Teacher motivation and students’ performance in Uganda advanced certificate of education; a case of secondary schools in Ntoroko district, Uganda,

Abstract

The study was about “The relationship between teacher motivation and students’ performance in Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education: a case of secondary schools in Ntoroko District.” The study identified the forms of motivation offered to teachers in secondary schools in Ntoroko District; established the level of teacher motivation in secondary schools in Ntoroko District, and determined the correlation between teacher motivation and students' performance at UACE. The study adopted two theories: the expectancy theory by Vroom (1964) and the ERG Theory of Motivation, by Alderfer (1969). The study employed a cross-sectional and correlational research design to explain and compare the status of the variables of the study. Under these research designs, both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were used. Quantitative data was collected through a survey questionnaire, while qualitative data was collected through the interview schedule of school administrators. Quantitative data was coded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20 and the results were presented using tables of frequencies and percentages. Qualitative data was grouped into themes and excerpts used to support the objectives. The study sampled 06 school administrators and 40 teachers. Under objective 1, the study established that the forms of motivation for secondary school teachers in Ntoroko District are limited, and under objective 2, the levels of motivation of teachers are low. Under objective 3, the Pearson's correlation revealed a strong positive correlation (r = 0.597, p < 0.001) between teacher motivation and students’ performance at UACE. Regression results showed that motivation accounts for 35.6% of performance variation, with the model statistically significant (F = 23.54, p < 0.001). The coefficients confirmed that higher teacher motivation directly improves academic achievement. The study recommended a need for government to close gaps in the differences between the salaries for science and art teachers; schools were encouraged to look for other ways of getting motivational incentives for teachers such as PTA allowances, lunch allowances, housing allowances and child allowances to increase motivation for teachers; and lastly, there was a need to encourage students to conduct self-reading and revision since teachers were less motivated to improve academic performance at UACE.