Heads of Schools’ Motivational Strategies Used to Improve Students’ Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools in Korogwe Town Council, Tanzania

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to research the motivational strategies employed by heads of schools to improve students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Korogwe Town Council. The study was guided by the ARCS Model of Motivational created by Keller (1990), which presumes that people are motivated to learn if there is value in the knowledge presented and if there is an optimistic expectation for success. The study used a convergent parallel research design under a mixed approach. A study used simple random sampling and automatic techniques to get participants of the study who were students, teachers, heads of Schools, and Ward Educational Officers. The sample for the study was 3 Ward educational officers, 3 heads of schools, fifty-four (54) teachers, making a total of 60 participants. The total population was 9 schools, 9 heads of schools, and 344 teachers in public secondary schools, and 5907 made a total population of 6269 in Korogwe Town Council. The instruments for data collection were questionnaires and an interview guide. A questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data, while an interview guide was used to collect qualitative data. The instruments were validated by two experts from the faculty of education in educational planning and administration (MWECAU). The reliability of quantitative data was established through Cronbach Alpha (r=0.82 for teachers' questionnaire), while the reliability of the qualitative data was established through Persistent Engagement and Triangulation of data. The quantitative data were coded and analyzed into percentages and frequencies using Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) version 25. Qualitative data were analyzed by coding contents into themes and presented in narrative form. The quantitative data were presented in figures and tables. The research findings revealed that HoS motivational strategies were inadequate and, therefore, affected students' academic performance. The study concluded that heads of public secondary schools should insist on intrinsic motivational strategies as they cost less than extrinsic motivational strategies. The study recommended that HoS should insist on the use of intrinsic motivational strategies and adjustment of strategies according to needs and time.