The contribution of mentorship practices to teachers’ retention in Korogwe District Tanzania

The study assessed the contribution of mentorship practices to Teachers’ retention in Secondary Schools in Korogwe District, Tanzania. The objective of the study were four fold: firstly to explore prevalence of mentorship practices among secondary school teachers, secondly, to explore magnitude of teachers’ retention in Korogwe District, thirdly, to examine the extent to which mentorship practices influence teachers’ retention in secondary schools and fourthly to examine the limitations facing the provision of mentorship practices in Secondary schools. The study employed mixed methods approach involving embedded research design Purposive sampling and convenience sampling techniques were employed to select a sample of 136 participants. The schools were also purposively selected in order to get picture of contextual specifies. Data were collected through focus group discussion, questionnaires, documentary review and semi-structured interview methods. The analysis employed content analysis and SPSS. The main findings of the study revealed that most of the visited government secondary schools provided mentorship to their teachers. Teachers were introduced and oriented to the schools mentored in teaching and learning activities and were also mentored in classroom management. The study revealed that were was close association between mentorship practices and teachers’ retention in government secondary schools Misconception of mentorship, lack of formal mentorship programs and teachers’ behaviours are among limitations facing provision of mentorship practices in government secondary schools. The study recommended that provision of mentorship practices in secondary schools should formalized and more importantly be provided to teachers timely. Teacher training institutions should provide professional training programs that include mentorship component so as to have trained mentors in schools and Districts that will include DEOs, WEOs and heads of Schools this will create awareness on mentorship practices and promote its implementation and continuous teachers' retention in government secondary schools.