Cumulative Risk and Teacher Well-Being in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract

Remarkably little systematic research has examined the living and working conditions for teachers in sub-Saharan Africa and how such conditions predict teacher well-being. This study assesses how various risks across several domains of teachers' lives-measured as a cumulative risk index-predict motivation, burnout, and job dissatisfaction in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Cumulative risk is related to lower motivation and higher burnout levels, and the relationship between cumulative risk and burnout is moderated by years of teaching experience. Specifically, less experienced teachers report the highest levels of burnout regardless of their level of cumulative risk. Experienced teachers with the low cumulative risk scores report the lowest levels of burnout, and burnout increases with higher levels of cumulative risk, suggesting that burnout decreases with experience but not for teachers who experience more risk factors. Implications for research and education policy in low-income and conflict-affected countries are discussed.

Teacher motivation and job satisfaction: a case study of North West Nigeria

“…This is perhaps better than teaching a scanty class which some of these teachers are used to and not getting adequate satisfaction from being a teacher. In terms of teachers' perceptions, those who think their students are not intelligent or smart enough to perform well may be less motivated (UNESCO-IICBA, 2017), and this is sometimes related to reduced job satisfaction (Wolf, Torrente, Mccoy, & Rasheed, 2015). Similar to this, our results show that teachers who think their students are smart enough to do well are more likely to have increased job satisfaction than those who do not.…”

“…Unfortunately, teachers in SSA countries, particularly those teaching in primary schools have been reported to have poor motivation and low job satisfaction (Wolf, Torrente, Mccoy, & Rasheed, 2015). As the rate of student enrolment continues to increase in the region, the increased workload, overcrowding of classrooms, and the perceived relegation of teaching as an unappealing profession by the society are potential issues that may lowerteachers' motivation and job satisfaction.…”

Experimental Impacts of the “Quality Preschool for Ghana” Interventions on Teacher Professional Well-being, Classroom Quality, and Children’s School Readiness

“…First, there is growing concern about a "motivation crisis" among teachers in LMICs (Moon, 2007) and in Ghana specifically (Bennell & Akyeampong, 2007). Teachers in LMICs face many challenges, including increasing workloads due to educational reform, low and unreliable teacher remuneration, lack of professional recognition, challenging working conditions (i.e., large class sizes), lack of accountability, minimal professional development opportunities, and lack of voice (Bennell & Akyeampong, 2007;Guajardo, 2011;Wolf, Aber, Torrente, McCoy, & Rasheed, 2015). Low teacher motivation and attendance, as well as high rates of turnover (Osei, 2006), are serious challenges to improving educational quality and child learning (Bennell & Akyeampong, 2007).…”

Longitudinal causal impacts of preschool teacher training on Ghanaian children’s school readiness: Evidence for persistence and fade‐out

“…Ghanaian teachers, like teachers in many LMICs, face many challenges including increasing workloads due to educational reform, low and unreliable teacher remuneration, lack of professional recognition, large class sizes, and minimal professional development opportunities (Bennell & Akyeampong, ; Schwartz et al, ; Wolf, Aber, Torrente, McCoy, & Rasheed, ). Low teacher motivation and attendance, as well as high rates of turnover (Osei, ), are serious challenges to improving educational quality and child learning (Bennell & Akyeampong, ).…”