Teacher misconduct and its impact on effective administration of public secondary schools in Moshi municipality, Kilimanjaro-Tanzania

The purpose of the study was to investigate teacher misconduct and its impact on effectiveness administration of public secondary schools. Specifically the study sought to analyse types of teacher misconduct and examine the reasons for its persistence in public secondary schools in Moshi municipality. The study also investigated the impacts of the teacher misconduct towards effective administration of public secondary school and suggested measures to minimize teacher misconduct for the enhancement of the administration of those schools. The study employed qualitative approach and applied a multiple case study design. Data was collected through document review, observation, interviews and focus group discussions. The study involved 43 respondents (1 District Secondary Education Officer (DSEO), 1 Teachers Service Department (TSD) Secretary, 1 chief zonal school inspector, 4 school heads, 4 school board chairpersons, 4 academic teachers and 28 students leaders). Purposive sampling procedures were used to obtain the target respondents and the data were analysed qualitatively through content analysis. The study revealed that, teacher misconduct is a serious problem in public secondary schools. Teachers have been disobeying their professional rules and regulations by engaging in private activities during working hours, being upsent from duty or reporting late at work without reasonable cause, neglecting their duties as teachers and provide improper punishments to students. The defiance of professional ethical standards was also found to be a common practice among teachers in public secondary schools which include unethical dressing, improper language and drunkenness. It was also revealed that teacher misconduct hinder the efforts of school administration in monitoring students discipline, teaching and learning activities in the schools, teachers and other staff work performance, students` attendance at school and in the classes. It also creates enmity between indiscipline teachers and the administrators. Study findings unveiled that there is a need of co-operative efforts between various education stakeholders like government, education officers, the Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), school and teachers so as minimize teacher misconduct in order to enhance school administration.