Drivers of Labor Mobility Intentions of Teachers in Public Tertiary Institutions in Kenya

Abstract

This study sought to evaluate the drivers of labor mobility intentions teachers in public tertiary institutions in Kenya which has hitherto not been researched on extensively. The research limitations; few factors researched on may not have been fully representative, hence others can be explored and that Kenyan context cannot be generalized globally. There are practical implications for scholars, Government and practitioners. The objectives were to determine how financial compensation, career progression, work environment and job design affect teachers’ labor mobility intentions in public tertiary institutions in Kenya. And to also establish the moderating effect of leadership on the relationship between drivers and teachers labor mobility intentions. The beneficiaries of the study are the Government of Kenya, academicians, Teachers Service Commission, school managers and other private education investors. This study adopted descriptive research design which is used to investigate populations by selecting samples to analyze and discover occurrences. The target population of the study was from all the (teachers’ service commission) teachers in the public tertiary institutions (older than three years) in Kenya. Data available from the sampling frame revealed that there are 4848 public tertiary teachers. The study did stratified random sampling of the institutions and 356 sample size of teachers were used to ensure that every county was fairly represented. Questionnaire was the main tool of this survey and it was based on a 5 point likert scale and interview schedule for national staffing officers. They contained closed ended questions for quantitative analysis as well as a few open ended questions which were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used through multiple linear regression, moderated multiple regression, t-test, f- test among others to analyze quantitative data. Reporting was done through tables and figures. A factor loading analysis helped realign a few items within the right variables appropriately and subsequently having them meet the required minimal thresh hold of 0.5 and above. The response rate was 286 respondents. Most of the measurement tool items met the Cronbach Alpha threshold of 0.7 and above rendering it reliable and consistent. The results revealed that all the hypotheses tested were valid, with specific mention of there being significant relationships between all the tested drivers of labor mobility intentions of teachers in public tertiary institutions. The overall model of all independent variables against the labour mobility intentions validated that work environment was the most significant variable. Institution managers and board of directors could commit themselves to using impartial human resource practices and exercise employee participative management to enhance teachers’ morale. The study encourages other scholars to use the same variables in other industries or others not used here or in different sectors to test if the effect is different. It also recommends the Ministry of education to addresses issues highlighted towards ensuring a motivated human resource. Above all, attract and retain more teachers with a comprehensive reward system equitable to the market rates. In conclusion, the drivers had a statistically significant effect on labour mobility intentions of teachers in public tertiary institutions in Kenya. It was also observed from the results that all variables had a negative correlation with labour mobility intentions.