A Thesis Title Proposal

FACULTY MORALE AND WORK MOTIVATION IN SELECTED HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (HEI) IN THE
1ST DISTRICT OF LAGUNA: A CORRELATIONAL ANALYSIS

Submitted By

GERINO P. ABELIDA JR.

Master in Educational Management

August 2022

Chapter 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

Employee motivation and morale are two vital, interdependent elements of the employee experience.
To improve one is to improve them both. Start by understanding the difference between them and how
they combine to create a more productive workplace.

Modern personnel management on morale- a critical factor in the success of every organization. High
morale is built by making sure that the job provides the satisfaction an individual wants from life
(Bradfield et al., 1964).Responsible administrative and supervisory leaders can do much to provide daily
satisfaction and desirable working conditions that contribute to staff morale.
Positive teacher morale stimulates loyalty, cooperation and teamwork and makes teachers eager to
work hard and to fight indifference (Ruiz 1974). Even though myriad works and assignments perplex the
teachers, they usually do not mind various incidents, which would normally scamper effective
management, if morale is high.

De Roche (1985) added : In schools where teachers and others express high morale and satisfaction,
productivity is high (p. 128). Tenedero (2001) affirmed : When there is a genuine effort to first
understand an individual’s needs, the result is trust and rapport--- leading to higher performance and
productivity (p. 6).

Low teachers’ morale can have the opposite effect. Excessive absenteeism or tardiness, high turnover,
poor work quality and increased frequency of grievances and gripes – even to the extent of organizing
teachers’ unions and stoppage in several schools.

Factors that tend to lower teachers morale : poor working conditions, insufficient teaching facilities and
equipment, late or irregular payment or non-payment of other benefits meagre opportunity for
professional development, numerous non-teaching assignments, lack of well-defined career path and
clear reward system (Torralba, 1995).

McGinnis (1997) said that : The best way to bring out the best in people is to treat them in appositive,
encouraging manner, capitalize on their gifts, and begin with their present needs and desires – exactly
what should be done to boost the morale of the people who are looked at as the best hope for reform –
the teachers (p. 55).

Background of the Study

Teachers are protagonists in the classroom. It was through their efforts that early in our lives we
learned to follow good manners and right conduct, hygiene and sanitation, aside from reading, writing
and arithmetic.

Teachers, whom according to Gonzalez (2000, pp. 3,9), have, inspiring mission statements, well
carved institutional values beautifully bound plantilla, lesson plans and perhaps, rubrics that are spelled
out.

It is truism that teachers are the greatest asset in the academe and the key agent in our
educational system. Accepting this assumption, a high level morale and a high level of motivation are
vital factors that can promote effective and efficient teachers within the school system. They need to be
respected, recognized and motivated to be able to widen

their vision, broaden their culture, raise their status, self-esteem and uphold dignity in their profession.

Being the front liner in the teaching-learning process, high level faculty morale and motivation
are primordial. Faculty members must be motivated in their job and around the job, amidst several
teaching and non-teaching duties a continuing desires to perform should always be exhibited, hence, no
matter how huge the tasks are, its realization is obtained.

Stressed that a person who is motivated works hard, sustains pace of hard work and self-
directed behaviour toward important goal. Moreover, Hoy and Miskel elucidated, there is no substitute
for effective teacher motivation. Neither regulations nor resources, neither technical innovation, nor
program reorganizations, cannot significantly alter school program if the teacher motivation fails to
energize and shape teacher behaviour in many ways that link educational program requirements to
student learning needs (Donnely, et al., 1990).

Gorton, as cited by Maquinto (1991), listed several studies that showed the importance of
school administrators in developing morale in schools : (a) Duncan, in his study, found out that in
schools with employee-oriented administrators that are task-oriented. Nevertheless, he recommended
that the two styles can be combined by administrators for a better result in working with their staffs; (b)
Ingle and Munsterman, noted that in high satisfaction schools, teachers perceived their principals to be
more democratic rhan did teachers in low satisfaction school; and (c) Gorton, on review of research
studies on satisfaction and morale, recommended that administrators should :

… (1) Attempt on a regular basis to obtain systematic feedback from staff members regarding their
perceptions of problems, concern, and issues; (2) exert a major effort toward improving the satisfaction
that teacher derive from classroom teaching; (3) strive to improve the operation of the school and
overall quality of the educational program in the school; (4) try to be sensitive to, and mediate where
appropriate, any problems of an interpersonal nature between and among teachers, students, and
parents; (5) practice good human relations in intersections with the staff; and (6) provide meaningful
participation for teachers in the decision making processes of the school.

Blasé and Kirby ( 1992) enumerated several studies that showed the importance of
school principal in developing a conducive work environment for teachers’ effective performance and
advancement, to wit: (a) Isherwood found out that principals who demonstrated charisma, expertise,
and human relations heightened teachers’ loyalty to the principal and improved teacher satisfaction; (b)
Mark Hanson discovered that in innovative schools, public praise by administrators resulted in desired
modifications of teacher behaviour. Hanson also found out that principals who described appropriate
professional conduct positively influenced teachers; (c) Treslan and Ryan learned that teachers were
much more responsive to principals’ influence attempts based on human relations skills and technical
expertise than to the use of hierarchical authority; (d) Leithwood and Jantzi noted that principals who
relied on such strategies as staff development, communication about values, power sharing, and the use
of symbols were

able to foster collaborative relationships among teachers; (e) Johnson indicated that expertise, personal
example, distribution of resources, and expressed interest impacted favourably on teachers.

The task of school administrators, then, with respect to faculty morale and work motivation are
many and varied. According to Luce (1998, pp. 15-19), educational administrators need to concern
themselves with how high level of teacher motivation can be aroused, directed, and sustained.
Administrators must design programs, which inspire teachers to achieve excellence. It is of primary
importance that administrators foster the individual and collective efforts and contributions of teachers
in order to accomplish school goals and improve student learning.

Undeniably, faculty morale and work motivation are big factors in quality of education, which
every institution claims to be offering. It is only boosting faculty morale and uplifting work motivation
level that faculty members can provide optimum learning opportunities and experiences, thus, making
the best quality of life accessible to all.

It is in this line of thought that drove the researcher to pursue a study, which concerns the
relationship of faculty morale and work motivation in the new normal. Information to be collected will
be great help to administrators, faculty members, staff, students and future researchers in the same
field.

Theoretical Framework

In education, teacher motivation is a crucial concern Anderson and Iwanicki (1984, pp. 109-132).
Teachers have been confronted with many problems which include job security, meagre salary,
community pressures and discontent, and disciplinary problems – to name a few. It seems rational to
expect teachers, who are professional people, to have good morale without any effort on the part of the
administration, but since teachers like every human being possess the same emotions Anderson and
Van Dyke (1972), teacher morale has to be, therefore, given priority and attention by the administrators
for it to be enhanced. Among early studies, Gross and Herriot, as presented by Blasé and Kirby (pp. 1-2,
1992), linked principals’ interest in improving staff performance to positive effects on teacher morale
and classroom performance. Student achievements outcomes are viewed as an indirect result of
principals’ actions that affected instructional climate and classroom organization.

Morale and achievement are also related. Ellenberg found out that “where morale was high, schools
showed an increase in student achievement.”

In short, the morale of teachers can be have far-reaching implications for “student learning, the health
of the organization, and the health of the teacher”.

As noted above, a healthy school environment and high teacher morale tend to be related. A principal’s
ability to create a positive school climate and culture can affect teacher morale. As Adams states, “
Principals, who control many of the contingencies in the work environment and are the source of much
reinforcement for teaching behaviour, are the keys to improving the morale and self-esteem teachers”
(Lumsden,1998).
Leadership qualities of principals, then affect teacher morale, which affects teacher performance which
affects student performance. Principals are found to be important indeed, essential – in the change
process (M.E. Bredemeir and H.C. Bredemeir,1978).

This study was also anchored on Guba’s Social System Theory (Getzel, 1970). Morale has three
dimensions resulting from the congruence of relationship among belongingness, identification, and
rationality. Morale according to Guba refers to a feeling-tone of belongingness in a group and
identification with the goals of the group. It is seen as the pattern of effect underlying effectiveness,
efficiency, and satisfaction. This viewpoint takes into account the elements of morale as belongingness,
identification, and rationality. When the needs of the goals of the system are congruent, there is a
feeling of identification with the system. When the needs of the individual and the expectations of the
role-set are congruent, there is a feeling of belongingness in the system. When the expectations of the
roles and the goals of the system are congruent, there is a feeling of rationality regarding the system.
Belongingness as a dimension refers to the feeling of a role incumbent that he will achieve satisfaction in
his role-set in as much as the role expectations are accord with his own personal needs. Rationality as a
dimension refers to the extent that the role expectation are felt to be appropriate to the goals of the
system. Even if there is a strong feeling of belongingness, if there is a feeling that what he is expected to
do is not congruent with the goals of the system, the morale will be low. Identification as a dimension
refers to the degree to which the goals of the systems are integrated with the needs and values of the
individuals in the system. When the individual sees the goals of the system as their own goals, then,
identification is high.

Morale, then, is a function of three dimensions-belongingness, rationality, and identification. All factors
must be congruent at acceptable levels if morale is to be high.

The researcher also adapted Getzell and Guba’s Theory of Behaviour known as nomothetic-idiographic
dimension (Getzell, Lipham and Campell, 1968). The nomothetic dimension refers to the institution with
certain roles and expectations that fulfil the goals of the system; while the idiographic refers to the
individuals in the system with personalities and need dispositions, which constitute what is generally
called individual behaviour.

There are two components of social system, namely : (1) psychological component which is presented
by the individual, and the (2) sociological component, represented by the institution or organization.
Getzel identified the former as idiographic and the latter nomothetic. These two dimensions interact.
There is interpersonal social behaviour and the resulting is a social system.

Figure 1 presents the relationship between the two dimensions.

Normative or Nomothetic Dimension

Institution Role Expectation

Social System Social/Observed

Behaviour
 Individual Personality Need Disposition

Personal or Idiographic Dimension

Figure 1 Nomothetic and Idiographic Dimensions of Social Behaviour

in a Social System

Conceptual Framework

There are two main variables in the study, namely: faculty morale, which have ten factors, and
work motivation, which have three aspects.

Faculty morale is related to work motivation. A faculty member with a high level of morale will
have a high level of work motivation.

Faculty morale can be viewed as the total satisfaction a person derives from his job, his work
group, his boss, the organization and his environment. Morale as a variable, is composed of ten factors,
namely, rapport with administrators, salary, teaching load, curriculum issues, school facilities and
services, satisfaction with teaching, rapport with faculty members, community support to education,
status and community pressures.

Faculty motivation from work is the willingness to exert effort to achieve a goal or objective
derived from actual teaching and other related functions. Work motivation as a variable can be
determined on some identified aspects such as activation, direction and maintenance.

The personal variables, namely: age, sex civil status, educational attainment and length of
teaching experience and school variables, such as, type of school and school size are the intervening
variables. The said variables might interfere with the dependent and independent variables, and the
same variable could either strengthen or weaken the independent and dependent variable.

These factors may determine the levels of faculty morale and their work motivation.
Figure 2. Schematic Diagram showing relationship of Faculty Morale

to Work Motivation

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the relationship between the levels of faculty morale and work motivation.

Specifically, this study aimed to answer the following questions:

1. What is the demographic profile of the faculty-respondents in terms of

1.1. Personal Variables

a. Age

b. Sex

c. Civil Status

d. Educational Attainment, and

e. Length of Teaching Experience?

1.2. School Variable

a. Type of School

b. School Size?

2. What are the levels of faculty morale as perceived by the faculty-respondents in terms of the
following factors:
2.1. Rapport with Administrators

2.2. Salary

2.3. Teaching Load

2.4. Curriculum Issues

2.5. School Facilities and Services

2.6. Satisfaction with Teaching

2.7. Rapport with the Faculty Members

2.8. Community support to Education

2.9. Status, and

2.10. Community Pressures?

3. What are the levels of faculty work motivation as perceived by the faculty-respondents in terms
of the following aspects:

3.1 Activation

3.2 Direction, and

3.3 Maintenance

4. Are the levels of faculty morale significantly related to their personal and school variables?

5. Are the levels of faculty members’ work motivation significantly related to their personal and
school variables?

6. Is there a significantly relationship between the overall level of faculty morale and the overall
level of their work motivation?

Hypotheses

1. There is no significant relationship that exists between faculty morale and personal and school
variables.

2. There is no significant relationship that exists between faculty work motivation and personal
and school variables.

3. There is no significant relationship between the level of faculty morale and the level of their
work motivation.
Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study mainly designed to ascertain the relationship of faculty morale and the level of their work
motivation.

This study aimed to investigate whether there is significant relationship between faculty morale level,
work motivation, and personal variables namely, age, sex, civil status, educational attainment, and
length of teaching experience, as well as school variables such as type of school and school size.

Five Higher Education Institution (HEI) namely Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Biὴan Campus,
Polytechnic University of the Philippines-Santa Rosa Campus, Polytechnic University of the Philippines –
San Pedro Campus University of Perpetual Help-Biὴan Campus and Trimex Colleges, are used as locales
of the study.

The researcher will use two validated instruments. The first one is the instrument of Bently and Rampel
(1967) and the second one is the Philippine setting, is the work Motivation Questionnaire, developed,
validated and used by Faustino (1999).

This study does not attempt to measure teacher morale minutely, for as Redefer and Harp (pp.55-
62,1959) both affirmed and maintained “Morale cannot be succinctly defined and minutely measured,
for morale consists of many interrelated factors whose effective weighing or evaluation may differ with
the individual and situation”.

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will help administrators spot conditions which yield low morale, discover
needs, interests and concerns of teachers and identify specific areas of demotivation that require
priority attention, in order to provide remedial measures to alleviate eventually the conditions that
would further help in the establishment of harmonious relationship with faculty members.

Likewise, this study will be beneficial to faculty members, as they assess their level of morale,
insights into problems and needs of their profession which will serve as guides for them in inspiring
students become better and keener learners, in training students to become ethically and morally
upright, more useful and responsible members of the family and community, and in encouraging
students to become more self-reliant and work-oriented. Moreover, faculty members will be capable of
seeing more than one side of every situation, which will make them real educational leaders who have a
high degree of ability to inspire and help co-teachers to plan and to execute their own program of
education. The results, thus, will give the faculty members a greater chance to be heard, listened to, and
attended to with respect to their needs, which are related to their personal and total work environment.
 The students will likewise be helped, because faculty members as a result of improved morale
will exhibit an expected improvement in their teaching performance. Moreover, the enthusiasm, the
vigour and the desire of faculty members to stay in the teaching profession will be beneficial in bringing
out the knowledge, the skills and the modification of student behaviour in some ways.

Moreover, this study will be used as basis for coming up another study in a deeper and wider scope

Lastly, the findings of this study, as well as the experience in conducting it, sharpened the
researcher’s skills for undertaking similar researches in the future.

Definition of Terms

For clarity and better understanding of the study, terms, which are significant in this study, are
operationally defined:

Activation – A force within people that arouse behaviour (Muchinsky, 1984). In this study, it
refers to energy, vigor, enthusiasm and willingness to perform faculty members’ task.
 Average Morale – To a person of average morale, everything behaves as expected. He seems to
accord things as they are (Rigor and Myers, 1982, p. 10). In this study the term means the level of
morale within 1.5-2.4 mean category.

Direction – This refers to the direction of people in their efforts to certain situations and not on
others (Muchinsky, 1984). In this study, it refers to consistency of work leading to expected outcome.

Faculty Morale – This refers to the mental and emotional attitude of an individual to function or
to perform a task expected of him by his group and to be loyal to it: with a sense of common purpose
with respect to a group “esprit de corps” (webster’s 7th Collegiate Dictionary). In this study, it is a
behaviour of demonstrated in overt action directed towards the attainments of a desired goal. A
resultant state encompassing the willingness of faculty members’ to work cooperatively.

High Morale – A person with high morale believes in himself, in his future and in others. He thinks his
work is worth doing and he is doing a good job at it (Sison, 1981, pp. 410-412). In this study, the term
means the level of morale within 2.5-3.4 mean category.

Large-Size School – This refers to an educational institution with 3,001 and above student population.

Level of Morale – This pertains to the extent to which the state of mind of teacher-respondents have on
felling of oneness, of a degree of their rapport with their administrators, salary, load, curriculum issues,
school facilities and services, satisfaction with teaching, rapport with teachers, community support to
education, status and community pressures. The levels referred to are: extremely high morale, very high
morale, high morale, average morale and low morale.

Low Morale – A person of low morale fails to derive satisfaction from his job. He regards his work as a
burden and his enthusiasm is at low point. He feels threatened and irritated by normal work pressure
and this may arouse aggressive reactions from him (Sison, 1981, pp 410-412). In this study, the term
means the level of morale within 1.4 and below mean category.

Maintenance – This refers to the perseverance of people in some tasks and end others quite quickly
(Muchinsky, 1984). In this study, it refers to the continuing desire to perform the expected tasks.

Medium-Size School – This refers to an educational institution with a student population of 1001 – 3000.

Small-Size School – This refers to an educational institution with student population of 1,000 and below.

Teacher – This term refers to a person employed in an official capacity for the purpose of guiding and
directing the learning experience of students in an educational institution (Muchinsky, 1984). In this
study, it refers to the randomly selected full-time and part-time faculty members among four
respondents institution.
Work Motivation – This term refers to the way in which urges, drives, desires, aspirations, strivings, or
needs direct, control or explain human behaviour. In this study, it refers to the act of simulating faculty
members to take a desired course of action for the purpose of increasing effectiveness and productivity
as they decide to remain in their profession.