Performance-based rewards and the performance of teachers in private secondary schools in Kampala District

Abstract

This study was about performance-based rewards and their effects on the performance of teachers in private secondary schools in Kampala district. The theoretical underpinnings of this study was premised on Adam Stacy’s Equity theory of motivation which states that employees expect fairness when being rewarded and Victor Vroom’s theory which states that individuals make choices based on their perceived expectancy that certain rewards will follow. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of performance-based rewards on the performance of teachers in private secondary schools in Kampala district; while the specific objectives were: to identify the types of performance-based rewards used in Private Secondary schools and to establish the effect of performance- based rewards on the performance of teachers in those schools.

The study was based mainly on Primary data in form of questionnaires, interviews and documentary reviews of the selected literature. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques of data collection and data was analysed using descriptive and relational statistics with Pearson Product Correlation Coefficient and Regression analysis.

The findings revealed that, the most commonly used types of performance-based rewards in private secondary schools are: public appreciation, promotion, packages/presents, and duty allowances and overtime pay. It was also established that performance-based rewards affect the performance of teachers by motivating them and increasing their productivity and efficiency. Due to inconsistencies in the reward systems in the private secondary schools, this study recommends that rewards be based on performance considerations after a fair and accurate evaluation of its effects on the beneficiary. Furthermore, the nature of performance-based reward systems in schools should be based on the essence of ensuring that teachers are looked at as the prime components in the success of any school administratively and academically. Administrators should also be trained and sensitized about the value of performance-based reward systems and also be made aware that pay motivates teachers to perform at their best.