EDU702: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research methodology is one of my courses in M.Ed (Education Management and Leadership), Faculty of Education UiTM Shah Alam. My lecturer for this course is Assoc. Prof. Dr Nor Aziah Alias. Since September till now, there are so many knowledge I've gain from her lectures. After completing this course, I hope I will be able to

(a) acquire a a good knowledge and understanding the concepts and philosophies underlining basic educational research

(b) demonstrate an awareness and understanding the process, strategies and requirements of the research process

(c) evaluate and critically review educational research articles and papers

(d) write a research proposal that addresses an appropriate research problem with related literature review and appropriate research methodology.

I pray to Allah to help me in this journey till I reach my target to obtain my phD. May Allah bless all of us.ameen 

FINALLY: MY RESEARCH PROPOSAL

A Case Study on Teachers Motivation in Malaysian Islamic Private School in Kuala Selangor.

1.0         Introduction

Due to lack of knowledge in Islamic values that are not really being emphasised in national school, some of the parents refuse to send their childrens to national school. As an alternative, parents from different backgrounds which concern about the importance of Islamic values in school formed a group and started to establish an Islamic private school. As a results, the Islamic private school has grown rapidly nowadays in Selangor. Since 1990’s till now, there are 43 Islamic private school in Selangor including Sekolah Menengah Islam and Maahad Tahfiz (Sources from JAIS, January 2012).

Many achievements have been made by these islamic private school whether in academic achievement or in co-curricullar achievement. All these achievements are along with the aim of the islamic private school to produce the students which excellence in spiritual, intellectual emotional and physical. This mission is compliment with the National Philosophy of Education to produce individuals in a holistic and integrated manners who are intellectually, spiritually, emotionally and physically balanced and harmonious based on a firm belief in and devotion to God. Apart from these achievements, the role of the teachers are also not easily deniable. Majority of the teachers are not well trained to be a teacher but with the passion to produce students that balanced in all aspects made they work hard to achieve the school’s mission and they are very dedicated in their teaching even though their salaries are not as higher as the teachers in national school. As the management and administrator, they want the teachers contribute as much as they can by manipulating the Islamic concept of ‘Ikhlas’ or to have blessings and satisfaction of Allah. ‘Ikhlas’ is one of the most important concept in to gain benefit in the after world (Akhirat) where whatever job that we are doing, we should do it only for one and only, Allah. However, the employer should never manipulate this concept because the employee needs should be fullfill first to ensure that the employee will not be suppressed.   

There are many factors that can affect the passion of teaching in these islamic private school and this cause the teacher retention was not easy in islamic private school. The main problems that always occurs in islamic private school is to retain the teacher to stay in their school. Aren’t the teachers aware about the Islamic concept of ‘Ikhlas’? Why are these teachers with all the passion of teaching is leaving the school? One of the most important factor that contribute to this problem is motivation. How does this motivation factor affect the teachers?

To answer these questions, I would like to share my experiences as a teacher in Islamic private school for almost four years. One of my previous school was well-known Islamic private school in Kuala Selangor where I’ve been a teacher there for almost two years. As a teacher which the school was establish by the parents, we cannot deny the role of these parents in design the school mission and vision to achieve their target. Many of these parents involved as the managements or the board of directors of the school. There are pros and cons when these parents involved in the school system especially when the parents does not have the knowledge in teaching and learning process. I would say that the most important part that these parents should be taken care was teachers welfare. But the real situation that happen in Islamic private school is different. The students welfare are the first priority compares to teachers welfare. Due to the less attention to this factor will grow unsatisfactory feelings among teachers.

With more responsibilities that the teachers in Islamic private school had to deal compares to teachers in national school, these teachers are not easy to stick on their job in longer period. Teaching hours in the Islamic private school are longer than national school. The teachers had to work started on 7.30 a.m till 2.40 p.m. After teaching hours, they had to stay in school until 3.30 p.m and sometimes till 5.30 p.m after co-curricullar activities. Some of the teachers have to work at night as a warden and sometimes have to provide tuition for the students that are going to take PMR and SPM examination. As a teacher, they also have to accompany the students when the students involved in outdoors activities such as competition, camping and sport tournaments. These chores were really challenged the teachers that had to make preparation for teaching and learning the next morning.

The school environment and facilities also important factors that affected teachers motivation. From my observations, the teachers’ room in Islamic private school was not very condusive for them. They are not demanding for air-conditioned or such a luxury furnitures but they just needs safe and healthy condition room. One of the Islamic private school that I’ve been worked didn’t have toilet for male teachers. The teachers had to share the limited toilets with the students. With all these responsibilities and conditions, teachers need support from the administrations and managements to understand them better and take care of their welfare as they had given full commitment to fullfill the school mission. They feel demotivated when what they had given was not really appreciated by the managements. As there are only a few of research that have been conducted to study motivation among teachers in Islamic private school, the researcher will conduct a study on teachers motivation in Islamic private school.      

Problem Statement

Teachers in my previous Islamic private school are demotivated. Since May 2011 till October 2011, there were almost twelve teachers left the school due to many reasons. Some of  them were offered other job with higher salary, some of them could not stand the burden that they had to carry and some of them left because they want to further their study. Apart from these factors, through my own observation shows that teachers in my previous school was lack of motivation. From my experiences and conversation among teachers from other Islamic private schools, these situations were not only occurs in my previous school but also occurs in almost every Islamic private school due to lack attention on teachers welfare.

Purpose of the Research/ Aim of the Research

This study will examine the level of motivation among teachers in Islamic private school in Kuala Selangor, namely Islamic School X. The study will also indicate which factors that most contributes to lack of motivation among teachers in Islamic School X.

Research Objectives

To determine the level of motivation among teachers in Islamic School X.

To determine the factors that most contributes to lack of motivation among teachers in Islamic School X.

Research Questions

What are the level of motivation among teachers in Islamic School X?

Which factors that contributes most to lack of motivation among teachers in Islamic School X?

Significance of the study

This study will develop a better understanding about the factors affect teachers’ motivation in Islamic private school and the level of motivation among teachers in Islamic private school.

The results should contribute to the educational research literature about the teachers in Islamic private school in Malaysia regarding their motivation in teaching.

The results should encourage discussions about the strategies the administrators and management can adopt that will provide a better Islamic private school models that more collaborative with the teachers.

Limitation of the study

This study is limited for one Islamic private school in Kuala Selangor only.

The findings could not generalize to all Islamic private school in Malaysia because this is just focused on Islamic School X only.

Operational definition

Motivation in this study refers to factors that stimulate psychological growth. There are two factors in motivation are intrinsic and extrinsic factors. The intrinsic factors contain the following: (1) achievement, (2) recognition, (3) work itself, (4) responsibility, (5) advancement, and (6) possibility of growth. Intrinsic factors tended to make tasks more interesting, enjoyable and psychologically rewarding. Herzberg identified motivational factors as intrinsic and associated hygiene factors as extrinsic factors such as:  (1) policies of the organization, (2) administration, (3) technical supervision, (4) salary, (5) working condition, (6) status, (7) job security, (8) effects on personal life, (9) interpersonal relations with supervisors, peers and subordinates. This study will emphasize on both intrinsic and extrinsic factor involving recognition, work itself, responsibility, administration, salary, job security working hours, school facilities and workload.

2.0         Literature Review

Teachers motivation

Motivation is a process governing choices made by persons as alternative forms of voluntary activity. Vroom (1982) define motivated behavior is variable, constructive, and goal-directed. Human motivation is a construct that is difficult to observe and categorize. Research suggested that basic needs and instincts primarily guide human motivation (Bayer, Ferguson, & Gollwitzer, 2003), but we are far than those theories suggest. Previously framed in intrinsic/extrinsic (Deci, 1975) or instrumental/integrative dualisms (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002) and viewed as stagnant, motivation is now explained with more sophisticated models. While the motivation literature is vast and a thorough review is beyond the scope of this article, I am going to touch on general motivation and teacher motivation to situate my argument.

As this study will focus on levels of motivation, locus of control substantially informs kinds and levels of motivation, along with an individual’s psychological needs. Deci (1995) suggest that “self-motivation… is at the heart of creativity, responsibility, healthy behaviour, and lasting change” (p. 9, emphasis in original). Dzubay (2001) however outlines three psychological needs fundamental to teacher motivation: autonomy, competence, and relatedness (p. 5) which suggests that professional growth occurs when teachers choose their own career goals and connect or collaborate with others. In contrast, forced participation does little to enhance individual motivation and often results in counter-productive outcomes. When forced to do something, a person’s motivation fades and he or she may respond negatively (Dzubay, 2001).

Hirschhorn (1993) proposes that workers learn at the workplace if that learning makes them better at their job. Although not necessarily rewarded for resulting effectiveness (Goldhaber, 2009), some teachers choose more challenging professional development opportunities that improve their teaching (Rice, 2009). The resulting psychological rewards are felt internally, connected to student results, and contribute to better teaching (Ozcan, 1996). The incentive of doing a better job may be especially important, given that more obvious incentives in the form of salary, status, work schedule, and power are not as prevalent in teaching as they may be in other jobs. Hess (2009) points out that “teaching is a less attractive profession for those who want to be recognized and rewarded on the basis of their accomplishments and hard work” (p. 130).

While Russell (1971) defined motivation with three characteristics: (1) it is a presumed internal force, (2) it energizes for action, and (3) it determines the direction of that action. Intrinsic reinforcers are essential cues inherent in the learning process and are not extraneous ingredients imposed from outside. Extrinsic reinforcers are tangible or intangible, not a part of the internal learning process, and are imposed from the outside. Herzberg, Mausner, and Snydermann (1959) offered suggestions based on their studies of work motivation among employees: They recommended (1) that jobs be structured to maximize workers’ ability to achieve meaningfully job related goals, and (2) that the accumulation of achievement lead to a feeling of personal growth in the individual, accompanied by a sense of increasing responsibility. Jacobson (as cited in Tomlinson, 1992, p.50) noted that the central premise of performance-related pay -- that reward can effectively motivate teachers to improve their performance -- is based on the assumption that teachers are primarily motivated by money. Herzberg identified a two-factor approach for understanding employee motivation. First, he divides employee behaviors into two categories-motivation and hygiene factors. Herzberg defines motivators as those factors that stimulate psychological growth. Motivators in this intrinsic category include achievement, recognition, responsibility, and advancement and work itself. In contrast, hygiene factors are rewards extrinsic to the content of work. Herzberg asserted that improving hygiene factors, such as salary, may help to reduce job dissatisfaction, but he contended that because these factors do not promote psychological growth, they will have little effect on increasing teachers’ efforts.  Further he stated that pay incentives may prevent job dissatisfaction, but cannot be used to improve performance. In reference to teacher performance, Herzberg’s work indicated that intrinsic rewards are more effective than salary levels in improving teacher performance. (Jacobsen, - as cited in Tomlinson, 1992).

However, Lawler, (1973) described Maslow’s motivation theories as “intrinsic motivation” when people work to obtain outcomes such a feelings of growth. “Extrinsic motivation” is related to rewards such as food and water. Further, he stated that motivation based on growth needs does not decrease as the needs become satisfied. He asserted that as people experience growth and self-actualization they simply want more.

Other researcher such as Natriello (as cited in H. C. Johnson, 1985) reported that in an evaluation system that rewards of teaching performance, a source of motivation would have to be present such as professional satisfaction in a job well done –(intrinsic motivation)-- or the  receipt of merit pay—(extrinsic motivation). He described Lawler’s model of extrinsic teacher motivation. An individual’s motivation to perform a certain task is the result of his or her subjective probability that effort on his or her part will lead to successful performance, multiplied by the product of his probability that performance will lead to an outcome and the value of that outcome to the individual. The sum can then be used to predict the effort that a person will devote to a task. Effort is combined with the ability to produce a certain level of performance, which in turn leads to a reward.

The model of intrinsic motivation differs from the extrinsic motivation model in that the subjective probability of effort leading to successful performance is depicted as influencing the subjective probability that performance will lead to an outcome. Secondly, the connection between performance and rewards is shown as more direct than in the extrinsic model. This more direct connection is due to the fact that employees may give themselves intrinsic rewards (Natriello, as cited in Johnson).

Given the findings in this literature review, this study will examine teachers motivation in Islamic private school. Moreover, motivational variables that have an effect on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation have been identified. This study attempted to identify the level of motivation among teachers in Islamic private school and to identify the factors that most affect teachers motivation.

3.0         Methodology

Population

The population are among teachers in Islamic School X in Kuala Selangor. There are 13 male are 28 female teachers in this school.

Sample and sampling

All the teachers in this school will be the sample to answer the questionnaire and the researcher will choose purposively three teachers for the interviews.

 

Research Design

This study is a case study with mixed method research. Using a mixed methods approach provides the researcher with the opportunity to capture both the trends and the details of a situation (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2007), and to add depth and context to quantitative results. The techniques involve questionnaire as the instrument and also by interviews involving the researcher and interview protocol as the instruments. The questionnaire will be adopted from Teacher Motivation Questionnaire by Herzberg (1959) and Attitude Toward Teaching Survey by McNeil (1987) with some modification. The questions has been modified to suit the participants. The interview protocol has been design by the researcher.

The methodology that the researcher will be used in this research is both quantitative research and qualitatives research. Quantitative approach will be based on the survey and questionnaire that will be distributed as the instruments for the research. Validity of the Teacher Motivation Questionnaire has been conducted by Herzberg consisted of a review panel of two college professors, two psychologists, two public school administrators, and four classroom teachers. The researcher has conducted a pilot test involving five participants to make sure the questionnaire is acceptable. The reliability of the instruments also will be tested by using Cronbach’s alpha from SPSS version 20.0.

Qualitative approach will be based on interviewing and observation. For realibility of the interviewer, the researcher will refrain from bias, opinion and views by the interviewees. The findings from the interviews will be validated by sending it back to the interviewees. Observation will be based on reseacher’s experience as a participant observation.

Research site

The Islamic School X located in Kuala Selangor district. This school can be categorized as sub rural school. This school was establish in 1986 in Shah Alam and then move to the present site in 1997. The school is consider as Islamic boarding school. The total of the students are 536 students including SMI and Mahad Tahfiz.

Procedures / Instruments

The Teacher Motivation Questionnaire will be use to obtain information regarding teacher motivation. The questionnaire was developed using intrinsic and extrinsic factors as motivators. Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory and McNeil’s motivation was used as a theoretical basis and a 4-point Likert scale was used to record the responses. Construction and structure of the Teacher Motivation Questionnaire was developed and focused on the motivation and hygiene factors proposed by Herzberg with Attitude Towards Teaching Survey by McNeil.

The original questionnaire consisted of eighty-eight items that focused on motivation and hygiene factors. Six areas represented intrinsic motivation and seven areas represented extrinsic motivation on the questionnaire. The questionnaire for this study was modified from eighty-eight questions to thirty questions. Two open-ended questions are added to obtain information on the teachers’ motivation.

The Teacher Motivation Questionnaire will be used to measure the amount of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation of teachers. High extrinsic scores would indicate that the teacher is motivated by factors provided by the organization.. High intrinsic motivation scores would indicate that the teacher is motivated by feelings of gratification of contributing to the school mission.

Whereas for the interview protocol, the researcher has design a semi-structured interview protocol that was grounded in the questions from the quantitative phase of the study, and that also allowed participants to offer observations and insights that might move outside of my initial research questions. The researcher particularly interested in understanding teachers’ perspectives on how their motivation beliefs might interact with school climate, and how working in challenging situations influences their motivation beliefs. The interviews will be digitally recorded and field notes will be taken as a backup and to highlight important points

Data Analysis

Quantitative data were coded and analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0. For the questionnaire, both means and standard deviations were calculated for Likert-scaled items; items for each sub-scale were averaged together to create indices for evaluation and for supervision. Finally, answers to the interview questions were coded, re-coded, and categorized into themes (Hatch 2002). The findings of this study are organized according to each research question.

APPENDIX A

Dear Colleague:

From my observations, teachers in Islamic private are lack of motivation.  This is a study of the factors that affect teachers’ motivation in Islamic private school.

Your responses are vital to this study.  The information gained will help school administrators and school managements to understand how to deal with teachers in an effort to increase their motivation.

All information provided will be confidential.  The number, which will appears on the survey, will be used to monitor the returns.  

Thank you, in advance, for your help in gaining information about the teachers motivation in Islamic private school.

Sincerely,

Addinass b. Krang Suut

Masteral Candidate

TEACHERS MOTIVATION QUESTIONNAIRES

Demographics

1	How many years have you been a teacher in this school?
		years
2	What is your gender? Please circle one
	Male		Female
3	What is your age group? Please circle one.
	20-30			31-40		41-50		51+
4	What is your highest degree earned? Please circle one.
	Bachelors			Masters		Education Specialist		Doctorate

1- Strongly Agree     2 – Agree       3 – Disagree             4 – Strongly Disagree

	Items	1	2	3	4
1	My salary adequately meets my needs.
2	As part of the professional development plan for new teachers, I am given the opportunity to observe and seek advice from experienced teachers
3	My  school managements stresses professional development as a way of increasing the skill level of teachers.
4	I am satisfied with the way that my school administrators spend money.
5	My school managements included a lot of “perks,” such as relocation costs and coupons from school shops and canteen, in their recruiting process.
6	The mentoring program in my school has been a useful program as it gave me the opportunity to discuss problems with an experienced teacher.
7	My school managements pay an extra stipend for hard-to-fill positions.
8	Administrators ensure that new teachers are not overwhelmed in their new assignments.
9	The entire staff takes part in creating the objectives for the school’s yearly plan.
10	My courses in college prepared me to teach the curriculum for the courses that I have been assigned.
11	My job has very few stressful days.
12	I have anxiety attacks when I think of going to work.
13	The joy of teaching young people keeps me motivated year after year.
14	I feel confident that I have the skills necessary to perform my duties.
15	Teachers in my school work as a team to ensure student achievement.
16	I feel that I am making a difference in the lives of children.
17	I have a strong commitment to the field of education.
18	I feel burned out by the end of October.
19	My job is too frustrating for me.
20	My school has a positive environment in which to teach.
21	The stress on my job reduces my confidence as a teacher.
22	I feel challenged in my job as a teacher.
23	My job as a teacher requires too much of my time after the close of the regular school day.
24	My workload is reasonable.
25	I think teachers should be paid on experience.
26	My salary is reasonable for the amount of work I do.
27	I am satisfied with my salary.
28	My attitude toward work is to work only as hard as I have to.
29	Teaching is usually challenging.
30	Teaching is an important job.

31. What motivates you most to stay in this school? State why.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

32. If you are given choices, will you leave this school? State why.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

INTERVIEW PROTOCOL

Date :                                                              Time :

Location :

First of all, thank you for participating in this interview. I am doing a research for my dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education in Educational Management and Leadership. From my observation, teachers in Islamic private are lack of motivation. This is a study of the factors that affect teachers’ motivation in Islamic private school.  Your responses are vital to this study. The information gained will help school administrators and school managements to understand how to deal with teachers in an effort to increase their motivation. All information provided will be confidential. Thank you, in advance, for your help in gaining information about the teachers’ motivation in Islamic private school.

1.    First of all, could you please introduce yourself?

2.    How long have you been in this school?

3.    What is your first impression about this school when you come here?

4.    What is so special about this school?

5.    Are you satisfied with the school facilities?

6.    What can you tell me about the school managements?

7.    How long are your working hours?

8.    Do you satisfied with your salary here?

9.    How does the school management appreciate the teachers in this school?

10. What factor that will keep you stay in this school?

Thank you again for your time and participation in this interview. If you would like to participate in a brief follow-up interview, please write your first name, phone number, and best time to contact you on the space provided:      

_____________________________________________________________________________

Floor plan for the interviews