Teacher Motivation

Introduction

Teaching is a difficult and demanding profession. Doing the job well requires that teachers give of themselves intellectually, emotionally and physically. It is also a very important job. The future of a society is in the hands of those who teach society‘s children and youth. Yet in spite of its demands and its importance, in many countries, teaching is not well paid compared to other professions. As a result, teaching cannot attract well-qualified people by salary alone. So what does motivate teachers?

Teacher motivation refers to the different professionally related factors within the school context that encourage teachers in their work. Teacher motivation sustains teachers when difficulties arise and may help them feel satisfied and proud to be a teacher. Motivational factors can include:

• Support from supervisors

• Support from colleagues

• Opportunities to learn

• Opportunities to participate in decision-making on school-related matters

• Regular, reasonable compensation

• Opportunities for vocational and skills trainers to expand their businesses

Understanding how these factors influence teachers is a key to providing them with the encouragement and support they need to be effective teachers.

Teacher motivation is one of the three interconnected pieces defining who a teacher is and what attitudes he or she has toward teaching. To explore/review the other parts of the puzzle – teacher identity and teacher well-being – you can use the menu on the left.

Introduction

In this section we will discuss different factors that create teacher motivation in contexts of crisis, post-crisis and state fragility. We will also consider the implications of these on student well-being. And we will draw on examples from Healing Classrooms findings, promising practice interventions and from the Healing Classrooms regional workshops in West and East Africa in September/October 2006.

By the end of this section, you will:

• Have an in-depth understanding of teacher motivation issues in contexts of crisis, post-crisis and state fragility

• Be able to apply these concepts and identify teacher motivation dynamics in your local context

• Understand how teacher motivation impacts positively and negatively on student well-being

• Identify actions that can be taken in your context to strengthen teacher motivation to support student well-being

Motivating Factors

Teacher motivation factors are especially important in crisis and post-crisis situations where teachers may be paid only a basic “incentive.” Or they may receive minimal compensation from the community through school fees or other in-kind contributions. If teachers are on the government payroll, fragile or post-crisis governments rarely have resources to compensate teachers fully for their work. Nor do they have the systems to ensure that teachers‘ salaries reach them on time and without the involvement of middlemen.

Even when teachers feel fortunate to receive their small compensation, there may be other factors within the school working to negatively impact teacher motivation. These may also cause teachers to perform poorly and even to leave the profession. Some potential discouraging factors may include:

• lack of experience

• low compensation

• difficult life circumstances

• apprehesion about meeting the immense needs of children and youth

Motivating Factors

In crisis and post-crisis contexts where there are uncertainties about the outlook for their community, teachers may be eager to do whatever they can to contribute to the community and to ensure brighter futures for the younger generation. This sort of motivation can help to ensure quality education. Other teacher motivations that can positively impact students include ongoing teacher education and professional development opportunities. The objective in exploring issues of teacher motivation is not just that teachers remain in their teaching jobs. The hope is that they grow and develop as teachers, working to provide children with quality instruction and interaction oriented to healing and well-being.

Motivating Factors

We can all agree that it is important to have good teachers. We can also agree that salary alone is not likely to be enough of a motivator for teachers to want to continue working to become excellent teachers. That is why it is essential to understand what motivates and what discourages teachers in your context. Only then can you strengthen the existing motivators, address factors that discourage teachers and introduce new motivators.

Activity:

To help you think about teacher motivation, complete these two statements:

Teachers in my context are motivated by ___________________________.

Teachers in my context are discouraged by _________________________.

Read the statements over and over and "fill in the blanks," completing the statement in any way that holds true for you. There are no "correct" or "incorrect" answers. When you can think of nothing new to add, share with a colleague and see if he or she has any new ideas, or ideas that challenge your initial thoughts.

For Facilitators:

If you are facilitating a group, brainstorm ideas about what motivates and discourages teachers. Compile the group‘s ideas on a board, flipchart or paper if available.

Motivating Factors

To help you expand your views, review these ideas the IRC staff in West and East Africa suggested as some factors that motivate teachers:

Teachers involved in vocational and skills training and youth programs have also reported the following additional motivating factors:

Activity Part 1:

Review these motivation factors. How are they similar to the ones you gave? How are they different? Change or add to the list above to reflect the realities of your context. When it is complete, share it with other staff or colleagues for further input. It can then be used as a tool for program design and development.

Motivating Factors

Activity Part 2:

Review the list above and add or change any additional motivations important for teachers in your context. Remove any factors that do not apply in your context. Again, when it is complete, share it with other staff or colleagues for further input and discussion. Which motivations do you think are most significant? For which teachers? For example, are the motivators the same for male and female teachers? Are the motivators the same for school teachers and teachers in vocational and skills training for youth? What impacts might these different motivations have on students?

Motivating Factors

During teacher trainings, IRC staff discussed the relationship between teacher trauma and motivation. Specifically they explored how teaching and caring for children and youth could actually help teachers themselves and support their own psychosocial well-being. Therefore, the opportunity to teach in and of itself may constitute a significant form of motivation.

At the same time, however, trauma may mean that teachers are unable to cope well with the stresses of the classroom, or with the emotional and learning needs of vulnerable children and youth.

Questions for Reflection/Discussion:

In your context, how would you evaluate the relationship between teacher trauma and motivation?

Teacher Motivation and Student Well-Being

The relationship between teacher motivation and student well-being is not complicated. If teachers are happy, if they feel professionally stimulated and have the technical and moral support from colleagues and supervisors, then these feelings will be reflected in the quality of their teaching. They will manage their classrooms more effectively and do well in their relationships and communications with children, youth and their parents. Motivated teachers are likely to “go the extra mile” to ensure a child has understood a difficult math problem, for example. They will follow up if a young person seems “under the weather,” or is acting out of character one day. Children and youth will also respond to teachers' positive attitude and will be encouraged to trust them, to ask questions and to share any concerns.

Teacher Motivation and Student Well-Being

When teachers are discouraged and disgruntled and when they feel isolated, unsupported, and unmotivated, children and youth suffer. Unmotivated teachers are not likely to spend more than the minimum amount of time on teaching-related activities. If these teachers experience negative behavior from colleagues or community members, their professional dissatisfaction may lead to a tendency to try to retaliate against their students. Teachers may target children or youth with a rough and uncaring manner. Likewise, these teachers might exhibit an “I don‘t care” attitude toward their duties.

Questions for Reflection/Discussion:

Building on the earlier discussion of the teacher motivation issues in your context, now consider how motivation issues impact teachers‘ capacity to promote student well-being through their everyday interactions in the classroom. What has been the effect on the learning experiences of children and/or youth?

Summary Framework: Teacher Motivation

Teacher motivation is an important factor in promoting quality teaching oriented to the healing, well-being and protection of children and youth. Teachers should always receive a decent salary and adequate compensation for the important work they do.

Click here to read the teacher management guidelines outlined in the UNESCO / ILO Recommendations.

Other motivation factors found in the school environment, relationships with students, colleagues, community, and the act of teaching and facilitating learning, deserve consideration as well. Different factors have power to motivate and/or discourage teachers in crisis and post-crisis contexts. They need to be studied and acknowledged, with appropriate and context-specific steps taken to support rather than diminish teacher motivation.

	Teacher Motivation Framework
	Definition	Possible Positive Implications	Possible Negative Implications
Teacher Motivation	The different professionally related factors within the school context that encourage or discourage teachers in their work. + Positive factors may help them feel happy, satisfied and proud to be a teacher. These factors may sustain them when difficulties arise. - Negative factors make teachers feel frustrated, unmotivated, and professionally isolated and unsupported.	Teachers may be motivated by other factors, such as a desire to help their community or to be a community leader. Teachers may be encouraged through participatory approaches to training and management that respect and value their skills and experience. Support from colleagues, an opportunity to learn and participation in decision-making on school-related matters	Teachers may be easily discouraged by difficult working conditions. (A small or non-existent salary). Teachers may be discouraged by negative attitudes (“deficit model”) from trainers and managers. Lack of inclusion in decision-making processes on school-related issues.

Click here for a printable version of this framework.

Activity:

Review this framework. Consider other possible positive implications for teacher motivation issues in your context. Consider other possible negative implications of teacher motivation issues as well. Now develop your own context-specific Teacher Motivation framework to use as a tool in program design and development related to teacher support.