Context, extent and challenges of married commuter teachers from selected secondary schools in Kitwe on the Copperbelt province of Zambia.
| dc.contributor.author | Chondoka, Sharon | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2022-09-28T08:19:24Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2022-09-28T08:19:24Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2022-07-30 | |
| dc.description | Thesis | en |
| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was to explore the context, extent and challenges of married commuter teachers from selected secondary schools in Kitwe on the Copperbelt Province of Zambia. It sought to ascertain if there were policies facilitating the commuting of married teachers, and to explore the socio-economic challenges faced by married commuter teachers. It also sought to determine the effects of commuting on married teachers‟ role performance. The type of commuting which was considered is one where teachers live apart from their families and/or spouses for some time and have to travel on a regular basis. The study was conducted using a qualitative method of research. A phenomenological qualitative design was employed. Data was collected through interviews using an interview guide. Purposive sampling was used, specifically homogeneous sampling. The study sample consisted of 10 married commuting teachers comprising 3 men and 7 women from secondary schools. The sample included deputy head teachers, heads of departments and subject teachers. Data was collected using an audio recorder. The audio recordings were transcribed and data from transcriptions was analyzed according to the qualitative approach of thematic analysis. Study findings established challenge and concern about the policy guidelines on the deployment and transfer of teachers, the long period which teachers had to serve before being transferred, the need for transfers to be given so that spouses and families live together and the need for certain policies to be revisited. The major themes that emerged as challenges included: anxiety, cost of commuting, multiple role performance, mistrust/ suspicion of spouse, infidelity/HIV&AIDS, getting permission from work, infrequent social life, fatigue and child care when commuting. Low frequency themes included time for travel, lack of good schools for children staying long distance from spouse, long distance for travel and frequent transfer of spouse. Further, the study established that commuting affects the role performance of married teachers in such ways as married commuting teachers failing to: adequately prepare for lessons; provide discipline in homes as parents because they are often separated from their children and fail to attend to their spouses and children when needed. The study concluded that married commuter teachers are negatively affected by some aspects of the deployment and transfer policy. In addition, married commuter teachers are faced with various challenges because of having to commute. Furthermore, married commuting teachers fail to execute their roles well either as parents, teachers or spouses or as members of the wider community due to their commuting lifestyle. Therefore, it was recommended that consideration be made for married commuting teachers to ensure their wellbeing on the job and to guarantee efficacious teaching of pupils by having: administrators in schools being considerate toward commuting teachers when they have genuine challenges affecting their work; MoGE evaluating the policy on the transfer and deployment of teachers and schools deliberately initiating schedules for teachers who commute to perform such responsibilities as marking end of term test papers and performing school holiday duties. | en |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://dspace.unza.zm/handle/123456789/7752 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en |
| dc.publisher | The University of Zambia | en |
| dc.subject | Teachers--Transport challenges. | en |
| dc.title | Context, extent and challenges of married commuter teachers from selected secondary schools in Kitwe on the Copperbelt province of Zambia. | en |
| dc.type | Thesis | en |