Assessing the role of sustainable motivational strategies on teachers’ productivity in public primary schools in Yaounde VI sub-division

Abstract

Teachers are the most important factor in a generation's education process, so it is important that they perform to the best of their abilities in the educational activity. Each country's authorities must pay attention to the factors that affect teachers' performance which has a direct effect on students' performance. As a result, this study sets to demonstrate or to investigate that sustainable motivation strategies have a role to play on the productivity of public primary school teachers in Yaoundé VI subdivision in the center region. This study was grounded on four theories: The Expectancy Theory of Vroom (1964), the Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory (1959), the Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of needs (1908) and the McClelland’s Theory of Motivational Needs (1987). Three specific research hypotheses were formulated based on the three variables: teacher remuneration, delegation of function and teacher welfare, to determine their effect on the productivity of primary school teachers. 200 teachers from some public primary schools in Yaoundé VI were selected for this study using the Simple Random Sampling Technique. Using a mixed research design, a questionnaire and an interview guide were used for data collection. The data collected was summarized, coded and analyzed using tabulation approach and content analysis with the aid of SPSS version 21. Results obtained confirmed the general research hypotheses that; Teachers’ motivational strategies significantly affect teacher productivity. All hypotheses tested were verified at 0.5 degree of significance, meaning 95% of confidence. This thus implies that teacher’s motivational strategy significantly affects teacher’s productivity and performance. Based on this, it is recommended that working environment and teaching conditions of the teachers should be adequately enhanced by management or government. Incentives such as medical care, housing allowances should be adequately provided to bring about high intrinsic motivation. Also, to provide teachers with training and resources needed to do the work, and recognize teachers for good performances, both formally and informally.