Impact of Motivation and Job Satisfaction on Basic School Teacher Retention in the Ejura-sekyedumase Municipality of Ghana

Abstract

Retention of teachers in the basic schools in Ghana has been a worry. In the interest of understanding the role of motivation and job satisfaction on the retention of teachers in the basic schools, this study examined the impact of motivation and job satisfaction on basic school teacher retention in the Ejura Sekyedumase Municipality of Ghana. Positivism philosophy, quantitative approach and descriptive survey were respectively considered for the study. An adopted questionnaire on teacher motivation, teacher job satisfaction and teacher retention was used as the instrument for the study. Cluster sampling double-stage and random number generator software were used as the technique to select 302 basic school teachers. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling, inferential and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data collected. According to the objectives of the study, it was found that: motivation has a direct relationship and influences teachers‘ retention in basic schools. It was again found that motivation has a positive relationship with job satisfaction and both conspire to influence teachers‘ retention in basic schools. In addition, job satisfaction was found to have an indirect relationship with teacher retention in basic schools. The study finally established that job satisfaction positively and significantly mediates the relationship between motivation and basic school teachers‘ retention. Considering the study‘s relevance for teacher retention in basic schools, the researcher, therefore, recommended that stakeholders of basic education should create relevant and equitable satisfactory motivation systems as conditions of service to significantly attract and retain teachers in basic schools.