STiR Education Uganda held its in-country Partner Strategy Group meeting on 18 January 2023 at Kololo Senior Secondary School with both online and offline presence. It was attended by officials from the Ministry of Education and Sports, representatives from other education NGOs, school leaders, district officials and others. The theme of this event was ‘why teacher motivation matters more than ever’.
During the session, we shared a video highlighting the impact of our Teacher Changemaker Development programme from Kayunga district in central Uganda. This was followed by a panel discussion with the following representatives:
- Mr Kyaka Alfred, Assistant Commissioner of Secondary Education, Ministry of Education and Sports
- Dr Bubale Dan, District Education Officer from Kayunga
- Mrs Diana Namazzi Kiiza, District Education Leader from Kayunga
- Ms Naigaga Sarah, Inspector of schools
- Ms Kwagala Hannah, Headteacher and acting Centre Coordinating Tutor of Kiribedda Church of Uganda Primary School
Mr Kaka said, “Intrinsic motivation enhances children’s readiness to learn and promotes peer support for teachers in schools. It also affects teachers’ behaviour in a positive light. Whatever the Ministry of Education and Sports does is aimed at ensuring that teachers carry out the desired outcomes and behaviours in the learners. This can be achieved when strategies are employed to make teachers excited and interested in their work.”
“Teachers’ behaviour can change if they are motivated. They accord the right time to the task. A motivated teacher is creative and is able to use locally available materials to ensure that the learner in their class learns. They further grow interested in the profession.” Ms Naigaga said.
For school leaders, teacher motivation has made their work easier. This is because teachers love what they are doing. “I do not need to be there for things to happen” noted Mrs Kiiza.
As we concluded the meeting, suggestions were shared for further improvement to our work over the year ahead. One of them was that intrinsic motivation starts with each individual. The need to role model intrinsic motivation across different levels of the system was also stressed. However, the participants drew attention to the need for equity in motivation strategies. Stakeholders were urged to look at motivation as stewardship.
STiR Country Director Modern Karema said: “Thank you to all guests for being part of this meeting. We take away many good memories and suggestions from our partners that will help us build the strategy for next year making our programme stronger, resulting in a deeper impact.”
