Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2019)

Teachers’ Demographic Characteristics and their Implications for Retaining Teachers in Tanzanian Remote Secondary Schools

https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v8i2.13
raymond mwemezi Boniface, PhD

Corresponding Author(s) : raymond mwemezi Boniface, PhD

mwemezirb@gmail.com

Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), Vol. 8 No. 2 (2019)

Abstract

The paper explores the demographic characteristics (age, gender, experience, and
education levels) among teachers in remote public secondary schools in Tanzania and
their implications for teacher retention. The data were collected using a survey
questionnaire involving 152 teachers from 23 remote schools, located in three districts
of Kondoa, Mpwapwa and Chemba in Dodoma region, the central part of Tanzania. The
results showed that most of the teachers in remote public secondary schools are males
(76.3%), aged between 23–30 years (65.1%); and the majority are below 36 years (89.4%),
with bachelor’s degree as their highest education qualification (58.6%), and have stayed
in their current schools for between 1–5 years (63.8%). Such a teaching workforce is
challenging to retain in remote areas, as it is rarely satisfied with the teaching career,
and highly susceptible to frequently changing employers and working contexts. Still, if
deliberate retention efforts are made, they could be retained while they are within their
early and middle career stages. These stages are linked to both high self-efficacy and
possibilities of handling work-related stresses. Arguably, because of employment
difficulties in Tanzania, such a teaching workforce is likely to stay but it is de-motivated;
and, given opportunity, it is likely to flee from the remote schools. Within the study
findings, it is suggested that demographically inclined teachers’ placement policies in
remote areas may consider the following strategies: allocating middle-aged women
(40+ years), males within stable age groups (35 to 49 years), few less-experienced
teachers (fresh employees from colleges and universities), and strengthening other
retention strategies.

Keywords

demographic characteristics remote schools, teachers’ retention strategies
Teachers’ Demographic Characteristics and their Implications for Retaining Teachers in Tanzanian Remote Secondary Schools. (2020). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 8(2). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v8i2.13
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Teachers’ Demographic Characteristics and their Implications for Retaining Teachers in Tanzanian Remote Secondary Schools. (2020). Journal of Humanities & Social Science (JHSS), 8(2). https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v8i2.13
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