Teachers: The Human Capital Investment
“Human capital investment in the form of teachers serves as the fundamental currency from which these indicators are fixed (Seniwoliba, 2013). How teachers perform their duties within the fabric of teaching and learning is crucial to schools, as indicated by student academic performance and overall long-term development (Evans, 2011; Forrester, 2011; Knox & Anfara, 2013)”
If teachers serve as the key component in learners’ and society’s successes, what does the correct investment look like to ensure this is the consistent product?
Show Me The Money..?
Many like to point out and focus on the monetary value (or lack thereof) that is granted upon those in the education profession. There are a number of issues when that is the major focus, however. Factors beyond money greatly affect the teaching profession due to its’ multitudinous needs on a wide spectrum regarding the human condition. The “high levels of emotional work” (Chang, 2009; Hargreaves, 2000; Roeser, Skinner, Beers, & Jennings, 2012; Schutz & Zembylas, 2009; Sutton & Wheatley, 2003; Zapf et al. 2001)” (Skinner & Beers, 2016, p. 99) teaching solicits is the nature of the profession and cannot feed the soul by a higher salary.
“The positive impact of teachers who have high levels of self-efficacy go a long way in determining the efficiency of a school’s teaching and learning strategy.”
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction
Let’s start with Frederick Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory (1957), which identified components of satisfaction at work (motivation factors), and dissatisfaction at work (hygiene factors). John B. Miner simplified Herzberg’s two hypotheses regarding the motivation-hygiene theory (1957) in his 2005 book Organizational Behavior 1: Essential Theories of Motivation and Leadership by stating them as:
“1. The factors causing positive job attitudes and those causing negative attitudes are different.
2. The factors and the performance or personal effects associated with sequences of job events extending over long time periods differ from those associated with sequences of events of short duration.”
While job motivation creates the enrichment and fulfillment necessary for intrinsic motivation, job hygiene focuses on the avoidance of stress, which does not contribute to motivation.
Components of Job Motivation (Satisfaction)
an outgrowth of achievement
recognition (verbal)
the work itself (challenging)
responsibility
advancement (promotion)
Components of Job Hygiene (Dissatisfaction)
company policy and administrative practices
supervision (technical quality)
interpersonal relations (especially with supervision)
physical working conditions
job security
benefits
salary
Financial gains are in place in order to avoid stress, which is merely the hygiene that does not make up job enrichment. The avoidance of stress does not impact the inclination of motivation or satisfaction. To mildly counter and reinforce this idea that a higher salary does not bring enthusiasm, fulfillment, or motivation to the worker, we must consider Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
In order for anyone in the workforce to achieve a sense of job motivation (satisfaction), they must first have their physiological and safety needs met, which can be affected by the culture and value placed in that field of work. The societal value of teaching in America, though necessary, is not highly regarded. Whether this is due to the low pay, assumption that it is an easy profession to get into, or outsiders assuming that teachers get three months off, the high amount of expectations put upon teachers is not level with the low value it has in American culture.
If teachers are not making enough money to free them from additional jobs, financial stress, or various insecurities, how can they possibly climb toward the top of these needs?
Is the culture and value placed on the teaching profession by society a factor in stagnation when it comes to teacher motivation?
How can leaders create a culture and value within schools in order to support teachers in climbing to self-actualization and sustaining job enrichment?
Metamotivation & Mindfulness
“Self-actualizing individuals (more matured, more fully-human), by definition, already suitably gratified in their basic needs, are now motivated in other higher ways, to be called ‘metamotivations.’”
In 1967, Maslow coined the term “Metamotivation” in his A Theory of Metamotivation: The Biological Rooting of the Value-Life at Brandeis University. Metamotivation would help construct a theory behind why a person is motivated to go beyond what is expected of them and further refine their skills in their professional and personal lives. It is important to note, however, that according to Maslow, metamotivation is found in self-actualized individuals. This requires the individual to have their other basic needs met (physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem).
Is it possible to cultivate & nurture metamotivation in individuals without having their basic needs met?
The concept of metamotivation has been seen actively cultivated among numerous professionals in the education field. I do not believe, however, that all of these metamotivated individuals are having all of their basic needs met. Rather, I theorize that their mindset is the key to bypass the requirements to acquire metamotivation. This mindset can be found through mindfulness practices.
“Supporting teachers’ well-being and their social and emotional competence (SEC) to manage stress and emotion reactivity in the context of the classroom may be key to optimizing their teaching effectiveness.”
There is an overlap between what motivates teachers and what effects mindfulness practices create. These overlaps could give insight to the mindset that cultivates and nurtures motivation, self-efficacy, and resilience, regardless if the individual has achieved all five of Maslow’s basic needs.
Questions to Consider
What mindfulness and coping practices should teachers use to support stress management and self-efficacy as a means for resilience and the motivation of consistent refinement of classroom instructional strategies?
What stressors are most predominant in the teaching profession and what effect do they have on a teacher professionally?
What areas of support are provided by others (administration, colleagues, coaches) that relieve stress in the teaching profession? What areas of support are not provided by others (administration, colleagues, coaches) which in turn cause stress in the teaching profession?
What factors affect teacher motivation? (positively and negatively)
If teachers are not making enough money to free them from additional jobs, financial stress, or various insecurities, how can they possibly climb toward the top of Maslow’s basic needs?
Is the culture and value placed on the teaching profession by society a factor in stagnation when it comes to teacher motivation?
How can leaders create a culture and value within schools in order to support teachers in climbing to self-actualization and sustaining job enrichment?
References
Jerome, N. (2013). Application of the Maslow’s hierarchy of need theory; impacts and implications on organizational culture, human resource and employee’s performance. International Journal of Business and Management Invention, 2 (3), 39-45.
Maslow, A. (1943). A Theory of Human Motivation. Psychological Review, 50(4), pp.370-396.
Rickert, Nicole e Paige, "Teacher Mindfulness in the Middle School Classroom: Reliability and Validity of a New Scale" (2016).
Wildman, Richard Hugh, “A Phenomenological Study of High School Teachers' Motivation as Related to Teacher Performance Management” (2015).