AN EVALUATION OF TEACHERS’ MOTIVATION AS A CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

AN EVALUATION OF TEACHERS’ MOTIVATION AS A CONTRIBUTORY FACTOR OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

By no means is the idea of motivation brand-new. One aspect of motivation that I find particularly intriguing is the widespread consensus that motivation is a beneficial factor that influences an individual’s behavior and work performance. Indeed, a person’s level of motivation has a direct impact on their work performance and ability. Motivation levels are directly related to levels of job satisfaction. The significance of job satisfaction and motivation cannot be overstated when it comes to the long-term development of educational systems worldwide. Motivation ranks right up there with professional knowledge and abilities, center competences, educational resources, and educational methodologies as one of the most significant factors in determining educational achievement and overall performance (Ukeje, 2022). A person is more likely to possess center competencies, professional knowledge, and skills when they feel productive in their behavior. To put it another way, when a person successfully completes challenging activities aimed at improving their overall performance and academic achievement, they are able to demonstrate their professional knowledge, abilities, and competences.

The lack of desire is a significant obstacle in today’s Nigeria’s educational system that cannot be ignored. It is not exaggerated to assert that teachers’ levels of motivation are directly correlated with their students’ performance. Work motivation is crucial for teachers to maintain in their lives because it is the foundation of the primary reason they work. Nearly all teachers work to support their families and fulfill other responsibilities, but they also constantly look for ways to feel fulfilled in their work. Work satisfaction is the degree to which the teaching profession is able to meet the needs of teachers and help them become more effective in both their jobs and their classes in the context of this discussion.

Instructors are among a student’s most significant relationships. In the same way that an individual develops into a product of the learning they have done, the learner creates himself or herself through the lessons of a teacher. The instructor’s knowledge and feelings about the subject are incorporated into the student’s mental framework (Ukeje,2022). If the instructor does not enjoy teaching due to a lack of motivation, the student will have a negative impression of education when they leave the classroom; On the other hand, a student will develop a love for education when a teacher is passionate about their job. Among the many factors that influence a person’s level of satisfaction with their work, motivation is the most significant. However, there are numerous other factors as well. A person is better able to motivate themselves and keep that drive going when they have a thorough understanding of the components that make up the concept of motivation. Understudies won’t just get familiar with the material that is being shown by the educator when that instructor is driven and cherishes what they do as a profession, however understudies will likewise be enlivened to study due to the instructor’s model. Motivation has been the subject of much discussion, but it appears that very little action has been taken. Then, just what exactly motivates us?

“All of those inner striving circumstances expressed as needs, desires, and impulses that inspire the interest of a person in an activity” is what Tracy (2022) defines as “motivation.” As a result, an internal state is the source of both the behavior’s stimulus and trigger. Mitchel (2021) says that motivation refers to the psychological processes that cause arousal, the direction of voluntary, goal-oriented actions, and their persistence. According to Ukeje (2022), the relative prevalence of certain behaviors in schools, such as teaching and learning, discipline, and control, may be negatively affected by instructors’ lack of motivation. With regards to work execution, a representative’s expertise directs what that individual can do, yet a worker’s level of inspiration unavoidably chooses what that worker really does. The level of motivation teachers have in their classrooms naturally correlates with their desire to participate in educational processes within the school setting. It has to do with the teachers’ interest in the students’ capacity for control and discipline, particularly in the classroom. As a result, it may be the reason why they participate or do not participate in school activities, both academic and non-academic. The teacher is in charge of converting the educational philosophy and goals into knowledge and skill and then passing them on to the students in the classroom. Teachers’ motivation depends heavily on the environment in the classroom. In the event that an educator sees the homeroom as a spot that is protected, solid, blissful, and helpful for learning, with strong assets and offices for instructing, then, at that point, that educator is probably going to take part more than is commonly anticipated during the time spent administration, organization, and the general improvement of the school. The instructor should project the image of someone who brings order, discipline, and control to the classroom to improve both the intellectual and physical conditions. The students should be shown this image. The instructor uses inferences from the students’ actions and responses in the context of the classroom to make a diagnosis of the students’ feelings and attitudes. As a result, Lash and Kirkpatrick (2021) arrived at the conclusion that, in the absence of school programs, the teacher bears the primary responsibility for dealing with students in the classroom. However, it is essential to keep in mind that a teacher who lacks motivation will struggle to interact with their students. In a similar vein, despite the fact that the classroom itself is not an island, Maehr and Midgley (2022) assert that the activities that take place in the classroom are crucial. As a result, whether or not instructors’ instructional activities and motivation improve students’ academic performance may be significantly influenced by the degree of congruence between classroom practices and the school environment. It is important to note that if extensive research is conducted, it will benefit not only teachers who are directly confronted with the challenge of motivation but also students, parents, school administrators, and others who are directly connected to the welfare of children. This is because teachers are directly confronted with the challenge of motivation. Because of this, it’s important to note that even if too much research is done, it won’t just help teachers who face the problem of motivating students.

1.2 A Brief Description of the Issue In spite of the fact that teachers play the most significant leadership roles in the classroom when it comes to achieving educational objectives, our educational system has not always given sufficient consideration to the ways in which it might motivate teachers to work more efficiently. Throughout the entirety of this process, this has been a very serious issue. As a result, instructors’ motivation has generally been very low. Unhappiness in the classroom hinders the classroom’s efficacy, efficiency, and productivity when teachers are treated poorly and their responsibilities are ignored. Teachers have been accused of being responsible for the poor performance of students on external examinations, as well as their involvement in examination malpractice, cultism, and other negative vices, in the face of frustration, low morale, harassment, condemnation, and job dissatisfaction. Teachers have been subjected to a hostile work environment, which leads to this accusation. Students sometimes require situated motivation, which can be found in environmental conditions that are created by teachers, because they are not always motivated internally. Because students are not always motivated internally, teachers’ motivation can have multiple effects on how students learn and behave. According to Nwadiani (2022), Nigerian schools are deteriorating at an alarming rate. This could be related to the fact that the majority of teachers are demotivated. When teachers are demotivated, it shows in their work, which hurts their students’ academic performance. It is necessary to boost educators’ motivation. Ozigi’s research in 2021 revealed that educators in Nigeria were dissatisfied, irritated, uninspired, and unmotivated in their work. The educational establishment’s grounds are littered with decaying buildings housing outmoded laboratory facilities and equipment.

Teachers in Nigeria today frequently have to perform their duties in extremely unsanitary and risky settings. Professors and students frequently engage in scholarly conversation with one another when school buildings collapse. Similar to this, students frequently have no choice but to take their classes outdoors, under open roofs, or in the shade, while professors are forced to work with the few outdated resources they have at their disposal to educate students. Students’ poor academic performance on external tests, as well as their participation in exam malpractice, cultism, and other undesirable attitudes and behaviors, have all been a direct result of instructors’ low morale as a result of this (Ozigi, 2021). Despite the fact that every parent in Nigeria wants their child to receive an education and acquire skills from teachers, teachers in some states have not received their salaries for several months. On the other hand, it would appear that none of these parents are concerned about whether or not teachers will be able to support their families, educate their children, pay for their medical expenses, or make a meaningful contribution to the development of their communities. The purpose of this study is to investigate teachers’ motivation as a factor in students’ academic success.

1.3 The Purpose of the Study The study’s overarching goal is to determine whether teachers’ motivation influences students’ academic success. The following specific guidelines will be followed throughout the study:

to investigate the various motivational methods available to educators.

to determine how motivated secondary school teachers are.

to investigate the connection between the academic success of students and teachers’ motivation.

to offer suggestions for increasing teachers’ motivation.

1.4 Research questions The study has prepared the following questions:

What are some of the different ways teachers can be motivated?

What kind of motivation do secondary school teachers possess?

Is there a connection between the academic success of students and teachers’ motivation?

How can teachers become more motivated?

1.5 Importance of the Study The study’s findings will assist the government in addressing the growing issue of teacher motivation in secondary schools. Teachers, parents, and school administrators will also have the opportunity to take positive actions based on this study’s findings to boost teacher motivation in secondary schools.

Because it will add to the existing literature, this study will be significant to the academic community.