An assessment of training needs of primary school Headteachers in educational supervision: A case study of primary schools in eldoret municipality

Literature reviewed, generally indicate that there has been and there still is a discrepancy between the actual practice and the expected role of primary school headteachers in education supervision. It is on this premise that the researcher sought to assess the training needs of primary school headteachers in educational supervision and also make recommendations on remedial measures. In order to carry out this, the research involved the study of eight macro-competency areas which included; motivation, communication, public relations, financial management, planning and co-ordination, curriculum and instruction, evaluation and staff development. These macro-competency areas were derived through content analysis and the researcher felt that they were the major ones and therefore included in the study. From these macro-competency areas, 37 specific competencies were generated and thus studied. The findings of this study revealed deficiencies between the current educational supervisory practice of primary school headteachers and the desired practice. This implied that the headteachers were inadequately equipped. On this basis, it was recommended that there was a dire need to introduce a separate, specialized and more comprehensive educational supervisory training programme alongside the traditional concurrent pre-service teacher training programmes.