Forgotten Leaders? The Leadership Role and Workload of Directors of Studies (D.O.S) in Secondary Schools in Teso North Sub-County, Kenya

Directors of Studies (D. O. S) in Kenyan secondary schools are significant contributors to the academic success of secondary schools. The purpose of the study was to determine the role and workload of the D. O. S in secondary schools and establish their perception on roles and workload in Teso North Sub- County Busia County, Kenya. The objectives of the study included to establish the perceived position of the D. O. S in the school leadership and management hierarchy, determine the motivational role of the D. O. S in academic leadership, identify the skills and competencies important to the roles and responsibilities of the D. O. S, identify professional development needs of the D. O. S and desirable strategies for their delivery and to find out the benefits of appointment to D. O. S position. This study would be significant to the teachers employer (Teachers Service Commission) and school administration in highlighting extra roles and workload undertaken by Directors of Studies. Descriptive survey design was employed using generalized statistics that resulted when data was ed from respondents. Purposive sampling was applied in choosing 26 D. O. Ss from 26 public secondary schools and the Sub-county Quality Assurance and Standards Officer (DQASO). Simple random sampling was used to select 18 Head teachers and 50 teachers. Instruments reliability was determined by piloting the instruments and lecturers from Kibabii University College examined content validity. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) aided in data analysis. Quantitative data was analyzed and presented using frequency distribution tables while common themes in responses were used for qualitative data. The findings revealed that a majority of the D. O. Ss are lowly motivated in their duties, the position of D. O. S is highly recognized as a leadership position in secondary schools, the role and workload of the D. O. S is relatively high compared to the other teaching staff and that the D. O. Ss are human resource managers in the school. It further revealed that the teachers employer (T. S. C) does not appoint teachers to the position of D. O. S in secondary school but it is an innovation of head-teachers, yet it remains an important position since the holder supervises and co-ordinates the H. O. Ds, who are appointed by T. S. C through a competitive process. The study recommended that the D. O. S should be motivated in leadership, management roles and responsibilities and that the T. S. C should consider setting up a policy on identification, selection, appointment, deployment and training of D. O. Ss.