1

Table of Contents

Table of Figures .......................................................................................................................................... 3

Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................................. 5

Terminologies ............................................................................................................................................ 6

Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... 8

Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 9

I. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 13

1.1 Significance of the study .......................................................................................... 14

1.2 Objectives of the study ............................................................................................ 14

II. Literature review .................................................................................................................................. 16

2.1 Monetary Incentives ................................................................................................ 17

2.2 Non-Monetary Incentives ........................................................................................ 17

2.3 School Governance .................................................................................................. 18

III Characteristics of Respondents............................................................................................................ 19

3.1 Geographic Spread of Respondents ......................................................................... 19

3.2 Family Status of Respondents .................................................................................. 19

3.3 Respondent Income ................................................................................................. 20

IV. Incentives Received by Teachers ........................................................................................................ 21

4.1 Monetary Incentives ................................................................................................ 21

4.1.1 Salary ....................................................................................................................................... 21

4.1.2 Thursday Class Allowance ....................................................................................................... 26

4.1.3 Pedagogy Allowance ............................................................................................................... 26

4.1.4 Child Allowance ....................................................................................................................... 27

4.1.5 Maternity Allowance............................................................................................................... 27

4.1.6 Spouse Allowance ................................................................................................................... 27

4.1.7 Health Allowance .................................................................................................................... 27

4.1.8 Location Allowance ................................................................................................................. 28

4.1.9 Championship Prize ................................................................................................................ 28

4.2 The Impact of the monetary incentives on teacher motivations ............................... 29

4.3. Non-Monetary Incentives ....................................................................................... 30

4.3.1 Pension .................................................................................................................................... 31

4.3.2 Commitment to society and children ..................................................................................... 31

4.3.3 Contribution to the national development ............................................................................ 31

4.3.4 Pride in the Profession ............................................................................................................ 31

4.3.5 Community Appreciation ........................................................................................................ 32

4.3.6 Continuous Professional Development .................................................................................. 34

2

4.3.7 Professional Awards ................................................................................................................ 37

4.3.8 Support from Student Councils ............................................................................................... 37

4.3.9 Emergency Relief .................................................................................................................... 37

4.3.10 School Governance ............................................................................................................... 38

4.3.11 Community Participation ...................................................................................................... 40

4.3.12 Supports from Private Companies ........................................................................................ 42

V. Additional Findings & Analysis ............................................................................................................. 43

5.1 Teacher salary by regions ........................................................................................ 43

5.2 Respondent’s family Income .................................................................................... 46

5.3 Respondent Second Incomes ................................................................................... 46

5.4 Teachers additional educational responsibilities and roles ....................................... 48

5.5 Class Size ................................................................................................................. 49

5.6 Teaching as Career................................................................................................... 50

VI Teacher Perception on Education Issues ............................................................................................. 53

6.1 The Teachers’ Feelings About Their Career ............................................................... 53

6.2 Student behaviors/dynamics ................................................................................... 54

6.3 Quality of education ................................................................................................ 55

6.4 Teaching Motivation ................................................................................................ 56

6.5 De-motivated factors ............................................................................................... 57

6.5.1 Low salary ............................................................................................................................... 57

6.5.2 Poor Management from Supervisor/Director ........................................................................ 61

6.5.3 Limited CPD ............................................................................................................................. 61

VII. Conclusions & Recommendations ..................................................................................................... 62

7.1 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 62

7.2 Recommendations ................................................................................................... 62

Annex A: Research Methods .................................................................................................................... 64

Annex B: Background Characteristic of Teachers .................................................................................... 66

1 Characteristic of Interviewed Teachers ....................................................................... 66

2. Educational Background of Respondents ................................................................... 66

3. Age of Respondents ................................................................................................... 68

4. Sex of Respondents ................................................................................................... 69

Annex C: Questionnaire for Interview Teachers/School Directors .......................................................... 70

Annex D. References ................................................................................................................................ 80

3

Table of Figures

Figure 1: Map of Cambodia .............................................................................................................................................. 15

Figure 2: Children and Economical Dependent Children of ................................................................................... 19

Figure 3: Total Household/Family Income of Respondents' Families................................................................. 20

Figure 4: Basic Salary .......................................................................................................................................................... 22

Figure 5: Teachers Opinion about their Salaries Incentive .................................................................................... 23

Figure 6: Has the 20% Salary Increase Improved Motivation of Teachers ....................................................... 24

Figure 7: Basic Salary Proposed by Respondents ...................................................................................................... 24

Figure 8: Basic salary Proposed by Teachers and Directors ................................................................................... 25

Figure 9: Community Attitude toward Teacher ......................................................................................................... 33

Figure 10: Respondents Attending CPD ....................................................................................................................... 34

Figure 11: CPD Topics ......................................................................................................................................................... 35

Figure 12: Frequency of CPD ............................................................................................................................................ 36

Figure 13: Perspective of Teacher toward their School Management............................................................... 39

Figure 14: Financial Management Rated by Interviewed Teachers .................................................................... 39

Figure 15: Decision Making in the School .................................................................................................................... 40

Figure 16: Type of Support from Community............................................................................................................. 41

Figure 17: Teacher Receive Support from Private Company/NGO Working .................................................... 43

Figure 18: Teachers Salary ................................................................................................................................................ 44

Figure 19: Economic Status of Interviewees ............................................................................................................... 45

Figure 20: Sources of Teachers' Second Incomes ..................................................................................................... 47

Figure 21: Teaching Shift ................................................................................................................................................... 49

Figure 22: Class Size ............................................................................................................................................................ 50

Figure 23: Factors Motivation to Enter the Profession ........................................................................................... 51

Figure 24: Teacher Motivation on Teaching Career ................................................................................................. 51

Figure 25: Teachers' Commitment in their Teaching Career ................................................................................. 53

Figure 26: Teacher's Opinion on Teaching Career .................................................................................................... 53

Figure 27: Teachers' Opinion on Teaching Career by Levels of Education ....................................................... 54

Figure 28: Quality of Education ...................................................................................................................................... 55

Figure 29: The Overall Impact of Quality of Education ........................................................................................... 56

Figure 30: The Impact of Quality of Education .......................................................................................................... 56

Figure 31: Extent of Salary Deduction .......................................................................................................................... 59

Figure 32: Impact of Salary Deduction ......................................................................................................................... 59

Figure 33: Duration of Salary Delay ............................................................................................................................... 60

Figure 34: The Effects of Salary Delay on teachers' Motivation ........................................................................... 61

Figure 35: Gender of Interviewees by Marital Status and Location .................................................................... 66

Figure 36: Educational Background of Respondents ............................................................................................... 66

Figure 37: Pedagogy Background of Respondents ................................................................................................... 67

Figure 38: Number of Year Serving as teacher .......................................................................................................... 68

Figure 39: Age of Respondents ....................................................................................................................................... 68

4

Table of Tables

Table 1: Monetary Incentives Teacher Received ...................................................................................................... 21

Table 2: Basic Salary & Pedagogical ............................................................................................................................... 22

Table 3: Teachers Commitments if Salary Increases ................................................................................................ 25

Table 4: Level of Impact of Incentives .......................................................................................................................... 30

Table 5: Which Non-monetary Incentive Impact upon Levels of Motivation .................................................. 30

Table 6: Teachers Salary by Province ............................................................................................................................ 43

Table 7: Number of Interviewees per Salary Ranges ............................................................................................... 44

Table 8: Family Income by Location .............................................................................................................................. 46

Table 9: Family Income by Position ............................................................................................................................... 46

Table 10: Reasons Why Teacher are Highly Motivated .......................................................................................... 52

Table 11: Reasons Why Teachers are Fairly Motivated .......................................................................................... 52

Table 12: Impact of Student Behaviors/Dynamic on Teacher Feelings ............................................................. 54

Table 13: Suggestions from Respondents ................................................................................................................... 57

Table 14: Basic Salary of Primary Teachers in Region ............................................................................................. 57

Table 15: List of Interviewees by Provinces ................................................................................................................ 65

5

Abbreviations

ASEAN Association of South East Asia Nations

BAC ii Baccalauréat (High School Exam)

CFS Child Friendly School

CITA Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association

CPD Continuous Professional Development

DoE District Office of Education

DP Development Partners

DTMT District Training and Monitoring Teams

EFA Education For All

EMIS Education Management Information System

ESP Education Strategic Plan

FGD Focus Group Discussion

KTA Khmer Teachers’ Association

MDG Millennium Development Goals

MoEYS Ministry of Education Youth and Sport

NEAD National Educators Association for Development

NEP NGO Education Partnership

NGOs Non-Governmental Organizations

NIE National Institute of Education

PBB Program-Based Budget

PoE Provincial Office of Education

RUPP Royal University of Phnom Penh

SC Student Council

SSC School Support Committee

TTC Teacher Training Center

UN United Nations

UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund

USD United States Dollar

VSO Voluntary Service Overseas

Note: exchange rate, 1USD= 4000 Riels

6

Terminologies

Child Allowance: Refers to an additional allowance paid to teachers who have children up to

17 years of age.

Contract Teacher: Refers to teachers often in rural or remote areas who are employed as

teachers on a contract basis. Contract teachers may not have completed the same level of

pre-service training as state teachers.

Disadvantaged Schools: Refers to schools that are facing difficulties as identified by MoEYS in

EMIS.

Double Shift Teacher: Refers to teachers that complete two shifts (7-8 hours) of teaching

rather than the standard single shift (3-4 hours) per day.

Gang: Refers to a group of troublemaking young people who spend time together for social

reasons and may engage in delinquent behavior.

Good School Champion Prize: This is provincial level competition which allows schools to

compete for a prize based on its best performance.

Heath Care Allowance: Refers to allowance that teachers receive in relation to medical costs

that they incur due to illness.

Individual Champion Prize: This is a provincial level competition which allows teachers to

compete for a prize based on their teaching excellence.

Maternity Allowance: Refers to allowance paid to female teachers who take maternity leave.

Monetary incentives: Refers to all forms of monetary benefits received by teachers in the

course of their work.

Motivation: Refers to feelings of enthusiasm, interest, or commitment that contributes to

improved teacher performance.

Multi-grade Teaching: Refers to teaching children who are in different grades concurrently in

a single class.

Non-monetary Incentives: Refers to value of non-cash forms of benefits received by teachers

in the course of their work that motivates them to do their work. Pension in this report has

been defined as a non-monetary incentive since teachers will not receive the benefit until

their retirement.

Pedagogy Allowance: Refers to the monetary benefit to reward the formal pedagogy training

that teachers have received.

7

Quality of Education: Refers to the features, characteristics, attributes or conditions of

schooling, teaching and learning provided to the children.

Remote Schools: Refers to schools that are located in the areas identified as remote by the

Ministry of Planning.

Remote Areas (Location) Allowance: Refers to an allowance paid to teachers who accept

postings in remote areas.

Rural Schools: Refers to schools that are located in the areas identified as rural by the

Ministry of Planning.

School Governance: Refers to the leadership, planning, supervision and accountability

processes that are provided by the PoE, DoE, School Directors and community members

through the school support committees.

School Management: Refers to the daily administration, supervision, leadership and

accountability processes provided by the school directors or their deputies.

Spouse Allowance: Refers to the allowance given to teachers to support their spouses in

cases where the spouse is unemployed.

Student Behaviors: Refers to the characteristics of students relating to their actions and

reactions within an educational setting.

Thursday Class Allowance: Refers to allowance paid to teachers who engage in teaching on

Thursdays.

8

Acknowledgements

NGO Education Partnership (NEP) would like to express its appreciation to Ministry of

Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS) for allowing NEP to conduct this study. Many thanks are

addressed to all school directors, teachers, provincial office of education officials (PoE),

district office of education officials (DoE), school support committees and villagers in the

study areas who have devoted their valuable time to provide relevant information to this

research.

NEP sincerely appreciates all authors of this report, Ang Sopha, John C. Friend-Pereira, Daniel

Nsubuga and Chhum Syrom, for their dedicated work.

NEP would like to extend special thanks to all the members of the Research Advisory Group;

Mr. Peter de Vries from UNICEF, Dr. Chhinh Sitha from Royal University of Phnom Penh, Ms.

Marina Oro from UNESCO, Ms. Tek Vannaret from MoEYS, Department of Primary Education,

Mr. Kou Bounkheang from Save the Children, Mr. Ros Sereisatya from VSO and Mr. Soung

Huot from NEAD for their commitment in providing meaningful comments to make the report

more relevant and comprehensive.

Particular thanks to VSO for providing technical volunteers to work with the NEP team in

conducting this study. Special thanks are addressed to Gordon Conochie for his proof reading

the final draft.

We are grateful for the financial support from Misereor and Save the Children, which enabled

NEP to conduct and publish this report.

Correct citation: Ang, S., Friend-Pereira, J., Nsubuga, D., and Chhum, S., ‘Assessing the Impact

of Incentives on Teacher Motivation’, Phnom Penh, NEP, 2012.

9

Executive Summary

This research was undertaken to identify the impact of incentives (monetary and non-

monetary incentives) on primary school teacher motivation.

1) Research Objectives

The specific aims of the research were to:

• Identify the current level of teacher motivation

• Explore which incentives have the greatest impact on teacher motivation

• Identify areas in which the reform of incentives can lead to improved outcomes

• Inform policy makers and relevant stakeholders of some areas to be addressed and

the implementation of future MoEYS policies

2) Methodology

The study covered a sample of three hundred and eighty-six (386) teachers/school directors

from four provinces - Kampot, Siem Reap, Rattanakiri and Kampong Cham that represent the

different geographical areas in Cambodia. The respondents included staff from the Provincial

Office of Education (PoE), District Official of Education (DoE), School Directors, Teachers and

community members. Data was collected by combination methodologies, including both

primary and secondary sources and qualitative and quantitative methods.

3) Key findings and analysis

Current Situation

The specific current situation, 50.5% of teachers surveyed mentioned that they were very

motivated and over thirty-three percent (33.7%) said fairly motivated. The most common

reasons for being motivated are that they want to help students have knowledge and want to

provide good education, and love teaching. Overall, 67% felt that their career is interesting or

very interesting.

Monetary incentives

Most respondents were happy with the range of incentives that MoEYS offers to teachers, but

respondents were not happy with the amount of money attached to each incentive especially

their salary. As evidence of this, eighty-seven percent (87%) of teachers indicated that they

felt that their salary did not reflect the value of their work. Salary is the major source of family

income but it is not enough to cover the teacher's own living costs, let alone that of their

10

family. Fifteen percent (15%) of respondents reported that they were dependent on family

members who they live with.

In terms of the impact of monetary incentive on teacher motivation, the higher the value

(money) of the incentive, the higher the number of teachers who claimed that it impacted

greatly on their motivation. Salary is the most motivating of the monetary factors raised by

ninety-five percent (95%) of respondents, followed by the Thursday class allowance then

pedagogy allowance. Eighty-nine percent (89%) of respondents advised that if their average

salary is increased to USD 100 per month, they would be more motivated. Thus, MoEYS

should continue to increase salaries for teachers, while ensuring it is above the rate of

inflation if MoEYS wants to increase teacher motivation.

Currently because teachers receive a low salary, sixty-seven percent (67%) of teachers are

forced to do the second job in order to secure their family income. The engagement with the

second job has negative impacts on their teaching performance. If MoEYS does increase the

salary of teachers, fifty-five percent (55%) of teachers said they would not need a second job

and seventy-eight percent (78%) reported that they would spend more time preparing

lessons, which would improve teacher performance. While we could expect teachers to

mention this, there is evidence that higher salary reduced the likelihood of engaging the in

other income generating activities. For example, aside from farming that is a common second

job of teachers and school directors, especially in rural areas, only 11 school directors (13%)

have a second job including as motodub driver, teaching at private school, extra classes,

selling food at school or selling things at the market compared to 117 teachers (39%) who do.

Non-monetary incentive

Non-monetary incentives are the value that can add to the monetary incentives to make

teachers feel more motivated and proud of their job. Of the non-monetary incentives,

pension is the most motivating factor claimed by 79% of respondents followed by feeling

commitment to society and children (74%), and then the aspiration to contribute to the

development of their country (67%). When looking at the factors motivating teachers to enter

the profession, the most common reasons were all non-monetary: they want to contribute to

society are interested in education and wanting to help students.

School Governance

The majority of respondents expressed positive views on the governance of their schools.

Eighty-three percent (83%) of the respondents expressed their satisfaction in the quality of

leadership and human resource management in their schools, while ten percent (10%) were

not satisfied with the leadership. Seventy-nine percent (79%) stated that financial

management in their school was transparent, fifteen percent (15%) stated that it was not

transparent and six percent (6%) offered no comment. In addition, just over 80% of

11

respondents said that decision making in their schools was decentralized, 7% said that it was

centralized and just fewer than thirteen percent (12.7%) had no comment. It should be noted

that the positive results may be related to the interviewing of teachers at school compounds,

so that teachers may hesitate to express more negative points of view of their supervisor.

Demotivation factors

Teachers were facing some challenging factors that demotivate them in performing

professional work. The primary negative factors stated by respondents were low salary, poor

management from supervisor/director, salary deduction and delay, and limited capacity

development.

Salary deductions occurred in almost all surveyed schools though the type of deduction

varied greatly. Fifty-nice percent (59%) of respondents receiving the deduction stated that

these are the demotivating factors. Seventy-two percent (72%) percent of respondents who

experienced salary delay in receipt of salary sated that it has a significant impact on their

motivation. At the same time salary payments were frequently two weeks late.

4) Recommendations

Recommendations were posed to address each area of the main findings as following:

• Monetary incentives

1. The Government of Cambodia should continue to increase salaries for teachers, while

ensuring it is above the rate of inflation to improve motivation among teachers.

2. Provision of awareness and information campaigns that will inform teachers of all

their entitlements in accordance with official MoEYS policy.

3. While MoEYS is trying to pilot transferring salary to teachers through the banking

system, MoEYS, development partners and other relevant ministries should speed up

this process to minimize the informal deduction.

• Non-Monetary incentives:

1. School directors should encourage parents and the wider community to be more

engaged with teachers especially novice teachers in the rural and remote areas to

make sure that teachers do not feel alone, but feel supported.

2. MoEYS, PoE and DoE should ensure a better provision and distribution of teaching

and learning materials. If the curriculum is changed new materials should be provided.

• School Governance:

1. All schools should establish parent–teacher and school–community groups to build

links between schools and communities and ensure that teachers are supported by

the community especially in remote placements.

12

2. Continue to build capacity of school directors emphasising community engagement

in school governance and Program Based budget (PB) management, especially for

newly promoted school directors.

3. PoE, DoE and School Directors should ensure that teachers are engaged in the

decision making process especially under the decenteralisiation and deconcentration

process that is underway.

13

I. Introduction

Cambodia is one of the least developed ASEAN member countries and is officially termed a

post-conflict society that has only recently emerged from many years of civil war and the

consequences of civil unrest. The period of genocide under the Khmer Rouge led to wide-

scale destruction of both the infrastructure and the human resources of Cambodia. This is

particularly noticeable in the education system where the shortage of qualified and

experienced teachers and educational infrastructure has emerged as a key issue in improving

the quality of education.

Teachers have been identified as the single biggest factor impacting on the quality of

education with regards students’ outcomes1. Therefore to address the problems resulting

from the shortage of qualified and experienced teachers, in the 1990s MoEYS used a number

of different approaches. These included employing contract teachers, who were locally

recruited and less qualified with a view to progressing toward the standards of the national

system. The current use of contract teachers is now limited exclusively to remote and rural

areas where there is an acute shortage of qualified teachers willing to take up these posts. A

second approach was double shift teaching. This is where teachers carry out two four-hour

blocks of teaching a day. Another approach is multi-grade teaching whereby a single teacher

teaches more than one grade in a single class. This approach is still used where there is

uneven distribution of qualified teachers and children in a particular grade. MoEYS

implemented these approaches as part of the effort to reestablish the education system and

to contribute to the progress in developing the quality and efficiency of the education system

for the twenty-first century.

MoEYS has set out a range of policies in the ESP 2009-2013 aimed at providing both monetary

and non-monetary incentives to motivate the teachers. These incentives included salary

increases, continuous professional development through pre-service and in-service training,

healthcare benefits and career advancement opportunities. The ESP 2009-2013 also

addressed the provision of special incentives to rural/remote and newly qualified teachers

such as the provision of accommodation and other additional allowances to retain teachers in

targeted geographical areas.

MoEYS adopted a Teacher Development Master Plan 2010-2014. The Teacher Development

Plan has the following aims: 1) To ensure an effective supply of teachers at all education

levels to respond to the education system expansion and upgrading the competencies of

Teacher Training Center (TTC) managers and education administrators, teacher trainers,

1 McKinsey & Company, How the World’s Best-performing School Systems Come Out on Top, OECD 2007 and Hattie, J,

Teachers Make a Difference: What is the Research Evidence? Paper presented at the Australian Council for Educational

Research Annual Conference 2003

14

school principals and other key staff of MoEYS. 2) To ensure that the new intakes of students

in all teacher training institutions, including the National Institute of Education (NIE) and the

subsequent deployment of new teachers should favorably respond to the growing demand

for teachers in rural / remote and disadvantaged areas through the recruitment and training

of teacher trainees from these target areas especially those inhabited by ethnic minorities. 3)

To improve the quality of teaching through enhancement and expansion of pre-service and

in-service teacher training programs.

1.1 Significance of the study

Given the above background this research therefore was concerned with investigating MoEYS

stated intention to improve the quality and efficiency of education through providing a mix of

both monetary and non-monetary incentives to teachers. The main findings of this research

will help policy makers and other stakeholders to assess the current teacher motivation and

enhance the best factors which fulfill the objectives of the education policy in Cambodia.

1.2 Objectives of the study

The aim of this research is to assess the impact of monetary and non-monetary incentives on

primary school teacher motivation, so as to inform the future policy decision of MoEYS and

other education stakeholders.

The specific aims of the research were to:

• Identify the current level of teacher motivation

• Explore which incentives have the greatest impact on teacher motivation

• Identify areas in which the reform of incentives can lead to improved outcomes

• Inform policy makers and relevant stakeholders of some areas to be addressed and

the implementation of future MoEYS and Education Stakeholder policies

1.3 Methodology

A sample of three hundred and eighty-six (386) respondents was selected from four

provinces, Kampot, Siem Reap, Rattanakiri and Kampong Cham that represent the different

geographical areas in Cambodia. The sample composed of staff from the POEs, DOEs, School

Directors, Teachers and Community members. Data was collected by a combination

methodology, which included a primary and secondary data collection.

Primary data were collected through verbal administration with school directors/teachers by

using a standardized questionnaire comprised of closed and open-ended questions and

through focus group discussion with parents by using guide questionnaires. Secondary data

collections were done through the reviewing of the related existing research reports and

document from the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MoEYS).

15

A team of field research assistants administered the questionnaires and recorded feedback.

Data obtained was encoded using the Statistic Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Numerical

responses were used to compute quantitative and percentage ratios and the rationales given

by respondents were used to support the qualitative descriptions. Details of the research

methodology, sample distribution of the respondents are included in annex A. Figure 1 shows

the provinces from which the respondents were drawn.

Figure 1: Map of Cambodia

16

II. Literature review

The quality of an education system in terms of the outcomes for students is significantly

impacted on by the quality of the teachers2; indeed some studies assert that the quality of

the education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers3. According to several authors,

the proper approach to work motivation lies in a careful distinction between monetary and

non-monetary incentives4.

While issues of teacher quality are complex this review focuses on the research at

international and national level that addresses the key relationship between incentives and

teachers motivation which has been widely established in the literature5. Incentives which

have been shown to have impact on teacher motivation are both monetary and non-

monetary in nature and can vary widely in terms of effectiveness and impact depending on a

range of unique pre-existing conditions within each individual education system.

While there are an infinite range of incentives, an initial review of recent research

internationally and in Cambodia highlights that there are a number of core incentives that

teachers and education stakeholders have identified as having a significant impact on teacher

motivation6. These include monetary incentives such as salary and various allowances and

non-monetary incentives including commitment to social development, professional pride,

school governance and access to training.

NEP’s, 2008 research study ‘Teaching Matters’7 found that for many teachers in Cambodia

enjoyment in the job is a primary motivating factor for them. Some teachers stated that they

are motivated by a feeling of responsibility and pride and some by being good role models.

Teachers also stated that they enjoy the exchange of ideas with colleagues, while others

appreciate the job security. A significant number felt “called” to be a teacher, and a very

2Hattie, J, Teachers Make a Difference: What is the Research Evidence? Paper presented at the Australian

Council for Educational Research Annual Conference 2003 3McKinsey & Company, How the World’s Best-performing School Systems Come Out on Top, OECD 2007

4Deci, Edward L. Instrinsic Motivation. New York: Plenum Press, 1975, Herzberg, Frederick. "The Motivation-

Hygiene Concept and Problems of Manpower." Personnel Administration 27, 1964 and McGregor, Douglas. The

Professional Manager, Edited by Caroline McGregor and Warren G. Bennis. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967. 5Cooper J.M. & Alvarado A. ‘Preparation, Recruitment and Retention of Teachers’ IIEP/UNESCO 2006, Vaillant

D. ‘Education reforms and teachers’ unions: avenues for action’ UNESCO 2005 and Vegas E. (Ed) ‘Incentives to

improve Teaching: Lessons from Latin America’ World Bank 2005 6Jago, S. ‘Teaching Matters: A Policy Report on the motivation and morale of teachers in Cambodia’ NEP/VSO

2008, Benveniste, L et al ‘Teaching in Cambodia’ World Bank 2008, King E. ‘To what extent does culture affect

teacher education and practice in Cambodia’ The Institute if Education University of London 2003, Friend

Pereira, J. ‘Teachers’ Salaries, Terms and Conditions: Position Paper’ CITA 2010, Friend-Pereira, J. & Phong,

K. ‘First Report: National Survey of Teachers 2011’ CITA 2011, Chhinh, S. ‘Satisfaction Sources for

Cambodian Urban Primary School Teachers’ Paper presented at the 2003 International Council on Education for

Teaching, Melbourne , Australia. 7Jago, S. ‘Teaching Matters: A Policy Report on the motivation and morale of teachers in Cambodia’ NEP/VSO

2008

17

strong motivator for teachers in Cambodia, which figured strongly in both the focus groups

and the individual interviews, was the desire to contribute to the future development of the

country and preserve its cultural traditions.

2.1 Monetary Incentives

The ‘Teaching Matters’, 2008 study found, that basic teachers’ salary in Cambodia is

exceptionally low by both local and regional standards. The salaries of the primary school

teachers surveyed in the study ranged between thirty (USD30) and sixty (USD60) dollars per

month depending on qualification, years of experience and number of shifts worked. The

inevitable result of low salaries and the unreliable payment procedures is that teachers often

had to endure poor living conditions. Teachers see themselves as having no option but to take

up additional income-generating activities; ninety percent of individual interviewees had

second jobs and ninety-nine per cent of those said that a teacher’s salary alone is not enough

for them to live on.

Both the ‘Teaching Matters’ and ‘National Teachers Survey 20118’ shows that teachers rate

the monetary incentive (salary) as the incentive with the greatest impact not only on their

motivation but also their performance9. In addition reforms relating to monetary incentives

have been a key focus of MoEYS as outlined in both the ESP 2006-2010 and ESP 2009-2013. In

addition the World Bank has observed the impact of salaries on wider educational reform in

their 2008 study which stated that:

‘Salary reform has been on the top of the Education Strategic Plan agenda ….. it is

considered a critical stumbling block for improving educational quality’10

Due to the high impact of monetary incentives on teacher motivation and education quality,

it is essential that these reforms are tracked and their impact assessed. For this reason the

first key area that this study will address is the impact of monetary incentives on teacher

motivation. This will specifically seek to explore the impact of the significant salary increases

which have been implemented since 2008, the method of payment transfers and other

associated monetary reforms that have been implemented11

.

2.2 Non-Monetary Incentives

8 Friend-Pereira, J. &Phong, K. ‘First Report: CITA National Survey of Teachers 2011’ CITA 2011

9McEwan, P. & Santiabanez, L. ‘Teacher and Principal Incentives in Mexico´ World Bank 2004

10Benveniste, L. Et al ‘Teaching in Cambodia’ World Bank 2008

11See questionnaire (Annex B)

18

Previous research12 has highlighted intrinsic rewards such as self-respect, responsibility and a

sense of accomplishment as having a significant impact on teacher motivations. Jago in her

research “Teaching Matters” states that ‘the second greatest source of dissatisfaction for

teachers is related to lack of involvement by MoEYS, PoE and school management’13. In

addition Knight & MacLeod14

established the link between teacher motivation and the

participation and collaboration with other stakeholders. This research stemmed from the

work by McEwan, Cooper, Alvarado and Vegas all of which assert that non-monetary

incentives have a major impact on teachers’ motivation.

While monetary incentives have been clearly identified as having a major impact on teacher

motivation there is significant evidence in the literature15

that non-monetary incentives are

also a major factor impacting on teacher motivation. Non-monetary incentives can include

provisions for health care, housing, pre-service and in-service training, career advancement,

holidays, pensions, job security, working hours and community support among others. Given

the restricted funding that is currently available for further direct increases in teacher salary

in the short-term; researching the significant impact of non-monetary incentives on teacher

motivation may provide useful information for MoEYS and other education stakeholders

regarding future policies that will have a significant impact on improving teacher motivation.

2.3 School Governance

It is well established that participation in school governance can boost morale and motivate

teachers16. Other studies have shown fairly conclusively that teachers are motivated more by

intrinsic than by extrinsic rewards. Pastor’s research17 found that teachers perceive their

needs and measure their job satisfaction by factors such as participation in decision-making,

use of valued skills, freedom and independence, challenge, expression of creativity, and

opportunity for learning. Participatory governance approaches at a school level can enhance

teachers' professional status and their "ownership" in the development of the school and

vested interest in the school improvement in terms of quality outcomes.

12

See bibliography (see Annex D) 13

Jago, S. ‘Teaching Matters: A Policy Report on the motivation and morale of teachers in Cambodia’ NEP/VSO 2008 14

Knight, K. & MacLeod K. ‘Integration of Teacher’s voice into Education for all in Cambodia: Teacher Status, social dialogue

and the education sector’ PACT 2004 15

McEwan, P. ‘Recruitment of rural teachers in developing countries: an economic analysis’ Teaching and Teacher Education

Vol 15, Issue 8, 1999, Cooper, J.M. & Alvarado A. ‘Preparation, Recruitment and Retention of Teachers’ IIEP/UNESCO 2006

and Vegas E (Ed) ‘Incentives to improve Teaching: :Lessons from Latin America’, World Bank 2005 16

Ellis, T.L, ‘Motivating Teachers for Excellence’ ERIC, 1984 17

Pastor, Margaret C. "A Study of Higher Order Need Strength and Job Satisfaction in Secondary Public School Teachers."

Journal Of Educational Administration, 1982

19

III Characteristics of Respondents

3.1 Geographic Spread of Respondents

Over thirty-nine percent (39%) of those interviewed worked in urban environments while just

over sixty percent (60%) were based in rural areas. This was reflective of both the MoEYS

statistics18 and the 2008 population census19 figures, which indicate a similar domical spread

in the general population. Thirty-five percent (35%) of respondents came from Siem Reap,

twenty-nice percent (29%) from Kompong Cham, eighteen percent (18%) from Rattanakiri

and seventeen percent (17%) came from Kampot. The percentage of respondents coming

from each province is proportionate to the total number of MoEYS personnel in those

provinces, except in Rattanakiri where the proportion of respondents is slightly larger than

their proportion of total MoEYS personnel relative to the other provinces in the study.

3.2 Family Status of Respondents

The vast majority, over seventy-four percent (74%), of teachers who participated in the

research are married, with just under twenty-two percent (22%) single and over three

percent (3%) widowed. In terms of family size, fifty percent (50%) of teachers have between

one and three children, while twenty-six percent (26%) have four children or more. This

contrasts sharply with the general population, which indicates larger families to be more

common20

. It is interesting to note that fifty-seven percent (57%) of respondents have of

between one and three dependent children, and nineteen percent (19%) have four or more

dependent children.

Figure 2: Children and Economical Dependent Children of

18

EMIS Data 2010-11 19

Ministry of Planning Census 2008 20

Ibid

20

3.3 Respondent Income

According to the data related to household/family income forty percent (40%) of respondents

have a total household/family income of less than one-hundred dollars (USD100) per month.

Thirty-two percent (32%) of respondents have a total household/family income of between

one-hundred and one-hundred and fifty dollars (USD100-USD150) per month. To put this into

context, the cost of purchasing the absolute minimum food to meet basic calorie

requirements for an individual is just over twenty-three dollars (USD23.05) per month21. Thus

for a teacher with a household/family of four members the minimum food costs would be

over ninety-two dollars (USD92) per month. This highlights an inconsistency between basic

living costs and basic teachers’ salaries.

Figure 3: Total Household/Family Income of Respondents' Families

Comparing the total household/family income of respondents with the mean average the

basic salary of teachers surveyed is 267,552 Riels (USD66.8). It is clear that in a majority of

cases the teacher salary is the largest single source of household/family income. Furthermore

at current salary levels it is very difficult for teachers to afford the basic necessities of food,

housing, clothes, medicines, accommodation and to support their families without additional

income streams entering the household. Compounding the problem, there has been double-

digit inflation since 2008, and, although inflation is expected to drop to approximately five

percent (5%) in 201222

, inflation has negatively impacted upon the value of the recently

implemented annual salary increases23

.

21Figures taken from Economic Institute of Cambodia survey in Phnom Penh June 2008 and set to the UN World

Food Programme basic food requirements for a relief operation and adjusted for inflation to provide 2012

estimated costs. 22

Asian Development Outlook, 2009. 23

MoEYS 20% per annum basic salary increase announced in 2009 and implemented in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

21

IV. Incentives Received by Teachers

Teachers form the largest group within the civil service in Cambodia and they receive a

considerable range of official incentives for their professional duties. For the purpose of this

study incentives were grouped into two mains categories monetary incentive and non-

monetary incentive. Consideration was also given to two other factors impacting on

teachers’ motivation, school governance and personal factors.

4.1 Monetary Incentives

As defined earlier, monetary incentive refers to all forms of incentives and benefits received

by teachers in the form of cash in relation to their professional duties regardless of the source

and means of transfer. In this study monetary incentives included the following: Salary,

Thursday class allowance, Pedagogy allowance, Child allowance, Maternity allowance, Spouse

allowance, Heath care allowance and Remote/Disadvantaged school allowance. The table

below represents the monetary incentives received by the interviewed respondents. Detailed

description of each incentive and the intensity of its impact on respondent motivation are

also provided.

Table 1: Monetary Incentives Teacher Received

Type of Incentive

Number of respondents

receiving the incentive

Basic Salary 100%

Thursday class Allowance 78.7%

Pedagogy Allowance 77.7%

Child Allowance 49.7%

Maternity Allowance 29.5%

Spouse Allowance 28.4%

Heath care Allowance 2%

Location Allowance 1%

n=386

4.1.1 Salary

The data obtained from the interviews with teachers provides the following information that

fifty-nine percent (59%) of interviewed teachers received a basic monthly salary less than or

equal to 300,000 Riels (USD75). The next highest frequency of respondents, twenty-seven

percent (27%), occurred in the salary range 301,000-350,000 Riels (USD75.25-USD87.50). It is

worthy note that twenty one percent (21%) of respondents received a basic salary of less

than or equal to 200,000 Riels (USD50).

22

Figure 4: Basic Salary

Primary teachers receive very low basic salary. Based on salary ranges provided by MoEYS’

Department of Human Resource Management show that the minimum salary rank of a

primary teacher is stating from 165500 Riels (USD41.38) for a teacher in probationary period

and getting up to 240300 Riels (USD60.08) after they finish the probationary period (see table

below).

Table 2: Basic Salary & Pedagogical

Source: Department of Human Resource, MoEYS

Fifteen percent (15%) of respondents claimed that they received a salary of less than 165500

Riels (USD41.38) per month which is outside of the stated MoEYS salary ranges. This may be

due to a number of factors including respondents’ lack of clarity of the salary they received,

deductions made before teachers receive salaries or some other variances within the system.

Salary is the most motivating of monetary incentives reported by ninety-five percent (95%) of

respondents, but within the current salary ranges, it is still not enough to motivate them to

deliver their best performance. When asked if they considered their basic salary (including

the annual increase) proportionate to the work they do, eighty-seven percent (87%) of

teachers indicated that they felt that their salary did not reflect the value of their work.

Supporting this feeling, only seventeen percent (17%) of respondents claimed that the salary

is a factor pushing them to enter into the teaching profession. The problem of salary

deduction and delay can negatively impact upon teacher motivation. Fifty-nine percent (59%)

of respondents who received salary deductions stated that these deductions are a major

negative impact on their motivation. Plus seventy-two percent (72%) of respondents who

experienced delay in receipt of salary stated it has a significant impact on their motivation.

Categories Ranks Basic Salary & Pedagogical Allowance 2011

Novice Teacher Teacher (teaching)

C-Primary school C USD41.38 USD60.08

B –Secondary school B USD60.25 USD83.65

A-University graduated teacher

(teach at secondary school)

A USD85.69 USD120.28

23

This level of dissatisfaction could off-set the high level of commitment and sense of civic

contribution that teachers have when they enter the profession.

The DoE respondents in Kampong Trach district in Kampot agreed that salary and benefits

teacher received did not reflect teachers work and provided the following comments:

Teacher salaries are very low and not enough to support a family. In addition to the

expense for food, utilities and children’s education, teachers also spend their money

participating in different events in society such as weddings, funerals, etc. They spend

a lot of money for daily consumption as the price of goods has risen higher than in the

past.

• There are only 4 teaching hours per day, but in reality teachers have to do other things

such as prepare session plans or score exams which can require an additional 2-4

hours per day.

Figure 5: Teachers Opinion about their Salaries Incentive

20% Salary Increase

In 2008 the government announced that it would implement a 15-20% basic salary increase

for all civil servants every year for a five-year period. The vast majority of respondents eighty-

three percent (83%), stated they had received this increase annually. Eight percent had not

received the increase which raises questions over the financial disbursement system of

MoEYS. A further eight percent did not know if they had received the increase which may be

due to three factors--a lack of understanding among respondents as to the amount of this

allowance, the new teachers are under a probationary period which means they are not

entitled to get such benefit or there are weaknesses/variations within the system that may

need to be addressed.

24

Impact of 20% Salary Increase

When asked about the impact of the 20% increase on their work practice, ten percent (10%)

of respondents said it meant they spent more time teaching than on their second job, thirty-

eight percent (38%) said it made no difference and forty-two percent (42%) said it meant they

spent more time teaching and preparing for class than before. For the majority of teachers

the basic increase in salary is acting as a significant incentive to improve the time and

attention to quality that they give to their teaching.

When asked if the increase had an impact of their motivations, thirty one percent (31%)

strongly agreed that it impacted positively on their motivation, sixty-two percent (62%)

agreed that it impacted positively and only six percent (6%) stated it had no impact. Thus it is

clear that ninety-three percent (93%) of teachers agree or strongly agree that the salary

increase positively impacted their motivation to teach.

Figure 6: Has the 20% Salary Increase Improved Motivation of Teachers

Proposed Basic Salary

When asked about their salary, respondents had difficulty in describing the challenges they

face. Many respondents were frustrated due to the level of their salary against the rate of

inflation and cost of living. Many were hesitant to comment directly on their salary, but when

asked supplementary questions some acknowledged that it failed to meet the cost of living.

Figure 7: Basic Salary Proposed by Respondents

25

Respondents were asked to indicate what they felt would be a commemorate salary for their

work on a scale between 200,000 riel (USD50) and 400,000 riel (USD100). Eighty-two percent

(82%) of teachers indicated that a basic starting salary of 400,000 riel per month would be

appropriate. When considering that for most respondents (60%) surveyed their current salary

is not more than 300,000 riel (USD75) this would amount to an increase of between one-third

and half in their basic salary which indicates the reasonable nature of their proposal. This

would bring teachers basic salary into line with the average income as calculated using the

national GDP per capita.

Figure 8: Basic salary Proposed by Teachers and Directors

Impact of Proposed Basic Salary

If basic salaries were increased in line with their proposals, the majority of respondents stated

that it would impact positively on their motivation. In addition fifty-five percent (55%) of

respondents gave a commitment not to engage in a second job if their monthly salary was

increased to 400,000 Riel (USD100). The table below represents the commitments

respondents would make if their salary is increased to one-hundred dollars per month.

Table 3: Teachers Commitments if Salary Increases

Description # of

Response

Percentage

(%)

I would be more motivated 344 89%

I would spend more time to prepare lesson 301 78%

I would be a better teacher 276 72%

I would only work as a teacher (not do other job) 214 55%

I would not be absent as much 166 43%

I would not take money from other sources in schools 73 19%

no change to me I would still need to earn more money 6 2%

Interviewed staff from PoEs and DoEs agreed that the current basic salary for teacher is not

commensurate with their workload. A consideration to increase the salary paid to teachers to

the proposed level of around 400,000 Riel (USD100) per month is reasonable and would raise

the value and image of teaching as a career. It is also likely to promote quality of education

26

through many ways such as teachers devoting more time on teaching and preparing lessons,

teachers would drop their activities relating to their second source of income and teachers

would not be frequently absent from class.

Focus group discussions with parents indicated their concern on the current basic salary of

teachers. Most of the parents in focus group discussions were aware of the status of low

salary of teachers. Although most of them know only the approximate level of teacher basic

salary, they could imagine how hard teachers need to strive for a decent life. They expressed

a feeling of appreciation to teachers and called for attention from relevant stakeholders,

MoEYS, development partners and NGOs to find a way to increase salary to teacher to a level

that meet the cost of living and inflation.

4.1.2 Thursday Class Allowance

The Thursday class allowance was included in the teaching schedule with the objective of

improving student outcomes in three core subjects - Mathematic, Khmer and Life Skills.

Thursday classes are organized three weeks per month. One more Thursday (the fourth week)

of the month is for the technical meeting among teachers and District Training and

Monitoring Teams (DTMT). Teachers who engage in Thursday classes received an additional

30,000 Riels (USD7.50). Seventy nine percent (79%) of respondents stated that they received

the Thursday class allowance. Twelve percent (12%) of respondents were school directors

without teaching duty, so they were not entitled to get this Thursday allowance. The failure of

the other nine percent (9%) of teaching-respondents to indicate if they received a Thursday

allowance may be due to two factors; either a lack of understanding among respondents

regarding this allowance or because they are not engaged in Thursday classes.

4.1.3 Pedagogy Allowance

The pedagogy allowance of 8000 Riels (USD2) per month should be received by all teachers as

standard in addition to their basic salary which is linked to the civil service salary scale.

Seventy eight percent (78%) of respondents reported that they received pedagogy allowance

but fifty seven percent (57%) were unable to clearly indicate the amount of this allowance. Of

the remaining forty-three percent (43%) who did indicate the amount they receive the

majority, eighty-six percent (86%), receives 8,000 riel (USD2) per month, with a small number

of respondents receiving considerably more than this.

The PoE’s and DoE’s asserted that all teachers receive the 8000 Riels (USD2) pedagogy

allowance in addition to their basic salary. However, the amount indicated by respondents

varied greatly from this with one respondent stating they received 20,000 Riels (USD5). This

may be due to two factors; one is a lack of understanding among respondents as to the

amount of this allowance or secondly there are unaccounted variations within the system

that may need to be addressed.

27

4.1.4 Child Allowance

The child allowance is given to teachers based on the number of dependent children under 17

years of age and is set at 5,000 Riels (USD1.25) per child and per month. Fifty percent (50%)

of respondents receive a child allowance and the majority of them (90%) stated they got

5,000 Riel (USD1.25) per child. However the other 10% of respondents received amounts

starting at 1,500 riel (USD.27) upwards. These discrepancies in the stated amount by

respondents illustrate either a lack of understanding about the allowance or some other

unaccounted variation in the system which may need to be addressed.

4.1.5 Maternity Allowance

In addition to three-month maternity leave, all female civil servants including teachers are

entitled to receive maternity allowance of 600,000 Riels (USD150) per child birth. The

respondents for whom this allowance was applicable indicated that they were very satisfied

with the allowance which covered their related medical costs. The relevant respondents also

expressed the view that this allowance was a significant motivating factor in doing their work.

4.1.6 Spouse Allowance

The spouse allowance is provided to support the unemployed female spouses of male

teachers. Twenty nine percent (29%) of respondents were recipients of spouse allowance,

seventy percent (70%) of them indicated that they received 6,000 Riels (USD1.50) per month.

The PoE and DoE respondents stated that male teachers were eligible for the allowance if

their wives were unemployed while female teachers did not get any spouse allowance if their

husbands were unemployed. This may explain the discrepancy between the seventy-four

percent (74%) of respondents who are married against the twenty-nine percent (29%) who

are receiving a spouse allowance. This case illustrates significant gender discrimination in

contravention of international and national law which would require the government to take

action to ensure practice complies with the law.

4.1.7 Health Allowance

The health allowance is not included in the formal listing of monetary incentives provided by

MoEYS. Teachers receive such allowance either from private companies or NGOs that are

present in the school areas. This may explain why just over two percent (2%) of respondents

indicated that it had a factor on their motivation. The health allowance had high uptake and

impact in remote areas with over four percent (4.5%) of respondents in Rattanakiri citing it as

a motivating factor. The variation in the amount received through the health allowance is

considerable with three respondents receiving 1,500 Riel (USD0.37), one received 5,000 Riel

(USD1.25) and one received 10,000 riel (USD2.50).

28

4.1.8 Location Allowance

Location allowance is given under a directive from MoEYS and amounts to 40,000 Riel

(USD10) per month provided to teachers in the school classified as disadvantaged and is

meant to assist with the cost of accommodation. In the case of teachers who are deployed to

schools far from their home, the school normally helps them to find accommodation. Some

newly built schools in remote areas are now equipped with accommodation for teachers

coming to locate there.

The study included four schools classified as disadvantaged and four respondents stated that

they were receiving the location allowance. However, only one of the four could state the

amount of allowance they received which was 50,000 Riel (USD12.50) and higher than the

officially stated allowance. The actual number of teachers receiving this allowance should be

more as three teachers were interviewed per school thus up to twelve teachers should be

entitled to the location allowance. Explanations for these discrepancies may be due to either

a lack of understanding about the allowance or some other unaccounted variation within the

system.

4.1.9 Championship Prize

In addition to the various allowances, the Championship Prize was another monetary

incentive that respondents indicated had impact on their motivation. Championship prizes

consist of two forms which are good school champion prize and individual champion prize.

The research therefore included some information on these incentives.

Good School Champion Prize:

Respondents at the PoE and DoE outlined that there were three different types of good

school champion prizes:

1) First champion prize: schools which were the best performed were awarded this prize

and received 250,000 Riels (USD62.5). This award was given to 459 schools across

Cambodia.

2) Second champion prize: schools which were the second best performed were awarded

this prize and received 200,000 Riels (USD50). This award was given to 459 schools

across Cambodia.

3) Third champion prize: schools which were the third best performed were awarded this

prize and received 180,000 Riels (USD45). This award was given to 459 schools across

Cambodia.

Individual Champion Prize:

All education personnel have an equal opportunity to compete for an annual championship

price. Respondents at the PoE and DoE outlined that there were three different types of

champion prizes:

29

1) First champion prize: teachers/education personnel who were the best performers were

awarded this prize and received 120,000 Riels (USD30). This award was given to 150

teachers/education personnel per province.

2) Second champion prize: teachers/education personnel who were the second best

performers received a reward of 100,000 Riels (USD25). This award was given to 150

teachers/education personnel per province.

3) Third champion prize: teachers/education personnel who were the third best

performers received a reward of 80,000 Riels (USD20). This award was given to 150

teachers/education personnel per province.

The Championship Prize was introduced as strategy to increase the motivation and

performance of teachers and encouraged them to demonstrate their commitment to quality

of education through implementing best practices. Respondents who received this reward

stated that they felt very proud to receive such a prize and that it was good for their

reputation and was compensation for their hard work.

However, a few teachers in Kompot province cited nepotism and cronyism as having a

negative impact on the championship prize in some schools. One respondent on the condition

of anonymity stated that in some schools where teachers have a strong relationship with

school directors or DoE and PoE officials, they have a better chance of receiving the champion

prizes. Other respondents stated that some teachers, who work very hard, never receive any

award and thus felt discouraged and viewed the system as unfair. Some DoE respondents

supported this view stating that it was not fair for teachers who did not receive such honor.

The DoE in Kampot district mentioned that all teachers were performing well, but only some

teachers were able to receive the award.

4.2 The Impact of the monetary incentives on teacher motivations

Teachers were asked to identify what monetary incentives influenced their motivation to

become teachers. Ninety-Five percent (95%) of respondents indicated that the basic salary

was the monetary incentive with the greatest impact. Other incentives which were ranked as

having an impact were the Thursday class and the pedagogy allowance, with over sixty-four

percent (64%) of respondents indicating these were important to them. Approximately one

third of respondents indicated that each of the following impacted on their motivation to a

lesser extent, child allowance and maternity allowance. The spouse allowance was rated as

having the lowest impact on teacher motivation, while less than two percent (2%) indicated

health care allowance was a motivating factor.

30

Table 4: Level of Impact of Incentives

Intensity of the impact24 Greatest

Impact

2nd

greatest

Impact

3rd

greatest

Impact

4th

greatest

Impact

5th

greatest

Impact

6th

greatest

Impact

Basic Salary 95% 2%

Thursday class Allowance 1.5% 34% 33% 5% 4% 0.3%

Pedagogy/teaching allowance 1% 30% 25% 13% 2% 1%

Child allowance 1% 5% 12% 15% 8% 2%

Spouse allowance 0.5% 2% 8% 8% 4% 1%

Maternity Allowance 1% 15% 5% 1%

Accommodation Allowance 0.5% 0.5% 0.5%

Health care allowance 0.5% 0.5% 0.3%

4.3. Non-Monetary Incentives

This section of the study provides analysis of the non-monetary incentives and their impact

on teacher motivation. The findings revealed that when asked about the non-monetary

factors that impact on their motivation respondents listed the following: commitment to the

pupils, pride in the profession, contributing to national development, appreciation by the

public and attending workshop/training have been significant incentives. The table below

outlines the variety of non-monetary incentives stated by respondents.

Table 5: Which Non-monetary Incentive Impact upon Levels of Motivation

Non-monetary incentives # of

responses

Percent (%)

Pension fund 306 79%

Feeling commitment to society and children 287 74%

Aspiration to contribute to the development of country 255 66%

Pride of being a teacher 219 57%

Being appreciated by the public 158 41%

Attending workshops/training 157 41%

Awards presented to them in form of certificates, tokens and Plaques 150 39%

Appreciation letter from their directors/those in the hierarchy 138 36%

On job training which results in personal development 116 30%

Enjoying company of colleagues 83 22%

Receiving positive comments from line-managers 83 22%

Receiving holidays and free time 62 16%

Being involved in the planning and decision-making of their school 55 14%

Lack of capacity to do other jobs apart from teaching 49 13%

Receiving maternity leave 15 4%

Receiving accommodation from the school 6 2%

n=386

24

Teachers were asked to rank the top 1-6 greatest impact of monetary incentive, some of them only rank 1-3 or

1-4 greatest impact.

31

4.3.1 Pension

While it is a monetary benefit provided when a teacher retires, for the purpose of this

research pension was regarded as a non-monetary due to its deferred benefit nature. All

teachers are entitled to receive a pension at the end of their service. Seventy-nine percent

(79%) of respondents reported that they are motivated by the knowledge that they will

receive the pension. These respondents confirmed that the pension has a high impact on

motivating teachers because it provides a long-term incentive to remain in the profession and

off-sets the low average salary throughout their career. In addition it provides a secure

income and standard of living when the teachers retire.

4.3.2 Commitment to society and children

It is widely recognized that teachers play a very important role as the educators contributing

to the development of society and individual students whom they teach. Students’ outcomes

are impacted negatively when their teachers are unmotivated or lack the training and

resources to provide a quality education. Some respondents used the analogy that students

were like white paper and teachers were the paintbrush that adds the color. In this sense the

skills, qualities, motivation and morals of teachers can significantly impact on the success of

their students. The research found that respondents had very high levels of commitment and

motivation in this regards with over seventy-four percent (74%) of respondents stating that

they were motivated to teach by their sense of obligation to contribute to the development

of the students and society.

4.3.3 Contribution to the national development

This factor is inextricably linked with the concern teachers have for the children they engage

with. It was one of the stronger motivating factors for sixty-six percent (66%) of respondents

that helps to attract and retain them in the profession. In-depth discussion with few teachers

stated that they made a considerable contribution to society as each of them has been

involved in the transferred knowledge and development of at least forty (40) students

annually. It was discussed that in theory a teacher could impact on the knowledge and

capacity of one thousand and two hundred (1,200) students throughout their career and this

is a significant contribution to society. In focus group discussions the feelings were expressed

that teachers receive limited reward in comparison to the value of their contributions to

building human resources in country.

4.3.4 Pride in the Profession

When asked about pride in the profession, fifty-seven percent (57%) of respondents

expressed their enthusiasm and satisfaction with their career choice. Despite the low salary,

the social status of being a teacher continues to motivate respondents and many expressed

the view that they were, highly respected and appreciated by the community. In general

32

respondents stated those in the teaching profession are important contributors to society.

One respondent stated ‘No single person would become a doctor or engineer without going

through primary education’.

4.3.5 Community Appreciation

Community appreciation is a significant non-monetary factor which impacts positively on

teacher motivation and performance. Forty-one percent (41%) of respondents expressed the

view that they derived motivation from the encouragement and appreciation of the

community. Cambodia culture traditionally respects and is grateful to teachers for the

provision of education to their children. Generally, parents acknowledge teachers’ effort to

help their children succeed in school and can be compared as “the second mother of

students”25. Most parents attribute their children’s performance in school, in large part to the

quality of teaching they receive.

In focus group discussions, parents confirmed that the community appreciated the teachers

who have strong commitment to their work. Parents asserted that more than fifty percent

(50%) of teachers in their schools were working hard and had few absences. Parents also

stated that they appreciated the effort of the teachers especially in the context of the low

salary they receive.

Teacher: “community appreciation”

The majority of teachers in rural schools mentioned that the parents were happy and

appreciated the work of the teachers in supporting their children to learn. The parents

often thanked the teachers that devoted their time to the transfer of knowledge to

their children. In addition, parents express their gratitude by calling teachers by their

title in Khmer or using the Khmer greeting “Sampeah” when they meet teachers. One

respondent added that whenever you attend a public function, the children and

community member showed their appreciation and respect.

Respondents were asked to rate the community’s attitude and behaviors towards teachers,

and over ninety percent (90.7%) state that the community respected teachers, over eighty

one percent (81.6%) stated the community was friendly to teachers, and almost eight percent

(7.8%) said the community cared about teachers. However three respondents constituting

just under one percent (0.8%) stated that the community did not respect teachers.

Teachers were asked to check all that applied to the question on the attitude of the

community toward them. The Figure below shows the responses from 386 teachers/school

directors.

25

Focus group discussion with parents in Kampot province

33

Figure 9: Community Attitude toward Teacher

In general, teachers felt comfortable communicating with parents, which is an indicator of

positive relationships between teachers and parents. This positive relationship creates an

atmosphere where teachers are confident to share with parents information about their

children’s progress. However teachers who were posted in different provinces or districts

from their home did not rate this incentive as highly.

The respect from the community is a value added incentive that teachers appreciate as it

provides a sense of pride in the job. The information gathered from both teacher respondents

and community respondents was consistent with regards the community-teacher relations.

Happy Teachers in Rattanakiri

Teacher commitment to build society in Tumnop Village

The community in Tumnop village gave a positive report regarding teacher

commitment in their work. They noted that although the teacher’s salary is not

enough for their daily expense, they still continue teaching because they have

sympathy for young children and want them to take responsibility when they grow up

as it is said “the bamboo shoot grows up to be bamboo”. Teachers want to educate

young children in order to develop Cambodian society. For example low performing

students were provided with special teaching during the breaks and children who

have no money were also allowed to attend the extra classes.

The Community in LeuKhoun, Borkeo district, Rattanakiri province have observed a

increasing trend in teacher satisfaction in their work. They described teachers as

people who are always happy with their job because they speak softly to students,

explain well to students and pay attention to their work and students.

34

Community: “Low salary affecting motivation of teachers in Sroeng Village”

4.3.6 Continuous Professional Development

The government is committed to providing teachers with access to continuous professional

development (CPD) and this is clearly outlined in the Education Law (2007).

‘Article 20: Educational personnel training

The state shall train educational personnel prior to and/or in service. Educational

personnel shall undergo pedagogical training recognized by the Ministry in charge of

Education, except professors and staff working in higher educational establishments.

The Ministry in charge of Education shall determine the fundamental programs for

educational personnel training, and physical and professional criteria for the

recruitment of public and private educational personnel.’26

The type of CPD and its impact on teacher motivation was therefore identified as key areas

for this research. CPD as a non-monetary incentive is unique in that it is a double positive,

impacting on both teacher motivation and improving the quality of teaching and learning

through up skilling teachers.

Figure 10: Respondents Attending CPD

The research found that with regards to the current levels of CPD provision, good progress

has been made by MoEYS and the education development partners in realizing the

government’s commitment. When respondents were asked about the frequency and type of

26

Education Law 2007

Contrary to the above case the community in Sroeng village, Stung Trang district of

Kampong Cham mentioned that some teachers in their school has low motivation

which they attributed to the low salary and that teachers have to seek other source

of income. The community observed some teachers were frequently absent during

harvest season. This consequently resulted in the children missing out on their

schooling. However, sometimes the children go to help their teachers in their

agricultural activities.

35

CPD that they had been provided with, either by MoEYS or education development partners,

the results revealed that only fifteen percent (15%) of respondents did not receive any CPD

since completing their pre-service training, while eighty-five percent (85%) of respondents

had received some CPD.

In an education system which is recovering from the significant human resources deficit

inflicted on it during the Khmer Rouge and civil war periods the need for CPD is all the more

important so that teachers who have entered the profession without the standard pre-service

training have an opportunity to up-skill. The ongoing provision of quality CPD can ensure that

teachers gain new knowledge, especially in teaching methodology, technology and policy.

CPD Topics

The overall statements of respondents showed that they clearly valued the CPD they

received, which contributed to their improved job performance. Respondents indicated that

most of them have had the opportunity to attend a range of different CPD courses including:

short subject specific training course, refresher course, thematic workshops. Respondents

listed the following areas in which they have received CPD: Child Friendly School, Curriculum

Development, Gender Awareness, Teaching Aids, Inclusive Education, School Management &

Leadership, and Community Participation.

Respondents also commented that some CPD activities were organized outside their province

and this allowed them to exchange experiences with teachers from other places and also to

explore the best practices and new ideas that were being piloted. Some respondents who are

proficient in English or a second language also had the chance to attend CPD courses abroad

and they felt this was significant benefit to them in their skills and motivation.

Figure 11: CPD Topics

36

CPD Providers

The respondents identified three main types of CPD providers: MoEYS, education

development partners and NGOs. Due to its role as the leading stakeholder MoEYS was the

main provider of CPD either independently or jointly with education development partners.

Fifty percent (50%) of respondents reported that they received training from MoEYS, forty-

two percent (42%) of respondents reported that they received training organized by NGOs

and eight-percent (8%) received training organized by development partners.

Frequency of CPD

The range of CPD courses available is commendable and has had a positive impact both on

teacher performance and motivation. However the frequency of provision of CPD courses

varied considerably, the table below illustrates the variations. Just under seventeen percent

(16.8%) received training once in the last 2-5 years, twenty-seven and half percent (27.5%)

received training once per year, over twenty percent (20.2%) received CPD twice in the past

year, while fifteen percent (15%) had received training three times in the past year.

Figure 12: Frequency of CPD

The percentage (16.8%) of teachers that have attended only one CPD course in the past 2-5

years combined with the fifteen percent (15%) who have received no CPD training since

completing pre-service reveals that there is still the possibility to increase the frequency and

equality of access of CPD courses. There is also a need to ensure that participation in CPD

courses are assessed in terms of the identified needs of the teachers so as to avoid the

overtraining or undertraining of certain group of teachers.

Impact of CPD on Teacher Motivation

Nineteen percent (19%) of respondents stated that the CPD was a positive motivating factor;

sixty-seven percent (67%) stated it had little or no impact on their motivation. Over sixty

percent (60%) contended that CPD courses did not provide them with enough training

because they need more up-to-date information on teaching methodologies. Just over

twenty-two percent (22.3%) said that their capacity to teach students was still limited and

just under six percent (5.9%) said that the chance to attend trainings is only given to senior

37

staff. This may indicate that the CPD should be made available to all teachers and be more

relevant to needs of the teachers and linked to career development.

4.3.7 Professional Awards

Awards given for performance, dedication and long service were another non-monetary

incentive found to motivate teachers. Teachers and school directors indicated they want to

receive these awards to build their reputation and professional profile.

The professional awards system is an important method of recognizing the contribution of

teachers to the social and economic development of their country. The awards took the form

of certificates, plaques or letters of commendation sometimes with small cash bonuses.

Respondents stated that these increases their motivation and at the same time contributes to

improving the quality of their works. It is therefore necessary to establish a national

recognition system with clear criterion to provide awards and public recognition to teachers.

The rewarding procedure should be standardized and set in different categories to match the

different levels (e.g. School Directors and General teachers) this will create favorable and

justified competition.

4.3.8 Support from Student Councils

The support from student councils was not included on the list of non-monetary incentives in

the research questionnaire but was identified in focus groups and interviews. Respondents

highlighted the positive contribution of student council to their work as being a significant

motivating factor. The Child Friendly School Policy recommends all primary schools to form

student councils because it can reduce the workload of teachers in terms of classroom

management and school maintenance. In some schools especially in the urban areas, student

councils have a role in helping their classmates through various activities such as:

• Peer education

• Preparing classrooms

• Decorating classrooms

• Cleaning school playgrounds

4.3.9 Emergency Relief

Emergency relief was not included on the list of non-monetary incentives in the research

questionnaire but was identified in focus groups and interviews. This may have been due to

the flooding which was occurring in certain provinces during data collection. Due to the

flooding more than 400 schools were affected. In response MoEYS ordered the PoE and DoE

to collect statistic of schools and teachers affected by flood and then provided financial and

other emergency relief to affected teachers and schools. This had a positive impact on the

motivation of the teachers that benefit from this relief.

38

4.3.10 School Governance

School governance and community participation were two other key factors that this study

explored in relations to teacher motivation. These factors has been highlighted by Jago in her

research “Teaching Matters” which states that ‘the second greatest source of dissatisfaction

for teachers is related to lack of involvement by MoEYS, PoE and school management’27

. In

addition Knight & MacLeod28 have established a clear link between teacher motivation and

teacher participation in decision making.

This research assessed respondents view of school governance and it impacted on their

motivation in three key areas: school management, financial management and decision

making.

School Management

Effective school management is central to staff motivation and performance. Eighty-three

percent (83%) of the respondents expressed their satisfaction in the quality of leadership and

human resource management in their schools. However it is important to note that there was

inconsistent definition of good management provided by respondents, who rated the school

management as good, fair or poor based on their personal satisfaction with the management

in their own school. Also, it should be noted that the positive results may be related to the

interviewing of teachers at school compounds, so that teachers may hesitate to express more

negative points of view of their supervisor.

Respondents gave the following replies: four percent (4%) rated it very good, seventy-nine

percent (79%) rated it good, ten percent (10%) rated it was poor and seven percent (7%) did

not provide a rating. This indicates that overall school management is regarded in positive

manner by teachers with some minor areas for improvement indicated by the ten percent

(10%) who gave negative ratings and the seven percent (7%) who gave no comment.

Therefore the good practices in school management should be acknowledged and used as

models of best practice while more training especially in human resource management is

provided to school management to increase the positive impact on teacher motivation.

Interviews with PoE and DoE respondents provided similar results to the focus groups

discussion and interviews with teachers. That was that many school directors were able to

manage their schools in a good manner. However, some inexperienced school directors could

improve their management and were assisted in doing so through the advice of the DoE and

PoE during school monitoring visits.

27Jago, S. ‘Teaching Matter’ NEP/VSO 2008 28

Knight, K. & MacLeod K. ‘Integration of Teacher’s voice into Education for all in Cambodia: Teacher Status,

social dialogue and the education sector’ PACT 2004

39

Figure 13: Perspective of Teacher toward their School Management

Financial management

Many respondents experienced difficulty when asked to rate the financial management in

group discussions and interviews. In their survey responses seventy-nine percent (79%)

stated that financial management in their school was transparent29, fifteen percent (15%)

stated that it was not transparent and six percent (6%) offered no comment. In group

discussions the consensus was that as a consequence of lack of transparency teachers

became demotivated. Good financial management was viewed as a positive sign by the

majority of respondents as illustrated below.

Figure 14: Financial Management Rated by Interviewed Teachers

Financial management in schools was regarded as transparent based on three main

categories as follows:

• Decisions made in their school were based on the majority

• Their schools have a clear record book of the income and expenditure

• Everybody know the school’s income and expenditures

The reasons why financial management in schools was regarded as less transparent were

based on five main categories as follows:

• Expenditure’s items were unclear

• Staff do not know about incomes and expenditures in their schools

• Not enough provision of teaching material to teachers

29

It should be noted that the positive results may be related to the interviewing of teachers at school

compounds, so that teachers may hesitate to express more negative points of view about level of transparency.

40

• Late reimbursement of funds to the school

• Funds not distributed equally

The interviews with the PoE and DoE respondents did not highlight any financial management

issues. However, results from schools monitoring done by PoE or DoE show that some

schools, especially those with a new school director need more capacity development on

program-based (PB) budget management. In the schools where school support committees

(SSC) were actively engaged in school activities, decision making and PB budgets were more

generally disclosed to the relevant stakeholders. The schools where SSC were passive,

frequently the expenditure on PB and income from other sources were unclear or not shared

publicly.

Decision making in the school

Seven percent (7%) of the respondents said that the decision making was centralized, just

over eighty percent (80.3%) said it was decentralised and just under thirteen percent (12.7%)

had no comment.

Figure 15: Decision Making in the School

4.3.11 Community Participation

Community participation is one of six key dimensions of Child Friendly School (CFS) policy in

increasing the quality of education. In the Cambodian context, community participation is a

new and developing concept. NEP’s research study on “Community Engagement For Quality

Education” in 2011 found that twenty-eight percent (28%) of interviewed parents in Kampot

and eighteen percent (18%) of interviewed parents in Kampong Cham attended school

development meeting in their communities (NEP, 2011:19). Low participation from the

community revealed the challenges for increasing the quality of education and lack of

collaboration between schools and their communities.

Similarly, this study showed a limited level of involvement from the community. Most, school

directors in the target provinces mentioned that around 5-10% percent of their school

community were able to participate in school activities such as enrollment campaign,

meetings and school development meeting.

From the focus groups and respondents interviews it appears that communities have not yet

fully engaged in their crucial role in supporting schools and teachers but that a positive trend

41

is developing. The survey showed that only twenty percent (20%) of respondents experienced

receiving support from their community. The support from the community in these cases was

mainly on provision of money to their children to attend extra classes. The remaining eighty

percent (80%) of respondents stated that they received no support from the community, this

implied that either there is less support needed by these teachers or there is limited non-

monetary contributions made by the community that are viewed as impacting on the

teachers’ motivation.

In the case of newly qualified teachers and those in poor areas and rural schools, they need

more assistance in terms of transport, accommodation and food as the study revealed that a

low percentage of support was received.

Figure 16: Type of Support from Community

The community respondents viewed the role of support to school and teachers as being

primarily the duty of the government and NGOs rather than the community. Although

communities were aware of challenges faced by teachers, there was little initiative from the

community to assist teachers reported by respondents. While the community are aware of

the difficulties facing teachers moving from different places especially with regards the issues

of sourcing accommodation and social isolation, there are not many communities that

provide accommodation to teachers and ensure social integration in organized manner.

Group discussions with parents in Kampot province highlighted the gap in understanding

between the needs of teachers and what the community could do to support teachers as a

central issue. When talking about the support provided to teachers, the community

expressed their willingness, but stated they were prevented from helping due to their limited

resources. It was noted that sometimes financial contributions from the community are

easier to get as parents were more likely to contribute money for their children’s learning in

ordinary and extra classes whereas participation in the meeting/school activities may be

harder to achieve30.

Parents pay teachers for private tutoring

30

It refers to the extra classes provided by teachers beside school hour. Students feel voluntary attend in the extra class

42

Focus group discussion among parents in Wat Chak primary school, an urban school in Siem

Reap province revealed that parents participations was in the form of financial contribution

to the school and paying extra money of 500 Riels per week to their children to attend

private lessons. In general, most students pay for private lessons. The community expressed

their commitment in making substantial contributions to school building in their community,

but that it was hard as a result of their poor living condition.

The community considered private lessons as a good activity for the student to learn as

students learn more intensively and spend less of their spare time playing at home or

engaging with gang groups. Some teachers run private lessons for the upcoming school-year

during summer vacation. It is noteworthy that in some cases paying extra class is a

burdensome for parents who have a low income to support their family.

Only seven percent (7%) of respondents received additional support from NGO. The type of

support included additional pay (5.7%), transportation allowance (0.5%) and material (1%).

When asked about the impact of the support on their motivation two percent expressed

strong agreement and just under five percent (4.9%) agreed that the support has increased

their motivation. The schools that experienced NGOs supports were generally viewed as

having better infrastructure and resources and this was stated as an additional motivating

factor for teachers in those schools.

Impact of community support to teachers’ motivation:

Responding to the questions that sought to establish the impact that support from the

community has on teacher motivation, less than half respondents who received support from

the community claimed that the support impacted positively on their motivation while just

under five percent could not indicate any positive impact. This may be because the nature of

the support from the community was not viewed as significant for many of the respondents.

4.3.12 Supports from Private Companies

Private companies were also identified by respondents as providing support to teachers in

certain areas. Kampong Cham provided an unique example, in which a private company has

provided additional support to teachers in their target school. Ten respondents (2.5%) in

Krong Soung, Kampong Cham province reported that in addition to government incentive,

they receive a package of support including: accommodation, additional salary,

transportation and material from the private company in order to increase their motivation

and maximize their time devoted to teaching. Additionally respondents in two schools located

inside Rubber Plantations which were franchised to a private company, received additional

supplements to their basic salary from the rubber company. While this research was limited

in the data collected on the impact of incentives provided by private companies, from the

statements given it appears that both these incentives are both monetary and non-monetary

in nature and impacted positively on teachers’ motivation.

43

Figure 17: Teacher Receive Support from Private Company/NGO Working

V. Additional Findings & Analysis

5.1 Teacher salary by regions

In terms of the provincial breakdown and teachers’ salaries there is clear clustering of teacher

salaries at certain points on the salary scale according to their location. For example in

Kampong Cham and Rattanakiri approximately six percent (6%) of teachers are earning

130,000 riel (USD32.50), a cluster of over seven percent (7%) occurs in Kampot at 240,000 riel

(USD60) and eleven percent (11%) in Siem Reap. We can see from the table below that the

largest cluster of teachers in Kampot (51%), Siem Reap (29%) and Kampong Cham (23%)

occurs in the salary range 301,000-350,000 Riel (USD755.25-USD87.50). This illustrates that

teachers in Kampot, Siem Reap and Kampong Cham are clustered at higher points on the

salary scale than those in Rattanakiri. This may be due to number of causes, such as teachers

in rural areas being less qualified or having less experience. However given that rural areas

need attention in terms of educational quality these issues should be further investigated and

addressed.

Table 6: Teachers Salary by Province

Salary Ranges

(in Riels)

# of Respondents

Kg Cham Kampot Siemreap Rattanakiri

# of Responses

% # of

Responses %

# of Responses

% # of

Responses %

≤ 100000 2 3%

101000-150000 19 16% 7 5% 6 9%

151000-200000 11 10% 8 12% 9 7% 19 27%

201000-250000 22 19% 6 9% 33 24% 11 16%

251000-300000 19 16% 11 16% 32 24% 12 17%

301000-350000 26 23% 34 51% 39 29% 6 9%

351000-400000 10 9% 8 12% 5 4% 1 1%

≥ 400000 1 1% 3 2% 2 3%

Don't Know 7 6% 7 5% 10 15%

Total 115

100%

67 100% 135 100

% 69 100%

44

Figure 18: Teachers Salary

With the low basic salary starting point of 130,000 Riel (USD32.5), it took nineteen percent

(19%) of respondents up to five years and eleven percent (11%) of respondents between 6-10

years, to reach a basic salary range of 201,000-250,000 Riel (USD50.25-61.25). It took even

longer for teachers to reach a salary level of more than 400,000 Riel (USD100). The

inconsistency in the matching basic salary with the number or year teaching experience is

highlighted below.

Table 7: Number of Interviewees per Salary Ranges

Duration

they have

been a

teacher

Salary Rates (in Riels) Total

Don’t

Know

≤100000 101000-

150000

151000-

200000

201000-

250000

251000-

300000

301000-

350000

351000-

400000

>400000

New

teacher

1 1 2

≤5 years 7 2 13 25 34 6 1 0 1 89

6-10 years 7 11 4 28 16 3 0 1 70

11-15 years 4 1 3 23 10 41

16-20 years 3 2 2 16 23 1 47

21-25 years 0 4 5 3 4 33 10 2 61

≥26 years 2 2 9 2 9 36 14 2 76

Twenty percent (20%) of teachers earn less than or equal to 200,000 riel (USD50) in basic

salary. The significant differences in basic salary may be based on qualifications and level of

education between those teachers at the lower and upper end of the salary scale, however

systematic inequalities are present where teachers with similar levels of education or years of

experience are paid different basic salaries. It also indicates a systemic weakness within the

MoEYS human resources system to fail to ensure all teachers receive the minimum official

teacher salary. This contributes to the lower quality of teaching and learning in those areas

where teachers fail to receive the basic salary or are paid less than peers with similar

attributes.

45

Fifteen percent (15%) of respondents asserted that their income was not enough to cover

their living cost. The gap between teachers’ salary and cost of living is still significant and

often respondents are depending on parental and family support.

Figure 19: Economic Status of Interviewees

The dependency rates were similar among Kampong Cham, Siem Reap and Rattanakiri.

Rattanakiri was the highest with seventeen percent (17%). The lowest dependency was found

in Kampot province with only seven percent (7%). More than fifty percent (50%) of

dependent teachers in Kampong Cham, Siem Reap and Kampot were single. This is

attributable to the fact that majority of single teachers were novice teachers and some of

them were under their probationary year and were not entitled to get full basic salary. In the

case of Rattanakiri the majority of dependent teachers were married this may be related to

larger family sizes meaning that teachers families could not subsist on their salary alone.

A teacher depending on parents in Kampong Cham

Sopheap is a single 24 year-old, grade 2 teacher in Vealvong primary school, Kampong

Cham province. She receives a basic salary of 250,000 Riels (USD62.50) per month which

is not enough to cover her living expenses and forces her to be dependent on her

parents. She does not own a house and is living in her parents’ house. She teaches in the

morning and in the afternoon she helps her parents to run a business at home. Despite,

a very low salary, she enjoys teaching. She thinks that the teacher role is very important

for society and many people value the job. In addition, students give her a respect that

motivates her, so she does not want to leave the job. Moreover, she expressed a

comfort of living with/near parents as that is much better than having better salary, but

living very far from homeland. As an urban teacher and with financial support from

family, Sopheap was able to continue her study at university in the evening.

46

5.2 Respondent’s family Income

Table 8: Family Income by Location

Family Income Ranges (Riels)

Type of district

Urban Rural Total

(# of respondents)

Percent (%)

(# of respondents)

Percent (%)

≤400,000 46 30% 109 47% 155

400,000-600,000 48 32% 74 32% 122

600,100-800,000 18 12% 21 9% 39

800,100-1,000,000 20 13% 5 2% 25

1,000,100-1,200,000 7 5% 10 4% 17

1,200,100-2,000,000 2 1% 7 3% 9

≥2,000,000 11 7% 6 3% 17

Total N=152 100% N=232 100% 384

The trend shows that the urban teachers have a higher family income than the rural teachers.

Twenty six percent (26%) of urban teachers have a family income range from Riel (USD 200)

and above, while only twelve percent (12%) of teachers at rural areas having income in this

range. By contrast seventy four percent (74%) of urban teachers have income range less than

or equal to 800,000 Riels (USD200), while 88% of rural teachers having income in this range.

When breaking down the income ranges by position, the percentage of school directors who

have income above 800,100 Riels is slightly higher than the percentage of teacher families

(see below table).

Table 9: Family Income by Position

Family Income Ranges (Riels)

Interviewer

Teachers’ Family School director’s Family Total response # of Responses Percent (%) # of Response Percent (%)

≤400,000 Riels 128 43% 27 32% 155

400,000-600,000 Riels 91 30% 31 37% 122

600,100-800,000 Riels 30 10% 9 11% 39

800,100-1,000,000 riles 19 6% 6 7% 25

1,000,100-1,200,000 Riels 11 4% 6 7% 17

1,200,100-2,000,000 Riels 6 2% 3 4% 9

≥ 2,000,000 Riels 15 5% 2 2% 17

Total 300 100% 84 100% 384

5.3 Respondent Second Incomes

In an international context many people do not have the challenge of maintaining two

sources of income because the income from their primary occupation is sufficient to cover

their living cost. In the Cambodian context, however this is not the case and having two

sources of income is a common practice. It is generally known that the basic primary

47

teachers’ salary alone does not meet the costs of living. This research found that sixty-seven

percent (67%) of respondents have a second income in order to provide for their cost of

living. The activities of their second incomes included farming, teaching extra class for

students and petty trade that deals in school consumables and other general commodities.

The figure below shows the sources of second incomes.

Figure 20: Sources of Teachers' Second Incomes

These sources of income ranged from motodup driver, teaching in private schools, tutorials,

selling goods at the school, market-selling and farming. Forty percent (40%) of teachers

generate a second income from farming. This is particularly prevalent in rural areas, while

fourteen percent (14%) of teachers generate additional income through providing tutorial or

teaching in private schools. In terms of second jobs, sixty-seven percent (67%) shows a

considerably decline from that found in 2008 research31 which was over ninety percent (90.

This reduction may be due to a number of factors including the annual increase in teachers’

salaries which has been implemented since 2009.

The focus group discussions with parents revealed that they perceived teachers second

income activities to have a negative impact on their roles as teachers. Initial focus group

discussions with parents and individual interviews with teachers did not identify any negative

effect on teacher’s performance resulting from their engagement in the second income

activities. During in-depth interviews with the communities of selected schools in Kompot

province, some negative effects resulting from second income activities were reported.

Respondents stated that quality of teaching needs two to three hours daily to prepare lesson

plans, correction of exams, prepare teaching and learning materials. When teachers engaged

with second income activities, they did not have enough time to concentrate on these

requirements which negatively had impact on the quality of teaching. In addition, some

teachers had favoritism especially if the students will buy their snacks and pay for extra

classes.

31

Teaching Matters: A policy Report on the Motivation and Morale of Teachers in Cambodia VSO 2008

48

The impact of teacher’s second job on their performance

In Kompot province where a teacher sells food/cake in the school, she always took

a longer break in order to attract customers. She always allowed students to break

early as she was rushing to sell cake to students. She got back to class late as she

was busy selling cake and waited until all students in the school went back to their

class in order to make sure that there were no more clients to buy her cake.

In addition, some teachers threaten students that “you will not pass to the next

grade level if you do not buy my cake”. Sometimes, teachers (the ones that sell

cake) felt angry when they saw students bought food from the other sellers. A

woman in the focus group mentioned that one day her children bought ice-cream

from a public seller and the teacher said to her son that “you bought ice-cream

from the vender, so just call that seller to teach you!”

The community felt that it is not bad for teachers to sell cake, but that teachers

should not threaten students when they do not buy their things.

Most of teachers have to engage with the second job in order to supplement their family’s

needs due to the fact that their salary is very low. They want instead to focus only on

“teaching” and to comply with MoEYS’ guidelines and improve the quality of their

performance. This was confirmed when asked about a salary increase and how this would

impact on them. Most respondents stated that they would be willing to perform better, to

spend more time to prepare lesson plans and to work only as teachers. They also stated that

teachers are role models in society, especially for students and should be able to focus on

their teaching and not second income activities. Some respondents stated that if the

teachers’ living conditions are poorer than those of the students, it is a weakness that

undermines their social status in society. In addition, when teachers are engaged in an

unprofessional job such as motodub, selling food at school or farming, the value of their

profession in society was negatively impacted.

5.4 Teachers additional educational responsibilities and roles

In the schools where teacher shortage existed, school directors were responsible for teaching

in addition to their management work. Twenty-two percent (22%) of those interviewed were

school directors and forty-three percent (43%) of these school directors had teaching

responsibilities. Although none of the teaching school directors expressed any negative

opinions to the dual workload responsibilities from their management and teaching duties,

since they get additional payments to their basic salary. They did however reflect on the

workload they had as the management duties require a full-time school director in order to

manage their schools efficiently and effectively. Several of those who were teaching/directors

stated that they are busy with teaching so they do not have enough time to think strategically

about staff management and their schools development.

49

It is noteworthy that just above eighteen percent (18.5%) of interviewed teachers carry out

double shift teaching, especially in the rural areas where classroom and teacher shortages

existed. Thirty nine percent (39%) of teachers reported that they teach in morning shift, 10%

teach the afternoon shift and 33% of teachers reported about rotate classes between

morning and afternoon.

Figure 21: Teaching Shift

5.5 Class Size

The research revealed that significant progress has been made in terms of student-teacher

ratios but there are still some areas of concern in the higher grades of primary school. Forty

percent (40%) of teachers report that they have less than thirty-five students in a class and

twenty-one percent (21%) have between 36-45 students, this reflects well on Cambodia

efforts to obtain a ratio of 40:1 under the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Twenty

percent (20%) of teachers however report having classes in between 46-55 students and

worryingly thirteen percent (13%) have more than or equal to 56 students. In order to reach

the MDG and EFA goals of 40:1 by 2015 more teachers will be required to enter the system in

targeted grades and areas.

The distribution of teacher-class size ratio is uneven between urban and rural areas. Smaller

classes-teacher ratios were found in urban areas while larger classes-teacher ratios were in

rural areas. The research found that fifty-three percent (53%) of schools in Siem Reap have

student-teacher ratios of less than 45:1. In Kampot seventy-seven percent (77%) of schools

meet the MoEYS target ratios of 45:1 or less while in Rattanakiri and Kampong Cham, sixty-six

percent (66%) and sixty-two percent (62%) of schools respectively have ratios of greater than

45:1. This reflects additional challenges facing rural schools that need more attention from

the PoE’s and MoEYS at central level.

50

Figure 22: Class Size

5.6 Teaching as Career

The respondents described the teaching career as that of a professional that raised the value

and profile of teachers to be role models for the civil society. However they stated that

teaching is not an attractive career in today’s society due to reasons related to low salary,

heavy workload, with less potential for career development and personal growth. Most high

performing students prefer to choose careers in other professions such as medicine,

engineering or business. Enrollment in a Teacher Training college is frequently composed of

students with average academic performance. This can be illustrated through comparing the

minimum exam requirements of BAC II students for different universities and Teacher

Training Colleges. The University of Medicine and the University of Technology have a

minimum requirement of at least grade C, the Royal University of Phnom Penh, has a

minimum requirement of up to grade E. In exceptional cases of non-completion of high school

students are allowed to take exams to enter RTTC and PTTC particularly in rural and remote

areas. This phenomenon has a negative impact on the long-term quality of education through

failing to recruit the ‘best’ students into teacher training and limits improvements in quality

due to limited teacher capacity in the short-term.

The vast majority of respondents gave very positive responses for their motivation to enter

the teaching profession. Over sixty-six percent (66%) of teachers indicated that the desire to

help students, contribute to society and interest in education as the bases for their

motivations. This illustrates a very strong social commitment and sense of teaching as a

vocation which provides a firm base of the MoEYS to implement future reforms through

consultation with a committed workforce. Other factors which were expressed in negative

ways, but influenced them to choose teaching as a career including lack of alternative

employment opportunity and family influence.

51

Figure 23: Factors Motivation to Enter the Profession

When asked about factors that kept them motivated during their career, over fifty percent of

teachers indicated that they felt very motivated about their career only fifteen percent

expressed negativity regarding their current motivational levels. Respondents who described

themselves as very motivated attributed this to their desire to be part of a good education

system and to contribute to society. Generally this clearly indicates the commitment of

teachers to the profession despite low salary and limited opportunities for career

development.

Figure 24: Teacher Motivation on Teaching Career

Twelve percent (12%) of respondents stated they were currently de-motivated compared to

when they started their career. They attributed this to low salaries and poor living condition

for their family. This compelled them to seek supplementary sources of income to provide for

their living costs.

52

Table 10: Reasons Why Teacher are Highly Motivated

Reasons Why Teachers are Highly Motivated # of response Percent (%)

want to help student having knowledge and

contribute to society

95 25%

want to provide good educaUon to student and love

teacher career

95 25%

receive honor and respect from other 28 7%

receive incenUve from students’ families and MoEYS 10 3%

country needs knowledgable people 12 3%

it is job that has more free Ume 4 1%

salary adequate 1 .5%

Table 11: Reasons Why Teachers are Fairly Motivated

Reasons Why Teachers are Fairly Motivated

# of response

want to help student and like teacher career 35 9%

Low salary, more work and not enough to live on 30 8%

No other choice, student are not study hard, liVle

knowledge

10 3%

Have free Ume to earn income and living condiUon is

not yet beVer

8 2%

work only one shiW, want to help children 8 2%

value appreciated by people 1 .5%

Seventy-four percent (74%) of respondents expressed their commitment to the teaching

profession even if they had an opportunity to find higher paying job. There were several

reasons given for this high level of professional commitment including: job security, public

holidays and the current part-time nature of the job. In addition, respondents perceived that

they lacked the skills required to take up employment outside of the education sector.

Twenty-six percent (26%) of respondents however indicated that they would leave teaching if

they could find a higher paying job. These respondents had stated that they were not

optimistic regarding career development as some stated that on their current salary they

could not meet the basic need of their families.

53

Figure 25: Teachers' Commitment in their Teaching Career

VI Teacher Perception on Education Issues

6.1 The Teachers’ Feelings About Their Career

Respondents described teaching as a career of dignity because it builds knowledge of

students who are the foundation of society, whom they referred to as “the bamboo shoot of

the country”. Sixty seven percent (67%) of respondents indicated to have a positive feeling to

their teaching career as thirty-four percent (34%) of them claimed that it is a very interesting

career, while five percent (5%) of respondents stated that it was a boring job. The figure

below, depict teachers’ feelings toward their job.

Figure 26: Teacher's Opinion on Teaching Career

The cross-tab made between teacher’s feeling about their career and their level of education

revealed that the higher education level the teachers achieved the less positive they were

about teaching. By reverse, the less educated teachers expressed a more positive view about

teaching. Fifty-six percent (56%) of teacher who finished primary school were very positive

about teaching, compared to twenty-three percent (23%) of the teachers who had completed

university level education. This was because the more educated respondents expressed that

they felt under paid compared to their peers who work for private sectors or NGOs and they

were likely to have better career alternatives. The less educated considered teaching career

as the only secure job that can earn them livelihood and through which they can contribute to

the development of their society. The figure below shows the level of interest in teaching

career in respect to the level of their educational background.

54

Figure 27: Teachers' Opinion on Teaching Career by Levels of Education

The relationship between teachers’ age and their level of interest in the teaching job, showed

that eighty percent (80%) of those under nineteen years, forty-two percent (42%) of those

aged forty-six and above, thirty-one percent (31%) of those aged between twenty to thirty

five years and twenty-nine percent (29%) of those aged thirty-six to forty-five were very

interested in their career. This implied that younger teachers were more motivated with the

teaching career because they were proud of a new and challenging job. Similarly, those aged

46 and above had become old and started realizing that they had less opportunity to find a

new job and less ability to undertake challenges in the new career. The lowest percentage

was represented those in the mid-life and mid-career.

6.2 Student behaviors/dynamics

Student behaviors/dynamic at the school can have a major impact on the feelings and

motivations of teachers. Interviewed teachers in a school in Kampong Trach reported that

many of their students were members of a gang. The teachers in this district were reluctant

to enforce disciplining and making educational demands on these students because they

were afraid of the gang. This has had a significant negative impact on teachers motivation in

this case.

Respondents were asked to rate the intensity impact of six given characteristics of the

students in their classes on their motivation. The table below provides responses from

respondents.

Table 12: Impact of Student Behaviors/Dynamic on Teacher Feelings

Student behaviors/

characteristics # of Respondents

Positive characteristics

Greatest

Positive impact

2nd Greatest

Positive Impact

Third Positive

impact

Majority of students study hard 158 89 48

Majority are well behaved 72 152 81

Majority are intelligent 67 49 60

Negative characteristics Greatest 2nd Greatest Third Negative

55

Negative impact Negative Impact impact

Majority are lazy 58 63 61

Majority are slow learner 20 26 35

Majority are member of gang 4 1 12

Some teachers complained that the school was always pushing and put pressure on teachers

to work hard and respect discipline in order to improve the quality of education, but ignore

student factors e.g. schools have never put pressure to students to come to class regularly

and respect school’s discipline. So, it is very hard for individual teachers to strengthen student

performances and also negatively affect the feeling of teachers.

6.3 Quality of education

In this context, the description of the quality of education revolved around the attributes the

respondent had about the condition of schooling, teaching and learning given to the children.

Responses were given according to individual opinion and ranking. The figure below shows

the ranking of the quality of education by the teachers.

Figure 28: Quality of Education

Thirty-six percent (36%) of the respondents said that the quality of education had no impact

on teacher motivation. Thirty-three percent (33%) indicated that it had some impact while

thirty-one percent (31%) said that it had a strong impact. Through in-depth interviews with a

few respondents it emerged that promoting poor performing students to the next grade level

created difficulties for teachers that wanted to foster quality of education and slowed the

teaching process in the next grade leading to classes falling behind schedule.

56

Figure 29: The Overall Impact of Quality of Education

However, among teachers who reported that quality of education was poor, the trend was

clearly shown that it has a strong negative impact on their motivation. Sixty-eight percent

(68%) mentioned that it has strong negative impact on their motivation and twenty-nice

percent (29%) asserted that it has some negative impact on their motivation. It was not a

surprise that only three percent (3%) asserted that poor quality of education has no negative

impact on their motivations.

Figure 30: The Impact of Quality of Education

6.4 Teaching Motivation

Respondents stated that a revision of the current incentives they have would have a positive

impact on their motivation. The PoE and DoE also concurred that revisions of the incentive

system could impact on teacher motivation. Respondents expressed the view that their

motivation peaked after announcements of the new policy. For example teachers were very

motivated after the annual salary increase was announced, however the off-setting of the

salary increase against inflation or the failure to implement reforms more, generally led to

demotivation.

Almost all respondents thought that the salary of primary teachers was very low compared to

their teaching workload. Some of them understood the difficulties of the government in

managing the budget for teachers. However, the view was expressed that MoEYS will find a

way to increase the salary of teachers in proportion with inflation.

57

When asked about suggestions to improve their motivations, most of them made a

suggestion on increasing salary to them. The table below represents the suggestions from

teachers in order to improve their motivation.

Table 13: Suggestions from Respondents

Suggestions

# of Responses Percent (%)

Increase basic salary to USD100 per month 262 68%

Offer more training course 50 13%

Offer salary increases indexed linked with the cost of

living

26 7%

Suggest parents to encourage children to learn 21 5%

Provide incenUve for good work 20 6%

NGO to build school (not flood) and nice play ground 8 2%

Provide more teaching and learning material 6 2%

6.5 De-motivated factors

Despite the numerous factors motivating teachers, some factors demotivate teachers. The

primary negative factors stated by respondents were low salary, salary deduction and delay,

poor management from supervisor/director and limited capacity development.

6.5.1 Low salary

The salary of primary teachers in Cambodia is very low when compared with that of teachers

in the region who taught the same grade or level. Communities in Sroeng Primary School have

observed that low salary affected the feeling of the primary teachers in their commune.

Interviewed teachers reported that their salaries did not keep up with the price of goods at

the market and inflation. The table below shows the comparison of salary of primary teachers

in the region.

Table 14: Basic Salary of Primary Teachers in Region

Primary Teacher Basic Salary & GDP 201032

Countries Cambodia Laos Vietnam Thailand Malaysia Indonesia Philippines

Annual

Salary33

USD660 USD468-

USD540

USD1,404 USD5,820 USD7,944 USD2,851 USD3,696

GDP per

capita34

USD795 USD1,177 USD1,224 USD4,608 USD8,373 USD2,946 USD2,140

32 World Development Indicator Database, World Bank Accessed on December 21

st, 2011.

33 Figures are average teacher salaries based on available data for 2010.

58

Payment Method

NEP’s 2008 research study on Teaching Matters indicated that ‘leakage’ from the payment

and disbursement system for teachers’ salaries was a major factor causing teachers to lose up

to two percent of their salary through both official and unofficial deductions. Regrettably, this

research did not trace the amount of salary leakage. In order to further examine this area

teachers were asked to identify the method by which they currently receive their salary and

their preferred method of salary disbursement.

Sixty-eight percent (68%) of respondents travel to the PoE or DoE to collect their salary, for

twenty-eight percent (28%) their school director or a colleague collects their salary and only

one percent (1%) receives their salary direct to their bank account. This is contrast with how

respondents would like to receive their salaries with over thirty-six percent (36%) of

respondents stating they would prefer direct payment to their bank accounts; thirty percent

willing to collect it from the PoE or DoE and just under thirty percent prefer to have the

school director or colleague collect it. This shows a preference from teachers who have bank

accounts and the use of bank transfers that is in-line with the strategy that MoEYS is going to

pilot for a future salary payment method. This would reduce costs incurred for teachers and

MoEYS, strengthen the disbursement system and thus reducing leakage. In addition, teachers

could receive their salary at their free time without it affecting their teaching hours.

Impact of Payment Method:

The link between reform in salary disbursement and teachers motivation is confirmed by the

response of teachers when asked if changes to their preferred payment method would

impact on their motivation, fifty-six percent strongly agreed and forty-two percent agreed

that it would be a positive impact on their motivation.

Salary Deductions

Salary deductions occurred in almost all surveyed schools though the type of deduction

varied greatly. The majority of respondents were aware that deductions were made from

their salary but for some, reasons for the deduction were unclear. Seventy respondents

stated that it was reasonable to make deduction from their salary for example, when DoE or

school directors travelled to get the salary for teachers in that district. In this case it was

generally accepted that those teachers should contribute some money for the travel costs of

director or colleague.

Unsurprisingly, the majority of respondents expressed dissatisfaction when they felt their

salary was deducted unreasonably. Unreasonable salary deductions had a negative impact on

the feeling of a large number of respondents. Thirty-seven percent (37%) of respondents

expressed that they either strongly agreed or agreed that the deduction had a negative

impact on their motivation. The table below shows the views of teachers related to salary

deduction.

34

GDP is in terms of Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) for the most recent year for each country accessed at the World

Development Indicator Database, World Bank Accessed on December 21st

, 2011

59

Figure 31: Extent of Salary Deduction

Impact of Salary Deductions

The issue of deductions was difficult to explore as many respondents who had been affected

did not have enough information about the deductions. Some respondents have expressed a

concern about the deductions and tried to minimize it through following means: go to DoE

and check their salary entitlements and ask the cashier if they received less than the figure

which appeared in the salary list. In doing this respondents faced some challenges such as

waiting for a long time, the office was busy and lacking the confidence to check with cashier

as they were worried it would damage their relationship with cashier. Fifty-eight percent

(58%) of respondents indicated that there are regular deductions from their salary and fifty-

nine percent (59%) of respondents stated that these deductions are a major negative impact

on their motivation. For those that felt it was not a negative impact there were two main

reasons provided by respondents, they felt it was legitimate to contribute to the cost of

person who collected their salary or to contribute to Khmer Teacher Association or to

contribute to the Red Cross as charity.

Figure 32: Impact of Salary Deduction

Salary Delays

Salary delay remains a challenging issue for MoEYS. Only eleven percent (11%) of respondents

stated that they received their salary on time, meaning that they receive it at the end of the

month. Nearly half of all respondents stated that usually they receive their salary during the

first week of the following month, meaning that their salaries were one week delayed.

Twenty-six percent (26%) stated that their receive salary during the second week of the

following month, meaning a two-week delay and four percent (4%) stated that they receive

60

their salary by the third week, meaning a three week delay. Seventy-two percent (72%) of

teachers indicated that the irregularity and late payment of the salary is a major negative

impact on their motivation and acts as a disincentive. The longest salary delay frequently

happened in January due to the busy time of finance people in closing last year’s budgets; the

New Year’s budget preparation and the longer process of the request and approval. Some

years, teachers received their January salary toward the end of February.

Figure 33: Duration of Salary Delay

Kampot had the least delay with twenty-one percent (21%) of respondents usually receiving

their salary on time. While in Kampong Cham less than one percent (1%) of respondents

received their salary on time and 14 (10%) of respondents in Siem Reap and 7 (10%) of

respondents in Rattanakiri reported receiving their salary on time. It was indicted through

focus groups that the reason of this timely delivery in Kampot might be due to the efficient

process of salary requesting document and the close relationship between Department of

Education and the Department of Economic and Finance in that province. Respondents in

Rattanakiri had the longest salary delay. Forty-three percent (43%) of the respondents in this

province reported of getting paid during the second week of following month while thirty

percent (30%) reported getting paid during the third week or later. The main reasons for such

a long delay were due to the unique and remote nature of the province combined with their

slow communication and process of submission. The PoE in Rattanakiri observed that salaries

were usually delayed for one week and there were two main reasons as follows: 1) new

reforms every 3 months and delay in salary especially for new teachers, and 2) slow process

of submission, reviewing and approval document.

PoE and DoE respondents were also stated that they were aware of salary delays. Some were

unclear or hesitated, to comment on the reasons for the delay. Some DoE respondents

mentioned that it related to the long process of salary request, approval and disbursement.

DoE and teachers respondents both stated that usually when their salaries were delayed

teachers will complain and expressed their feeling and eventually will not to be in class on

time. As a result, their salaries were received faster the following month.

Impact of Salary Delay

Seventy-two percent (72%) of respondents who experienced delay in receipt of salary stated

it has a significant impact on their motivation. The majority of respondents had low salary on

which to support their families and this problem was compacted by the delay in receipt of

salaries. In contrast twenty-two percent (22%) asserted that the delays had no impact on

61

their motivation or commitment. Six percent (6%) of respondents expressed a positive effect

of the salary delay as it ensured they minimized their expenditures.

Figure 34: The Effects of Salary Delay on teachers' Motivation

6.5.2 Poor Management from Supervisor/Director

In Cambodia the hierarchical nature which is common practice in public institutions has a

negative impact on individual initiative. This also occurs in schools when teachers are not

encouraged to engage or give advice to school directors or those in authority. In general

respondents felt afraid to react or criticize their manager as they were afraid of losing benefit

and coming under pressure.

Respondents were hesitant to discuss their disappointment with the management that they

worked under. Few respondents expressed their depression of seeing the nepotism and

corruption in their school. Some of them mentioned that due to the cronyism of management

only certain teachers have the chance to attend good training courses (high paid and

interesting topic) and teach good class such as class A. Also, some schools were lacked text

books, while many copies were sold at market even though they are stamped “Not for sale”.

6.5.3 Limited CPD

As described under the section of non-monetary incentive, fifteen percent (15%) of interview

teachers have never attended any CPD training. This reflects a lack of sufficient CPD received

by teachers. CPD is crucial for teachers in order to ensure the transfer of new skills which

improve the teaching and learning outcomes of students. During interviews some

respondents stated that they could not follow the curriculum and methodology as they were

frequently changed from the central level. While access to CPD remains limited, the capacity

of teachers to implement the curriculum and use modern teaching method is also limited.

62

VII. Conclusions & Recommendations

7.1 Conclusion

Monetary and non-monetary incentives play a crucial role in teacher motivation. While

monetary is important to teachers’ livelihood, non-monetary also plays an important role in

building teacher capacity, morale and spirit. For monetary incentive, the trend stood out very

clearly that the higher the value (money) of the incentive, the higher the number of teachers

who claimed that it impacted greatly on their motivation. Whereas for non-monetary

incentives, the prospects of receiving a pension and the feeling of commitment to build

society were the main factors motivating teachers to perform their job.

The majority of teachers, eighty-four percent (84%), are committed and motivated to pursue

their teaching roles. However, a low salary for teachers accumulated with unfavorable

conditions such as salary delay and deduction, limited CPD and little future prospect of career

development can be demotivating factors.

Overall, the majority of teachers were satisfied with the ranges of incentives they received.

However, most of them reflected that their salary was very low compared to the rate of

inflation and the cost of living. The majority of respondents suggested a living monthly salary

at a minimum rate of 400,000 Khmer Riels, equal to US100 Dollars.

Teachers expressed concerns regarding salary deductions with Fifty-nine percent (59%) of

those receiving deductions advising that they were a major demotivating factor and such

deductions are not officially regulated and can thus cause a lack of truth in the system. In this

regards, MoEYS should find alternative methods of salary disbursement to teachers without

any salary or charges being levied. This could include the piloting of a centralised salary

payment scheme using bank account for salary transfer. Ninety-eight percent (98%) of

teachers said that receiving their salary by their preferred method would positively impact

upon their motivation.

Given the restricted funding that is available for further increases in teacher salary in the

short-term, the use of non-monetary incentives should be focused on as it has been shown to

have a significant impact on teacher motivation for the limited additional investment

involved.

7.2 Recommendations

Based on our study and main findings, some recommendations are posed to improve teacher

motivations and their working conditions as followings:

63

Monetary incentive:

1. Increasing the salary was the monetary incentive which would have the greatest impact on

teacher motivation. The majority of respondents stated that they would be more focused and

motivated if their basic salary was increased to 400,000 Riels (USD100) per month which

helps them to meet the high cost of living caused by increasing inflation.

2. The Government of Cambodia should continue to increase salaries for teachers, while

ensuring it is above the rate of inflation to improve motivation among teachers.

3. Provision of awareness and information campaign that will inform teachers of all their

entitlements in accordance with official MoEYS policy.

4. While MoEYS is trying to pilot transferring salary to teachers through the banking system,

MoEYS, development partners and other relevant ministries should speed up this process to

minimize the informal deduction.

Non-Monetary incentives:

1. Schools should encourage parents and the wider community to be more engaged with

teachers especially novice teachers in the rural and remote areas to make sure that teachers

do not feel alone, but feel supported.

2. MoEYS, PoE and DoE should ensure a better provision and distribution of teaching and

learning materials. If the curriculum is changed new materials should be provided.

3. MoEYS, PoE and DoE should ensure an increased access to CPD for teachers especially if

the curriculum is changed or new policies or methodologies introduced.

School Governance:

1. All schools should establish parent–teacher and school–community groups to build links

between schools and communities and ensure that teachers are supported by the community

especially in remote placements.

2. Continue to build capacity of school directors emphasising community engagement in

school governance and Program Based budget (PB) management, especially for newly

promoted school directors.

3. PoE, DoE and School Directors should ensure that teachers are engaged in the decision

making process especially under the decenteralisiation and deconcentration process that is

underway.

64

Annex A: Research Methods

Scope & Sample Selection

The research was undertaken in four provinces namely Kampot, Siem Reap, Rattanakiri and

Kampong Cham that represent different geographical areas in Cambodia. Kampot: is a coastal

province in the south, with fishing and rice as the main source of income, although there has

been recent growth in tourism. Siem Reap: is a predominantly agricultural province in the

north-west, which has seen significant tourism growth due to Angkor Wat but still remains

one of the poorer provinces. Ratanakiri: is a remote province in the north-east that is reliant

on natural resources such as forestry, cashew nuts and fishing and has minority ethnic

population. Kampong Cham: is the largest province in terms of population, it has a large

urban center and extensive rural areas. It is the center for rubber production, agriculture and

has growing tourism sector.

The theoretical scope was limited on two modes of incentives that are currently the focus of

MoEYS policy with a view to assessing the impact of reforms on each type of incentive as it

relates to teachers motivation. Respondents included primary teachers, primary school

directors, District Office of Education (DoE) staff, Provincial Office of Education (PoE) staff and

school communities (parents) in the selected provinces.

Twenty-five percent of the total number of districts and schools with a balance between

urban and rural areas in the selected provinces were selected for the study. A total of three

hundred and two (302) teachers were selected through random sampling from the list of

teachers in each selected school, in which four (4) teachers were chosen from each of the

urban schools, and three (3) teachers were chosen from each of the rural schools. In addition,

eighty four (84) schools directors were automatically chosen from selected schools and

interviewed to get their perspectives on the impact of incentives on teachers’ motivation. In

situations where the school director was busy on the interview date, the deputy director was

selected to represent the views of school director. Therefore, in this study schools directors

were counted as a unit of analysis and added to the numbers of teachers bringing the total

sample size to three hundred and eighty-six (386).

According to the Slovin’s formula, the selected sample size of teachers in this study will

generate a level of confidence in the research results of ninety five percent (95%) of the total

population of the study areas. The results of this study represent the views of the interviewed

teachers in the selected districts only and are not an attempt to represent the views of the

entire primary teacher population. The table below shows a breakdown of the number of

schools and respondent type by provinces.

65

Table 15: List of Interviewees by Provinces

Provinces PoE DoE # of

selected

schools

# of

interviewed

teachers

# of

interviewed

directors

# of focus

group

discussion

Urban Rural

Kampot 1 1 1 16 50 17 17

Siem Reap 1 1 2 30 111 24 24

Rattanakiri 1 1 2 19 51 18 18

Kampong

Cham

1 2 2 27 90 25 25

Total 4 5 7 92 302 84 84

Data Collection & Methodology

The data collection methodology involved a combination of both qualitative and quantitative

approaches consisting of focus group discussions with parents, key informant interviews with

PoE and DoE staff, and verbal administration with teachers and school directors using a

standardized questionnaire. In addition, secondary data from various sources such as

Education Management Information System (EMIS), MoEYS reports and relevant research

studies were used.

The questionnaires comprised of both closed and open-ended questions were administered

by a number of field research assistants. The questionnaires were field tested prior to actual

data collection to ensure that questions were relevant and applicable to the scope of the

research. For the focus group discussions, prepared guide questions were used by the field

research assistants who recorded feedback.

Data obtained from teachers and school directors was encoded using the Statistic Package for

Social Sciences (SPSS). The SPSS was then used to establish the numerical responses, compute

quantitative and percentage ratios.

Research Advisory Group

In effort to ensure the quality of the research NEP formed a “Research Advisory Group” that

consisted of seven (7) members, representing development partners, MoEYS, university and

NEP’s members to advise the research team. The advisory group provided feedback and

comments at all key stages of the research.

66

Annex B: Background Characteristic of Teachers

1 Characteristic of Interviewed Teachers

The study was able to interview a total of three hundred and eighty-six primary school

teachers and directors. This included one hundred and fifty-three (40%) respondents from

urban schools and two hundred and thirty-three (60%) respondents from rural schools35. One

hundred and eighty-five (48%) respondents were male and two hundred and one (52%) were

female. The overall prevalence of female respondent is slightly higher than male. But it

noteworthy that the prevalence of rural male respondent (54%) is higher than female’ (46%)

of the same area, while a higher prevent of female respondent found in urban areas.

Figure 35: Gender of Interviewees by Marital Status and Location

2. Educational Background of Respondents

Fifty-four percent (54%) of respondents had completed the required basic educational

training or held suitable qualifications to be primary teachers. This reflects positively on the

progress made by MoEYS in ensuring that all teachers have the education, training and

qualifications to perform their duties in professional manner.

Figure 36: Educational Background of Respondents

35

Urban schools refer to the schools located in the city or urban district. While rural schools refer to the schools

located in the rural districts

67

The majority of respondents had at least completed basic education grade nine and received

pedagogy training. However, sixteen percent (16%) of respondents have never received any

formal pedagogy training and may thus be lacking in professional skills to perform their job.

The highest prevalence twenty-two percent (22%) of respondents with no formal pedagogy

training was found in the rural schools of Kampong Cham, followed by Rattanakiri with just

under twenty percent (20%). Just over ten percent (10%) of respondents in Siem Reap had no

formal pedagogy training.

Twenty-three percent (23%) of teachers have completed grade 12 plus 2 years of

pedagogically training provided through the PTTC’s and RTTC’s. The 12 plus 2 model is the

standard model which the Cambodia government is seeking to reach in terms of teacher

training obtained by teachers. Currently, however less than one in four (<25%) teachers

surveyed have completed this model, seventeen percent (17%) have completed grade 8 plus

1 year of pedagogy training and sixteen percent (16%) have completed grade 9 plus 2 years of

pedagogy training. This highlights the ongoing success of MoEYS in bringing about increased

access to teacher training but also indicates that further investments are required to achieve

the national standardized model.

In terms of regional breakdown there is a significant difference between Kampot and the

other provinces with over forty-four percent (44%) of teachers in Kampot having completed

grade 12 plus 2. This is considerably higher than the eighteen percent (18%) in Kampong

Cham, the thirty percent (30%) in Siem Reap and nine percent (9%) in Rattankiri. All teachers

interviewed in Kampot had received pedagogy training making Kampot the highest

performing province with regards provision of pedagogical training. The variation between

provision and access to teacher qualification and training in different regions may be leading

to fragmentation in the system which should be addressed.

Figure 37: Pedagogy Background of Respondents

Overall, in terms of teaching experience twenty-three percent (23%) have five years or less

experience while thirty-five percent (35%) having more than twenty years’ experience. This

68

imbalance in experience of the teaching profession highlights the need to continue to recruit

new teachers and train current teachers in order to meet the projected retirement rates

among experienced teachers. This is an opportunity to increase the education and skills of

new teachers, bringing about greater improvements.

Figure 38: Number of Year Serving as teacher

3. Age of Respondents

Over forty-four percent (44%) of those surveyed were aged between 20-35 years old, thirty

percent (30%) were aged between 35-45 years old with only twenty three percent (23%)

being aged over 45 years old. This demographic spread is not surprising considering the toll

taken on the education sector human resources during the Khmer Rouge reign. This has led

to a situation where the largest age cohort of teachers is those under the age of 35 and this

provides many challenges and opportunities for development and reform of the education

system in the future.

Figure 39: Age of Respondents

69

4. Sex of Respondents

In terms of sex, there is slight difference between the rate at which males and females

participated in the survey in proportion to their status within the education sector. Almost

sixty percent (60%) of all MoEYS personnel are male however in terms of the research the

response rate was forty-eight percent (48%) male and fifty-two percent (52%) female. This

difference is attributable to two factors:

• In recent years more females than males have entered primary teaching while males

have continued to form the majority of secondary school teachers.

• Female education personnel are more likely to be class-room teachers, while

managerial and non-teaching roles are dominate by males.

Thus in terms of the primary school class-room, female teachers make up a larger share of the

personnel than then they do of the entire human resources of MoEYS.

70

Annex C: Questionnaire for Interview Teachers/School Directors

Name of Interviewer:_____________________ Date of Interview:

_________________

Introduction:

My name is____________________I am carrying out research as part of NEP’s study on

“Impact of incentives on Teacher Motivation”. I am meeting you today to explore with you

some information on your perspective regarding to your experiences in teaching and your

point of view on education issues as well as your job motivation. Therefore, I'm asking for

some of your time (about one or one and a half hours), to discuss on this matter. I would like

to assure you that you will not face any risk or problems from participation in this research

and all information you provide us will be treated as strictly confidential. If we wish to use any

identifiable information provided by you, we will first get your written permission.

Instruction: [Note to interviewer: Tick only one answer per question, exceptions will be

indicated]

1.01 Interviewee code:__________________________(leave it blank. NEP will fill in later)

1.02 Province:

1) Kg Cham 2) Kampot 3) Siem Reap 4) Ratanikiri

1.03 Name of District:

1) Kampong Cham 2) Soung 3) Bateay 4) Stung Trang

5) Kampot 6) Kampong Trach 7) Siem Reap town 8) BateaySrei

9) Prasat Bakong 10) Ban Lung 11) Borkeo 12) Lumphat

1.04 Type of District: 1) Urban 2) Rural

1.05 Name of School: _________________________________

I. Background Information

1.06 Age:

1) ≤ 19 Adolescence 2) 20-35 Early adulthood

3) 36-45 Middle adulthood 4) ≥46 Late adulthood

1.07 Sex: 1) Male 2) Female

1.08 Marital status: 1) Single 2) Married 3) Widow/widower

1.09 How many children do you have?_________________________________________

1.10 How many children are financially dependent on you? ________________________

71

1.11 What are your other job/income source beside teaching in school (yourself, not your

spouse)? (select all that apply)

1) Motodub 2) Teaching at private school

3) Teach extra class 4) Part time job with company

5) Sell food at school 6) Seller (petty trade goods)

7) Farmer 8) No other job

9) Other (specify)________________________________________

1.12 Are you financially independent?

1)- Yes I am financially independent

2)- No, I’m dependent on my parents/family

3)- Others (please specify) _________________________________

1.13 What is your estimated total monthly household income?

1)- Less than 400,000 Riels 2)- 400,000 -600,000Riels

3)- 600,100-800,000 Riels 4)- 800,100-1,000,000 Riels

5)- 1,000,100-1,200,000 Riels 6)- 1,200,100-2,000,000 Riels

7)- Over 2,000,000 Riels 8)- Other (Specify) _______________________

II. Educational Background

1.14 What is your educational background?

1)-Finished primary school 2)- Finished Lower secondary school

3)-Finished Upper secondary school 4)- Finished University

5)-Masters 6)-Others (please specify)____________

1.15 Pedagogy course you have attended?(select all that apply)

1)- 7+1 2)-7+3

3)- 9+1 4)- 9+2

5)- 12 +1 6)-12+2

7)-Bachelor +1 8)-Others (specify)______________________________

III. Teaching experiences

1.16 How long have you been teaching?

1) ≤5years 2) 6-10years 3) 11-15years

4) 16-20years 5) 21-25years 6) ≥26years

(question 1.17 for school director only)

1.17 In addition to you management work, did you teach in school year 2010-2011?

1) Yes 2) No

(if No, jump to question 1.24)

1.18 Do you teach single grade or multi-grade classes?

1) Single Grade 2) Multi-grade

1.19 What grade(s) are you teaching this year? (select all that apply)

1) Grade 1 2) Grade 2 3) Grade 3

4) Grade 4 5) Grade 5 6) Grade 6

72

1.20 What is your regular teaching shift?

1) Morning 2) Afternoon

3) Double shift 4) Rotate between morning and afternoon

5) Others (Specify)________________________________________

1.21 In practice, how many days do you teach per week?

1) 3 days 2) 4 days

3) 5 days 4) 6 days

5) Others (Specify) ________________________________________

1.22 In practice, how many hours do you teach per day?

1) ≤ 1h 2) 2-3 1/2h 3) 4-5 1/2h

4) 6-7 1/2h 5) 8-9 1/2h 6) >9h

1.23 How many students are there in your class in school year 2010/2011?

1) ≤ 15 2)16-25 3) 26-35

4) 36-45 5) 46-55 6) ≥56

IV Teaching Motivation

1.24 What factors motivated you to become a teacher?(select all that apply)

1) No other choice 2) Interested in education (calling)

3) Want to help students 4) Job security

5) Salary 6) Other benefits

7) Contribute to society 8) Family influence

9) Others (Specify)________________________________________

1.25 How do you feel about your teaching career now?

1) I am very motivated (and feel the incentives reflect the value of my work)

2) I am fairly motivated (and feel the incentives are satisfactory)

3) I am less motivated than when I started (the incentives are not enough)

4) I am not motivated (the incentives do not support me to teach)

1.26 Why do you feel like that?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

1.27 If you can find other job nearby with a higher pay, would you take it?

1) Yes 2) No

1.28 Why or why not?

_________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

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V Monetary Incentives:

1.29 What monetary incentives do you receive from government/MoEYS? (select all that

apply)

1) Monthly Basic Salary

2) Health Care Allowance

3) Spouse Allowance

4) Children Allowance

5) Accommodation Allowance

6) Pedagogy/Teaching Allowance

7) Other (Specify) _________________________________

1.30 Of the monetary incentives you receive please indicate and rate which are the impact

on you? (Select all that apply). 1=greatest impact 6= least impact

1)___ Monthly Basic Salary

2)___ Health Care Allowance

3)___ Spouse Allowance

4)___ Children Allowance

5)___ Accommodation Allowance

6)___ Pedagogy/Teaching Allowance

7)___ Other (Specify) _________________________________

1.31 Please indicate the value if you know of the monetary incentives you receive? (select

all that apply)

Monthly Basic Salary: ___________________

Health Care Allowance: ______________________

Spouse Allowance: _________________

Children Allowance: ________________

Accommodation Allowance: _______________

Pedagogy/Teaching Allowance: ______________

Other (Specify)__________________

1.32 Have you received the 20% increase in your monthly basic salary due each year since

2008?

1) Yes 2) No

(If no, skip to question 1.35)

1.33 The 20% salary increase, has improved your motivation for teaching

1) Strongly agree

2) Agree

3) Disagree

4) Strongly Disagree

1.34 Does this 20% increase make any difference to your teaching? (select all that apply)

1) I spend more time teaching or preparing for class

2) I spend less time working in my second job

3) I spend the same amount of time teaching or preparing for class as before

4) Other (Specify) __________________________

74

1.35 Do you think the monetary incentives you receive are fair for the work you do?

1) Yes 2) No

1.36 Why?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

1.37 What other monetary incentives do you feel you should receive?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

1.38 How much do you feel you should receive for the basic salary?

1) ≤ 200,000 Riels (50$) 2) 20,4000- 240,000 Riels (51-60$)

3) 244,000-280,000 Riels (61-70 $) 4) 284,000-320,000 Riels (71-80$)

5) 324,000-36,000 Riels (81-90$) 6) 364,000-400,000 Riels (91-100$)

7) > 400,000 Riels (100$) 8) Others (please specify) __________________

1.39 If you received an increase in your basic salary (see above), what changes would it

make to your teaching work? (select all that apply)

1) No change I would still need to earn more money

2) I would spend more time preparing lessons

3) I would not be absent as much

4) I would not take money from other sources in the school (eg. sell handout paper)

5) I would be a better teacher (attend meetings, give more attention to children)

6) I would be more motivated (work harder)

7) I would only work as a teacher (not do other job)

8) Others (please specify) ____________________________________

1.40 Usually, when did you receive your salary?

1) At the end of the month

2) At the first week of the following month

3) At the second week of the following month

4) At the 3rd week of the following month

5) After one month or more

60 Other (specify) ____________________________________________

(if they receive salary on time, please skip to question 1.44)

1.41 If there were some delay, what do you think caused this delay?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

________________________

75

1.42 What impact if any, does this delay have on your motivation?

1) Negative Effect

2) No Effect

3) Positive Effect

1.43 Explain your reason above:

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

1.44 Usually, how do you receive your basic salary and allowance?

1) I collect it from PoE/DoE

2) My colleague collects it from the PoE/DoE

3) Director collects it from PoE/DoE

4) I receive it into my bank account

5) Others (Specify)__________________________________

1.45 How would you like to receive your basic salary and allowances?

1) I collect it from PoE/DoE

2) My colleague collects it from PoE/DoE

3) Director collects it from PoE/DoE

4) I receive it into my bank account

5) Others (Specify)_____________________________________

1.46 If you received your salary in method you indicated, would this improve your

motivation?

1) Strongly agree

2) Agree

3) Disagree

4) Strongly Disagree

1.47 Do you receive your full basic salary? (Did you get pay as stated in the salary rate?)

1) Yes 2) No

(If yes, please skip to question 1.50)

1.48 If no, why? (please explain)

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

1.49 If no in 1.47, do salary deductions have a negative impact on your motivation to

teach?

1) Strongly agree

2) Agree

3) Disagree

4) Strongly Disagree

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1.50 In future teacher policy development which of the following would you have a

preference for?

1) Teachers should be paid based on their Education/Qualification level only

2) Teachers should be paid based on the grade or level they teach only

3) Teachers should be paid based on their experience only

4) Teachers should be paid on combination of all the above

1.51 Do you receive any monetary incentives from the community/NGOs?

1) Yes 2) No

(If no, please skip to question 1.54)

1.52 If yes, what are those monetary incentives? And how much?

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________

1.53 These incentives have positive impact on your motivation to teach?

1) Strongly agree

2) Agree

3) Disagree

4) Strongly Disagree

VI. Non-Monetary Incentives:

1.54 What are the incentives that MoEYS provides to you? (select all that apply)

1) Accommodation

2) Food support

3) Medical Care

4) Pension

5) Other (specify)-------------------------------------

1.55 Apart from the salary, what other things motivates you to teach? (select all that apply)

(please rate only the top three, 1 has the greatest impact, 2 medium impact, 3 less

impact)

1)___ On job training

2)___Attending workshops

3)___ Enjoying company of friends doing the same job

4)___Being involved in the planning and decision-making of the school

5)___Assignment of more enjoyable job duties

6)___Contribute to development of country

7)___Pride of been a teacher

8)___Compassionate

9)___Lack of capacity to do other jobs

10)___Been appreciated by the public

11)___Receiving many days off

12)___Awards presented (certificates, tokens, plaques)

13)___ Receiving positive comments from line-manager

14)___ Other (specify)-------------------------------------

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Training /In-service training

1.56 Have you ever received capacity development?

1) Yes 2) No

(if No, skip to question 1.63)

1.57 What topics of capacity development have you participated and received? (select all

that apply)

1)___School management and leadership

2)___Child Friendly School Program (CFS)

3)___Development of Teaching Aids

4)___Inclusive Education

5)___Gender Awareness

6)___Curriculum development

7)___Community Participation (School Support Committees)

8)___Others(Specify)_____________________

1.58 What institution supported/provided the training/in-service? (select all that apply)

1) MoEYS

2) Donors/development partners

3) NGOs

4) Others (please specify)----------------------------

1.59 How often do you receive training/in-service?

1) Once in 2-5 years

2) Once a year

3) Two times per year

4) Three times per year

5) Four times per year

6) More than four times per year

1.60 Is training/in-service enough for you to fulfill your teaching duties to high

standard/motivation?

1) Yes 2) No

1.61 If no, why?

1) I need more up-to-date information on teaching method

2) Only senior staff that have chance to attend training

3) My capacity to teach student is still limited

4) Others (please specify) ___________________

1.62 What other training course /in-service would you like to receive?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

78

VII. School Governance/Community Participation:

A School Governance (for school director, please skip to question1.67)

1.63 How do you rate the staff management in your school?

1) Very good 2) Good 3) Poor 4) Very poor

1.64 What do you think about financial management in your school?

1) Transparent 2) Not transparent

1.65 Why?__________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

1.66 What do you think about leadership (initiative) in your school?

1) Very good 2) Good 3) Fair 4) Poor 5) Very poor

1.67 What do you think about decision making in your school?

1) Centralize (only the director or PoE/DoE)

2) Decentralize (staff, community and school support committee)

(For teacher, please skip question 1.68)

1.68 What do you think about motivation of teachers in your school?

1) Very strong motivation

2) Strong motivation

3) Less motivation

4) Not motivate at all

B Community Contribution

1.69 What support have you received from the community? (select all that apply)

1) Provision of accommodation

2) Fees of extra class provided to their children

3) Food

4) Others (Specify) _______________________________

1.70 What is the attitude of community toward teacher? (select all that apply)

1) Respect teacher

2) Look down teacher

3) Very friendly to teacher

4) Ignoring and not giving important being a teacher

5) Others (Specify)____________________________________

1.71 What supports do you receive from the student councils that encourages doing your

work? (select all that apply)

1) They teach slow learner

2) They prepare classroom

3) They clean school playground

4) No any help

5) Other (Specify)_______________________________________

79

1.72 Do you receive any support from private companies /NGOs working in this area that

encourages doing your work?

1) Yes 2) No

(If no, please skip to question 1.75)

1.73 If yes, what form of support?

Additional pay to my salary:_______________ $_____

Transportation fees:______________________$_____

Overtime fees:_________________________ $_____

Other (Specify) :______________________________

1.74 Do these supports motivate you?

1) Strongly agree 2) Agree 3) Disagree 4)Strongly Disagree

VIII. Teacher Satisfaction

1.75 How do you feel about teaching career as a profession?

1)Very interesting

2) Interesting

3) Somewhat interesting

4) Ordinary

5) Boring

1.76 What is your rating about community support to teacher?

1) Excellent 2) Very good 3) Good 4) Fair 5) Poor

1.77 Please rate the following statements about your students as they impact on your

motivation? (please rate only the top three, 1 = greatest impact, 2= impact, 3= less

impact and bottom three,

-1= greatest negative impact, -2= negative impact, -3=less negative impact)

1) ____Majority are intelligent

2) ____Majority are lazy

3) ____Majority are well behaved

4) ____Majority are members of gang

5) ____Majority are slow learner

6) ____Majority study hard

7) ____Others (Specify) _____________________________

1.78 What is your rating about current quality of education?

1) Excellent 2) Good 3) Fair 4) Poor 5)Very Poor

1.79 How would you rate this impact of the above on your motivation?

1) Strongly impact 2) Some Impact 3)No Impact

1.80 Do you have some recommendations in order to improve teacher motivation and

satisfaction?

______________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

80

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