ABSTRACT 

The purpose of this study was to assess effects of the procedures used by heads of secondary schools during deployment into various administrative posts, on teachers‟ motivation. The locale of the study was Murang‟a East District. Herzberg‟s two-factor theory forms the theoretical framework of this study. The objectives of the study were to identify the various administrative posts in secondary schools of Murang‟a East District, to determine the procedures that heads of these institutions used in deploying teachers to the administrative posts, to establish the effects of the procedures used on teachers‟ motivation and to establish the relationship between the procedures used and the performance in KCSE. A descriptive approach was used in collection, analysis and presentation of data. The research involved 75 public secondary schools of Murang‟a East District. Data was collected from 32 heads of institutions and 160 teachers of 32 public secondary schools in the district. Schools were selected by means of purposive sampling technique while respondents were selected by means of simple random sampling method. Research instruments constituted interview schedules for heads of institutions and questionnaires for teachers. Collected data was organized and analyzed by means of percentages and presented using tables. The study revealed that the number of administrative posts established in public secondary schools depend on the school size. One streamed schools and two streamed schools have relatively the same number of administrative posts owing to their size. The number of administrative posts averages to eight in this calibre of schools. On the other hand, three and four streamed schools, whether in the performing or low performing schools categories, have an average of twenty three administrative posts. The study also found out that teachers‟ deployment to administrative was not done in a transparent manner among the low performing schools while the process of deployment was transparent in performing schools. Where the frequency was higher in the use of transparency during deployment to administrative posts, performance in KCSE was correspondingly high. The reverse is also true. In deploying teachers to these administrative posts, head teachers considered factors such as commitment 93%, relationship with the head teacher 67%, teacher‟s performance 60%, qualification 59% and teacher‟s experience 52%. Transparency in the deployment into administrative posts affected teachers‟ motivation. About 60% of teachers offered that the procedure for deployment used by the head teachers had an impact on their motivation towards work. Teachers‟ motivation was found to be higher in performing schools whereas it was lower in low performing schools. It was concluded that procedures for deployment to administrative posts are hardly transparent. Also, the procedure for deployment affected teachers‟ motivation and therefore the schools‟ performance in KCSE. The researcher recommended head teachers should use transparent procedures in deploying teachers to administrative posts in order to boost teachers‟ morale and consequently the schools performance. For efficiency in the running of secondary schools, the Teachers Service Commission should post adequate teachers to the institutions as this would lead to the establishment of all the recommended administrative posts. The findings of this study can be of importance to policy makers in education, educators, curriculum developers, school administrators and teachers on how to go about the issue of deployment of teachers in secondary schools. The research can also be used as a basis for further research. 13 CH