Influence of Teacher Induction Mentorship and Coaching on Professional Conduct of Teachers in Extra County Schools in Western Region, Kenya

Teachers are perceived as the most valuable asset or resource to the achievement of the primary objectives of education in any Kenyan school. Just like employees in other institutions, their professional conduct should be given due consideration if the school has to meet the strategic goals. Mentorship has throughout the annals been the guiding light towards growth, wisdom and enlightenment. Its role in the professional space cannot be overstated. The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of teacher induction and mentorship on professional conduct of public secondary school teachers in Western Region, Kenya. The study objectives were: to establish the influence of role modeling on professional conduct of public secondary school teachers, to examine the influence of psychosocial support to mentee teachers on professional conduct of public secondary school teachers, to determine the influence of sponsorship opportunities on professional conduct of public secondary school teachers and, to establish the influence of teacher orientation on professional conduct of public secondary school teachers in western Kenya. The study was underpinned on the Social Learning Theory. Mixed methods design was adopted with both quantitative and qualitative approaches used to collect data. The target population was 1308 that included 4 TSC County Directors, 76 Principals, 273 Heads of Departments and 952 teachers from Extra County schools. A sample size of 303 was used which comprised of 4 County Directors, 23 principals, 138 HoDs (mentors) and 138 teacher mentees. Simple random sampling was employed to select 23 extra county schools, mentors and mentees, purposive sampling for sampling principals and census for sampling County Directors. Data collection was done usingquestionnaires and interviews. Reliability of the instrument was determined through internal consistency technique and a Cronbach Alpha coefficient of 0.70 and above was considered. Validity of the research instruments was done through expert judgement. Data was analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods. Descriptive statistics: frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations were employed to analyze quantitative data. Qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis to identify common themes and narratives related to mentorship experiences. Linear regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses at a significance level of 0.05. The study found that the variables; role modeling, psychosocial support, sponsorship opportunities and orientation programs were found to have a statistically significant influence on teacher professional conduct. The study concludes that induction mentorship and coaching program in schools enhances professional conduct and prevents likelihood of a teacher getting into unethical behavior. The study recommends re-evaluation of role modeling function practices, formal training program for mentors, review of the mentorship policy to include formal recognition of teacher mentors to reinforce individual motivation. Principals should provide necessary support, resources, allocate time for the mentoring, reduce mentors’ workload, and frequently supervise and monitor the program.