Work and School Related Variables in Teacher Motivation in Gasabo District, Rwanda

Abstract

This paper examined work and school related variables in teacher motivation in Gasabo District of Rwanda. Two hundred and sixty seven (267) primary school teachers from Gasabo district, Kigali, participated. Systematic sampling technique was applied to choose the number of needed schools from the total of 55 in the district. Hence 15 schools were chosen as a sample population in which teachers constituting these schools were investigated. The instrument contained 50-structured items that were measured on a four point scale with a numerical score: - strongly disagree (1), tend to disagree (2), tend to agree (3), and strongly agree (4). In order to test whether the instrument measured what it was meant to measure, a pilot survey was conducted before the final data collection so as to measure the instrument’s reliability. A total of 44 teachers participated in the pilot study. The results indicate that motivation of public primary school teachers in Gasabo district is due to work supervision, responsibility assignment, and how teacher effort is acknowledged and respected. The results further indicate that in teacher motivation and school facilities related variables, only aesthetic and cleanliness significantly correlated with teacher motivation. It is recommended that educators, through reflective practice, and in-service and professional development, learn more about how to structure physical classroom settings to meet their instructional goals and activities, which would, as a result, motivate both the learner and the teacher.