Action Research Report

Teacher Motivation in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire

PROF 410, Section 007
April 13, 2018

Written by: Katherine Rabik

Personal Introduction

I have a background in geological engineering, and completed my MSc. at the

University of Leeds in 2015. I have experience teaching science to students of all ages,

and have had practicum placements in Grades 2, 6 and Kindergarten. I have always

had an interest in international education and how teacher and student experiences

vary around the world. Next year, I will be teaching Grade 2 at the MiSK School in

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Introduction to the Classroom/School Context:

This research was completed while I was on my alternative practicum trip in

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire with 1 Million Teachers. The organization has the goal of

offering professional development opportunities to teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa. I

spent a month visiting both public and private elementary schools and interacting with

students and teachers. I was also part of a team that planned two professional

development workshops for local teachers, primarily relating to student engagement.

The participants were a mix of elementary and high school teachers from low and

middle income, private, English speaking schools in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. The

participants all came from schools we had visited, so we had previously seen their

facilities and interacted with their students. Conversations with the teachers and school

administrators before the workshops informed the content that we planned for the day.
Problem of Practice and Inquiry Question

I chose to study the impact of professional development workshops in teacher

motivation. During our trip preparations and conversations before we left, I learned that

many teachers in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle to stay motivated amidst low pay, a lack

of resources and little to no parental involvement. Teachers also lack access to

professional development opportunities and professional learning communities. I was

interested to see how much the participants would get out of our workshops and

whether they felt it had any impact on their motivation or capabilities as teachers.

Ultimately, motivated and capable teachers are more effective educators, which results

in more engaged students and better learning.

Starting Point and Actions

1 Million Teachers was founded by Hakeem Subair when he became frustrated

with the lack of high quality educational opportunities for his children in Nigeria. He

described to us the lack of respect that teachers face in many Sub Saharan countries

and the incredible challenges that they face in their careers. Many feel defeated by the

lack of funding and materials, and question how they can effectively educate their

students with little to no support. This leads to students not receiving a quality

education, at least at low and middle-income schools. During the planning stages of our

trip, I began to wonder whether access to professional development opportunities, along

with support from fellow teachers, could have a measurable, positive effect on teacher

motivation. Through discussions with the other teacher candidates on the trip, and with

Dr. Jane Chin, we decided that the workshops should focus on ideas for engaging
students. We wanted to provide strategies that required little to no resources and that

could be implemented immediately into a local classroom without requiring a

fundamental change in their approach to education.

Assess your actions: Early Data

My approach for this research was to collect feedback and information from the

first workshop to improve the second workshop. I had participants fill out a pre-

workshop survey as they registered at the beginning of the day (Appendix 1A) and then

fill out a post-workshop survey at the end of the day (Appendix 1B). The survey results

from both workshops can be found in Appendix 2. We also had the teachers complete a

KWL chart relating to student engagement strategies to assess what they learned

during our workshop sessions.

On the pre-workshop survey, we asked teachers to self-reflect on their capability

and give themselves a rating out of 10. We also asked them to comment on what they

think would make them a better teacher and what is one of the biggest challenges they

face as a teacher. On the post-workshop survey, we again asked them to rate their

capability so that we could assess any positive or negative impacts of our workshop.

We also asked for general feedback in terms of their favourite part of the day and any

suggestions they had for us moving forward. When analyzing the responses, I

separated comments based on the capability ratings the teachers had given themselves

to see if there was a correlation between lower/higher rating and the types of challenges

they faced.
 Our first workshop was held in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. In general, we found that

the participants came from lower income schools and many were skeptical of the

workshop and the value of it. We found it more challenging to engage the teachers and

have them participate in activities like games and icebreakers. Before the workshop,

teachers gave themselves an average capability rating of 7.2/10. Regardless of rating,

teachers felt that their practice could be improved with more training programs and

professional support. In particular, teachers who gave themselves higher capability

ratings listed motivation as a factor that would improve their teaching. In terms of

challenges, many teachers mentioned a lack of school materials, inadequate facilities,

disengaged students and a lack of parental involvement.

After the workshop, the average capability rating had increased to 8.4. We

received overall positive feedback, with most suggestions being that the sessions were

too rushed. In general, the teachers found the day worthwhile and requested that more

workshops be held in the future.

Retry Actions (Time Permitting): Additional Data

Using feedback from our first workshop, we made changes to the layout of our

second workshop in Accra. We chose to cover less topics, and instead focus more time

on few topics and cover them at a deeper level. We found that the participants of our

Accra workshop generally came from higher income schools and were more

excited/less skeptical about the workshop than the participants from Abidjan. They were

very excited to participate in all games and activities and were very willing to try new

methods and strategies.

 Before the workshop, teachers gave themselves an average capability rating of

7.6. When commenting on what would make them a better teacher, participants in this

workshop mentioned more training, higher education and better access to technology, a

difference from the first workshop. The challenges were similar to the first workshop,

including a lack of parental support and insufficient resources.

After the workshop, the average capability rating increased to a 9.1. The

feedback was generally more positive than the first workshop, with more requests to

continue the program in the future. Some specific comments mentioned that the

workshop increased their confidence and motivation as teachers. In particular, they

liked the session on using games in the classroom, positive reinforcement and

scaffolding. They commented that they were excited to begin using these strategies in

their own classrooms the following week. Several teachers also mentioned they met

new people and found new support networks with colleagues from different schools.

Connection to Literature and Validation

There is a plethora of research relating to teacher motivation in Sub-Saharan

Africa and it Is a well documented issue. Teachers often face the challenges of low-pay,

difficult working conditions and inadequate qualifications, and these can all contribute to

a lack of motivation (UNESCO, 2017). Motivating teachers is essential to meeting

national and international development goals, including the UN 2030 Sustainable

Development Goals. At the base level, countries need to ensure that their teachers are

paid enough to meet their basic physical needs. Increases in salary and pay rewards
have been shown to be a key factor in improving motivation in many Sub-Saharan

countries (UNESCO, 2017).

Poor teacher motivation and low pay can have far-reaching negative impacts on

learning outcomes. A correlation has been shown between low levels of motivation and

poor professional behavior, such as lateness, absenteeism and laziness (Bennell &

Akyeampong, 2007). Once again, higher incentives and higher wages are

recommended as the primary fix for teacher motivation, but professional development

and teacher support networks are also recommended as ways to improve motivation

(Bennell & Akyeampong, 2007).

In particular, research has indicated that teachers in Ghana are unmotivated in

their professional practice because of high teacher-student ratios, a lack of resources

and high absenteeism rates attributed to stressful working conditions (Salifu &

Agbenyega, 2013). In an effort to address these issues, the country has implemented a

number of different schemes. These include national teaching awards, paid leave to

pursue higher education, teacher promotion schemes and community support for

teachers (Salifu & Agbenyega, 2013).

Many studies have been done assessing teacher motivation in Sub-Saharan

African countries. A lack of motivation has been identified as a key factor in poor

education and many organizations are trying to address this issue.

New Steps and Implications for Future Practice

Moving forward, I would love to continue running workshops in the area and

continue monitoring outcomes and feedback. We had many requests from teachers to
offer more professional development opportunities in the future. I would love to do some

larger scale research looking at the broader impacts of the work of 1 Million Teachers.

Ideally, I would like to follow participants over a longer period of time post-workshop to

see if any of the strategies we presented are actually implemented in the classroom and

what the outcomes are on student engagement and achievement. I think it would be

beneficial to survey both students and parents to see if they notice a measurable

improvement in the motivation or engagement of the teachers. I look forward to the work

that 1 Million Teachers will continue to do in the area, and I hope that I have another

opportunity to work with the organization in the future.

Messages for my first year

This experience gave me a significant insight into some of the daily challenges

that teachers face. Though I don’t anticipate facing a lack of basic teaching materials, at

least in the first few years of my career, I do anticipate challenges in forming a

professional learning community. I could see how excited the teachers in Ghana and

Cote d’Ivoire were when we facilitated the creation of these communities and I could

see how beneficial the support was for them. I will strive to ensure that I seek out

supportive professional relationships during my first few years of teaching

Insights into professional learning as a teacher

Through this experience, I really learned the importance of cross-cultural

teaching and learning. I think it is crucial for teachers to reach out to colleagues in other

parts of the world to share knowledge and advice. Even though the education systems
might be completely different in West Africa than in Canada, teachers still face the same

daily challenges of classroom management, student motivation and parental

involvement. I think this is especially important for those of us working at international

schools, as we might be teaching students from all over the world. Reaching out to

international colleagues can help us to understand the experiences and viewpoints that

our students are bringing into the classroom. It can help us to be culturally sensitive and

create a welcoming classroom environment that celebrates cultural diversity.

Works Cited
Bennell, P., & Akyeampong, K. (2007). Teacher Motivation in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Essex:
Department for International Development.

Salifu, I., & Agbenyega, J. S. (2013, October 31). Viewing Teacher Motivation in the Ghana Education
Service through a Postcolonial Lens. Current Issues in Education , 16 (3).

UNESCO. (2017). Teacher Support and Motivation Framework for Africa: Emerging Patterns. Addis
Ababa: UNESCO-IICBA.

Appendices

1A – Pre Workshop Survey

1. On a scale of 1 to 10, how capable do you feel as a teacher? Circle one.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not at all capable Extremely capable

2. What do you think could help make you a better teacher?

3. What is one of the biggest challenges you face as a teacher?

1B – Post Workshop Survey

1. How capable do you feel as a teacher after completing this workshop?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Not at all capable Extremely capable

2. What was your favorite part of the day?

3. Do you have any other comments or suggestions for us?

2 – Notes from the workshops

Please see the attached Excel spreadsheet for notes from the workshops and

feedback from the participants.