Relationship between Psycho-social Support and Professional Conduct of Secondary School Teachers in Western Region, Kenya

Abstract

Background: Teachers are perceived as the most valuable resource to the achievement of the primary objectives in an educational institution. However, their work involves responsibilities and activities that can cause them challenges especially for beginning teachers. Therefore, need for new teachers struggling with transition to receive psychosocial support through mentorship to enhance their professional conduct. Aims: To establish the relationship between psycho-social support and professional conduct of public secondary school teachers in Western Region, Kenya. Study Design: The study adopted mixed research design. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Educational Management Kibabii University, study done in Western Region of Kenya, between November 2024 and May 2025. Methodology: The target population was 1308 including 4 teachers service commission (TSC) county directors (CDs), principals and all teachers from all the 68 extra county secondary schools in Western region, Kenya. A sample size of 299 respondents was determined using Krecjcie and Morgan table (1970) with a slight oversampling of 4 respondents to 303. It comprised of 4 TSC CDs sampled through census; 23 principals purposely sampled from 23 schools selected by simple random sampling. 138 Heads of Departments (HoDs) mentors and 138 teacher mentees were also selected into the study through simple random sampling. Questionnaires were administered to teachers and interviews schedules to principals and TSC CDs Results: Findings revealed that, provision of psychosocial support has statistically significant effect on professional conduct of public secondary school teachers in Western Kenya (β=0.570, t (243) =7.82 and P<.001). The standardized coefficient of β=0.570, indicate that psychosocial support has a strong positive effect on professional conduct. Conclusion: The study concludes that psycho-social support was a good predictor of professional conduct of teachers. These findings highlight the need for integrating psycho-social support mechanisms into teacher development programs to foster better professional conduct.