Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivation and job satisfaction of intermediate phase teachers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, which prompted the temporary closure of schools, served as the impetus for the study. Although there was no teacher training programme in place to enable proper implementation of the curriculum across the numerous online platforms that were adopted, teachers were immediately obligated to adapt their instructional practices to cope with the exigent circumstances. This led to disruptions of the entire educational system. As a result, the pandemic negatively impacted the functioning and intended outcomes of the teaching and learning. These experiences were certainly anticipated to bear an impact on the teachers’ motivation and level of job satisfaction; subsequently it was necessary to investigate this phenomenon. Herzberg’s Two-Factor motivation theory was adopted to underpin this study. The study adopted an interpretivist paradigm and a phenomenological research design. A non-probability sampling method, specifically, quota sampling was employed in the study. Two focus group interviews were conducted. The first group had five participants and was held as a contact meeting, whereas the second one comprised eight participants, conducted through Microsoft Teams Meeting. The same semi-structured interview questions were utilised to elicit responses from both groups. Data analysis was done through the themes that emerged from the participants’ responses. Results of the study revealed that the teachers were motivated to do their work tasks, however experienced displeasure with their jobs for the reasons previously articulated, thus adaptations in teacher practices. Based on the findings of the study, a model called Enhancing Teachers' Job Satisfaction using Technology (ETJST) was developed. This model might be utilised by the teachers to help lessen job dissatisfaction in the event of a pandemic.

Keywords:

COVID-19, instructional strategies, intermediate phase, job satisfaction, motivation, pandemic.