Reward management strategies and retention of teachers in private secondary schools in Mukono District

Abstract

This study delved into the effect of reward management strategies on the retention of teachers in private secondary Schools in Mukono. Specifically, it sought to investigate the effectiveness of the competitive and equitable reward strategies on the retention of teachers in private Secondary schools. The study was prompted by the high rate of staff attrition in private secondary schools in Mukono District. It was carried out along two objectives which were: To establish the effect of competitive reward strategies on retention of teachers; and to assess the effect of equitable reward strategy on the retention of teachers in the private secondary schools of Mukono District. The hypotheses of the study were tested using Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficient.

Following a cross sectional survey design, data were collected from teachers, head teachers and directors of a sample of these schools using a structured questionnaire and interview guide. The data were coded and entered into the computer and frequency counts generated using the SPSS program to illustrate the general trend of results.

The findings were that there is a significant relationship between the perceived competitiveness and equitability of rewards and the retention of teachers yet many of the teachers perceive their reward to be uncompetitive and inequitable, which has led to attrition. From findings, the study concluded that unless the school administrators of private schools in Mukono district consistently review their reward strategies for competitiveness and equitability, they will continue losing their teachers and their academic standards will continue dwindling. It, therefore, recommended that the reward strategies are revised for competitiveness and that standardized reward scales be adopted so as to eliminate disparity in the offer of rewards to teachers.