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TEACHER MOTIVATION: PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS (SATISFACTION, INTRINSIC CONSIDERATIONS, FINANCIAL, MERIT, RECOGNITION)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to measure and compare the perceptions of public classroom teachers and school officials about selected factors believed to motivate teachers to improve teaching performance. Motivational factors selected from the literature and used as the dependent variables for this study were financial considerations, intrinsic considerations, and recognition considerations. Also, answers to certain circumstantial aspects of teachers and the relationship those personal situations had with motivational needs were determined. Specifically, the study sought answers to the following questions: (1) How different are the perceptions of teachers and educational decision makers about desirable methods of creating motivation? (2) How do motivational factors change for teachers at different career stages? (3) Are the motivational needs of teachers a function of the grade level at which they teach? (4) Are the motivational needs of teachers a function of the size of the school in which they work? (5) Are the motivational needs of teachers a function of total household income? Findings from the literature were used to develop a questionnaire to gather opinions held by 250 Nebraska teachers and 250 Nebraska school officials. The findings and conclusions drawn from the data reported in this study were: (1) Teachers rated financial considerations as having higher motivational value than did school officials. (2) Teachers in age groups 21-30 and 36-40 rated recognition as having greater motivational value than did teachers in age group 41-45. No other conclusive differences among age groups or beginning versus long-term teachers were determined. (3) Upper elementary teachers placed a significantly greater motivational value on financial considerations than those in the secondary school teacher group. (4) No significant differences were found in the motivational needs of teachers based upon the size of school district in which they teach. (5) Teachers in higher income groups place greater motivational value on intrinsic considerations than those in lower income groups. Data gathered for this study provided insight into the topic of teacher motivation which could assist school officials in gaining a better understanding of factors that motivate teachers.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
PICARD, BENJAMIN HOWARD, "TEACHER MOTIVATION: PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHERS AND SCHOOL OFFICIALS (SATISFACTION, INTRINSIC CONSIDERATIONS, FINANCIAL, MERIT, RECOGNITION)" (1986). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI8614470.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI8614470