Interpersonal Relations as a Determinant of Academic Staff Retention in Public Universities in Uganda

Abstract

The study aimed to determine how interpersonal relationships determine the retention of academic staff in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities. It was specifically guided by four specific objectives for instance to determine how lecturer – lecturer, lecturer – manager, lecturer – students and lecturer to nonteaching staff determine academic staff retention. The study is based on Comte’s positivist philosophy. Its respondents were 298 academic staff selected using a stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected using a self-administered questionnaire with items adopted from other instruments with reliabilities and validities greater than 0.7. Data were analyzed using SPSS and the hypotheses were tested with the use of simple linear regression analysis technique. The findings showed that lecturer–lecturer, lecturer–manager, and lecturer-non-teaching staff insignificantly determined academic staff retention (ASR) in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities. Finally, lecturer-to-student relationships significantly determined the retention of academic staff. Thus, it was concluded that certain interpersonal relationships (lecturer-lecturer, lecturer-manager, lecturer-non-teaching staff insignificantly determine retention of ASR in Makerere and Kyambogo Universities while lecturer-student relationships significantly determine ASR. Also, it was recommended that the two universities should design and implement policies that promote positive lecturer-to-student relationships. Keywords: Academic Staff Retention (ASR), Interpersonal Relationships, Lecturer-Lecturer Relationships, Lecturer-Manager Relationships, Lecturer-None Teaching Staff Relationships, Lecturer Student Relationship