Improving teachers motivation trough school culture : the perspective of teachers in a primary school / Aminath Naufa Rasheed

Abstract:
Primary schools in the Maldives plays a vital role in the education system of the country. It prepares students to secondary and further education. Thus, it is vital to motivate the teachers' who have the responsibility to build a generation of students who are responsible for learning. The aim of this study is to investigate factors in school culture that affect teachers' motivation and explore the perspective of teachers' regarding the changes which should be brought to school culture to enhance their motivation. Primary school in Maldivian island was selected for the study. Qualitative approach was used and Phenomenological method was used as the research was based on the experiences and suggestion of the teachers. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from 10 teachers who were selected purposefully from the school selected for the study. After the interviews were recorded and transcribed, thematic analysis was used to derive themes and sub themes in the data which acted as a guide to reach the answers for research questions.
The findings of the study showed that there are factors within the school culture which motivates and demotivates teachers. Two theories of motivation, which are equity theory and Hawthorne effect was used to analyse the factors. It was concluded that positive relationship with colleagues', appreciation from seniors, regular supervision and effective feedback are some positive factors within the school culture which motivate teachers. In contrast, attitude of leading teachers, favouritism and inequality within the school culture motivates teachers. Moreover, it was discovered that to shape up the school culture there are some factors which should be improved and this is presented in the research hoping to bring out teachers' voice to the seniors of the school.
In the conclusion of the study, limitations such as issues related to diversity of participants and recommendations such as including triangulation methods are suggested.
Key words: School culture, motivation, primary school, teachers, equality, feedback.