The morale of educators in certain schools is very low. From the literature review I concluded that not all schools experience low morale in the same way. There are different factors impacting on the morale of educators at different schools. In this study, the causes of low educator morale, indicators of low morale, the importance of high morale and how low morale can be dealt with were addressed in order to provide guidelines to improve low morale. An empirical study was conducted and 2 schools in the Northern Areas of Port Elizabeth were used in this case study to establish to what measure the educators are exposed to the abovementioned variables. The data was analysed qualitatively and quantitatively. South Africa is divided into different demographic areas. The majority of people living in the communities where these schools are located are poor, unskilled, unemployed and the crime levels are very high. The socio-economic context within which these schools are located also has an impact on the morale of the educators at these schools and it affects their working lives. Educators, SMTs and principals took part in the empirical study so that their views can be compared and to facilitate the researcher to make recommendations on improving low educator morale. The research outcomes were analysed and deductions, recommendations and a need for further research were given. The empirical and literature study emphasised that the morale of educators is low in the schools and this morale status impacts on learners’ achievements, the health of the educators and the health of the institution. The educators in this study ranked their own morale status as low and some of the causes of the low morale according to the empirical study are lack of resources, ill-disciplined learners, uninvolved parents and an ineffective management style of the principal.

Since the first National Curriculum Statement matriculation results for 2008, there has been an outcry that rural secondary schools in KwaZulu Natal are lagging behind in terms of pass rate compared to urban and former Model C secondary schools. There are various contributory factors that are impacting on poor learners’ performance in rural schools. This study was specifically conducted in rural secondary schools of KwaZulu Natal. The reason was that there is few research conducted in rural schools, particularly with regard to teacher job satisfaction and professional development. There is therefore a belief that satisfied teachers produce good performance in their schools. Furthermore, it is also believed that satisfied and adequately developed teachers are the key to successful implementation of the grades 10-12 National Curriculum Statement. The study was therefore conducted to investigate rural secondary school teachers’ experiences of job satisfaction and their expectations of support to develop their competencies as curriculum workers. The research problem was investigated through the mixed methods research. The use of mixed methods research was to ensure that reliability and validity are addressed. The concurrent strategy of mixed methods research was employed. In concurrent mixed research methods, data is collected during the same phase. Data was collected from rural secondary schools of Umzinyathi, Ilembe and Empangeni districts in KwaZulu Natal. There were fifty rural secondary schools which participated in the study. Four hundred rural secondary school teachers completed survey questionnaires. Eighteen rural secondary school teachers participated in individual interviews. Only nine rural secondary schools were involved in observation and interviews. Research findings show that poverty was one of the major contributory factors that led to poor performance of rural secondary schools. Poverty and lack of adequate professional development programmes in rural secondary schools have negative impact in terms of teachers’ job satisfaction. Learners’ poor command of English in rural secondary schools contributed to their poor academic performance. Lack of support services, bad condition of roads and, long distances travelled by both learners and teachers contributed to teachers’ job dissatisfaction and learners’ poor performance. Rural secondary school learners were demotivated about learning, since they lacked role models in their communities. Rural secondary school learners were also undisciplined. They bunked classes. They carried weapons to schools. Rural secondary school learners also helped criminals to steal and vandalize school property. They smoked dagga inside the school premises. Moreover, research findings indicate that rural secondary school teachers were not involved in school decision-making processes. School management teams were the only structure making school decisions. Growth opportunities for teachers were not fairly provided to them by their principals. Schools governing body chairpersons and principals were abusing the teacher promotion process since they were biased. They only promoted their friends and relatives and sometimes they were bribed by candidates. The latter findings contributed to teachers’ job dissatisfaction. Further findings indicate that there were teachers who were teaching subjects for which they were not qualified. Some heads of department were supervising subject streams that were outside of their specialization since the school post-provisioning norms (PPN) was small. Rural secondary school principals possessed inadequate grades 10-12 National Curriculum Statement expertise. Integrated Quality Management Systems was unable to develop teachers for effective grades 10-12 National Curriculum Statement implementation since it was not implemented accordingly in rural secondary schools. Clusters were effective strategies to develop teachers in rural schools although geographical isolation of school was their main challenge. The recommendations of this study are that RSSs must be fully supported by the KwaZulu Natal Department of Education. All roads to schools must be repaired in time. Decent teacher accommodation must be built inside schools with security guards to look after teachers’ safety and their property when they are away. Recreation venues/centres must be established in rural areas to relieve and address teachers’ stress and boredom. The KwaZulu Natal Department of Education must ensure that all schools have libraries, laboratories and computer classes. The Department of Education must also fully recognize postgraduate qualifications such as honours, master’s and doctoral degrees to retain highly qualified teachers in rural secondary schools. Teachers must be promoted on merit rather than on friendship or relationship.

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. / Educational Studies

While scholars have investigated the impact of school start times on adolescent students, there is limited research on how school start times affect teachers. In addition, recent reports of declining teacher morale emphasize the need for further study on influences of teacher satisfaction. Using secondary analysis of data from the 2017–18 National Teachers and Principals Survey (NTPS), this study measured relationships between school start times and other characteristics of responding teachers (n = 44,319) and their schools. The results identified trends in school start times by school level and community density. In addition, a statistically significant positive relationship between school start time and teacher satisfaction was found, as well a statistically significant negative relationship between school end time and teacher satisfaction. These findings suggest a need for further research on the association between school schedules and teacher satisfaction, but other variables appear to have a stronger influence on teacher satisfaction, such as teacher engagement in professional development. / Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study is to build a conceptual framework to explain the influence of team building among elementary school teachers to improve teacher morale. This framework is intended as the foundation for a team building model to provide principals and teachers with a guide for implementing sound team-building activities into inservice training and throughout the school year. What are the best practices for implementing team building and how can these practices encourage teachers to have a more positive outlook on their profession? The variables include school environment, school climate, different principals, principal changes, years of teaching experience, teaching and planning time, school populations, and types of student programs at the school. This qualitative case study was conducted using interviews of administrators and teachers from 7 public elementary schools located in Southern Appalachia to discover how teambuilding activities influenced their perceptions of teacher morale. School observations captured the climate of the schools and each school's School Improvement Plan (SIP) and Staff Development Plan were examined. The researcher coded transcripts into themes, patterns, and the following conceptual constructs: (a) communication, (b) change, (c) building community, (d) acknowledgement, (e) work morale, (f) time, (g) team building, and (h) teamwork. Findings confirmed that administrators and a majority of the teachers showed evidence of high morale. The administrators reported that team-building activities at their school promoted open communication and a positive working environment. Ninety percent of the teachers discussed that team building brought the faculty together and improved communication and the overall climate of the school. Ten percent of the teachers interviewed came from 2 schools that had vertical team meetings during their planning time. They complained that vertical team meetings were a waste of time. For the most part team-building activities incorporated in the schools influenced keeping teacher morale high. Many teachers welcomed opportunities to work with their coworkers on school decision-making teams as well as in off-campus socializing.

With the declining presence of African-American teachers in the teacher workforce, it is necessary to examine plausible causes for this phenomenon. Previous research suggests that most African-American teachers teach in high minority, high poverty schools. Consequently, they face substantial challenges related to student achievement and social and cultural disparities. No Child Left Behind is an education reform policy designed to bridge the gap between the educational disparities which exist, placing emphasis on teacher accountability and student achievement. The accountability requirements established by NCLB have generated significant pressure for teachers, particularly African-American teachers in struggling schools who must make Adequate Yearly Progress in order to avoid federal sanctions and public labeling as failing schools. Therefore, since African-American teachers often teach in schools most affected by NCLB, an examination of their experiences regarding various aspects of the law and its affect on teacher morale is essential to understanding the far-reaching implications of education reform. The focus of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of how NCLB has affected teacher morale for African-American teachers in low-performing middle schools. Specifically, a phenomenological, qualitative method was used to capture their experiences in an effort to uncover the realities these teachers face in the classroom. The overall objective of this study was to develop a richer awareness of what it means to teach in underperforming schools, while seeking academic excellence within them. Results from this study generated five themes related to teacher morale among African-American teachers in low performing middle schools. An examination of these themes indicated that teacher morale among African-American teachers in low performing middle schools was influenced by NCLB due to published test scores and NCLB’s inability to address the social and cultural disparities that exist in education. However, despite the challenges of NCLB, African-American teachers remained dedicated to their calling as teachers seeking to help their students succeed despite the odds.

Leadership in modern-day schools is changing. School leaders are expected to oversee the physical plant and school finances, as well as to be the instructional leader, personnel officer, public relations specialist, and point person for the accountability efforts at all governmental levels. Principals cannot be experts in every area of school administration; thus, they are more dependent on other members of the educational team. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a form of shared leadership in an elementary school known as an intelligent hierarchy, to test whether such a model affects the distribution of decision-making, climate, and morale within the school (Leithwood & Mascall, 2008). This was a mixed-methods, action-research project in which the principal of the school served as a participant observer. A leadership team was formed consisting of the principal, teachers, support staff, and parents to aid in the decision-making process. Qualitative data were collected in the form of minutes of leadership team meetings, journal entries by the principal, and minutes of meetings with individual teachers. A modified version of the constant comparative method (Maykut & Morehouse,1994) was used to analyze the qualitative data. Quantitative data were collected with questionnaires administered three times each throughout the course of the study. Data were collected on shared leadership, the distribution of decisions, school climate, and teacher morale. The implementation of the hybrid model of shared leadership led to improvement in the areas of shared leadership, shared decision-making, and employee morale. Improvement was evident in some areas of school climate. The result is a model administrators could implement, either in whole or in part, to track the implementation of shared leadership in their schools. / Ed. D.

This descriptive survey investigated the extent of teacher absenteeism in public schools for 1980-81. The perceptions of public school administrators about teacher absenteeism being a problem were analyzed. The implementation status of twenty selected teacher absence control policies was compared; each policy was further examined for its evaluation status. The Questionnaire on Teacher Absence Policies and Techniques, designed by the researcher, solicited data for the study from 244 public school districts in the United States. Data were analyzed by district size, estimated daily teacher absenteeism rates and the number of sick leave days earned annually by teachers. SPSS subprograms provided frequencies, cross tabulations and discriminant analysis. The major findings are that the estimated daily teacher absenteeism rate of 4.8 percent for 1980-81 represents an increase from other absenteeism studies. Public school administrators tended to respond that they have no evidences of significant absence from teachers to suspect that teacher absenteeism is a problem, yet they also were more likely to express dissatisfaction with the daily teacher absenteeism rates in their districts. District size, estimated daily teacher absence rates and the policy of the number of sick leave days earned annually were found to be significantly related to the responses of implementation and evaluation status of specific teacher· absence control policies and techniques. / Ed. D.

A three-phase study was conducted. In the first phase, individual interviews were conducted with 15 secondary school teachers to develop indigenous items for assessing teacher burnout and lack of reciprocity. In the second phase, 187 secondary school teachers were included to determine the items of newly-developed instruments and to examine their psychometric properties. In the third phase, the aims were to examine the validity and reliability of each measurement, to analysis the relations between teacher burnout and demographic variables, and to explore the relationship among lack of reciprocity, ERI, meaning of life and teacher burnout in a sample of 509 teachers from 25 secondary schools in Changchun, China. / According to the relationship between teacher burnout and demographic variables, results indicated that younger teachers reported more EE and DP. Teachers of junior rank reported more burnout. Teachers who taught Chinese, mathematics and English reported more experience of EE than teachers who taught other subjects. / Based on the social exchange theory of burnout, the effort-reward imbalance (ERI) model, and the existential theory of burnout, the purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship among investment-reward imbalance, meaning of life, and burnout among Chinese secondary school teachers. As one of the key variables in this study, investment-reward imbalance included two operational definitions which were named lack of reciprocity and ERI. / Limitations, theoretical and practical implications of the findings were also discussed. / Results showed that, based on the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the newly-modified Burnout Measurement consisted of three subscales: emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalization (DP), and reduced personal accomplishment (RPA). The self-developed Reciprocity Scale included three dimensions, namely, reciprocity in the relationship with students, intangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school, and tangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school. All measurements in this study were found to possess good validity and reliability. / Structural equation modeling was used to test a set of hypothetic models of the relationship among lack of reciprocity, ERI, meaning of life and teacher burnout. Results showed that, lack of reciprocity in the relationship with students positively influenced FE and RPA. Lack of intangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school was positively associated with RPA. Lack of tangible reciprocity in the relationship with the school was positively associated with EE. Among the three dimensions of lack of reciprocity, lack of reciprocity in the relationship with students is a more important predictor to teacher burnout than other components. ERI was positively associated with EE. Considering the two operational definitions of investment-reward imbalance in the prediction of teacher burnout, lack of reciprocity predicted RPA better than ERI, while ERI predicted EE better than lack of reciprocity. Meaning of life was negatively associated with EE, DP and RPA. In addition, results supported the hypothesis that EE influenced DP on the structure of teacher burnout. / 李歆瑤. / Advisers: Patrick S. Y. Lau; Alvin S. M. Leung. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-03, Section: A, page: 0875. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 138-153). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Li Xinyao.

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education