THE EFFECT OF DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS ON TEACHERS RECRUITMENT AND RETAINING

ABSTRACT

Job satisfaction is an important construct to the field of organizational behavior and the practice of human resource management. Schools are no exception to the list of organizations ensuring teachers’ job satisfaction therefore becomes inevitable if schools have to record good performances. This paper aims at examining some of the demographic factors affecting job satisfaction of teachers in private primary schools and their consequent performance. To attain this objective; the authors carried out a survey study in private schools in Yei town, South Sudan. Simple random sampling technique was used to select the respondents from ten private schools in the town. A total of 110 respondents were considered for the study constituting 10 head teachers and 100 teachers from each of the 10 schools. Questionnaires were used for data collection. Data was then analysed by the use of Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 12.0 and presented in frequencies and percentages. The factors identified included gender, age bracket, educational level, pay and length of service of teachers. Based on the findings, it is apparent that certain demographic factors have a significant influence on the level of job satisfaction of teachers in private schools.

Introduction Performance of teachers mainly depends on the teacher characteristics such as knowledge base, sense of responsibility and inquisitiveness; the student characteristics such as opportunity to learn and academic work; the teaching factors such as lesson structure and communication; the learning aspects such as involvement and success; and the classroom phenomena such as environment and climate, and organization and management [1]. Teacher performance can be enhanced to the optimum level if the government and related stakeholders take care of these factors. However, alternatives put into practice by states and districts to determine teacher quality have been dolefully not enough. Teacher entrance and exit, examination scores, teaching credentials, advanced degrees and years of experience are neither related to student achievement and ratings of teacher effectiveness [2]. According to Schmidt, the quality of teaching has come down gradually all over the world, which demonstrates that the skills of teachers have come down due to outdated preparation on the part of the teacher and stagnant compensation schemes by the educational institution management [3]. This condition in the recent years for the teacher has led to inadequate compensation structure and very few growth opportunities. Hence, with disadvantaged students who require excellent teachers but have the least, the condition has continued to be worse. Previous studies conducted in various countries on the phenomenon of job satisfaction reveal age and gender factors. For example, a study conducted among Canadian teachers revealed that job satisfaction levels differ significantly between male and female teachers [4]. Similarly, the results of a study that was conducted in the United States by Bishay revealed that there were significant differences in the levels of job satisfaction between male and female teachers [5]. Although both studies indicated that female teachers were more satisfied with their job than male teachers, Zhongshan [6] found that elementary school male teachers in Shanghai, China were more satisfied with their salaries than their female colleagues. Conversely, Crossman and Harris found that satisfaction levels among secondary school teachers in the United Kingdom did not differ significantly by gender [7]. Previous research data collected in various countries give mixed results about the influence of age on job satisfaction. Findings of a study conducted among teachers in Finland revealed that there was a strong relationship between the teachers’ age and job satisfaction [8]. The Finnish secondary school teachers assessed established that teachers’ job satisfaction was linked to their age. On the contrary, Crossman and Harris [7] found that secondary school teachers in United Kingdom did not differ significantly in their job satisfaction in relation to age. In his study, Zhongshan [6] also found that work satisfaction among Chinese teachers increased with the increase in age. It is argued that the higher the teacher’s age, the higher the level of job satisfaction and the lower the teacher’s age, the lower the job satisfaction level [9]. This implies that earlier studies indicate that there is a significant difference in job satisfaction caused by age differences. Additionally, Bennell and Akyeampong conducted a survey on teacher motivation and they found that young Tanzanian teachers were less satisfied with their job than their older counterparts who felt being teachers by profession was a privilege. This implies that teachers differed significantly in job satisfaction with regard to age [10]

However, results of the research on job satisfaction that was conducted among primary and secondary school teachers in Greece revealed that there were no significant differences in levels of teachers’ job satisfaction with regard to age status. This implies that secondary school teachers in Greece did not differ in their job satisfaction levels in relation to age status. Teaching experience refers to the number of years a person has served as a teacher. Crossman and Harris call this the “length of service” [7]. According to Koustelios, in Bennell and Akyeampong [10], the teachers with long teaching experience indicated higher levels of job satisfaction with such aspects as pay and supervision. In other words, the level of satisfaction increased with the increase in years of service in the teaching profession. Similarly, Greenberg and Baron contend that employees with many years of service perceived higher job satisfaction than their colleagues [10]. Evidently, adequate empirical research had been conducted to find out age and gender factors influencing teacher’s job satisfaction and performance in school in various parts of the world. However, there is limited research on the same in the republic of South Sudan. Therefore, this study sought to determine how demographic factors influence teacher’s job satisfaction and performance in the private primary schools in Yei town, South Sudan. The study was guided by the Hierarchy of Need Theory as advanced by Abraham Maslow. Hierarchy of need theory Abraham Maslow, a well-known figure in the area of psychology and a psychologist by profession believes that in the quest to fulfil their needs, individuals behave and exhibit themselves in a certain manner [11].A human being gets satisfaction only when their need is fulfilled. His theory has three assumptions i.e. human needs never end, when one need is fulfilled, the next hierarchy of needs surfaces to be fulfilled and satisfied and lastly human needs can be divided into various levels depending on importance and when the previous level of need is fulfilled, the next level needs to be scaled and fulfilled to derive satisfaction. Abraham H. Maslow’s hierarchical model of human needs can be used to identify the factors affecting job satisfaction. The hierarchy of needs identifies five distinct levels of individual needs. These include physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization needs. Physiological needs represent the most basic of all human needs which are the basic biological needs. These include food, water, shelter and clothing. According to Maslow’s theory people would first want to have these needs fulfilled before they move on to the next level of needs [11].Safety needs include the need for security, protection and stability in the physical and interpersonal events of day to day life. According to this theory people want to feel safe, secure, and free from fear. In this regard, they need stability, structure and order. In the workplace, job security and fringe benefits, along with an environment free of violence, fulfils these needs. The theory reiterates that individuals would want to satisfy safety needs only if their basic biological needs have been satisfied. Self-actualization is the highest motivation level according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This involves people striving to actualize their full potential, in order to become more of what they are capable of being. They seek to attain self-fulfillment. In the workplace, people satisfy this need by being creative, receiving training, or accepting challenging assignments [12]. Esteem needs according to Robbins include the need for status, recognition and achievement [13]. People want the esteem of others and they want to be regarded as useful, competent, and important. People also desire self-esteem and need a good self-image. In the workplace, increased responsibility, high status, and recognition for contributions satisfy these needs [13]. Finally, social needs involve the need for love, affection, a sense of belonging in one’s relationship with others. Daft also explained this need by writing that it involves the need for friends, family and intimacy for social acceptance and affection from one’s peers. In the workplace, this need is satisfied by participation in work groups with good relationships among co-workers and between workers and managers [13]. Materials and Methods The study was carried out among private schools in Yei town, South Sudan. Kerlinger [14] defines a research design as the plan, structure, and strategy of investigation conceived so as to obtain answers to research questions and control variance. This study employed a survey design in which quantitative data was collected. The target population for the study consisted of 10 private primary schools in Yei town from which 10 head teachers were purposively selected and 100 teachers randomly sampled. Researchers such as Mugenda and Mugenda [15] have stated that sample size for descriptive studies should be between 10 percent and 20 percent of the population. Kasomo [16] however recommends that researchers use the largest sample possible because statistics calculated from a large sample are more accurate. The sample size for this study was 25 percent as recommended by Kasomo. In order to provide for equal chance for every member in the school to be included, simple random sampling was used. The sample size included all the head teachers in the 10 schools and 50 percent of the 100 teachers in the selected schools, since Neuman [17] indicated that 50 percent is an adequate sample in a descriptive study. The study applied census sampling for all the teachers in the private primary schools in Yei Town, including the head teachers. The total sample size included 10 head teachers and a random sample of 100 teachers from each of the 10 schools to give a total of 110 respondents. A Self-administered, closed ended questionnaire was used for the study because it had the ability to limit inconsistency and save time as suggested by Amin [18]. The questionnaires were chosen in this study because they produced normative data important for analysis. Collected data was analyzed and presented in frequencies and percentages.