Motivational factors and job performance of secondary school teachers in Kiruhura District, Uganda

Abstract

Despite the improvement in motivational factors especially working environment, remuneration and career development opportunities; teacher performance in terms of classroom management, use of student-centred methods of teaching, marking, participation in extra-curricular activities and punctuality in Kiruhura District have been on the decline. The study attempted to establish the influence of motivational factors on job performance of secondary school teachers in Kiruhura District. Specifically, the study sought to investigate: 1. the influence of working environment on job performance of secondary school teachers in Kiruhura district, 2. the influence of remuneration on job performance of secondary school teachers in Kiruhura District and, 3. The influence of career development on job performance of secondary school teachers in Kiruhura district. A cross sectional survey research design involving both qualitative and quantitative methods was used. A total of 181 persons (103 secondary school teachers, 70 students, 7 head teachers and one District Education Officer) were consulted. Primary data was collected using questionnaires and interview guides. Data collected was analyzed by descriptive statistics. Research findings revealed that the working environment of teachers was still poor especially in terms of routine inspection, teaching facilities and teacher accommodation facilities. Despite this, the majority of the respondents indicated that job performance of teachers was satisfactory in terms of completing the teaching syllabi, attending school programmes, regular testing and examination of students and punctuality among others. Regarding remuneration, the majority of the teachers indicated that remuneration was inadequate to meet basic needs due to increase of the cost of living. Therefore, remuneration had a negative influence on job performance of teachers in secondary schools in Kiruhura District. On career development, it was revealed that poor career development programmes had led to low job performance of teachers in secondary schools in Kiruhura district. In order to improve teacher performance at work several recommendations were made. These relate to the responsibility of the individual teachers to seek self-improvement, and that of the school authorities and the employing body to make such improvements possible. Others included creation of a work environment which satisfies the growth of higher order needs of teachers, increasing the salary of teachers to match the increased cost of living and, opening up career development programmes to serving teachers in order to let them keep abreast with the day-to-day changes in the educational spheres that promote their job performance.