Additionally, TL had weak yet statistically significant effects on the student identification subscale of student engagement. In the Netherlands, Kruger (2009), for instance, found that principals appear to respond favorably to teachers‟ job commitment. Thus, head teachers might be responding to higher levels of teachers‟ commitment by practicing more flexible and inclusive leadership behaviors. Additionally, Kruger (2009) reported that school size played far more significant roles in explaining student commitment than did principal leadership. In United States, Gkolia, and Koustelios (2014) showed that TL styles were positively associated with teachers‟ job commitment. He further found that TL behaviors positively affected academic achievement through their positive influence on teacher job satisfaction. Moreover, the minority achievement gap was lower in schools where teachers rated their principals‟ transformational leadership more favorably. Surveying 443 teachers in 131 Missouri high schools, Koustelios (2011) found that articulating a vision and providing a model had greater effects on teachers‟ job commitment than instructional leadership did. Although these studies point to the benefits of transformational motivation, neither study examined changes in teacher agency or behavior. Moreover, while Kruger (2009) did not examine the effects of specific transformational leadership style, Koustelios (2011) compared different types of leadership styles without including intermediate school variables that might help explain how those behaviors affected teachers‟ job commitment. Exploring the relationship between TL behaviors and teacher commitment, Leithwood (1994) and Yu (2002) highlighted the important role of TL style related to strategies that help define and promote common future goals for the school. These behaviors are often referred to by various labels including vision building and direction setting. Similarly, Yu,Yunus and Ibrahim,(2015) in their Hong Kong study found that all of the TL
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    Influence of InspirationalMotivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in…. www.ijhssi.org 35 | Page behaviors were significantly associated with and explained differences in all four components of teacher commitment and three of the components of school support for change namely culture, strategies, and structure. Of the variables measuring teacher commitment, TL had the greatest effect on teachers‟ context beliefs, which reflected the degree to which teachers believed that the administration would actually support their efforts, and teachers‟ capacity beliefs, which reflected the degree to which the teachers considered themselves capable of accomplishing change. Once again, direction-setting behaviors related to establishing future goals explained the greatest amount of variance in teacher commitment. In Canada, Meyer and Allen, (2007) found that a principal‟s individualized consideration of teachers contributed slightly to their capacity beliefs and negligibly to their context beliefs. They also found that teacher capacity and context beliefs mediated the relationship between TL style and teacher willingness to participate in decision making and professional development activities. Similar to Yunus et al. (2007) study, Meyer and Allen (2007) reported that TL had greater effects on teacher context beliefs than on their capacity beliefs. More specifically, behaviors related to vision building and to the intellectual stimulation of creativity and innovation had the greatest effects on context beliefs while individualized consideration of teachers‟ needs had the least significant relationship with both commitment and extra effort. Overall, the three TL styles, most notably those related to vision building, explained a substantial amount of variance in teachers‟ extra effort. Capacity beliefs served as the main link between TL and teachers‟ extra effort in the Dutch study, while context beliefs played a more prominent role in the Canadian study. Although Geijsel and Meijers (2005) provided no explanation for the differences in the findings, the comparative study confirms the mediating roles of teacher agency beliefs, especially context beliefs. They recommend exploring how other TL behaviors relate to teacher extra effort, which they claim is essential to the success of reform initiatives. Surveying 168 teachers from nine secondary schools in Canada, Leithwood et al. (1994) found that TL behaviors accounted for a significant amount of the differences in teacher commitment to change. Specifically, vision building and developing a consensus among staff about goals significantly predicted differences in teacher commitment while the other TL behaviors related to providing models and individualized support made no contribution. Although most of the TL effects were mediated by in-school and out-of-school conditions, vision building activities directly affected teacher commitment. In Africa, Hukpati (2009) conducted a study to investigate the relationship between transformational leadership style of the heads of departments and employee job satisfaction in tertiary institutions in Ghana. The study sought to examine the relationship between transformational leadership style of heads of departments and the job satisfaction of lecturers in private and public tertiary institutions in Ghana. The results showed a positive correlation between transformational leadership and employee job satisfaction. It further revealed no differences in transformational leadership and job commitment of lecturers in both private and public institutions. The results of the survey show that heads of departments do not differ in their transformational leadership practices in both types of institutions (Hukpati, 2009). The Hukpati study focused on transformational leadership and job commitment. The current study will focus on inspirational motivation and job commitment in a very different situation. The study was carried out in Ghana which is regionally and geographically different from Matinyani Sub County in Kenya. In Kenya, Gitaka (2014) conducted a study on influence of head teachers‟ leadership styles on teachers‟ job satisfaction in public primary schools in Kajiado North District, Kajiado County, Kenya. Findings were that head teachers‟ transformational leadership styles positively influenced primary school teachers‟ levels of job satisfaction. This study focused on a number of other leadership styles and did not specifically focus on the inspirational motivation hence the current study filled that gap. Kibiwot (2014) did a study to investigate the influence of head teachers‟ leadership styles on students‟ discipline in public secondary schools in Mogotio Sub-County, Baringo County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to establish among other variables, how transformational leadership style influenced students‟ discipline. The findings revealed that transformational (charismatic) leadership style was practiced since teachers were highly inspired by their head teachers in the performance of their work. Kibiwot did not however focus on how inspirational motivation influenced teachers job commitment hence this study filled the gap. Chirchir, Kemboi, Kirui and Ngeno (2014) conducted a study on leadership style and teachers commitment in public primary schools in Bomet County, Kenya. Teachers perceived their head teachers to practice transformational leadership more than transactional leadership approaches. The overall commitment of teachers was moderate. Affective and normative commitment was moderate implying that teachers fairly identified and feel obliged to continue serving with the school or teaching profession. The low job commitment implies that teachers have low appreciation and emotional attachment to the schools or teaching profession. The study by Chirchir et al 2014 further revealed positive correlations between a transformational leadership and normative commitment of teachers. The low correlation between variables was attributed to other factors which may be overwhelming such as the poor working environment and lack or
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    Influence of InspirationalMotivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in…. www.ijhssi.org 36 | Page limited teaching tools. Chirchir et al (2014) conducted the study in another geographical area hence the current study was carried out in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County. In order to make any organization a better performing place, administrators‟ inspirational behaviors become more important especially at schools as they are the dynamics of change for the society in which they operate. 1.1 Statement of the Problem Like any other institution, the success of a school depends on good leadership. It is therefore important that schools are properly led in order to define the quality of the next generation. As stated earlier, the responsibilities of head-teachers are to manage the school and provide leadership. They must therefore be persons with skills, dedication and good character to mold students. They must also be able to face the challenges of management and leadership. Leaders in educational institutions face the same challenges as leaders in other organizations. According to a document from Sub County Education Officer of November 2015, teachers are not committed in their jobs since some skip attending their periods others absent themselves with no apparent reason. Therefore, understanding the important factors affecting teacher job commitment is vital to attain the required information to support an educational system to succeed in its objectives. Since the head teachers‟ transformational leadership style is one of the positive factors that have a direct relationship with job commitment, considerable research has been carried out on the influence and impact of leadership behavior on job satisfaction. Nthuni (2012) for example found that there was need to adopt transformational leadership style in order to enhance motivation. Gitaka (2014) found that head teachers‟ transformational leadership style positively influenced primary school teachers‟ level of job satisfaction. Different studies have been conducted on factors affecting teacher commitment but very little or non-attention has been given to the influence of inspirational motivation on teacher job commitment in Matinyani sub county Kenya. It is against this background that the current study is designed to examine the influence of head teacher‟s inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kenya. 1.2 Objective of the study The study was guided by the following specific objective: i. To establish the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment in public primary schools in Matinyani Sub County, Kitui County, Kenya. II. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Inspiration Motivation and Teachers Job Commitment Inspirational motivation motivates and inspires those around them by displaying enthusiasm and optimism, involving the followers in envisioning attractive future states, communicating high expectations, and demonstrating commitment to the goals. Inspirational motivation is creation of team spirit by the leader to reach organizational objectives and to increase the Performance (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki, & Kepner, 2002). Inspiration motivation arises where the leader inspires confidence, motivates and communicates an appealing vision. The head-teacher creates team spirit among the teachers. It describes managers who motivate associates to commit to the vision of the organization. Managers with inspirational motivation encourage team spirit to reach goals. Inspirational motivation involves leaders‟ ability to motivate followers so that they are able to perform beyond the expectation. This characteristic involves the leader‟s ability to communicate clearly the shared vision so that the workers get inspired to achieve important organizational strategic goals. They excite and challenge their followers so that they are able to accomplish great things. Bycio (2013) explored the relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational leadership and organizational commitment. The study was conducted on the sample size of 1376 nurses in some US health organizations. The study found a positive relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational leadership and organizational commitment. Yunus and Ibrahim, (2015) conducted a study to identify the relationship between inspirational motivation and organizational commitment. The further aim of the study was to examine whether leader – member exchange moderates the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment. The data was collected from the sample of 122 employees of Small Medium Enterprise (SME) companies at Shah Alam. Among all the dimensions of transformational leadership, only individual consideration was found to have significant relationship with affective commitment. The result further revealed that Leader-Member Exchange Theory (LMX) does moderate the relationship between transformational leadership and organizational commitment.
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    Influence of InspirationalMotivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in…. www.ijhssi.org 37 | Page III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Descriptive survey research design was used in this study and it is a strategy that involves interviewing or administering questionnaires to a sample of individuals. The sample was 25 head teachers and 169 teachers. Data was collected by use of questionnaires. Data was collected by use of Pearson‟s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. IV. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 4.1 Influence of Inspirational Motivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment To establish Influence of inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment head teachers were asked to indicate the extent to which you agree or disagree with several statements pertaining inspirational motivation. Their responses are presented in Table 1. Table 1 Head teacher‟s responses on inspirational motivation Statement Strongly agree Agree F % F % I create enthusiasm among teachers 23 92.0 2 8.0 I have a vision to make us work in teams 20 80.0 5 20.0 I help teachers develop and maintain a collaborative 18 72.0 7 28.0 I help teachers solve their problems together more effectively 22 88.0 3 12.0 I set high academic standards and motivate teachers towards them 23 92.0 2 8.0 Data on the extent to which head teachers conducted inspirational motivation showed that all of them either strongly agreed or agreed that they create enthusiasm among teachers as shows by 92 percent who strongly agreed and 8 who agreed, they had a vision to make us work in teams as indicated by 80 percent who strongly agreed with the statement and 20 who agreed, majority also agreed that they help teachers developed and maintained a collaborative as shown by 72 percent who strongly agreed and 28 who agreed. It was also revealed that 88 percent strongly agreed that they helped teachers solve their problems together more effectively with 12 agreeing and lastly 92 percent and 8 percent strongly agreed and agreed respectively that they set high academic standards and motivate teachers towards them. The findings show that head teachers had inspirational motivation practices in their schools. These findings are in line with Hall et al (2002) who found that inspiration motivation arises where the leader inspires confidence, motivates and communicates an appealing vision. The head-teacher creates team spirit among the teachers. It describes managers who motivate associates to commit to the vision of the organization. Managers with inspirational motivation encourage team spirit to reach goals. Table 2 Gender distribution of the respondents Gender Head teachers Teachers F % F % Male 3 12 114 71.3 Female 22 88 46 28.7 Total 25 100 160 100.0 From the above findings, the study established that majority of the head teachers were female (88%) while 12 per cent were males. This shows gender imbalance in appointment to leadership positions suggesting that primary school leadership is female dominated in the sub county. This may suggest that the female are given priority in appointment of teachers for headship positions in the sub county. This could also imply that male teachers do not apply for this position while others seek jobs in urban areas as most of primary schools in Matinyani Sub County are located in hardship areas. Among the teacher respondents majority were male which again presents a disparity in the distribution of teaching staff in the area. Table 3 Distribution of respondents by age Age distribution Head teachers Teachers F % F % Below 24yrs 0 00.0 10 6.3 26-30yrs 0 00.0 28 17.5 31-35yrs 0 00.0 16 10.0 36-40 2 8.0 48 30.0 41-45 1 4.0 12 7.5 46-50 16 64.0 33 20.6 51 and above 6 24.0 13 8.1 Total 25 100 160 100.0 Data presented in table 3 above revealed that most of the head teachers were aged between 46 to 50 years (64.7%) followed by those aged between 51 years and above years (24%). The data showed that most of
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    Influence of InspirationalMotivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in…. www.ijhssi.org 38 | Page the head teachers were relatively middle aged and generally balanced their leadership styles because their rich experience has taught them that the situation around their school affects the leadership style of the head teacher hence may have experience that is likely to influence their leadership styles D‟Souza (2006). The high level of experience and maturity of many head teachers was vital in adding value to the trend of the findings for this study. On the teachers‟ age distribution, data showed that they were almost evenly distributed across all ages. Most of them however were in between 26 and 40 years. The older the teachers are the more satisfied they would be expected to be with their jobs since as age goes by; they tend to settle into one‟s job for security purposes as opposed to young teachers Nzuve (2007). It is also evident that most teachers in the sub county are both mature and energetic as they are at their prime age in the teaching profession. Due to the current TSC recruitment policy, teachers are staying out after graduation before they are recruited by the TSC. Table 4 Professional Qualifications of the Respondents Professional qualifications Head teachers Teachers F % F % M.Ed 0 00.0 27 16.9 B.Ed 9 36.0 56 35.0 Diploma in education 10 40.0 55 34.4 P1 6 24.0 22 13.7 Total 25 100 160 100.0 Findings on the analysis revealed varied qualifications for head teachers and teachers. Most of the head teachers as presented above indicated that 40 per cent of them were diploma holders, 36 per cent were Bachelor of Education degree holders, and whereas 24 per cent of the respondents indicated their highest academic qualification asP1 graduates. On the other hand, 35 percent of the teachers had a Bachelor of Education degree, 34.4 percent had a Diploma in Education while 16.6 percent had a Master of Education degree. These results imply that majority of the head teachers had basic professional qualifications desirable for primary school teaching and should be encouraged to further their studies to enrich their professionalism, competence and acquire new approaches and skills pertaining to new educational trends in the country. Head teachers who are well educated and trained are likely to adopt leadership styles that foster teachers‟ job commitment. At a glance, teachers in the sub county were also highly academically qualified and this is an indication that the respondents were well trained and educated as teachers and would therefore be expected to be more committed with their jobs since they are well equipped with the knowledge they need to perform their duties effectively and efficiently Table 5 Distribution of Respondents by Teaching Experience Teaching experience in years Head teachers Teachers F % F % Below 1 0 00.0 24 15.0 1-5 0 00.0 27 16.9 6-10 0 00.0 41 25.6 11-15 0 00.0 18 11.3 16-20 2 8.0 26 16.3 >20 23 92.0 24 15.0 Total 25 100 160 100.0 The analysis on the head teachers‟ teaching experience in the teaching profession revealed that majority 23 of them representing 92 per cent had taught for a period of over 20 years This is an indication that that majority of the respondents had served for a considerable time ,showing they had adequate experience to dispense their duties. In addition, they had a chance to work in various schools and have experienced different ways of teaching. A research conducted by Ward (1997) among elementary head teachers in Virginia ,USA indicated that head teachers who had six years or more of service had a stronger feeling regarding inter-personal relationship with teachers than head teachers who had five or fewer years of experience. The analysis above also revealed that most of the teachers (25.6%) had 6 to 10 years of teaching experience , 16.9 per cent who had a teaching experience of between 1 to 5 years followed by 16.3 per cent who had between 16 and 20 years suggesting that a number of teachers had been employed recently by the government. However, it was discovered that most of the teachers felt that the greater the experience the less need to use autocratic style of leadership and the greater the use of democratic style of leadership. This is because teachers who had taught for more than 10 years and longer detested the use of strict methods of leadership. They felt that head teachers needed to involve them in the decision making because they also possess some leadership experience. The way the teachers perceived and appreciated the head teachers‟ leadership styles varied on the basis of the number of years of service. This was an indication that majority of respondents had
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    Influence of InspirationalMotivation on Teachers’ Job Commitment in Public Primary Schools in…. www.ijhssi.org 39 | Page served for a considerable period of time and their vast knowledge on the influence of head teacher‟s transformational leadership style on teachers‟ job commitment could be relied upon in this study. Table 6 Duration of service and teaching in the current school Duration in the school Head teachers Teachers F % F % 1-5 years 7 28.0 28 17.5 6-10 years 6 24.0 74 46.3 11-15 years 3 12.0 4 2.5 16-20 years 3 12.0 32 20.0 21-25 years 2 8.0 4 2.5 >20 4 16.0 18 11.3 Total 25 100 160 100.0 Information in table 6 above shows that 28 per cent of the head teachers had served for a period of between 1 to 5 years as heads in their current schools while 24 per cent of them had served for a period of between 6 to 10 years. This is an indication that majority of the head teachers had headed their current school for quite some time and thus they were in a position to give credible information about their teachers‟ levels of job commitment and how they relate with their transformational leadership style. The data as presented above also indicated that 46.3 per cent of the teachers had taught in their current school of deployment for a period of between 6 to 10 years, 20 per cent for a period of between 16 to 20 years. This indicates that majority of teachers had taught in their current school for a much longer period and thus they were in a better position to give credible information pertaining to the leadership styles of their head teachers and how their leadership styles influenced their job commitment. Table 7 Pearson‟s correlation between head teachers‟ inspirational motivation and teachers‟ job commitment Variables relationship Inspirational Motivation Teacher’s job commitment Inspirational Motivation Pearson Correlation 1 .774 ** Sig. (2-tailed) 000 N 160 160 Teacher commitment Pearson Correlation .774 ** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) .000 N 160 160 **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). A Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine whether there is a relationship between inspirational motivations with their teachers‟ job commitment in primary schools in Matinyani Sub County. The results revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between inspirational motivation and teachers‟ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). The high level of teachers‟ job commitment was associated with high level of inspirational motivation by the head teacher. These findings agree with Bycio (2013) who explored the relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational leadership and organizational commitment. The study found a positive relationship between inspirational motivation in transformational leadership and organizational commitment. V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS Findings on the influence of inspirational motivation on teachers‟ job commitment revealed that head teachers had inspirational motivation practices in their schools. Pearson correlation analysis was conducted to examine whether there is a relationship between inspirational motivations with their teachers‟ job commitment in primary schools in Matinyani Sub County. The results revealed that there was a significant and positive relationship between inspirational motivation and teachers‟ job commitment (r = .774, N = 160). The high level of teachers‟ job commitment was associated with high level of inspirational motivation by the head teacher. Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendation was made: i. That head teachers should increase the practice of inspirational motivation since it influenced teachers‟ job commitment. REFERENCES [1] Anderson, S., & Wahlstrom, K. (2004). How leadership 208 influences student learning. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement. [2] Boufour D., & Wechsler, B. (2006) Organizational Commitment: Antecedents and outcomes in public organizations. Public Productivity and Management Review, 29, 256-277. [3] Bass, B. M. (2002). The future of leadership in learning organizations. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 7(3), 18- 40.
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