Professional Development Programmes for Novice Teachers in Public Junior Schools in Mukaa Sub-County, Makueni County, Kenya

The transition from teacher preparation to independent classroom practice requires sustained professional support, particularly during the early years of teaching. This study examined the professional development programmes implemented for novice teachers in public junior schools in Mukaa Sub-County, Makueni County, Kenya. The study adopted a convergent mixed-methods design. Quantitative data were collected from 78 novice teachers using questionnaires, while qualitative data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with all 20 principals of public junior schools in the sub-county. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative data were analysed thematically. Six professional development activities were examined: one-on-one mentoring by senior teachers, workshops on classroom management, peer observation and feedback, school policy and curriculum training, stress management and emotional support, and preparation of professional documents. The findings showed that one-on-one mentoring was the most consistently experienced activity. The remaining activities such as classroom-management workshops, peer observation and feedback, school policy and curriculum training, stress management and emotional support and preparation of professional documents were considerably less consistently experienced. Qualitative data indicated that school leaders reported implementing a broader range of activities, including mentoring, collaborative planning, classroom-management guidance, curriculum and policy orientation, psychosocial support and professional-document preparation. The divergence suggests that professional development was frequently embedded in informal mentoring and school-based support rather than consistently experienced as formal, identifiable programmes. The study concludes that novice-teacher professional development in Mukaa was predominantly mentoring-based, with complementary activities implemented less consistently. The study recommends strengthening the formalization, visibility, monitoring and resourcing of induction-related professional development while retaining mentoring as a central component.