Academic Staff Motivation in Tanzania Public Higher Learning Institutions: Unmasking the Intricacies and Experiences

Abstract

This paper provides a descriptive analysis on the role of motivation on academic staff performance. Following the neglect of motivation practices in many higher learning institutions, the academic staff have opted to move on as usual at the expense of students who need their expertise. The paper acknowledges that higher learning institutions have several motivational packages to boost the performance but these were depicted as being not enough to incite a sense of commitment towards teaching, research, publication and supervision. To arrive at this, part of the sample i.e. 75 respondents comprising  Associate Professors, Senior Lecturers, Lecturers, Assistant Lecturers, and Tutorial Assistants was obtained using simple random sampling and 4 key informants; two Deputy Principals and two Faculty Deans were purposively sampled out to constitute a sample of 79 respondents for the study. The study was guided by three research questions. A self-developed 4-Point Likert structured questionnaire, semi-structured interview questions, discussions and documentary reviews were the main instruments used in collecting data. Quantitative data collected were analyzed with descriptive statistics using a 4-Point Likert scale and qualitative using Content Analysis. Low monthly salaries were the major factor that dissatisfied academic staff and reduced motivation for high performance at the University. It is concluded and recommended that motivational aspects like salary, allowances, working conditions, recognition and career advancement once well managed and provided then better performance of academic staff is guaranteed.  

Keywords: Motivation, Academic Staff, Intricacies, Experiences