Effects of reward system on teacher performance: a case of three secondary schools in Kasama District,Zambia

Abstract

This study was about reward systems and their effects on the performance of teachers in secondary schools of Kasama district. The theory underpinning the study was premised on Adam Stacy's Equity theory of motivation which states that employees expect fairness when being rewarded. This implies that if employees are rewarded according to their in-put without any interference, such would motivate employees to work hard due to that fairness. The main objective of this study was to assess the effect of rewards system on the performance of teachers in secondary schools in Kasama district; while the specific objectives were: to identify the types of reward system used in Secondary schools and to establish the effect of reward system on the performance of teachers in those schools. The study was based mainly on primary data in form of questionnaires, interviews and document reviews of the selected literature. The study employed both qualitative and quantitative techniques of data collection and data was analysed using descriptive analysis. In terms of preferred types of reward system, the study revealed that, monetary incentive that is performance-based ranked the highest (51%), followed by monetary monthly incentive (32%) arid social care 15%. The study further revealed that none of the teacher respondents felt that promotion as a reward had no effect on their performance. This was in contrast to headteachers p^ception of promotion being the major reward that motivate teacher performance. It|was also established that reward system had a positive impact on the performance of management and teachers in the following areas: less supervision by school managers, reduced absenteeism and completion of syllabi in good time. Other effects included self-motivation, enforcement of remedial work for slow learners, adherence to lesson plan preparation and general improvement in work culture demonstrated through teachers' passion to teach. Despite the aforementioned positive effect of reward system, the study also revealed that inconsistencies in the implementation of reward systems in some secondary schools resulted in non-achievement of the intended effects of reward system on teacher performance. Therefore, this study recommends that reward system be based on performance considerations after a fair and accurate evaluation of its effects on the beneficiary. Furthermore, the nature of reward systems in schools should be based on the essence of ensuring that teachers are looked at as the prime components in the success of any school administratively and academically.