EFFECT OF TEACHERS MOTIVATION ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

CHAPTER ONE

1.0                                  INTRODUCTION

1.1              BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The search for collegiality is a motivating factor for teachers in the developing world as well. Most motivating in the developed world today is the existence of a community of practice in schools. According to Sergiovanni (2004), teachers are motivated when they are able to share a common body of knowledge. This can only happen when teachers have forums for discussions and training and development programmes. Recognition in the form of praise and constructive feedback from colleagues and the principal has a positive impact on teacher motivation, self-esteem, confidence and sense of security. Teachers long for recognition praise and feedback about their achievements and this is likely to motivate them professionally Steyn (2002) .Mexican public school teachers are eligible for large and permanent salary increases if they obtain scores above a cutoff in a national assessment. The assessment includes measures of teachers‘background characteristics in addition to end-of-year student test scores.

Education plays a very important role in the economic development of a country as it is aimed at supplying the economy with human capital that can convert effectively and efficiently other resources into output of high value. It is perceived as the corner stone of economic and social development and a principle means of providing for the welfare of individuals (Orodho, 2004). According to Alarm and Farid (2011), motivation of teachers is very important as it affects the students directly. This fact is supported by Marques (2010) in her conclusion that motivation, satisfaction and performance are interdependent. Dornyei (2001) further states that teacher efficacy affects students directly as there is strong correlation between teacher efficacy and students’ performance hence a desired outcome by the students can occur with the help of the teacher. This means that low motivation of teachers affect his performance which affects the students’ performance. In the US teachers are being paid relatively low salaries. Teachers with more experience and higher education earn more than those with a standard bachelor’s degree and certificate while high school teachers have the highest median salary earning. Many teachers take advantage of the opportunity to increase their income by supervising after-school programs and other extracurricular activities. It is generally believed that children from high and middle socioeconomic status parent are better exposed to a learning environment at home because of provision and availability for extra learning facilities and attended a private school while children from a very low socioeconomic status family will attend a public school and may not have any opportunity to expose to a better learning environment where teachers are highly motivated. Teachers have the biggest impact on the success and flaws of students` academic performance because their teaching motivations are instrumental in helping them learn and one approach is likely to produce different results from another. Teachers` motivation to undertake a task depends on their expected reward. Efficient teaching and moral will take place when there is strong motivation in terms of wages and innovation from both employers, also the students` performance in mathematics sometimes may serve as a motivation for the teachers in other to perform efficient in the subject. This motivation may be aroused by either extrinsic or intrinsic stimuli both of which are important in directing and regulating the learner’s behavior towards attainment of the desired goals. Teachers must therefore be motivated through various ways which may include the organization of seminars and workshops, upgrading test, performance appraisal, timely payment of salary and wage, providing the required physical facilities like laboratories and verbal encouragements for student etc.

Motivation covers all the reasons which cause a person to act including the negative ones like fear along with the more positive motives such as money, promotion or recognition (Aldair, 2009). The source of motivation is both intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic motivation occurs when people engage in an activity without external incentives. They get motivated when they can control the amount of effort they put in an activity since they know the results they will get, will not be by luck. Extrinsic motivation has to do with incentives. Incentives are external to a person and are provided by the management in order to encourage workers to perform tasks. Moreover, individual characteristics such as intelligence, cognitive styles, and personality play an important role in learning and instruction as does the context of learning. Other research findings have shown that individual students’ characteristics variables such as motivational orientations, self-esteem and learning approaches are important factors influencing academic achievements. In the effort to improve students’ cognition and affective outcomes in mathematics and school learning, mathematics educators have continued to search for variables (personal and environmental) that could be manipulated in favor of academic gains. Of all the personal and psychological variables that have attracted researchers in this area of educational achievement, motivation seems to be gaining more popularity and leading other variables; Aire&Tella. The issue of motivating learners is seen as an important aspect of effective learning. In fact psychologists believe that motivation is a necessary ingredient for learning; Biehler and Snowman. They believe that satisfactory school learning is unlikely to take place in the absence of sufficient motivation to learn; Fontana. These issues of motivation of students in education and the impact on academic performance are considered as an important aspect of effective learning. However, a learner’s reaction to education determines the extent to which he or she will go in education.

1.2     STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Despite several efforts of the present government and efforts of the several educators to encourage rural schools to improve on their academic performances, like posting trained teachers, providing textbooks to schools and paying teachers‘ salaries, there is still concern that academic performance in secondary schools is generally poor. Usually the student’s academic performance may get improved when the teachers are tuned up to their teaching profession. There are number of things to tune if teachers are to perform among others, teaching facilities should be in place, there should be good teacher’s interpersonal relationships and above all teacher’s motivation should be catered for in all aspects. However, the past years there has been some concern in level secondary schools where by a student‘s academic performance has tremendously declined and the stakeholders has attributed these number of factors:- Many have asserted that teachers‘ motivation is not up to the standards and therefore this has affected students‘ performance. It‘s against this background that the researcher has been motivated to investigate how the teacher’s motivation has affected student‘s academic performance

1.3     OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to investigate the effect of teacher’s motivation on secondary school students academic achievement, specifically the study intends to:

1.     Identify the factors influencing the motivation of teachers in secondary schools

2.     Determine whether teachers’ age has any influence on student performance secondary schools

3.     Establish whether working conditions of the teachers have any influence on students’ performance secondary schools

4.     Examine whether professional development of the teachers has any influence on students’ performance in secondary schools

5.     Establish whether teachers’ work promotion has any influence on students’ performance in secondary schools

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions was formulated to guide this research arrive at a valid conclusion:

1.     What are the factors that motivate teachers in secondary schools

2.     To what extent does teachers’ age influence student’s performance

3.     To what extent does teachers’ working condition influence students’ performance secondary schools

4.      To what extent does teachers’ professional development influence student performance

5.      Does teacher work promotion has any significant effect on students’ academic performance

1.5     Significance of Study

          This study is significant as it will be of assistance to teachers, principals and researchers.  It would go a long way in helping both teachers and administrators know the needs and areas where motivations would be used to motivate teachers.

          Teachers would also be aware of those needs entitled to them.  Administrators would be in a better perspective in formulating policies that would be able to be implemented with resource and those that would not encounter problems in the implementation of welfare practices.

1.6     Delimitation of Study

          The research covers principals and teachers in secondary schools that make up the present Otupko Local Government Areas of Benue State.

1.7     Definition of Terms

          Students academic achievement is any combination of environmental circumstances that can cause a person to say “I am satisfied with my job” (Hoppoch, 2001).

          The concept of students academic achievement is a compound of various attitudes which a teacher has and exhibits towards his work situation.  Satisfaction as used in this study is synonymous with contentment.

Motivation:  Motivation is the inner state that energizes, channels and sustains human behavior (Glueck, 1998).  Motivation is a complex of forces, drives, needs, tension, states or other internal psychological mechanisms that start and maintain activity toward achievement of personal goals.

Teacher Incentives:  Incentives are the organizational counterpart to individual’s motivation, that is, a worker receives incentives from the employing organization in return for being a productive member.  Incentive can be taken to be the new rewards or punishments given in exchange for an individual’s contribution to the same thing as job situation.

Work Performance:    Vroom (1964) maintains that the level of performance is a constantly increasing function of the motivational level, while conceding that the difficulties in precise measurements make an accurate determination of the function impossible.  Performance is a function of ability multiplied by motivation.  Performance = F (ability X motivation).

          Work is an activity which is directed towards the production of goods and services which typically have a value in exchange, and which is carried out for a valuable consideration.  Work is also the expenditure of energy on activities prescribe by oneself or others for the accomplishment of some purpose.

Equity Theory:  Equity theory focuses on individual needs factor and the environmental factors particularly rewards.  What this study refers to as equity has a central team, that rewards such as pay are important motivators of behavior the major cause (motive) leading to work performance and satisfaction is the degree of equity or inequity the employee perceives in the work place.  A person perceives an inequity when he or she is under rewarded or over-rewarded.

Performance output Expectancy:  When an individual engages in or contemplates a certain behavior, there is in that individual’s mind the expectation of certain consequences from that behavior.  For example, a worker who is thinking about doubling his result in praise, more pay or perhaps no reward at all.  The worker may even expect that the outcome will affect the individual’s decision on whether or not to proceed with contemplated behavior.

Effort-Performance Expectancy:  The individual’s expectations of how difficult it will be to achieve successful performance will also affect the individual’s decision on whether or not to proceed with that performance.  For example, an individual may be told that increasing sales by fifty (50) percent will lead to a much desired salary increase.  Before deciding whether or not to purse the sale increase, the individual must estimate the probability that he or she will be able to achieve it.