View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Digital Library of Open University of Tanzania THE INFLUENCE OF WORKING ENVIRONMENT ON TEACHER’S TURNOVER IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOL IN SENGEREMA DISTRICT IN MWANZA RHOBI GOTORA MORONI A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTERS OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT OF THE OPEN UNIVERSITY OF TANZANIA 2016 ii CERTIFICATION The undersigned certifies that he has read and here by recommends for acceptance by the Open University of Tanzania. This Dissertation titled: “The influence of working environment on teacher’s turnover in Public Primary School in Sengerema District in Mwanza” in Partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Human Resource Management of the Open University of Tanzania. ………………………………….. Dr. Salvio Macha (Supervisor) ………………………………………. Date iii COPYRIGHT No part of the work may be duplicated, reproduced in any retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the author or the Open University of Tanzania. iv DECLARATION I, Rhobi Gotora Moroni, do hereby declare that this dissertation entitled “The influence of working environment on teacher’s turnover in public Primary School in Sengerema District in Mwanza” is my own original work and that it has not been presented and will not be presented to any other University for a similar or any other degree award. …………………..…………………. Signature ……………………………………… Date v DEDICATION I dedicate this dissertation to my parents Gotora Moroni and Nyasonge Nyamhanga Waigama; to my beloved husband Domician Mkama and my children Doreen, Domician and Dorabella for their support during my studies. May Almighty God bless you abundantly! vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The preparation and production of the dissertation has been successful by the involvement and cooperation of a number of individuals. Firstly, I give praise and blessing to the almighty God who has always filled in me faith and hope. Secondly, my sincere gratitude goes to my parents, without them I could have not been in this position. Also I extend my gratitude to my family for their support.Thirdly I remain and will always be indebted to my supervisor DR. Salvio Macha (Phd) for his invaluable guidance, professional instructions which enabled the completeness of this work. Lastly, my thanks go to Sengerema District Officials specifically to Education officers for their genuine support. vii ABSTRACT Teachers’ turnover and retention in public primary schools seem to be critical issues in various schools in Tanzania. This study aimed at finding out the influence of working environmental conditions on teachers’ turnover in public primary school in Sengerema District in Mwanza. Specifically the study wanted to; assess the working environment in public primary school; determine whether teacher’s turnover is related to working environment, and to assess the level of teacher’s turnover in public primary school. A mixed approach, even though quantitative was used in collaboration with survey design. A sample of one hundred and two (102) respondents was used. The data was collected using questionnaires. SPSS program was used for processing and analysis of quantitative data. The findings of the study revealed that in classes, student do not have enough desks to sit on, classes are overcrowded and teachers in their office do not have enough chairs and tables to match with number of teachers. Also an average of one (1) to ten (10) teachers are moving to other school every year out of the district. Apart from those, others are quitting teaching profession to other profession. The study recommends that, the government should start a special program of building more classes in schools with overcrowded pupils; meanwhile the schools should have two shifts to reduce the problem. Improvement of social services such as hospitals in rural areas will be a motivation to teachers. Furthermore, there should be a program whereby teachers in rural areas (who work in poor condition areas) should be offered incentives to motivate them. In that way teachers will be retained in rural areas. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATION ..................................................................................................... ii COPYRIGHT ............................................................................................................ iii DECLARATION ....................................................................................................... iv DEDICATION ............................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ........................................................................................ vi ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................... xii FIGURE ................................................................................................................... xiv CHAPTER ONE......................................................................................................... 1 OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background to the Research Problem .............................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the Research Problem.................................................................. 2 1.3 Research Objectives ......................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 General Research Objective ............................................................................. 4 1.3.2 Specific Research Objectives ........................................................................... 4 1.4 Research Questions .......................................................................................... 4 1.5 Relevance of the Research................................................................................ 4 1.6 Organization of the Study................................................................................. 5 CHAPTER TWO........................................................................................................ 6 LITERATURE REVIEW.......................................................................................... 6 2.1 Overview of the Study ...................................................................................... 6 2.2 Conceptual Definitions ..................................................................................... 6 ix 2.3 Theoretical Analysis ......................................................................................... 6 2.4 Empirical Analysis of Relevant Studies ........................................................... 8 2.4.1 General Studies................................................................................................. 8 2.4.2 Studies in African Countries ............................................................................ 9 2.5 Research Gap .................................................................................................. 10 CHAPTER THREE ................................................................................................. 13 RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES ........................................................................ 13 3.1 Overview ........................................................................................................ 13 3.2 Research Philosophy ...................................................................................... 13 3.2.1 Survey Population .......................................................................................... 13 3.2.2 Area of the Research or Survey ...................................................................... 13 3.3 Sampling Design and Procedure .................................................................... 14 3.4 Variable and Measurement Procedure............................................................ 14 3.4.1 Method of Data Collection ............................................................................. 14 3.5 Data Processing and Analysis ........................................................................ 14 3.6 Expected Results of the Study ........................................................................ 15 3.7 Validity and Reliability of the Research Instruments..................................... 15 3.7.1 Validity of the Research Instruments ............................................................. 16 3.7.2 Reliability of the Research Instruments ......................................................... 16 CHAPTER FOUR .................................................................................................... 17 DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION............................... 17 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................... 17 4.2 The Information Background of the Respondents.......................................... 17 4.2 Age of Respondents........................................................................................ 18 x 4.3 The working Environment in Public Schools................................................. 19 4.3.1 The Working Environment