Influence of Financial Motivation on Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in Public Secondary Schools in Kigoma District, Tanzania

Abstract

There have been complains for many years among stakeholders about the status of secondary education in Tanzania. Teachers’ attrition, absenteeism and low teaching morale have attributed to the decline of educational quality in many countries including Tanzania. Inadequate financial motivation among educators has been the important agenda in provision of quality education in many parts of the world. Therefore, the study on the influence of financial motivation to job satisfaction among secondary school teachers was imperative. Specifically, this study intended to examine the extent of financial motivation to public secondary school teachers; find out levels of job satisfaction among secondary school teachers and establishing if there is a relationship between financial motivations and job satisfaction among public secondary school teachers in Kigoma district. The study was underpinned on scientific management theory and utilized descriptive survey design particularly cross-sectional survey. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 82 teachers while 10 Academic masters/mistresses and heads of schools were purposively included. Data were collected through questionnaires and interview schedules. Quantitative data was analyzed descriptively (frequencies and percentages) and inferentially (Chi-square test and spearman rank correlation method at .05 and .01 significant levels) while qualitative data from interviews was managed through thematic techniques. Generally, it was found out that there is a significant difference in financial motivation among public secondary school teachers. It was also found out that there is a significant difference in teachers’ job satisfaction among public secondary school teachers in Kigoma district. Furthermore, the study revealed that there is a positive relationship between financial motivation and job satisfaction among public secondary school teachers in Kigoma district (r=.355, p=.003) The study therefore recommends that policymakers in educational sector should enforce school managers and administrators to provide compensational rewards to teachers which reflect teachers’ status.