Collaboration: A Leadership Practice of Principals for Quality and Relevance in Training Technical and Vocational Colleges in Kenya

This study examined the influence of principals' leadership practices on the quality and relevance of training in public Technical and Vocational Colleges (TVCs), with a specific focus on collaboration. As chief executive officers, principals are responsible for the day-to-day management of their institutions and are expected to provide effective leadership in implementing stakeholders' decisions and addressing institutional challenges. Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, however, continue to face numerous challenges, including a lack of modern practical equipment, deteriorating tools, inadequate institutional capacity, weak industrial linkages, failure to assess trainees during industrial attachment, poor-quality training, low staff motivation, and declining enrolment. These challenges and disparities have largely been attributed to ineffective leadership approaches and practices. The study adopted a mixed-methods research design and targeted principals, heads of department (academic), heads of section (non-academic), and trainees' council representatives in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. The sample was drawn using cluster, random, stratified, and purposive sampling techniques. Quantitative data were collected using questionnaires administered to 56 respondents, while qualitative data were obtained through interviews and analysed thematically. Quantitative data were analysed descriptively using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS), and inferential tests (Kruskal-Wallis H, Friedman, and chi-square) were subsequently applied to determine whether perceptions of collaborative leadership differed significantly across respondent groups. The descriptive findings revealed broadly positive but uneven perceptions of principals' collaborative leadership practices, and the inferential analysis confirmed that respondent groups converged in their overall assessment, differing significantly on only one item — principals' support for staff-initiated decisions. The study recommends that principals undergo further training in collaborative leadership and that performance contracts be more closely aligned with institutional strategic plans. The findings are of value to policymakers, development partners, capacity-building agencies, managers and administrators, Boards of Governors (BOG), educators, researchers, and other stakeholders seeking to strengthen leadership practices that enhance the quality and relevance of TVET training.