Exploring teachers' morale in selected primary schools of Bohlabela District

Abstract

The primary aim of this study was to explore primary school teachers’ experiences that influence their morale in Bohlabela District, Mpumalanga Province in order to improve practice and create a suitable environment for effective teaching and learning. The aim was achieved by exploring teachers’ experiences, identifying factors which influence the morale of teachers and developing strategies which could be applied to motivate teachers in their profession. The empirical inquiry was informed by behaviourism as a theoretical framework as well as the extant literature on teachers’ morale. The study applied an interpretive paradigm which is qualitative in nature to collect and analyse teachers’ subjective but accurate accounts of their opinions, experiences and perceptions regarding their morale. A case study was opted as the research design method and purposive sampling was used to identify 12 poorly performing rural primary schools and to select information- rich 36 teacher participants, all of who were teaching Grade 6 Mathematics and English. The primary data gathering technique was focus group interviews with teachers. Data extracted from the participants were augmented, supported, confirmed and corroborated by observations. Data were analysed using a thematic data analysis approach. Data were segmented and inductively coded into three main themes which served as the main empirical research findings. The first theme of this study dealt with experiences that influence teachers’ morale which included boredom, frustrations, lack of professional development and feelings of neglect and violence.InIn this theme it was found that experiences such as boredom, lack of professional development, feelings of neglect and school violence negatively affected the morale of teachers. The second theme comprised factors that affect teachers’ morale which included personal factors; work related factors and socio-economic factors. Personal factors and work related factors were also found to play a negative role in the morale of teachers. The third theme comprised intervention strategies to enhance teachers’ morale which included improved communication, family support, safety in schools and parental involvement. Based on the findings of the literature review and the empirical investigation, recommendations were made for the improvement of practice. It was concluded in this study that low teacher morale is a challenge in the schooling systems globally including South Africa. The study further concluded that low teacher morale negatively affects both teachers’ and learners’ productivity. As a way of mitigating problems associated with low teacher morale, it was recommended that the Department of Education should prioritise the issue of consulting teachers as an important component when developing professional development programmes aimed at assisting teachers, this is thought will assist in identifying problem areas which affect the work of teachers which ultimately affects their morale.