Empirical Assessment of Demographic Factors Influencing Organizational Commitment in Secondary Schools in Kenya

Maurice Kibet Kimosop

Karatina University

Abstract

Organizational Commitment (OC) is increasingly becoming an important research concept in the fields of organizational behavior and human resource management. It’s particularly relevant to schools where attainment of organizational goals is highly dependent on teachers’ efforts. The purpose of this paper was to explore the factors that motivate teachers’ commitment to their institutions. The study specifically aimed at establishing whether there is a relationship between teacher’s demographic characteristics (age, gender, academic qualifications, tenure and position held) and School Commitment (SC). The study adopted the descriptive research design, targeting 1670 secondary school teachers in in four sub-counties in Nakuru County. A sample of 310 educators that was selected through stratified random sampling procedure. The groups that formed the sample strata comprised of school principals, deputies, heads of department, class teachers and subject teachers. Data was collected using the Allen and Meyer (1990) Three Component Model Employee Commitment Questionnaire. Relationship between variables was established by use of Spearman’s rho and Linear Regression while the level of teacher commitment was established by use of descriptive statistics including means, frequencies and percentages. A high level of SC among Kenyan secondary school teachers was established. Age and the position held in the school was found to be positively related to SC. Negative correlation was established between SC, and academic qualifications and tenure. There was no significant relationship between gender, and OC. Although a relationship was noted between most demographic variables and SC, the correlations were predominantly low leading to the conclusion that demographics was not a major factor in predicting SC. Consequently, the study recommends that further research be done to explore the other antecedents of SC such as conditions of service and school environment in order to explore their link to teacher commitment.

Key words: Demographic, commitment, age, tenure, relationship, characteristics

Introduction

Background of the Study

Behavioral scientists often argue that organizational leaders who know why their employees behave the way they do are better equipped to motivate them to contribute to the achievement of organizational goals (Gray and Starke 1988). The tendency for workers to react and interact in certain ways in various work situations is what is referred to as organisational behavior. It is the study of beliefs, attitudes, and behaviours displayed by workforce within an institution. In a school setting, principals can influence their teachers towards school commitment if they understand the factors that motivate them towards certain behavior. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence organization commitment in the context of the Kenya secondary school system. The study was motivated by the perceived low level of commitment reported among teachers in Kenyan schools. In Kenya the teaching profession is characterized by frequent strikes by teachers seeking enhanced pay packages and improved conditions of service. Poor remuneration, poor working conditions, stagnation in one job group, frequent transfers and the low social status of the teaching profession leads to the perception that teachers in Kenya are demoralized and demotivated and therefore have low commitment.

For many years, researchers in the field of organizational behavior have been trying to better understand work attitudes and behaviour that affect the performance of workers as well as the effective functioning of organisations (Chughtai, 2008). One main work-related attitude that has been the central focus of studies in the field of organizational behavior is organizational commitment (OC). Meyer and Allen (1991) define OC as the psychological state that characterizes an employee’s relationships with the organization and has implications for the decision to continue membership in the organization. By this token, School Commitment (SC) is viewed as a psychological connection that teachers have with their schools, characterized by strong identification and a desire to contribute to the accomplishment of school goals. It’s the degree to which teachers identify with their schools and their willingness to put forth a substantial effort on the school behalf and their intention to stay in the school for a long time (Wagner and Hollenbeck, 2010)

In this regard, commitment in the school context can be construed to imply the teachers’ firm confidence in school objectives and epitomes, willingness to apply considerable effort when discharging school activities and a strong desire to continue teaching in that particular school. School commitment is evident when teachers are loyal and willing to exert effort on behalf of their school. It occurs when teachers display a high degree of goal and value congruence with the school and desire to maintain membership (Cohen 2007). OC is particularly critical in a school setting since performance is highly dependent on the effectiveness of its teachers. Pohlman and Gardiner, (2000) reiterate that the nature of human resource in any organization is a major influence in the success of its endeavors. In order for schools to effectively disseminate its core mandate, teachers, a fundamental element of the educational system, have many fundamental tasks and responsibilities. The successful implementation of school curricular rests on teachers who are principally accountable for the educational programmes in their schools. It’s for this purpose that a lot of attention should be given to the understanding of teachers’ behaviors and performance within the organizational environment of their schools (Tsui and Cheng, 1999). SC should therefore be one of the ultimate goals of the efforts of a school principal, since it leads to the creation of a productive teaching staff. Teachers who have a high level of SC work with a greater sense of loyalty and responsibility. Hartman (2000), reiterates that SC inculcates skills, knowledge and attitudes of the school community. As a critical resource in schools, teachers should develop a positive attitude towards their schools in order to be professionally productive. Yavus(2010)states that low committed teachers do not only deter the successful performance of their pedagogical duties but also affects the efficiency and effectiveness of the accomplishment of predetermined school goals in totality.Research has also found a relationship between organizational commitment and a variety of organizational outcomes such as: increased employee performance and job satisfaction, reduced turnover, lower absenteeism rate and increased organizational citizenship behavior (Meyer et al, 2002; Trunk et al., 2013, Fornes, 2008; Babnik et al., 2014).

Mowdayet al. (1982), suggest four categories of variables that may influence organizational commitment: personal characteristics, job characteristics, work experiences, and structural characteristics. This study opted to focus on teachers personal characteristics since they touch directly on the individual teachers and may be critical in explaining teachers’ individual behavior. Personal characteristics, also referred to as demographic variables, have been the most commonly tested antecedents of organizational commitment and they include age, gender, education level, marital status, and tenure and family responsibilities. Despite the many studies in OC, it is nevertheless noted that majority were conducted mainly in health, banking, hospitality, industry and manufacturing sector, thereby paying less attention to the educational setting, particularly secondary schools in Nakuru County, Kenya. This dearth of research on OC in the Kenyan education system motivated the conception of this research.The study is aimed at bridging this research gap by exploring the impact that teacher personal characteristics may have on their commitment. The study may help to initiate more extensive research to explore the various factors that affect teacher commitment in Kenyan schools. The findings will assist school principals in devising techniques for enhancing teacher commitment and thereby build more effective schools.

This paper examines commitment levels of teachers based on the Meyer & Allen (1997) Three-Component Model (TCM) of commitment. In this framework, Meyer and Allen recognize three dimensions of organizational commitment: affective commitment, continuance commitment and normative commitment. Commitment is considered important in schools since it implies an intention among teachers to persist in their quest to attain institutional goals. Therefore, schools regularly try to nurture commitment in their teachers in order to attain stability and reduce turnover rates. It is commonly held that highly committed teachers tend to strive harder and be more likely to exert extra effort to achieve school objectives. Studies have reliably demonstrated that commitment certainly contributes to a decrease staff turnover (Tett & Meyer, 1993; Meyer, Stanley, Herscovitch, & Topolnytsky, 2002).

Objectives of the Study

The general objective of the study was to find out whether there is any relationship between teachers’ personal characteristics and the level of commitment they display towards their schools. The specific objectives were to: establish the level of school commitment among secondary school teachers in Kenyan secondary schools; find out if there is any relationship between the age of teachers and the level of commitment they display towards their schools; determine the relationship between teachers’ gender and their school commitment; examine the association between the academic qualification of teachers and their level of school commitment and assess whether a teachers length of service in a school has a relationship with their commitment to the school;

Hypotheses of the Study

In order to achieve the study objectives, the researcher formulated the following null hypotheses to be tested: there is no significant relationship between the age of a teacher and their level of school commitment; there is no relationship between the gender of a teacher and their level of school commitment; there is no significant relationship between a teacher’s academic qualifications and their level of school commitment, and there is no significant relationship between a teacher’s tenure and their level of school commitment.

Empirical literature Review

Organizational Commitment

The intrigue with which the subject of OC has held researchers in the field of organizational behavior can be observed from how it has evolved over time. Earlier researchers such as March and Simon (1958) perceived OC as a give-and-take association involving parties making certain demands upon the other while providing something in return. Applied in the field of education, this observation implies that the more effective a school is, in providing openings for teachers to attain their various needs, the higher would be the inclination for them to contribute enthusiastically to school productivity. Etzioni (1961) distinguished among three forms of responses for organizational motivation for participation: moral, calculative, and alienative involvement. In schools, moral involvement would imply identification with and internalization of institutional values and goals. Calculative involvement would be displayed through a positive orientation to school management which nevertheless is less intense because it is grounded on a rational exchange of paybacks andrewards between the parties. Alienative involvement on the other hand would reflect negative bearing towards school authority, found in associations characterized by exploitation by management.

Porter et al. (1974) described organizational commitment as the relative strength of an individual’s identification with and involvement in a particular organization. They viewed commitment as comprising of three elements: (a) a strong belief in and acceptance of the aims and ideals of the school; (b) a readiness to exert extensive effort on behalf of the school; and (c) a strong aspiration to remain in the school. More recently a three-component model of organizational commitment was described by Meyer & Allen, (1987) who distinguished three forms of commitment: affective, continuance and normative commitment. In a school set up, affective commitment is characterized by a teacher’s psychological attachment to the school displayed by such feelings such allegiance, affection, friendliness, and belongingness. Continuance commitment is exhibited by the teachers choices for retention within the school because of the high personal costs they perceive are linked to their transfer from the school. Normative commitment on the other hand is shown through teachers the compulsion to stay in the school because of internalization of the school’s vision and mission. Mueller and Wallace (1992) discerned two dominant conceptualizations of organizational commitment: loyalty and intent to stay. Applied in education, loyalty can be viewed as a teacher’s affective response to and identification based on a sense of duty and responsibility for their school.

Affective Commitment

Allen & Meyer (1990) define affective commitment as “employees’ emotional attachment to, identification with and involvement in the organization. In the context of this study, it is the moral commitment which occurs when teachers totally embrace the aims and tenets of the institution and become emotionally involved with and feel personally responsible for the school’s level of achievement. Allen and Meyer (1990) have suggested that the precursor of affective attachment to the school can be divided divide into four categories: personal characteristics, job characteristics, work experiences and structural characteristics within their schools. It is suggested that individuals with a higher level of affective commitment to their organization demonstrate higher willingness to exert more effort at work (Meyer & Allen, 1997).Committed teachers therefore are likely to display high levels of performance, positive work attitudes, and a desire to stay in the school. Teachers who enjoy their work are likely to feel satisfied and contented with their jobs. This increased job satisfaction is likely to add to their feelings of affective commitment. Teachers with strong affective commitment continue teaching at their school willingly and eagerly.

Continuance Commitment

Meyer and Allen, (1991) presented continuance commitment as referring to the awareness of the costs associated with exiting the school. Teachers whose primary link to the school is based on continuance commitment remain because they need to do so. They owe their commitment to the benefits associated with staying versus the personal costs associated with leaving the school such as pensions, seniority, social status, and access to social amenities that attach them to the school and would be at risk if the teacher left the school (Dawley, et al., 2005; Shahnawaz, and Juyal, 2006).

Continuance commitment refers to the teachers’ perception relating to the costs associated with leaving their school. It is basically the fear of loss. It is based on teachers’ awareness that leaving the school will come with certain costs which may inconvenience them. Teachers with a high level of continuance commitment continue teaching in the school because it is a necessity to do so. Itis a calculative commitment which takes place when teachers base their relationship with the school on what they are getting in return for their efforts and what they would lose if they quit the institution. They focus on the pay and benefits that accrue to their involvement in the school. Such teachers usually exert their best effort only when the rewards match their expectations. Continuance commitment is seen when the teacher weighs the pros and cons of leaving the school. They feel the need to stay because the loss they experience by leaving is greater than the benefit they think they may gain in their new station. These perceived losses can be monetary gains or professional skills acquired over the years spent in the school. The severity of these losses often perceived to increase with age and length of service. Teachers are therefore likely to experience continuance commitment when they are in an established successful role or have had several promotions within one school.

Normative commitment

Normative commitment refers to the teachers’ perception relating to their obligation to stay. It occurs when the teacher feels a sense of obligation to their school even when they are unhappy or even if they want to peruse better opportunities. The teacher feels that they should stay with their organizations because it is the right thing to do. This sense of obligation may arise if a teacher feels that the school has provided a reward in advance, for example, investing money or time in their training. It occurs when teachers remain with a school on the basis of expected standards of ethics and norms. These teachers value compliance, obedience, caution, and formality. Teachers high in normative commitment also feel that they ought to maintain membership in the organization, sometimes due to the pressures from colleagues (Allen and Meyer, 1996). Normative commitment is viewed as the feeling of obligation to continue working in an organization. Teachers with a high level of normative commitment feel that they ought to remain with the school in which they are teaching (Allen and Meyer 1990). These teachers stay in the school because they believe it is the morally correct to do so and would therefore feel guilty if they left the school, even if they had to reject better job offers in other institutions. Teachers’ emotional attachment to their schools (affective commitment) has been considered a crucial determinant of devotion and loyalty.Committed teachers are therefore viewed to have a sense of belonging that makes them to identify with their institutions.This consequently enhances their participation in the school’s activities and their disposition to pursue the school objectives and their aspiration to remain in the institution (Meyer and Allan, 1991). It’s in this light, that relationship has been found between affective commitment in organisations and absenteeism, performance, and turnover (Mathieu and Zajac, 1990; Meyer and Allen1997).

Research Methodology

Research Design and Sampling

The study employed the descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study was 1670 teachers from four sub counties in Nakuru County, Kenya. Two stage cluster sampling was used to select the four sub counties which formed the study location. Cochran (1977) formula was used to determine the sample size and it yielded a sample of 310 respondents. Stratified sampling was used to select individual study subjects. A total of 217 teachers responded to and returned the questionnaires giving a 70% response rate.

Data Collection Instrument

The Data for this study was collected using an adaptation of Allen and Meyer (1990) Three Component Model (TCM) Employee Commitment Survey. The questionnaire consists of 24 statements with 8 items each measuring affective, continuance and normative commitments. Although the original Allen and Meyer (1990) questionnaire comprised of a 7 point Likert scale, the current study used a 5 point adaptation. The Allen and Meyer(2004) user guide for the scale recommends that it can be altered to suit specific research conditions without a major impact on reliability and validity. The 5 point response scale was found to be appropriate in this study for ease of data analysis and interpretation. This study also customized the items in the original questionnaire to suit the Kenyan secondary school set-up in which the study was based. The item ‘organization’ for instance was substituted with ‘school’ for the purpose of this study. Some items in the scale were reversed as recommended in Allen and Meyer (1990) in order to control for acquiescence response bias, that is, the tendency to answer affirmatively to questions irrespective of their content.

The reliability of the questionnaire was done through test-retest method by conducting a pilot study of 20 respondents. The correlation of the scores from the two sets of responses done using Cronbach’s alpha formula and coefficient of 0.78 was achieved indicating that the instrument was acceptably reliable. This reliability result is backed by tests done by previous researchers who also sought to establish the reliability of Allen and Meyer’s commitment scale. Allen and Meyer tested the reliability of their OC scale and achieved a reliability coefficient of 0.70 (Allen and Meyer 1990); Dunham (1994) found 0.74; Cohen (1996) achieved a reliability of 0.79 Although the OCS is standardised and has been pretested and used by many researchers over time, the questionnaire adopted for the current study was also checked for content and face validity. This was done by academic experts who were requested to check all the items for their appropriateness in assessing the target variables. It was agreed that the scale was valid in measuring what it was purported to measure.

Data Analysis

The study data was analysed with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistics including frequencies and percentages were used to describe the study findings while inferential statistics including Spearman’s Rank Correlation and Multiple Linear Regression were used to test the hypothesis.

Findings and Discussions

Demographics

This section presents the demographic data of the sample under study. The overriding objective of the study was to establish whether teachers’ demographic variables are significant predictors of their school commitment. The demographic variables that were under investigation included the age, gender, academic qualifications and tenure of the respondents. This study hypothesized that teachers’demographic characteristics will have no relationship with their school commitment.

Table 1: Demographic Data of the respondents

Variable	Attributes	N	%
Age	Below 25	55	25.3
	25-35	72	33.2
	36-45	50	23
	46-55	37	17.1
	Above 55	3	1.4
Gender	Male	102	47
Gender	Female	115	53
Academic Level	Diploma	33	15.2
	Bachelors	148	68.2
	Masters	33	15.2
	PhD	3	1.4
Position Held	Principal	17	7.8
	Deputy	29	13.4
	Head Of Department	111	51.2
	Class Teacher	53	24.4
	Subject Teacher	7	3.2
Tenure	Under 5	109	50.2
	6-10	69	31.8
	11-15	25	11.5
	16-20	14	6.5

Total Number of Respondents 217

Majority (58.5%)of the respondents were aged below 35 years indicating that most schools had young teachers. There was a relative gender balance in the sampled schools with 53% being female while 47% were male.A majority of the teachers 68.2% had first degrees while 15.2% had diplomas. Only 16.1% teachers had postgraduate qualifications. Heads of departments formed majority (52.5%) of the respondents while the rest comprised of class teachers (7%), deputy principals (29%), principals 17% and subjects teachers (7%)without administrative responsibilities in the schools. Majority of the teachers (81%) had been in their current stations for less than 10 years.

Descriptive Analysis

This section presents the descriptive findings on the levels of SC registered in the schools. The level of affective, continuance and normative commitment was calculated by taking the average of the means scores of each of the three components. This yielded a composite mean for each commitment component. The average of the means of the three commitment components was then computed to yield the overall SC score.

Table 2: Teachers Level of Affective Commitment

Affective Commitment Construct	Percentage
	1	2	3	4	5	Mean	SD
Happy to spend the rest of career in school	16.6	32.3	18	18.9	14.3	2.8	1.45367
Enjoys discussing school with people outside	8.3	24	6	37.8	24	3.5	1.35322
Feel that school problems are own	14.7	23.5	1.4	34.1	26.3	3.3	1.30547
Can be attached to another school as to this	21.2	32.7	4.6	31.8	9.7	2.8	1.22558
Doesn’t feel like “part of family” in the school	13.8	2.8	0	47.9	35.5	3.9	1.32297
Does not feel emotionally attached to school	5.1	15.7	0	37.8	41.5	3.9	1.30272
School has personal meaning to them	11.1	17.1	4.1	43.3	24.4	3.5	1.45367
Does not feel strong sense of belonging	8.3	13.8	1.4	36.9	39.6	3.9	1.35322
Composite Affective Commitment 3.5

Scale: 1=strongly disagreed; 2= disagree; 3=undecided; 4= agree; 5= strongly agree.

Affective commitment, as composite construct, which yielded an overall mean of 3.5 in a 5 point Likert scale.This indicates that the level of affective commitment was high meaning that the teachers are happy to be in their respective schools. They are emotionally attached and have a strong sense of belonging to their schools. Most of the affective commitment indicators had high means ranging from 3.3 to 3.7

Table 3: Teachers Level of School Normative Commitment

Continuance Commitment Construct	Percentage
	1	2	3	4	5	Mean	SD
I am not afraid to quit job without another	6.5	20.7	10.6	33.6	28.6	3.6	1.27775
I finds it hard to leave school right now	17.7	26.3	8.8	35.5	12.0	3.0	1.34155
Life would be disrupted if I leave school now	17.5	24.4		40.6	17.5	3.1	1.43719
It wouldn’t be costly for to leave my school now	24.0	22.1	5.1	27.2	21.7	3.0	1.51880
My staying in school is a matter of necessity	18.0	28.6	3.2	30.0	20.3	3.0	1.46163
I have too few options to consider leaving school	18.9	35.0	4.1	22.1	19.8	2.8	1.44551
I can’t leave this school for scarcity of alternatives	25.3	31.3	2.8	25.3	15.2	2.7	1.44616
Leaving would requires personal sacrifice	17.5	38.7	2.8	17.5	23.5	2.9	1.47520
Composite Continuance Commitment Mean 3.0

Scale: 1=strongly disagreed; 2= disagree; 3=undecided; 4= agree; 5= strongly agree.

Most of the continuance commitment constructs were rated above average with means ranging between 3.0 and 3.6. This is an indication of a SC level that is above average. It means that the respondents felt it necessary to remain in their schools because it would be costly for them to leave.

Table 4: Level of School Normative Commitment

Normative Commitment Construct	Percentage
	1	2	3	4	5	Mean	SD
People move from school to school too often	6.0	33.6	5.5	41.9	12.9	3.2	1.21217
A person mustn’t always be loyal to their school	6.0	23.5	2.5	31.3	33.6	3.6	1.32026
Jumping from school to school is not unethical	14.7	32.3		24.4	28.5	3.2	1.50690
I haven’t moved due to moral obligation to stay	12.0	23.0	6.0	37.3	21.7	3.3	1.35818
I wouldn’t feel it was right to leave my school	24.9	43.8		20.3	11.1	2.5	1.35096
I was taught the value of being loyal to my school	8.3	25.8	4.6	35.5	25.8	3.4	1.33618
People should stay in one school for most of career	24.4	51.6	4.1	12.9	6.9	2.3	1.16672
Composite Normative Commitment Mean 3.1

Scale: 1=strongly disagreed; 2= disagree; 3=undecided; 4= agree; 5= strongly agree.

Table 2 shows that the respondents rated five of the normative commitment indicators above average with mean scores ranging from 3.2 to 3.6 while two indicators registered low means ranging from 2.3 to 2.5. This indicates a high level of normative commitment in the schools. This means that teachers are happy with what their schools have done for them. This shows that the teachers appreciate the benefits associated with being in the school and therefore feel obligated to remain in the school. They see their schools as deserving their loyalty and they also feel the moral responsibility to dedicate themselves to their schools.

Table 5: Level of Overall School Commitment

Type of commitment	N	Mean
Affective commitment	217	3.52
Normative Commitment	217	3.13
Continuance Commitment	217	3.1
Overall School Commitment	217	3.28

Overall school commitment was calculated by taking the average of the affective, continuance and normative commitment means. The overall cumulative school commitment score was 3.28 indicating that SC among the teachers under study was high.

Correlation Analysis

This section presents correlation results for teachers’ demographic characteristics against their level of school commitment. Spearman’s Rank Correlation coefficient was computed to assess the relationship between the respondents’ demographic characteristics and their level of school commitment.

Table 5: Relationship between for Age and School Commitment

			Age	School Commitment
Spearman’s rho	Age	Correlation Coefficient	1.000	.252
		Sig. (2-tailed)		.000
		N	217	217
	School Commitment	Correlation Coefficient	.252	1.000
		Sig. (2-tailed)	.000
		N	217	217

The study established a positive significant relationship (r=.252, n=217, p>.05)between the teachers’ age and the level of commitment to their schools. This means that the level of school commitment tended to rise with increase in age. The first null hypothesis of the study (HO₁₎ which predicted that there is no significant relationship between teachers’ age and affective commitment to their schools was therefore rejected.

Table 6: Relationship between Gender and School Commitment

			Gender	School Commitment
Spearman’s rho	Gender	Correlation Coefficient	1.000	.014
		Sig. (2-tailed)		.837
		N	217	217
	School Commitment	Correlation Coefficient	.014	1.000
		Sig. (2-tailed)	.837
		N	217	217

Nosignificant relationship was established between gender and SC among teachers (r= .014, n=217, p>.05). The second null hypothesis (HO₂) which stated that there is no significant relationship betweengender and teachers’ SC is therefore supported. This is construed to imply that the gender of a teacher does not affect their level of commitment to their schools.

Table 7: Relationship between Level of Education and School Commitment

			Qualification	School Commitment
Spearman’s rho	Qualification	Correlation Coefficient	1.000	-.318
		Sig. (2-tailed)		.001
		N	217	217
	School Commitment	Correlation Coefficient	-.318	1.000
		Sig. (2-tailed)	.001
		N	217	217

The study findings also established a significant negative relationship between the academic qualifications and commitment levels of teachers (r=-.318, n=217, p>.05). The third hypothesis stating that there is no relationship between academic qualifications and SC was therefore rejected. This means that a teacher who is highly educated is less likely to be committed to their school than one who has less qualification. This finding is in line with that of Salami (2008), who found that there is a significant negative relationship between education and organizational commitment. The implication of this finding is that teachers who are highly educated may not find it difficult in securing other jobs in other sectors of the economy and are, therefore, less likely to be committed to their organization because they have more opportunities for leaving the teaching profession.

Table 8: Relationship between Tenure and School Commitment

			Position Held	School commitment
Spearman’s rho	Position Held	Correlation Coefficient	1.000	.212
		Sig. (2-tailed)		.002
		N	217	217
	School commitment	Correlation Coefficient	.212	1.000
		Sig. (2-tailed)	.002
		N	217	217

The fifth objective of this study was to establish whether a teacher’s length of service in a school has a relationship with their SC The study established that there was a negative correlation between the number of years spent in the school and SC(r= -.212, n=217, p>.05) indicating that commitment reduced with an increases number of years spent in a school. The study hypothesis stating that there is no relationship between tenure and SC was therefore rejected.

Regression results

Multiplelinear regression analysis was used to establish the extent to which demographic variables predicted school commitment among teachers. All the predictor variables were simultaneously entered into regression analysis to determine the independent influence.The multiple correlations were used to show the combined contributions of the independent variables. The model summary is depicted in Table 9.

Table 9: Regression Model for Demographics and SC

Regression Results

Model	R	R Square	Adjusted R Square	Std. Error of the Estimate

1	.287^a	.082	.056	.57578

Table 9 presents the regression model depicting the relationship between teachers’ demographic attributes and school commitment. The R value indicates a weak correlation (.287) between school commitment and teachers personal attributes. The value of R square (R²=.082) means that demographics can account for only 8.2 % of the factors that predict SC in Kenyan secondary schools. There might be other factors that can explained the relatively high level of commitment (µ=3.28) indicated by the teachers. This implies that 92% of what motivates teachers towards high commitment in secondary schools in Kenya cannot be explained by personal characteristics alone. There must be other variables that also have an influence.

Discussion

It’s evident in this study that OC is a concept that is being studied in many research efforts worldwide. This is because it is a crucial determinant of organizational effectiveness. This study attempted to examine the relationship between the personal characteristics and levels of commitment of various categories of educators in secondary schools in Kenya. The study specifically focused on age, gender, tenure, educational qualifications and position held, and attempted to establish how they linked to SC. The findings of the study revealed that the SC levels of these educators is above average. It was however established that although demographic attributes played a role in determining SC, their effect was not fundamental given that the correlation coefficients were relatively low. Age and position held was the only variable that registered significant positive correlation with SC. This means that the levels of SC rose in concordance with the age and seniority of the educators.

Findings across researches have yielded contradicting results on the relationship between age and commitment, raising the question as to whether age really has any significant effect on workers commitment. Despite contradicting results across empirical literature, most studies concur with this study’s finding.Meyer and Allen, (1998) for example found a significant link between age and organisational commitment. Other researchers who found a significant and positive relationship between age and employees’ commitment include Mathieu & Zajack (1990), Allen and Meyer (1990), Steers (1997; Angle and Perry (1991), De Gierter et al. (2011) and Salami (2008). Sommer, Bae & Luthans (1996) also found that the organizational commitment among Korean employees increases with age. (Newstrom, 2007) attributed this link between age and commitment to the fact that older people through experience, tend to lower their expectations to more realistic levels and adjust themselves better to their work situations. In the context of this study, this finding could perhaps be linked to the expectation that older teachers have higher school commitment due to higher job satisfaction derived from the high job groups they hold, or higher responsibilities they hold in their schools. Teachers in the younger age bracket may not develop emotional attachment to the school due to the short span of time in which they have been in the institution. The general perception is that older employees have higher commitment due to higher job satisfaction and better positions in the organization. It’s thought that younger employees may need more time to develop emotional attachment to their organizations. Another possible explanation for this link is that there are fewer employment opportunities to older employees and that such employees may find that leaving the organization may be more costly to them than staying (Mowday et al., 1982).

The study established no relationship between gender and the level of SC in the schools under study. The question as to whether there is a relationship between gender and levels of organizational commitment has often, emerged as an important research issue. Among the myriad studies that have explored the correlates of organizational commitment, the literature on the relationship between gender and organizational commitment has had mixed results. The results of this study therefore concur with and yet contrasts with several earlier studies in equal measure. Some researchers have advocated that women are less committed to their organisations than men ( Yammarino & Dubinsky, 1988; Karrasch, 2003; Schwartz, 1989). Others found no gender differences in organizational commitment (Riketta, 2005; Meyer et al., 2002; Thorsteinson, 2003). Chughtai al Zafar (2006) found no significant relationship between gender and organizational commitment. This could perhaps be a result of personality characteristics such as self-efficacy defined as individual capacity to perform tasks (Bandura 1986). Some gender arguments revolve around claims that men and women have different psychological traits that predispose them towards different levels of commitment. Women for instance are said to have more extensive social and affective interests than men do, (Giele 1998) perhaps as a result of gender socialization practices. Such differences might lead to higher commitment on the part of women. Another opinion suggesting that women will exhibit higher levels of organisational commitment focuses on the fewer choices that females often face within the job market. Some of these limitations may include domestic responsibilities that prevent women from searching for jobs beyond the geographic area in which they reside since they prefer being close to their families. In light of these limited alternatives, it is argued that dissonance-reduction processes lead female teachers to place greater value on their schools than would males in comparable circumstances.

A significant negative correlation was registered between the respondent’s academic qualifications and SC. This means that SC deteriorated with enhanced educational level.This revelation is concordant with the findings Steers (1977) who likewise established a negative relationship between the level of education and OC. Al-Kahtani (2012) and Igbal (2011) opined that more educated people may have high expectations which the organization may be unable to meet. According to Igbal (2011) highly educated individuals may have less commitment since they may have other opportunities of employment. Mathieu & Zajac (1990) confirmed that the relationship was significantly strong. Salami (2008) however found a positive association between educational level and commitment. He observed that there is the likelihood that employees with high academic qualifications occupy higher ranks in the organizational structure and therefore have more responsibilities which require more commitment to the organization.

The fourth objective of this study was to establish whether a teacher’s length of service in a school has a relationship with their commitment to the school. The study established that there is a significant negative correlation between tenure and school commitment. This means that school commitment reduces with increased number of years in the school.Perhaps this scenario can be attributed to the teacher employment and posting policy in Kenya. In the Kenyan context, employment and posting is the mandate of Teachers Service Commission the central teacher management agency. Teachers therefore have little choice on the location of the school they are going to be employed. Due to limited teacher vacancies most teachers end up in schools don’t like. Such teachers usually seek for transfers to their schools of choice which often takes time. The more year’s teachers spent in such schools, the less committed the affected teachers would become.Research findings from other counties however achieved results that contradict the findings of this study. Meyer and Allen (1997), found a positive relationship between tenure and OC.They observed that uncommitted employees leave an organization while those with a high commitment remain.

Multiple regression analysis was run to determine the extent to which the demographic variables under study influenced dependent variable. The results indicated that the dependent variables played a minimal role in influencing commitment since they accounted for only 8.2% of the factors influencing SC. This means that the factors outside the study accounted for 92 % of the factors influencing SC. The literature indicated that there are other variables that significant in determining the level commitment of employees in an organization including school culture, location, environment, leadership style, organizational structure etc. This study therefore opens other areas for further research that could explore the extent to which they influence the level of commitment in schools. This study faced certain limitations. Firstly, the study targeted teachers from four sub counties of Nakuru county and the results might therefore not be generalized to all schools in Kenya.

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