Influence of selection on academic staff retention in universities in Kenya

Abstract

Kenyan universities are operating in a highly competitive environment where supply of qualified academic staff is in deficit. One of the challenges these universities face is academic staff retention. This study sought to establish the influence of selection practices on academic staff retention in Universities in Kenya. The study was conducted in four public and four private universities and data was collected between the period June to September, 2016. The literature was reviewed as per the study objective. The study used mixed method research design. The target population was 2,768 academic staff from 8 (4 public and 4 private) universities. The sample size of 284 (276 departmental academic staff plus 8 (HR) registrars) was drawn. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedule.A validity index of 0.80 was obtained. Reliability of the questionnaires was measured and calculated using Cronbach’s alpha and a correlation coefficient of 0.84 was achieved .Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to present data. Pearson correlation on commitment as a moderating variable was done and results showed that commitment affected selection practices significantly with the Pearson’s correlation of 0.4000 and p-value of 0.000. Additionally, commitment did not affect retention significantly with a correlation of 0.021 and p-value of 0.764. The findings of the study revealed that selection practices had an influence on academic staff retention in universities with a frequency of 131 and a percentage of 64.8 %.The overall conclusion of this study is that selection practices had significance influence on academic staff retention in universities in Kenya. The study recommended that universities should review their practices on selection so as to help them to achieve and enhance academic staff retention.