Factors Affecting Teacher Morale in Select Independent and Public Schools in South Africa

Abstract

Since teacher morale in South Africa appears to be at an all-time low, it is important to research the factors affecting teacher morale. Thus, this research focused on a sample of teachers in the Greater Benoni Area, in the Gauteng Province, to examine the relationship between the factors contributing to the morale and the current level of morale among the teachers. The study aimed to ascertain the teachers’ perceptions of the morale and the relevance/ importance of the factors contributing to their perception of the morale.

              The single most significant findings of this research were that:

• all the identified factors played a significant role in determining the levels of teacher morale,


• the morale is low among teachers at both independent and publics school in the Greater Benoni Area, Gauteng, South Africa.

It is recommended that the leadership of the  schools develop strategies to manage the factors which are contributing to the low morale, which if left unchecked will contribute to inter-alia, teacher shortages as well as poor performance.