The impact of teacher motivation and primary school performance in government-aided schools: A case study of Nsangi Sub-County, Wakiso District

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the impact of motivation of teachers on school performance in government-aided primary schools of Nsangi Sub-county, Wakiso District. It was a case study conducted in peri-urban and rural schools. The population sample included 10 head teachers, 50 teachers, 60 pupils, 10 parents and 10 members of the School Management Committee. The respondents were selected using random sampling and purposive sampling. The researcher went to the field to test the following hypotheses namely; provision of monetary rewards has affected the performance of government-aided primary schools, provision of non-monetary rewards has affected the performance of government-aided primary schools and staff relations between headteachers and teachers have affected the performance of government-aided primary schools. Data was collected mainly through the interview guide which was administered to head teachers, parents and members of school management committee with the help of schedule of questions, a questionnaire which was administered to teachers and pupils and the focus group discussion guided by the researcher with a few selected teachers from both peri-urban and rural schools. The focus group discussion helped so much to brainstorm and make conclusions about the problem under study. The study findings revealed that motivation of teachers with both monetary and non-monetary rewards has a positive impact on the performance of schools. Good staff relations between head teachers and teachers have a positive impact on motivation of teachers and therefore lead to good performance. Schools where there was motivation of teachers performed very well. There were mostly peri-urban because they had more capacity than the rural school. However, the study also revealed that there were teachers with a positive attitude towards work and they were just motivated by the good performance of their children. These teachers displayed ethical virtues of a professional teacher who liked his/her job. The following recommendations were made: Motivation of teachers is a prerequisite for good performance, teachers should be motivated with both monetary and non-monetary rewards in order to boost their morale and perform duty. Ethical principles and practices should be used by head teachers and teachers in service delivery. Parents should strive to pay a little money to schools to provide incentives to teachers. Pupils’ lunch should be provided in order to enhance learning. Parents should be sensitized about the importance of education.