Teacher motivation in selected senior high schools in the Kwabre District of the Ashanti Region

Abstract

The classroom teacher is the key to the quality of any educational system. Serious motivational problems are affecting teachers in Ghana at both the junior and senior high school levels. The current levels of motivation have resulted in increased teacher absenteeism, high teacher turnover and professional misconduct. Many graduate teachers are being lost from the educational system as they leave for better paying jobs in the private sector or join other departments where promotions prospects are perceived to be better. The study set out to examine the level of motivation of teachers in the Kwabre District of the Ashanti region and its impact. Data were collected from a sample population of eighty-one teachers from four schools out of the seven in the District, and respondents were randomly selected to respond to a set of structured questionnaires. The responses revealed that the teachers in the District were only satisfied with two things namely: the attention given to their personal welfare needs, and the geographical location of the District in the region for economic reasons. Fifty percent of the teachers would still choose the same district if they were fresh graduates, with the remaining fifty percent claiming otherwise. According to the teachers, to improve upon the level of motivation in the district, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports and the District Assembly could introduce good incentive packages for teachers, improve their physical working environment as well as adopt the right policies that will make the teaching work more challenging, among others.