Motivational Strategies and Biology Teachers Job Satisfaction
Abstract
This study was conducted to examine motivational strategy and Biology teachers Job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area. Three research questions were raised to guide the study. The population of the study comprised of all Biology teachers from all public secondary schools in the study area. Sample size of ten (10) teachers were selected from five (5) public secondary schools using simple random sampling technique.
The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire, while the data collected were analyzed using simple percentage. The result revealed that teachers motivation such as regular payment of salary, teachers’ promotion and teacher’s incentives enhance job satisfaction among teachers in secondary schools.
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations were made among others that; teacher’s salary and remuneration should be harmonized to correspond to their competencies and qualification. Also, teachers should be promoted when due on time and provided with good working condition in order to improve job satisfaction of Biology teachers.
Motivational Strategies and Biology Teachers Job Satisfaction
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Motivational strategies and teacher job satisfaction are related constructs that influence the quality of education. Quality education is the degree to which education can be said to be of a high standard, satisfies basic learning needs and enriches the lives of learners and their overall experience of living (Orodho, 2013).
Onucha (2013) posited that teachers are important instrument in education. They are also the pivot on which the educational process hang. Teachers play a major role in the whims and caprices of the educational system.
They can influence the teaching – learning outcomes either positively or negatively because they determine the quality of instructional delivery and also influence quality education when it comes to implementation of the curriculum and educational policies. They are to be considered when addressing issues such as: quality assurance; quality delivery (teaching), quality context and quality learning outcomes.
Motivated teachers are more likely to motivate students to learn in the classroom and hence ensuring achievement of educational reforms and satisfaction. The importance of job satisfaction and motivation are essential to the long term growth and development of any educational system all over the world. Job satisfaction and motivation to work are very essential in the lives of teachers because they form the basic reason for working in life. Notably all teachers’ work in order to achieve their needs while constantly agitating for their needs satisfaction (Uz-zaman, 2013).
According to Latham (2016), “teachers’ job satisfaction can do more to improve their teaching”. This implies that satisfied teachers can contribute significantly to the improvement of students academic performance and school effectiveness at large. Similarly, Shann (2015), asserted that job satisfaction helps to retain teachers and make them committed to their job and through this also make their schools very effective. In other words, job satisfaction contributes to improvement of teaching, students learning and teacher retention.
Motivational Strategies and Biology Teachers Job Satisfaction
Harris (2012), in his study on teacher job satisfaction in Nigerian secondary schools revealed the factors that constitute the distinguishing factors between the most satisfied and the least satisfied teachers to include class size, support for the education of the whole child, academic excellence and treatment of teacher as professionals, including giving them considerable autonomy and independence.
According to Majasan (2013), teachers’ motivation is a key to guaranteed quality education, as such influence quality assurance in the educational system. Without efficient and effective teachers in the education industry, qualitative learning outcomes cannot be achieved. That is why they should be motivated properly in order to enhance quality in the educational system.
However, concerted efforts are always made through effective and efficient motivational strategies by the school to ensure teachers’ job satisfaction in the school system. Motivational strategies has been always been regarded as the internalized drive that is more dominant in an individual at a given moment which are integral and essential part of the secondary school administration. For this, no meaningful development could be achieve in the school system without the appropriate strategies to stir up the commitment of teachers on the part of the school as regards their job satisfaction (Getange, 2014).
However, in an educational organization, job satisfaction would produce a teacher with high vitality. This refers to the positive quality of producing good products and in this case, it leads to good student performance. When teachers are highly motivated, they would tend to be very conscientious in his or her work and tend to be more responsible. Moreover, it is very importance to note that, a motivated teacher will offer best in terms of achieving the expected goals in the school system (Sava, 2014).
Motivation is to inspire people to work, individually or in groups in the ways such as to produce best results. It is the will to act. It is the willingness to exert high level of effort towards organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts and ability to satisfy some individual needs (Orodho, 2013).
Motivational Strategies and Biology Teachers Job Satisfaction
Motivation is getting somebody to do something because they want to do it. It was once assumed that motivation had to be injected from outside, but it is now understood that everyone is motivated by several differing strategies as is also applicable in the school system.
It is against this background that this study which is examine motivational strategy and Biology teachers’ job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area was carried out.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
One of the important factors in realizing educational aim and objectives in Biology as a subject is the role of a teacher within the educational setup. The performance of the teacher toward achieving educational goals is said to be very important in most society today. The negative performance of teachers towards an educational aim and objectives could be associated with the poor motivational strategies.
Teachers have the biggest impact on the success and flaws of students academic performance because their teaching are instrumental in helping them learn. Teacher’s motivation to undertake a task depends on their expected reward. Efficient and effective teaching will take place when there is a strong motivation in terms of wages and innovation from the government to the teachers.
This motivation may be aroused by either extrinsic or intrinsic stimuli both of which are important in directing and regulating the learning behavior towards attainment of the desired goals. Teachers must therefore be motivated through various ways which may include the organization of seminar and workshops, regular payment of salary, giving of incentive, providing the required learning facilities like textbooks, laboratory equipment and verbal encouragement for the teacher.
This would go a long way in motivating the teachers which will in turn improve their job satisfaction. Therefore, in order to improve on the good motivational strategies, the study seeks to examine motivational strategies and Biology teachers Job Satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to examine the influence of motivational strategies and Biology teachers’ job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area. Specifically the study sought to:
- determine how regular payment of salary influence Biology teachers Job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area.
- To examine how promotions influence Biology teachers job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area.
- ascertain how giving of incentives influence Biology teachers job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area.
1.4 Research Questions
The study was guided by the following research questions:
- To what extent does regular payment of salary affect Biology teachers job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area?
- Does promotion affect Biology teachers job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area.
- How does giving incentive affect Biology teachers job satisfaction in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area?
1.5 Significance of the Study
It is hoped that the final result of this research work will help in finding possible ways in which motivation can influence teaching and learning process and also improve learning on the part of students. It is important for the researcher to put into consideration, the significance of teachers’ motivation.
However, this research will be significant in the following ways:
- Teachers will benefit when possible motivation is given to them in terms of promotion, payment of salaries as at when due, they will give in their best in the teaching process and also their standard of living will improve.
- Parents will benefit when teachers are being motivated in the sense that the students will be responsible to their parents and also the money spent on them will not be in vain because they will help in carrying out family responsibilities.
- Students will benefit equally when teachers are motivated as this will enable them to enhance and improve their performance.
1.6 Limitation of the Study
This study encountered some form of limitation during the process of its findings which include:
- Time Factor: The greatest among these limitations had been time factor. Conducting a research of this kind should have taken up to one year of study. Therefore the research was narrowed down to the time allowed in carrying out this research work.
- Financial constraints: The present economic recession in the country posts some financial problems which post serious challenge in assembling facts and materials for the findings of the study.
- Poor access roads to remote areas: Some of the schools in Okobo Local government Area are located in very interior and remote areas where roads are not motorable.
1.7 Delimitation of the Study
This study is delimited to motivational strategies and Biology teachers job satisfaction among teachers in secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area. The scope shall cover all the secondary schools in Okobo Local Government Area only. The study was also delimited to the listed motivational strategies; regular payment of salary, promotions and giving of incentives.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
In order to avoid ambiguity in the grammatical contexts in this study, the following terms are defined:
- Regular Payment of Salary: This refers to payment of salaries when due.
- Promotion: This means to move a teacher to a more important position or rank in a school.
- Incentive: This refers to rewards given to teachers to work harder such as allowance, bonus etc.
- Biology: This is the science subject in which the researcher chooses to carryout the research work.
- Motivation: This means a process of encouraging someone.
- Strategies: These are proper and organized ways of carrying out certain plan.
