Ansarul Hasan
In the present study an attempt was made to compare teachers’ morale of Secondary school government and private school teachers of District-Darbhanga (Bihar). A sample of 100 teachers was selected, 50 each from government and private schools. Teachers’ Morale Scale constructed and standardized by Dr. Sajid Jamal and Dr. Abdul Raheem was administered. Findings revealed that government Secondary school teachers have higher level of morale than private secondary school teachers. Moreover, female teacher of Secondary school showed higher level of Morale than male counterparts.
Keywords: Secondary School Teachers, Teachers’ Morale, Government School, Private School
Introduction- Any organisation that serves people or is concerned with satisfying the needs of people must have an environment in which the workers feel a certain pride in belonging to that institution. In order to get maximum efficiency and productivity out of the workers, many factors must be considered. Some of these are job security, working conditions, and salary and working hours. These factors and more contribute to the morale of the workers. Morale is defined as: “The state of the spirit of a person or group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness, discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks. Teacher morale is a major issue in government, private and public schools because it plays a powerful role in the education of our students. Morale, as opined by Bentley & Rempel(1980) is "the professional interest and enthusiasm that a person displays towards the achievement of individual and group goals in a given job situation." Evans(1997) suggests a definition of morale as "a state of mind determined by the individual's anticipation of the extent of satisfaction of those needs which he/she perceives as significantly affecting his/her work situation." therefore, facets of job experience which are deeply satisfying or dissatisfying to individuals also have the potential to impact upon morale as well as motivation and hence contribute to possible retention or exit from the profession. According to pestonjee(1967), morale is "a fairness of employer's policies & behaviour, adequacy of immediate leadership, a sense of participation in the organization, and an over-all belief that the organization is worth working for." in short, this is an index of their regard for the organization which employs them. Teacher morale impacts directly on delivery of lessons, teacher effectiveness and leadership, student attitudes, behaviour and discipline, as well as student performance. Key to improving Teacher Morale is creating a positive school climate that reflects the physical and psychological aspects of the school which are more susceptible to change and which provide the preconditions necessary for teaching and learning to take place. When this is achieved, reforms in curriculum, teaching standards, and teacher evaluation and learner assessments can become successful and meaningful. It has been indicated that teachers' morale has a direct effect on teacher's performance and student achievement implying that where morale is high, school show an increase in students' achievement ( Ellenberg,1972). When morale is high and the faculty culture is healthy, students excel socially and academically, teachers are productive and collaborative, and the school environment is dynamic and engaging. Likewise morale can have a positive effect on pupil attitudes and may create an environment that is more conducive to learning (Miller 1981) and can have far reaching implications for the health of the organization and the health of the teacher (Mendel, 1987)
|
|
|
Manual for TA45-15a,41 5 aking procedures and administrators' dispositions. In a study, Williams and Lane (1975) reported that cohesive pride, leadership synergy, and personal challenge affect teachers' morale. Besides the above mentioned factors, there are few other factors like - providing teachers meaningful and effective professional development (Baylor and Ritchie. 2002), avoiding role conflict (Kumari, 1991) and extroversion dimension of personality (Singh and Buddhisagar, 2009).
The five dimensions of the present scale viz., 'fairness of policies and behaviour, *sense of belongingness, 'adequacy of immediate leadership, *regard & appreciation and *opportunity for professional development were selected on the basis of the review of the literature and initially 60 items were constructed keeping in view the domain of the field. There were 30 positively framed items and 30 negatively framed items, 12 items being chosen form each dimension. By discussing with the experts, 40 items were finalized. The scale containing the 40 items was administered on a sample of 100 secondary school teachers selected randomly from the five districts of eastern U.P. namely Azamgarh, Ghazipur, Mau, Balia and Jaunpur. Following the steps of item analysis, after tryout, 30 were finalized for the final form of the test. The Tryout statistics is presented in the Table 1, 2 and 3
TABLE 1
Items taken in Try out
TABLE 2: Item Total Correlations (Try Out)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Researchers have shown that the principals and administrators are very important in enhancing teacher morale. They can improve teacher morale by:
(i) Providing conditions in their schools which maximise, positive interactions with students. This is the most significant predictor of teachers’ morale and satisfaction (Latham, 1998; Kim & Loadman, 1994; Boylan & McSwan. 1998).
(ii) Providing opportunities for positive interaction with colleagues, including both social interactions and the time to interact professionally by timetabling faculty professional development time (Kim & Loadman, 1994; Boylan & McSwan, 1998)
(iii) Allowing professional autonomy by giving teachers opportunity to make their own curriculum, teaching programme and assessment decisions to the extent that is feasible and em- powering them by involving in the decisions about policies and practices. (National Centre for Education Statistics, 1997)
(IV).Providing challenges for teachers that involve leadership and the chance to contribute to the schools higher purposes or goals (Stenlund, 1995)
(v)Providing a voice to support and recognize teachers and to promote the profession to the wider community (Blackmore, 1999)
(vi) Supporting teachers to maintain discipline, reinforcing their authority to enforce policy and standing behind them when disputes arise with students and/or parents (National Centre for Education Statistics, 1997).
Although the teachers, since times immemorial, have high morale for teaching job but at this juncture of time there are several factors which contribute to declining teacher morale. Expanding teacher loads, declining provision of resources and working conditions and diminished status of teachers appear to be crucial factors that generate dissatisfaction, low commitment and low morale and detract from the enjoyment of teaching. In recent times, the high expectations placed on teachers are also taking their toll on morale. It seems that the paradox between the community expecting high results from teachers while affording the professional low status has a serious effect on the way teachers feel about their work (Heafford and Jennison, 1998: Sinclair, 1990). Teachers have an insuperable amount of responsibilities and duties. Stress related to low pay, lack of administrative support, and heightened discipline problems, are all factors that contribute to low teacher morale. With the current economic state, job security is another heightened concern of teachers. Low teacher morale affects many areas in education. It decreases engagement with colleagues and students, diminishes productivity, reduces student learning. Decreases quality of teaching, causes depression, encourages greater use of sick leave, forces to make efforts to leave the profession and creates a cynical and dehumanized perception of students and breeds cynicism. This ultimately leads to a vast teacher shortage (Adams, 2003).
Significance of the Study- From the above discussions it is clear that certainly low level of teachers’ morale generates an attitude of apathy, non-involvement and non-cooperation which will lead to low quality of education, increase in wastage, increase in cost, work breakage, low efficiency. Nowadays when India is progressing by leaps and bounds and is on the verge of becoming a developed nation, we cannot afford to neglect talents of our teachers because the teacher is one of the pillars of the society and the country. Without good teachers, no country can progress. Therefore schools should be happy places where students are willing participants in the learning process and teachers are inspiring and enthusiastic leaders. For this to happen, teacher morale and school climate deserve greater attention. Within the limited time period and on the basis of available literature the investigator could not find a single study which investigated the influence of the said variables on the level of teachers’ morale of secondary school teachers. So it becomes very essential to know whether there is any influence of the said variables on the teachers’ morale of secondary
School teachers. It is in this specific context that the present investigation has been undertaken to specifically provide empirical answers to the following questions.
a. What is the influence of the gender on the level of morale of secondary school teachers?
b. What is the difference in the level of morale of secondary teachers in relation to the type of schools?
Statement of the Problem- Incorporating the above raised questions, the study has been formally titled as: ‘A Study Teacher’s Morale of Secondary School Teachers in Relation to Gender and Type of School’
Objectives of Study- The following objectives have been formulated while dealing with the present problem:
1. To compare the morale of male and female secondary school teachers.
2. To compare the morale of government and private secondary school teachers.
3.To compare the morale of male&female teachers of govment secondary schools.
4. To compare the morale of male & female teachers of private secondary schools.
5. To compare the morale of government &private secondary school male teachers.
6To compare the morale of government&private secondary school female teachers.
Hypotheses- The following null hypotheses have been formulated while dealing with the present problem:
1. There is no significant difference in the level of morale of male and female secondary school teachers.
2. There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government and private secondary school teachers.
3. There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government male and government female secondary school teachers.
4.There is no significant difference in the level of morale of private male and private female secondary school teachers.
5. There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government school male and private school male secondary school teachers.
6. There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government school female and private school female secondary school teachers
Methodology- Present study is a survey research in nature. In the present study data has been collected from government and private teachers of secondary schools of District– Darbhanga (Bihar) by administering Teachers’ Morale Scale constructed and standardized by Dr. Said Jamal & Dr. Abdul Raheem, published by National Psychological Corporation Agra.
Sample- In the present study data has been collected from government and private teachers of secondary schools of District – Darbhanga (Bihar). Darbhanga is one of the thirty eight districts of Bihar. .There are many secondary schools in district- Darbhanga which are recognized by Bihar board and other boards like CBSE and ICSE .On the basis of salary given to teachers there are two types schools - (1) Government schools where salary is given by the state government of Bihar and (2) Private schools where salary to the teachers is given by the management of the schools. The sample of the study is consisting of 100 secondary school teachers of District-Darbhanga. Researcher has selected first of all twenty secondary schools (ten government schools and ten private schools) purposively. Further, at schools’ level sample has been drawn by purposive sampling technique. The 50% teachers are taken from government secondary schools and 50% from private secondary schools. The sample is further divided into 50% male teachers and 50% female teachers in each category.
Tool Used- To know the level of teachers’ morale in secondary school teachers of District-Darbhanga, Teachers’ Morale Scale developed by Dr. Sajid Jamal and Dr Abdul Raheem was administered. In the present scale teacher's morale has been operationally taken as the generalised agreement or disagreement of the opinion or attitude of the teachers’ towards their institutions and working conditions and being measured in terms of its favourableness or unfavourableness estimated from the scores obtained by respondents on the teachers’ morale scale comprising five categories namely -fairness of policies and behaviour, sense of belongingness, adequacy of immediate leadership, regard and appreciation and opportunity for professional growth.
It is thirty items- likert type scale based on five dimensions (Fairness of policies and behaviour, sense of belongingness, adequacy of immediate leadership, regard and appreciation and opportunity for professional development) .Although there is no time limit but the respondents are expected to complete it within 30 minutes. Half of the items are positively phrased and half are negatively phrased. The positive items (the items having the odd serial numbers) will be scored as 5 to the ‘strongly agree’ 4 to the ‘agree’3 to the’ undecided’2 to the ‘disagree’ and 1 to the ‘strongly disagree.’ The negative items (the items having the even serial numbers) the scoring will be reversed, i.e., they will be scored as 1 to the ‘strongly agree’ 2 to the ‘agree’3 to the’ undecided’4 to the ‘disagree’ and 5 to the ‘strongly disagree.’
The total score for the TMS will be the scores on all the dimensions. The scores of the scale are to be interpreted like higher the score implies higher morale of the teachers and contrary to it low score refers to low morale of the teacher.
Statistical Techniques- To analyze the data and interpret the data, the investigator used the following statistical techniques:
1. Mean and Standard Deviation 2. t-test to compare groups
Result and Interpretation
Objective 1: To compare the morale of male and female secondary school Teachers Table I
Mean SD and t-value of male and female secondary school teachers
|
Groups
|
Numbers of teachers
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
‘t’-value
|
Level of significance
|
|
Male secondary school teachers
|
50
|
93.98
|
4.32
|
8.92
|
0.05
|
|
Female secondary school teachers
|
50
|
107.74
|
4.26
|
. It is clear from table I that t-value is 8.92 which is significant at 0.05 level. Thus the null hypothesis, “There is no significant difference in the level of morale of male and female secondary school teachers,” is rejected. This shows that there is a significant difference in the level morale of male and female secondary school teachers. The female secondary school teachers are found to have significantly more morale than their male secondary school teacher counterparts
Objective 2: 2. To compare the morale of government and private secondary school teachers Table II
Mean SD and t-value of government and private secondary school teachers
|
Groups
|
Numbers of teachers
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
‘t’-value
|
Level of significance
|
|
Govt.secondary school teacher
|
50
|
103.82
|
8.03
|
.00019
|
|
|
Private secondary School teachers
|
50
|
97.9
|
7.04
|
It is clear from table II that t-value is .00019 which is not significant at 0.01 level .Thus the null hypothesis, “There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government and private secondary school teachers,” is accepted. This shows that there is no significant difference in the level of morale of government and private secondary school teachers.
Objective3: To compare the morale of male and female teachers of government secondary schools Table III
Mean SD and t-value of government male & female secondary school teachers
|
Groups
|
Numbers of teachers
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
‘t’-value
|
Level of significance
|
|
Govt. secondary school male teachers
|
50
|
96.6
|
4.26
|
8.40
|
0.05
|
|
Govt..secondary school female teachers
|
50
|
111.04
|
2.72
|
It is clear from table III that t-value is 8.40 which are significant at 0.05 levels. Thus, the null hypothesis 3, “There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government male and female secondary school teachers,” is rejected. This shows that there is significant difference in the level of morale of government male and government female secondary school teachers. Female teachers of govt. secondary schools show higher morale than their male counterparts.
Objective4: To compare the morale of male and female teachers of private secondary schools. Table IV
Mean SD and t-value of private male and female secondary school teachers
|
Groups
|
Numbers of teachers
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
‘t’-value
|
Level of significance
|
|
Private secondary school male teachers
|
50
|
91.36
|
2.51
|
2.41
|
0.05
|
|
Private secondary school female teachers
|
50
|
104.44
|
2.69
|
It is clear from table IV that t-value is 2.41 which are significant at 0.05 levels. Thus, the null
Hypothesis 4, “There is no significant difference in the level of morale of private male and private female secondary school teachers.” is rejected. This shows that there is significant difference in the level of morale of private male and female secondary school teachers. Female teachers of private secondary schools show higher morale than their male counterparts.
Objective5: To compare the morale of government and private secondary school male teachers. Table V
Mean SD and t-value of government male & private male secondary school teachers
|
Groups
|
Numbers of teachers
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
‘t’-value
|
Level of significance
|
|
Govt. secondary school. male teachers
|
50
|
96.6
|
4.26
|
3.26
|
|
|
Private secondary school male teachers
|
50
|
91.36
|
2.51
|
It is clear from table V that t-value is 3.26 which are significant at 0.05 levels. Thus, the null.
Hypothesis 5, “There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government secondary school male teachers and private secondary school male teachers.” is rejected. This shows that there is significant difference in the level of morale of secondary school government male and private male secondary school teachers. Government male teachers of secondary schools show higher morale than their private male counterparts.
Objective6: To compare the morale of government and private secondary school female teachers. Table IV
Mean SD and t-value of government &private female secondary school teachers
|
Groups
|
Numbers of teachers
|
Mean
|
Standard deviation
|
‘t’-value
|
Level of significance
|
|
Govt. secondary school female teachers
|
50
|
111.04
|
2.72
|
4.28
|
0.05
|
|
Private secondary school female teachers
|
50
|
104.44
|
2.69
|
It is clear from table VI that t-value is 4.28 which are significant at 0.05 levels. Thus, the null
Hypothesis 6, “There is no significant difference in the level of morale of government secondary school female teachers and private secondary school female teachers.” is rejected. This shows that there is significant difference in the level of morale of secondary school government female teachers and private female teachers. Government female teachers of secondary schools show higher morale than their private female counterparts.
Discussion- From the results of the study it is clear that the secondary school teachers as a whole are found to showed average level of morale. Female secondary school teachers showed higher level of morale than their male counterpart’s .Government secondary school teachers showed higher level of morale than private secondary school teachers. By treating teachers in ways that empower them, such as involving them in decisions about policies and practices and acknowledging their expertise, administrators can help sustain teacher morale. Principals can also strengthen teacher morale by actively standing behind teachers. Effective principals serve as guardians of teachers' instructional time, assist teachers with student discipline matters, allow teachers to develop discipline codes, and support teachers' authority in enforcing policy. Although teachers can take steps individually to preserve their professional satisfaction and morale, they must also be nurtured, supported, and valued by the broader school community. When teachers are provided with what they need to remain inspired and enthusiastic in the classroom, students as well as teachers will be the beneficiaries.
References-
·
|
|
· Bentley, R. and Rempel, A. (1980). Manual for the Purdue Teacher opinionaire West Lafayette, IN: University Book Store.
· Blackmore, J. (1999). Teacher Professionalism- collaborative and/or collegial work ? Australian Educational Research, 26(2) edition.
· Boylan, C. and McSwan, D. (1998). Long-standing rural teachers-who are they ? Australian Journal of Education, 42(1), 49-65.
· Cook, D. H . (1979). Teacher morale : Symptoms, diagnosis, and prescription. The Clearing House, 79, 355-358.
· Ellenberg, F. C. (1972), Factors affecting teacher morale. National Association of Secondary School Principal Bulletin, 56(12), 76-87.
· Evans, L. (1997) . Understanding teacher morale and job satisfaction. Teaching and Teacher Education, 13, 831-845.
· Heafford , M. and Jennison, B. (1998). Destined to Teach : A case study of post graduate certificate of education cohort over 16 years. Journal of Education for Teaching,24(2), 147-164.
· Kanungo, A. N. (1982). Measurement of job & work involvement. Journal of Applied Psychology, 67, 341-349. Kim,I . and Loadman, W. E.(1994 Predicting teacher job satisfaction. (ERIC document Production Service No. ED383707).
· Kumar,Parmod and Mutha,D.N. (1996).Manual for Teacher Job Satisfaction Questionnaire .Deptt. of Psychology ,Sardar Patel University,Gugrat.
· Latham, A.S.(1998).Teacher satisfaction. Educational Leadership, 55(5),82-83
· Miller, W.C.(1981).Staff morale, school climate and education productivity, .Educational Leadership,38(6),483-486.
· Pestonjee,D.M.(1967). A study of employee’s morale and job satisfaction as related to organizational structure .Ph.D. Thesis ,Deptt.. of Psychology ,A..M..U. .Aligarh..
· William ,K. W. and Lane, T.J.(1975). Construct validation of staff morale questionnaire Journal of Educational Administration,13(2),90-97
Dr. Ansarul Hasan
Assistant Professor
College of Teacher Education,
Maulana Azad National Urdu University,
Darbhanga-846001.
