Curriculum Implementation and Teacher Motivation: A Theoretical Framework

1. Introduction

A major conclusion of the extensive literature on school effectiveness is that achieving better learning outcomes depends fundamentally on improvements in teaching. Although there are many other factors that affect learning outcomes, teaching is the main school-level determinant of school performance. Thus, ways to increase teacher motivation and capabilities are central to any systematic attempt to improve learning outcomes.

A considerable amount of research has been conducted on what makes the ‘effective’ teacher, yet, the focus to date of policy reform in most countries has been on improving learning outcomes through a better allocation of resources, more accountability, curriculum reforms and refined assessment systems, and better pre- and in-service teacher training. However, the limited impact of many of these interventions has forced politicians and policymakers to focus increasingly on the needs of teachers themselves.

Motivation and incentives have many common or similar themes with the very much more limited literature on this subject in low-income developing countries. In particular, it is widely contended that the status of teachers in most developing countries has declined appreciably during the last 60 years, teacher autonomy and creativity has been curtailed by more control and regulation, and that teachers are being asked to do more with less. Teachers also complain about the lack of variety and role differentiation in their careers, the limited incentives for them to improve their practice and develop as professionals, and the limited linkages between their performance, teacher compensation and teacher development (International Institute of Educational Planning, 2004).

This is further indicated in critical theory by a Brazilian Paulo Freire in his most influential highly quoted Pedagogy of the Oppressed work as appears in Henson and Savage (2009) and Ornstein and Hunkins (2009), defining educational systems as tools of the dominant class of society for keeping down the masses and for institutionalizing dominant values at the expense of the oppressed (the teachers). Freire described this scenario as banking approach to education where the group in power knows truth and attempts to deposit it in the minds of the oppressed.

Amid these negative realities and challenges that threaten teaching profession, research has consistently found that ‘working with children’ is the main determinant of teacher job satisfaction. Consequently, it is the rewarding nature of the job itself rather than pecuniary gain that is the primary motivation for becoming a teacher. A comprehensive literature review by Spear, Gould and Lee (2000) highlights the wide range of factors that influence teacher job satisfaction and motivation. The main factor found to contribute to job satisfaction of teachers is working with children, whereas job dissatisfaction was primarily attributed to work overload, poor pay, and perceptions of how teachers are viewed by society. Hertzberg’s two-factor theory, as the overarching theoretical framework in synthesizing the main findings of the studies was reviewed. The main conclusions are that, in order to experience high job satisfaction, teachers need an intellectual challenge, a high level of professional autonomy, to feel that they are benefiting society, to enjoy good relations with their colleagues, and to spend a sufficient proportion of their time working with children. Enhanced pay, improved status, a less demanding workload and fewer administrative responsibilities do not necessarily bring about higher levels of job satisfaction.

Another important finding of the review is that studies have consistently identified the same variations in the job satisfaction levels of teachers depending on certain individual and school characteristics. In particular, with regard to gender differences, female teachers tend to have higher levels of job satisfaction than their male colleagues, but male teachers are generally more satisfied over their level of influence over school policies and practices. Teachers in rural areas report higher levels of job satisfaction than those in urban areas.