The Influence of Learning Facilities on Job Satisfaction of Tutors in Technical Training Institutions in Meru County, Kenya

Abstract

The study purpose was to examine the influence of learning facilities on job satisfaction of tutors in technical training institutions in Meru County, Kenya. A cross-sectional research design was administered in the consideration of collecting data from various participants such as principals, HR managers, departmental heads, and tutors. The target population consisted of 7 Technical Training Institutions [TTIs] in Meru County, whose 261 tutors, 7 principals, 14 human resource managers, and 40 heads of departments were involved as respondents. The study used a purposive sampling method to select at most one principal and HR manager in each of the seven TTIs, and a simple random method to sample 36 HODs and 158 tutors. The study issued questionnaires to the main respondents (tutors) and heads of departments, while the rest were interviewed. A pilot study was done at Chuka Technical College in Tharaka Nithi County. Further, the study measured reliability and three types of validity, which were content, criterion, and construct validity. SPSS version 25 software was used to generate descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, and means. The study analyzed qualitative data using the thematic analysis method.  The results emanating from the questionnaires revealed that 53(34%) of the respondents strongly agreed and 53(34%) agreed on a mean of 4.32 that there was access to well well-stocked library which had improved job satisfaction among the tutors. However, 61(39%) of the participants strongly disagreed and 52(33%) disagreed on a mean of 2.19 that tutors are provided with ICT infrastructure such as fast WIFI and working computers. The learning facilities had a correlation of 0.372 and a significance of 0.001. The study concluded that most TTIs had inadequate ICT infrastructure, which limited tutors in accessing updated information for both lecturing and research. The recommendations on learning facilities are that the government, through the Ministry of Education should revamp the ICT infrastructure to modernize it. Phased out desktops should be replaced with either laptops or improved desktops with high-performance processors. The management should consider partnering with internet providers in the locality for subsidized and stable internet rates.