AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE EFFECT OF TEACHERS MOTIVATION ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS

ABSTRACT

Motivation refers to reasons that underlie behaviour that is characterized by willingness and volition, intrinsic motivation is animated by personal enjoyment interest, or pleasure, whereas extrinsic motivation is governed by reinforcement contingencies.

Low teacher motivation and its detrimental effect on students achievement are central problems of many education systems in Africa. This paper analysis the relationship between various policy measures, teachers job satisfaction and secondary education outcome. It appears that there is only very limited evidence for effectiveness of intensively debated and costly measures such as reducing class size, increasing academic qualification requirements and increasing teachers salaries. It appears that teachers job satisfaction are necessary and complimentary objective. Those measures ensuring control and incentives related working conditions for teachers significantly increase students achievement while increasing teachers job satisfaction. Teachers’ academic qualification while beneficial for students’ learning, tends to be a mismatch between teacher expectation and professional realities and thereby reduces teachers job satisfaction.   

CHAPTER ONE

  INTRODUCTION

      1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The issue of poor academic performance of students in Nigeria has been of much concern to all and sundry. The problem is so much that it has led to the widely acclaimed fallen standard of education in Nigeria. The quality of education depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties. Overtime the students’ performance in both internal and external examinations had been used to determine excellence in teachers and teaching (Ajao, 2001).

One of the biggest puzzles in education production today is the teacher quality puzzle. While there is clear evidence that teacher quality is a key determinant of student learning, little is known about which specific observable characteristics of teacher can account for this impact.

The effective teachers are perceived to be fully equipped naturally and professionally to lead their students to success in competitive standardized tests, as well as inculcated in them, values that would make them exhibit behaviors that are generally desirable and acceptable. On the other hand, the ineffective teachers do not care about the success of their students in examinations, and in some cases, students who pass through such teachers especially in terms of emulating their life styles, tend to exhibit behaviors that are detestable by the society. Such students also, do not perform well in competitive examination.

It is generally acknowledged that promoting teachers quality is a key element in improving primary and secondary education. Teachers are the most important factor in determining the quality of education that children receive. As such, government has a responsibility to ensure that teachers perform to the best of their abilities. To do this, government must pay attention to a number of factors that affect teachers’ performance. Teachers’ compensation is critical, but not the only factors, and social recognition of their work. Educators may be compensated through salaries or other cash payment, food, training or special assistance such as shelter, transport or agricultural support. If staffs are not paid, they will not teach regularly or will leave the profession, if compensation is irregular, or frequently withheld, teacher motivation may be affected. Therefore, an established teacher compensation system helps to stabilize the education system and decrease teacher absenteeism and turnover.

In addition to compensation, teachers are motivated by a range of other factors including

–        Dedication to the profession and teaching children

–        Success in the classroom- professional rewards of seeing children achieve

–        Status in their community from exercising a respected profession

–        Training and mentoring, particularly recognized and certificated in-service  training

–        Appropriate working conditions- including issues such as the number of hours taught each week, the number of students in the classroom

   –     Support of the head teacher

–        Availability of teaching and learning materials

–        Parental involvement and support, clear school policies and guidelines and the physical condition of the learning space/ classroom

–        The prospect of promotion and career advancement

The roles of teachers are very crucial for the transfer of knowledge in schools. In Africa, a major political topic in this context is how to resolve the problem of low teacher motivation and its detrimental effect on student achievement. The literature is full of apparently obvious policy recommendations, salaries and reductions in class size (UNICEF, 1999). This corresponds to what teachers themselves claim to be responsible for their de motivation, not only in developing countries, but in general.