Inspirational Motivation and Teachers’ Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Garissa County, Kenya

Abstract

Effective school leadership is critical to strengthening teachers’ commitment, professional effectiveness, instructional quality, and achievement of educational objectives. This study examined the role of inspirational motivation in influencing teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Garissa County, Kenya. The study was guided by Transformational Leadership Theory, which conceptualizes inspirational motivation as a leadership behaviour through which school leaders communicate an attractive vision, establish shared goals, demonstrate confidence in teachers’ abilities, and generate enthusiasm towards institutional objectives. The study adopted a descriptive research design and was conducted in 23 public secondary schools in Garissa County. The target population comprised 325 respondents drawn from county education officers, Board of Management members, principals and deputy principals, Parent–Teacher Association representatives, and classroom teachers. Using Slovin’s formula at a 5% margin of error, a sample of 179 respondents was obtained, with stratified random sampling used to ensure representation of the different respondent categories. Primary data were collected using a structured questionnaire containing closed-ended and open-ended items. The questionnaire was piloted among 18 respondents in neighbouring Wajir County to assess clarity, validity, reliability, and feasibility. Data were analysed using SPSS Version 23 through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and multiple regression analysis. Descriptive findings indicated favourable perceptions of inspirational motivation, with mean scores ranging from 3.02 to 3.23. Pearson correlation results showed a statistically significant positive relationship between inspirational motivation and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Garissa County, Kenya (r = 0.708; p < 0.001). Regression analysis identified a statistically significant positive association between inspirational motivation and teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Garissa County, Kenya (R2 = 0.501; B = 0.703, β = 0.708, t = 13.037, p < 0.001). Inspirational motivation explained 50.1% of the variance in teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Garissa County, Kenya. The study concludes that inspirational motivation was perceived to contribute positively to teachers’ performance in public secondary schools in Garissa County, Kenya. The study recommends that school leaders communicate realistic performance expectations and complement inspirational messages with adequate resources, professional support, feedback, and manageable workloads. Future research should employ qualitative, mixed-methods, and longitudinal approaches to establish the contextual factors underlying the observed relationship.