Teaching Staffs In American Elementary Schools - Assignment Example

Impact of Motivation on the Performance of Teaching Staffs in American Elementary Schools Education is a very importantthing in the society without which, no development can be accomplished. Despite the commitments of the federal government of the United States of America (USA) to support public education, there have been many cases of poor performance in the past. This has been attributed to lack of adequate motivation of teachers who are charged with the responsibility of guiding the teaching and learning process and imparting knowledge on learners. This research seeks to study the effects of motivation of teachers on the improvement of performance of elementary school learners. It does this by conducting an extensive research using the most appropriate research designs, procedures and instruments in the collection, analysis and presentation of the findings. Literature Review Introduction Elementary schools refer to educational institutions in which children aged between five and eleven years get education. In USA, elementary schools comprise of the kindergarten, and grades one and two. This explains why it is called (K-2). As the foundation of education, learning should be taken so seriously. After all, educationists argue that it is where learning best takes place. Thus, the entire learning at this stage should be mainly pragmatic and learner-centered. It is a challenging undertaking that can not be achieved if the teacher is not equipped with the right training, skills and good working conditions. However, this is far from reality as many schools have been recording poor performance records. Causes of Poor Performance in Elementary Schools According to Schultz & Schultz (2010) and Leithwood, Alma & Hopkins (2008), there have been dismal performances in many schools because of lack of motivation of teachers. Although it is a common knowledge that elementary school marks the foundation of education, it has not been given the attention it rightfully deserves. Similar sentiments are emphasized by Pierce, et al. (2003) who acknowledges that elementary school teachers feel demoralized. This may be a right observation because it is what the research will be focusing on. More studies will be conducted to find out if indeed a demoralized teacher does not deliver as expected. It is in line with the research problem that needs to be resolved by the studies. How to Motivate Elementary School Teachers As Moos (2008) exclaims, a motivated teacher is more productive than the one who is not. Meaning, performance is directly proportional to level of motivation one attains. Since education is a very wide sector, Dunham (2001) says that the teachers should be motivated through the use of monetary and non-monetary rewards. In his opinion, these include salary increment, promotions, proper job design, participation and recognition of hard working teachers who display a high level of professionalism and commitments in their duties. However, Gomez-Mejia, Luis; David, Balkin and Robert L. Cardy (2008) hold a contrary view because he urges in favor of the provision of a conducive working environment as the best way of boosting teachers’ morale. On his part, Skemp-Arlt & Toupence (2007) assert that teaching is a calling that does not necessary rely on monetary gains. To find out more information about this issue, the research will have to be intensive. Effects of Motivation of Teachers In his research, Hanushek & Alfred (2010) argues that motivation of teachers results in improved performance in schools. Just like any other employee, elementary school teachers need to be motivated. This, Starr (2014) says is the only way through which they can feel contented in their duties. After all, Hasan, Monypenny & Murray (2014) insinuate that each school should have a very strong Human Resource Department to cater for the welfare of teachers by ensuring that all their demands are met. If this happens, they will be happy to associate with their schools and do their best to educate learners. Conclusion In conclusion, teacher motivation is undoubtedly an important activity that can greatly impact on the performance of elementary schools in the country. Although these scholars argue that there are many ways through which it can be done, Dunham (2001) and Hanushek & Alfred (2010) bring outstanding opinions on how it should be effectively done. Thus, while borrowing their ideas, this research will dig deeper into this issue and conduct a rigorous study. This will not only help in bridging the missing gap, but also enable the researcher to come up with conclusive, well-thought and feasible recommendations that can be relied upon by the educationists, policy makers and future researchers. Research Question The research question will be: Does the motivation of teachers influence the level of performance in elementary schools in USA? This is a specific research question that demonstrates the focus and design of the research study. Besides, it makes it easier to identify the independent and dependent variables in the research. From here, it can be deduced that the main subject under study is the performance of elementary schools in the country. Method Section Participants Even if elementary school involves a lot of stakeholders, just a few of them will be selected to participate in the research process. In other words, the researcher will have to select a sample to represent the entire target population. The sample will be taken using a purposive sampling procedure. This is a sampling technique in which the researcher makes the choice of the group of people to participate in the research exercise based on the kind of information they can provide in line with the research problem. Since it will be at the discretion of the researcher to do this, the sample choice will be drawn from veteran teachers, newly recruited teachers, student-teachers, school administrators and Department of Education officials. It is these people who can provide the researcher with the required set of data to be used in responding to the research problem. Measures Obviously, measurement will be the core of this particular research. Since everything needs to be eventually reduced into numbers, it is important to acknowledge that both the independent and dependent variables of this research will be subjected to e precise measurement. This will be done in compliance with the conceptualization, operationalization and determination levels in mind with the expected validity and reliability. Based on the nature of the research, it will be necessary to subject the variables into a nominal, ordinal and interval levels of measurements. Whereas the nominal measurement will help in grouping the variables into distinct categories based on their characteristics, ordinal measurement will be instrumental in describing the variables into ranks and categories based on their importance or contributions to the subject matter. On the other hand, interval level of measurement will be used to describe the variables that have got distances or intervals between them. These measurements are necessary when conducting a research on the relationship between the level of motivation of teachers (as the independent variable) and the level of performance in their schools (as the dependent variable) in this research. Procedure In order to collect data, the researcher will employ the use of interview schedule as the preferred research instrument. After identifying the target population, a proportionate sample size will be used to participate in the research. However, since the choice of the participants will be left in the hands of the researcher, purposive sampling technique will be appropriate. Meaning, the researcher will, upon identifying the target population, choose the category of specific people to participate in the research based on their relevance to the research problem. Later, an interview schedule will be designed with proper, unbiased set of closed and open-ended questions to ask the respondents. However, before conducting the interviews, arrangements will be put in place to seek for their consent and make any ethical consideration. A part from making participation in the research to be voluntary, the participants will be assured of the highest possible level of confidentiality. This will help in instilling confidence in them and enable them to respond to the questions without any worries. At the same time, no leading questions will be asked because they can interfere with the answers given. All these will be achieved by giving each participant an ample opportunity to respond to the questions without any unnecessary interference or influence from any other force. Plan of Data Analysis Since the research will be qualitative, it will not involve any numerical analysis. This will, necessitate the application of thematic analysis which is simply a process that involves the analysis of data by the use of examination, recording and pinpointing of the themes got in the findings. The research quests will be designed to address a specific theme. Thus, after completing the interview process, the responses will be analyzed to identify the most prominent theme addressed by the majority of the respondents. The complexity of this task requires that it should be conducted using a clearly defined coding procedure ranging from the search, familiarization, generation, definition and reviewing of the themes before finally producing the required report. Thematic analysis will be useful in producing an accurate set of data that can be relied upon by the researcher. However, it will need to be thoroughly done by following all the planned procedures. As stated in the research question, performance and motivation is correlated. So, while finding more about the degree of this relationship, the major theme should revolve around improvement of performance in these schools. These should be seriously sieved and analyzed and before writing a conclusive report. It is in them that the research questions will be answered. Conclusion Based on the findings, the research concludes that of course there is a very close relationship between the level of motivation of teachers and level of performance in the elementary school teachers. According to the research findings, motivation plays a very significant role in determining the productivity of elementary school teachers. If teachers feel more motivated, they improve their productivity. This justifies why teachers in private schools produce better performances as compared to their counterparts in the public sector. They feel motivated. The findings also demonstrated that teachers need to be given monetary and non-monetary rewards. This is the only ay through which they can increase their productivity and deliver their best services for the benefit of their learners. Therefore, the research recommends that the teachers should be appropriately motivated. Explanation of Findings As demonstrated by the findings, productivity of the teachers is directly proportional to the level of their motivation. Meaning, the more motivated they are, the higher the quality of their production. Therefore, in schools in which teachers feel that they are given the right amount of remuneration, attention, promotion and provided with a conducive working environment, the level of performance is higher. This is a clear indication that teachers, just like any other employee needs to be properly motivated. Such motivations, to them, should be both in the form of money, material and other non-material benefits. The results clearly demonstrate that motivation is a key factor in the determination of the level of performance in the elementary schools in the country. Limitations The following were the limitations of this research: The use of interview as the major instrument came with its own limitations. First, it required a lot of time to individually subject all respondents into an interview. Secondly, the presence of the interviewer might have influenced the answers provided by the respondents. Lastly, some respondents might have given false and misleading answers that could not be relied upon. With the choice of interview as a data collection instrument, it implies that the researcher would be the main instrument in the study process. This is not desirable because the researcher might be bias in most of the decisions made. Such a situation might interfere with the validity and reliability of the findings. Although the researcher was free to use any sampling technique, they chose to use purposive sampling procedure. Even if it was the most appropriate for the research, it came with lots of limitations. It would not be proportionately representational since it does not give all the members of the entire population an equal opportunity to participate in the studies. Implications The major role of this research is to disseminate information on how the problem of teacher motivation and dismal performance in elementary schools can be resolved. With all these thorough studies, the research is undoubtedly resourceful. Its recommendations can immensely contribute towards the motivation of teachers who feel demoralized. In fact, unlike earlier studies, it digs deeper to find out exactly how effectively teachers can be motivated to improve their productivity. This implies that it can be instrumental to the concerned stakeholders who are charged with the responsibility of making and enforcing educational policies in the country. Meanwhile, the research will immensely impact on the scholarly world. Its findings, conclusions and recommendations can be of great importance to future scholars who might be interested in conducting a similar research. Its scope is beyond the ordinary studies which merely centre on the performance of teachers. This is because; it is more intensive as it involves the participation of relevant and unbiased respondents proportionately drawn from the target population. Thus, any future research to be conducted must allude to it as a reference. The intensity of its methodologies, designs and procedures make it outstanding and beyond comparison. Future Research Although very many scholars have been conducting lots of researches on this subject, there still exists a very big gap. Not much information has been disseminated to the educationists and other top decision and policy-makers regarding the level of performance in elementary schools. For a very long time, the performance in public schools has been poorer than that of the private schools. While commending the efforts put in this research, it must be acknowledged that it has not fully exploited the topic. A lot of researches still need to be done to find out more about the extent to which the motivation of teachers can actually contribute to the improvement in the level of performance of performance in these schools. While using this research as a benchmark and point of reference, many scholars should be challenged to come up and carry out intensive and extensive studies to find out more about the exact ways through which teachers can be motivated. As evidenced in the literature review, motivation still remains a very controversial issue. Being that it is still subjected to a debate implies that it has not been fully exploited. Therefore, despite a massive contribution of this research, more studies must be conducted to come up with information on how exactly this problem can be ultimately resolved. References Dunham, R.B. (2001). "Relationships of perceived job design characteristics to job ability requirements and job value". Journal of Applied Psychology. pp. 760–763. Gomez-Mejia, Luis R.; David B. Balkin and Robert L. Cardy (2008). Management: People, Performance, Change, 3rd edition. New York, New York USA: McGraw-Hill. Hanushek, E.A. & A. Alfred (2010) Lindseth, Schoolhouses, Courthouses, and Statehouses: Solving the funding-achievement puzzle in Americas public schools (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Hasan, H., Monypenny, R. & Murray P. (2014) ‘Leadership styles and decision-making styles in an Indonesian school context.’ School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation. Volume 34 Issue 3. Pages 284-298. Leithwood, K., Alma H. & Hopkins, D. (2008) ‘Seven strong claims about Successful School leadership.’ School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation. Volume 28, Issue 1 Page 27-42. Moos, R. H. (2008). Evaluating Educational Environments: Measures, procedures, findings, and policy implications. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Pierce,W.D. et al. (2003). "Positive effects of rewards and performance standards on intrinsic motivation". The Psychology Record. pp. 561–579. Schultz, M. & Schultz, D. (2010). Psychology and work today. New York: Prentice Hall. Skemp-Arlt, K.M, & Toupence,R. (2007). "The administrators role in employee motivation". Coach & Athletic Director. Starr, K. (2014) ‘Interrogating conceptions of leadership: school principals, policy and paradox.’ School Leadership & Management: Formerly School Organisation. Volume 34 Issue 3. Appendix Interview Schedule Part I Personal Details Name (Option)……………… Age………………………….. Sex…………………………... Designation…………………. Level of Education…………… Profession……………………. Part II Questions When did you graduate from college?....................... For how long have you been serving as a teacher?................. For how long have you been in this school?........................... Have you been teaching in any other school(s)?............. (Specify if any)…………………………… What do you think determines the performance of teachers in school?........................................... In your opinion, have you been producing satisfactory results?................What shows……………… What factors influence the quality of your performance?................. In your opinion, what roles does motivation play to you as a teacher?..................... How should, in your opinion, teachers be motivated?....................... Read More