Publication:

TEACHER RETENTION IN MALAWI SECONDARY SCHOOLS

This study attempted to establish the nature of factors that compel some teachers to remain in the teaching profession despite the relatively difficult working conditions associated with it at secondary school level in Malawi. The study was motivated by the fact that the greater part of education research focuses on reasons teachers leave the profession rather than reasons some teachers decide to remain in the education system despite the hardships associated with it. This study therefore sought to fill this gap by employing a balanced approach to issues surrounding motivation in the teaching profession. The study used the qualitative case study design in order to get an in-depth understanding from experienced teachers. For the interviews, the participants comprised 16 purposively selected teachers from 4 participating secondary schools in Zomba District. Two of these 4 secondary schools were from the urban proper, and the other two from the rural area. On the other hand, focus group discussions comprised 4 teachers from urban secondary schools, and the other 4 from the rural secondary schools. Content analysis method was used to analyse the data collected. Analysis of the data indicates that teachers remain in the profession largely because they are intrinsically motivated by mostly job-related factors (motivators) such as achievement, recognition, responsibility, advancement and feedback. The implications for such findings could include employing a multi-dimensional approach by the education stakeholders and authorities where these motivators and hygiene factors are both given due consideration. And logically, higher priority and weight should be given to the job-related factors as opposed to the (contextual factors) hygiene factors in order to achieve more retention of teachers in the system.