Effect of teacher's motivation on learners performance in physics in public secondary schools in Tigania East District, Meru County, Kenya.

Abstract

Secondary school teachers are under tremendous pressure from all stakeholders in the education sector to deliver quality education to all children. It is important to know whether teachers are likely to respond to this challenge given their current levels of pay and their working conditions. In Tigania East District where this research was based, performance in Physics in K.C.S.E in the past few years has been dismal, and reasons for the poor academic performance have not been fully established. The study therefore aimed at investigating the effect of teachers’ motivation on learners’ performance in Physics in secondary schools in Tigania East District, Meru County. Specifically, the study sought to establish the effect of teachers’ remuneration on learners’ performance in Physics in secondary schools, establish the effect of teachers’ working conditions on learners’ performance in Physics in secondary schools, establish the effect of Principal’s supervision on learners’ performance in Physics in secondary schools and establish the effect of available teaching/learning resources on learners’ performance in Physics in secondary schools in Tigania East District. This study used a survey research design and both qualitative and quantitative data was collected. The study target population was 45 secondary schools with 94 Physics teachers and 45 principals within the Tigania East District. Stratified random sampling technique was used in selecting the sample size. A sample of 28 teachers (30% of the target population), and 14 principals (30% of the target population) was selected. Primary data was collected using structured and unstructured questionnaire. Secondary data was obtained from district education office and individual school records. Data was collected through delivering the research instruments and then collecting them later at a date agreed upon with each respondent. Data was edited, coded, classified and summarized into categories. The researcher used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0 for Windows to help in analysing the data. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means, and mode) was mainly used in analysis. Results were presented in form of frequency tables, bar graphs, pie charts and percentages from which inferences and conclusions were drawn.