Effect of change management capacity on the delivery of quality education in public technical and vocational institutions in Kenya

Abstract

The study sought to investigate the effect of change management capacity on the delivery of quality education in public technical and vocational education institutions in Kenya. It was guided by four specific objectives, research questions and hypotheses. The study was guided by the by three change management theories: Kurt Lewin’s three-step theory, Kotter’s eight-step and ADKAR models. It adopted Survey research design while target population was 689 employees in the Ministry of Educations’ Directorate of Technical Education, National Polytechnics and Technical Institutions. Simple random, stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select 11 managers in Directorate of Technical Education, 15 administrators from National Polytechnics and other technical institutions, and 220 instructors from technical institutions. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and interview schedules. Reliability coefficient of 0.7 was established after pre-testing the instruments. Data was analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) version 17.0. Descriptive and inferential statistics and content analyses were used for specific data. The analyses were further amplified by subjecting selected results to graphical and tabular techniques. The analyzed data was presented in the form of tables, tabular matrices, and pie and bar charts. From the study, organizational structure influenced change process and subsequently the quality of technical education in Kenya as confirmed by most institution managers. Consultative and flexible Leadership styles influenced the quality of technical education through supervision and provision of direction as revealed by a majority of the instructors. According most institution managers, the level of competence of policy makers influenced the quality of education in technical colleges to a very large extent. Most institution managers agreed that organizations trained its employees on the desired change. Most of the institutional managers indicated that the curriculum met the needs of the industry only to a small extent. Further, some institution managers were neutral that the graduates fit the job market. The study recommended that managements of the technical educational institutions adopt consultative and collaborative leadership styles to suit reform processes. It emerged that college managements should lead the way in reforms’ initiation as the government initiate policy and skills imparting through workshops and short courses. The government should establish policy on managers’ skills upgrading and develop relevant curriculum. Future studies should investigate challenges facing the implementation of reforms in public vocational educational institutions in Kenya