1. University of LiverpoolUniversity of Liverpoolin partnership within partnership with
Laureate Online EducationLaureate Online Education
Presentation on EdD Thesis progress titled:Presentation on EdD Thesis progress titled:
Factors Influencing Retention inFactors Influencing Retention in
Pre-service Primary TeacherPre-service Primary Teacher
Education in Malawi Education in Malawi
byby
Elvis SalagiElvis Salagi
Friday, 14Friday, 14thth
November, 2014November, 2014
Doctoral Supervisors: Dr Lee Graham and Dr Peter KahnDoctoral Supervisors: Dr Lee Graham and Dr Peter Kahn

2. Presentation overviewPresentation overview
• Introduction
• Background context
• Research purpose and questions
• Problem statement
• Literature review
• Theoretical framework
• Methodology
• Q&A

3. IntroductionIntroduction
• Provision of quality education services to
any population is a paramount endeavor
that calls for well qualified teachers
• Need to consider providing quality teacher
education services albeit challenges
revolving around attrition, resourcing,
access, equity, governance, mgt
• Many nations render interventions through
financial, material and human capital
investments in teacher education sub sector
(Lung, Moldovan and Alexandra, 2012

4. Background contextBackground context
MALAWI

5. Structure of primary teacherStructure of primary teacher
education in Malawieducation in Malawi
Primary
teacher
education
2 year IPTE
certificate
(Conventional
mode)
1 year college
based phase
1 year rural
school based
phase (TP)
2 year IPTE
certificate
(ODL)
Term holiday face
to face sessions
2 year rural school
based phase (TP)
Module study
4 year BEd

6. Pre-service teaching in Malawi

7. •Why do pre-service teachers leave? Are
there any practices contributing to the
exodus?
•Do they leave because of stress, leadership,
salary, working conditions, teaching image or
professional development (Hentges, 2012)?
•Perhaps, are they not meeting their
expectations in the profession (Khairan,
2011)?
•Many more reflections triggered my research
endeavour on preservice teacher retention in
Malawi primary teacher education.
Some reflections!!!

8. Background context cont’d
•During both phases, some pre-service
teachers leave the profession and join other
professions despite provision of free tuition
and monthly stipend as motivators
•Attrition in teacher education institutions
has been a hassle for a number of years
•Low retention prevents Ministry of
Education’s plan to reduce current average
teacher to pupil ratio of 1:100 to 1:60 by
2017

9. •Low retention frustrates efforts by Malawi
Government and development partners who
invest in the subsector’s infrastructure,
teaching and learning materials, staff capacity
development
•Every teacher that leaves represents loss of
money, time (Hentges, 2012)
•Low retention leads to low annual college
output, school staffing levels, underutilized
financial and infrastructure.

11. Current ResearchCurrent Research
Research Purpose
•To examine factors that influence retention of
pre-service primary teachers in Malawi.
Research Question
What factors influence retention of pre-service
primary teachers in Malawi?

12. Secondary questions:
•What strategies do primary teacher education
institutions follow to promote retention?
•To what extent do primary pre-service
teachers’ personal factors, professional
experiences and school environment relate to
their intention to remain in teaching?
•How can recruitment procedures influence
retention of primary pre-service teachers?
•What mentorship practices influence retention
of primary pre-service teachers?

13. Literature reviewLiterature review
Teacher attrition
• Billingsley (1993) provided a thematic
synthesis of findings such as teacher
characteristics, personal factors, teacher
qualifications, work environment factors
• Ingersoll (1999) as cited in Waddell (2010)
reported that attrition of teachers happens to
be the highest of all professions. Teachers
leave at twice the rate of nurses and five
times the rate of lawyers.

14. • Grissmer and Kirby (1993) found that half
of all new teachers leave the profession
within the first five years
• In Malawi, Kadzamira (2006) found that
about 15-19% of pre-service teachers
leave their training before completion
attributable to various causes.

15. Causes of teacher attrition
• Handal, Watson, Petocz and Maher (2013)
reported geographical isolation, retirement,
low salary, job dissatisfaction, curricular and
organisational factors
• In rural district of Montana, Davis (2002)
identified low salary, retirements, lack of
induction and mentoring programmes,
recruitment gaps and immense workloads as
major causes.
• In Malawi, Kayuni & Tambulasi (2007),
identified low salary & teacher status, poor
housing and inadequate school infrastructure

16. Teacher Retention
• Retention of teachers in post is desired by many
nations as one way of achieving value for money.
• Murtaugh, Burns and Schuster (1999) indicated
that retention of pre-service teachers in universities
takes center stage
• Boylan et al. (1993) developed a Model for Teacher
Retention which was further developed by Davis
(2002).
• The model cited “Four Spheres of Influence”
namely Personal / Family, Within Classroom,
Community and Whole School.

17. Teacher retention in rural areas
• Monk (2007) noted possible characteristics of
rural communities as being small in size,
sparse settlement, distant from population
concentrations, economic reliance on
agricultural industries, impoverished
• How does this compare to my context?
• Malloy and Allen (2007) observed that rural
areas continue to experience critical issue of
recruiting and retaining teachers

18. • Handal, Watson, Petocz and Maher (2013)
found that Maths & Science teachers are
motivated to remain teaching in rural areas to
gain rural experience, seeking a permanent
position and helping rural and remote
communities.
• Further observed that provision of
opportunities for professional growth in rural
schools helps retaining teachers

19. • Incentives to rural teachers enhance
retention (Handal, Watson, Petocz and
Maher, 2013)
• Keiser (2011) noted that retention of teachers
in rural areas is challenged where learner
enrollment increases against low teacher
population.
• Rural areas are hard to staff and perceived
as posing a high risk. (How?, Any risks in
Malawi? )

20. Teacher retention in hard to staff and
high-risk schools
• Morgan and Kritsonis (2008) recognize that
hard-to-staff schools have a large % of socio-
economically disadvantaged students, difficult
teaching environment and are in undesirable
locations.
• Found that retention of new teachers in such
schools requires providing mentorship
services, professional development, money
incentives and involvement in decision
making.

21. • Beckett (2009) found that little research has
been conducted on teacher recruitment
processes vis-a-vis retention initiatives in
hard-to-staff and at risk rural schools
• Also found out that administrative support is a
significant factor for teacher retention.
• Hughes (2012) found that principals’ support
to teachers in hard-to-staff schools has a
great impact on teacher retention.

22. Motivation and retention
• Hao and Guzman (2007) studied the reasons
why Filipino pre-service teachers go into
teacher education
• Noted that what motivates an individual to go
into teaching is critical.
• Found out that motives that cause student-
teachers’ desire to teach, depend on school
type, gender and educational support
• Significantly correlated with income, age, and
year level.

23. • Hao and Guzman (2007) argued that those
committed to teaching are more likely to be
motivated by intrinsic rewards while those
who have never seriously considered
teaching are more likely to be motivated by
extrinsic rewards.
• Reflection: what are intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of
Malawian pre-service teachers? Are they context specific?
• Kadzamira (2006) reported that current rural
allowance which is a retention strategy
poses serious motivational problems in
Malawi (How?)

24. Mentorship and retention
• Mentoring is a process whereby a mentor
provides advice and feedback in the context
of culture and politics of an organisation
(Bloomberg, 2014).
• In a research study on mentorship
effectiveness and anticipated turnover,
Morina (2010) found that formalized and
consistent mentoring program for pre-service
teachers is effective in acclimating them for
retention

25. • Sandra and Ferrari (1992) indicated that
mentoring fosters development of new
teachers
• mentored teachers become competent and
motivated than un-mentored teachers.
• teacher mentoring can lead to reduced
teacher attrition following provision of
emotional support to beginning teachers
• Unclear how teacher mentoring affects
teacher retention.

26. Research Problem
•In Malawi, Govt and DPs invest human, material
and financial resources on teacher training with
no investment in retention as advocated by
Wendel and Mantil (2008).
•More research studies on attrition and retention
of qualified teachers than for pre-service
teachers (Kayuni and Tambulasi (2007)
•Necessitated this study to fill knowledge gap
with particular focus on pre-service teacher
retention

27. Theoretical framework
•To ground this study on Human Capital
Theory.
•most influential economic theory of western
education (Fitzsimons, 1999)
•relates to the possession of knowledge and
skills necessary for productivity in the
workplace
•has a strong bearing on occupational choice,

28. • posits that individuals who are equipped with
relevant technical knowhow make their own
assessment of potential benefits and costs of
joining and staying in a particular profession.
• theory is closely applicable to the teaching
profession since that decide to join the
profession have some knowledge of what the
profession entails.
• the prior knowledge makes them stay or
leave the profession.
• suggests that education invests knowledge,
skills and capabilities that are paramount for
productivity of individuals..

29. • People’s acquisition of relevant specific
human capital, lowers the likelihood of
attrition in the workplace.
• In the same manner, teachers do make an
assessment of the profession’s benefits
and any related drawbacks and so decide
to stay or not (Grissmer and Kirby (1993)

30. Figure 1: Conceptual framework
• Conceptual Framework

31. Methodology : Research Design
•underpinned by a pragmatic paradigm
(Denscombe, 2008).
•places the research problem as central and
applies all approaches to understanding the
problem (Creswell, 2003).
•follows mixed method approach that employs
qualitative and quantitative methods as being
complementary.
•approach is used to gain insight into people’s
attitudes, behaviors, value systems, concerns,
motivations, aspirations and culture.

32. Sampling and data collectionSampling and data collection
Participant Count Interviews Questionnaire
Chief
Teaching
Practice
Coordinator
4 X
Teacher
Trainer 4 X
Teacher
mentor 4 X
Pre-service
teacher 80 X
Total 92

33. Data collection
•Questionnaire with 12 questions including
some with likert scale rating
•Individual interviews with structured
questions including some with likert scale
rating
•Interview schedules
•Ethical considerations adhered

34. ThankYou For
Listening.