School Leadership-Teacher Reward Systems and Pupils’ Academic Performance in Selected Primary Schools in Rakai District
Abstract
School leadership-teacher reward systems have become an important issue given the teachers’ responsibility to impart knowledge and skills to pupils for better performance. Consequently, this study focused on school leadership-teacher reward systems and pupils’ academic performance in selected primary schools in Rakai district. The study was guided by Victor Vroom’s theory of performance which states that performance depends upon the perceived expectation regarding effort expending in achieving the desired outcome. The purpose of the study was to establish the effect of school leadership-teacher reward systems on pupil’s academic performance in primary schools in Rakai District; while the study objectives were; to analyze the primary leaving performance of schools in Rakai district, to establish the reward systems currently used in primary schools in Rakai district, to suggest possible school leadership-teacher reward system that would elicit greater pupils’ achievement in Rakai district and to explore challenges to the implementation of suggested reward system.
Data was collected from three hundred (300) respondents who included head teachers and teachers. The quantitative data was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) while qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis approach. Descriptive statistics (Frequencies and percentages) were used for data analyses because the study was descriptive in nature. Presentation of data involved use of tables.
The study revealed that the Primary Leaving Examinations performance trends for the period 2012-2014 significantly differed in comparison with good and poor performing schools. It was noted that all financial rewards are available to teachers in primary schools studied.. It was also revealed that “merit pay reward system would produce greater pupils’ performance”. The study also revealed that the main challenge of rewarding teachers basing on the performance may make the lazy ones hate the hardworking.
The study concluded that Primary Leaving Examinations trend in Rakai District, for the period 2012 – 2014 greatly differed between good and poor performing schools; teachers in primary schools in Rakai district were motivated by the many rewards, in addition to salary to put up good performance in PLE in well performing schools ; the reward system mostly used by schools in Rakai district is the basic salary and that merit pay system would produce greater pupils’ achievement.
The study recommended that district inspector of schools should work closely with the head teachers to ensure that adequate teaching and learning is done to prepare the pupils for national examinations as this would minimize poor performance. Furthermore, the Ministry of Education should work on incentive packages to increase teachers’ motivation to teach in primary schools. Special attention should be put at increasing teachers’ salaries because majority of them informed the study of inadequacy and delay of salaries, awards should be instituted for better performance and head teachers should be trained and sensitized about the value of rewarding teachers basing on the merit.
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