Influence of Principals' Emotional Intelligence on the Organizational Commitment of Teachers in Secondary School in County Governments in Kenya

Abstract

Organizational commitment (OC) has been associated with positive organizational behavior such as decreased employee turnover rate and absenteeism. Research indicate that leader's emotional intelligence (EI) may influence the OC of employees as they feel good about working with emotionally intelligent leaders since they are more likely to react to problems in a more controlled manner and may be more accommodative to different views of the subordinates. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence principals' EI on the OC of secondary school teachers in county governments in Kenya. This study hypothesized that principal's EI would have no significant relationship with the OC of teachers. The study employed survey research design to establish the relationship between EI and OC. The study population was all the 560 principals in secondary schools in Nairobi, Machakos, Kajiado, and Kiambu counties in Kenya from which a sample of 120 principals was drawn using simple random sampling. 480 teachers that is 4 from schools in which a principal participated in the study were sampled to rate their principals EI and their OC. The method of data collection was through the use of questionnaires which were distributed randomly to respondents. EI questionnaire was constructed through moderation of the Emotional

Competence Inventory (ECI) whereas teachers' OC scale was constructed through moderation of TCM Employee Commitment Survey. The data was analysed through descriptive, correlation and regression analysis, using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 16. This study established that principals' EI through the

dimensions of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management had a statistically significant relationship with teachers' OC. Compared to other EI competencies relationship management was the strongest predictor of teachers' OC. Self-management also had a strong correlation with teachers' OC. The study recommends that teachers' employer needs to put more emphasis on training of EI among principals in secondary schools in Kenya. The study suggests further research on the effect of principals' EI on their OC.