The Salient Characteristics of Trained Ineffective Teachers in Secondary Schools in Kenya

This study examined the salient characteristics of trainedineffective teachers in secondary schools in Kenya. Participants comprised 80 studentsfrom eight schools drawn from four provinces in the country. Of the 80 participants, 40were females and 40 were males. This qualitative research adopted phenomenologicaldesign. Two research instruments—a biographical form and a blank sheet of paper—wereused in data collection. Content analysis method was used in analyzing the written andnonquantitative data collected. Results of data analysis revealed 20 salientcharacteristics of trained ineffective teachers in secondary schools. Thesecharacteristics are as follows: wastage of students’ time, poor mastery of the subject,source of boredom to students, partial treatment of students, lack of respect forstudents, low level of self-confidence, poor mastery of teaching skills, emotionalimmaturity, inappropriate dressing, injurious to students, fond of frivolous talk,miscommunicate in class, poor in providing feedback, nondialogical in class, poor inmaintaining discipline, immoral in behavior, unapproachable to students, poor incounseling, poor psychological health, and autocratic to students. The findings of thisstudy may be useful to stakeholders in education in developing instruments that may beused to identify ineffective teachers in schools