Teachers’ expectations of performance in teaching and their achievement experiences: the Tanzanian context
Keywords:
achievement experiences, performance in teaching, secondary schools, teachers' expectations, TanzaniaAbstract
At the start of their careers, teachers often hold high expectations for their professional achievements, yet the realities they encounter may not always align with these initial aspirations. This study, grounded in a constructivist paradigm, investigated secondary school teachers’ career entry expectations and their subsequent achievement experiences. A case study approach was employed, utilising semi-structured interviews with secondary school teachers and unstructured interviews with educational leaders to gain insights into how teachers’ expectations are perceived and discussed in their settings. The findings reveal that good performance in teaching is a key professional expectation for teachers entering the field. While teachers initially hold high expectations for their work performance, their actual experiences range from high achievement to average, low, and even failure. The study recommends fostering corporate social responsibility in schools as a means to enhance teachers’ performance experiences and support their professional growth.
References
Aaronson, D., Barrow, l., & Sander, W. (2007). Teachers and students' achievement in the Chicago public high schools. Journal of Labour Economics, 25(1), 95-135.
Abdu, E., & Nzilano, J. L. (2018). Effects of noise pollution on students' learning in the selected urban public secondary in Dar es Salaam City, Tanzania. African Research Journal of Education and Social Sciences, 5(1), 56-63
Alderman, M. K. (2004). Motivation for achievement: Possibilities for teaching and learning. Lawrence Erlbaum.
Alidou, H. (2011). Use of African languages for literacy: Conditions, factors and processes in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, Tanzania and Zambia. In A. Quane, and C. Glanz (Eds.), Optimising learning, education and publishing in Africa: The language factor- A review of theory and practice in mother-tongue and bilingual education (pp217-252). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000212602.
Alidou, H., & Brock-Utne, B. (2011). Teaching practices- teaching in a familiar language. In A. Quane, and C. Glanz (Eds.), Optimising learning, education and publishing in Africa: The language factor- A review of theory and practice in mother-tongue and bilingual education. (pp. 157-185). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000212602.
Amdur, L., & Mero-Jaffe, I. (2017). Interrelations between policy makers' intentions and school agents' interpretation of accountability policy in Israel. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 25(80). http://dx.doi.org/10.14507/epaa.25.3016.
Arhin, V. (2018). Relationship between career aspirations and study behaviours among second-year distance learners of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. African Educational Research Journal, 6(3), 173-180. http://dx.doi.org/10.30918/AERJ.63.18.043.
Aydin, O., & Ok, A. (2022). A systematic review on teacher's expectations and classroom behaviors. International Journal of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, 12(1): 247-274. https://dx.doi.org/10.31704/ijocis.2022.011.
Bano, S., Noreen, B., & Bashir, A. (2019). Teaching profession: Expectations and realities of newly inducted teachers at schools. Journal of the Research Society of Pakistan, 56(2): 257-268.
Bicaj, A., & Buza, V. (2020). Professional development experiences and expectations for early childhood teachers in Kosovo. Issues in Educational Research, 30(4), 1221-1244.
Boniface, R. (2016). Teachers' Retention in Tanzanian Remote Secondary Schools. Linnaeus University Press.
Coutet, K. (2022). International School of Accreditation: An isomorphic force against creativity in a growing competitive market. Journal of Research in International Education, 21(2): 105-122. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14752409221117252.
Dachi, H. A. (2022). The challenge of teacher supply in Tanzania: Balancing quantity with quality in teacher education and deployment. In J. L. p. Lugalla, F. J. Mtenzi& S. Andema (Eds.). Rethinking teacher education: Improvement, innovation and change, (pp 233-257). Mkuki na Nyota.
Dachi, H. (2018). Reflecting on five decades of teacher professional development in Tanzania: The missing dimensions. Papers in Education and Development, 36, 185-214.
DeLosa, L. (2016). Beginning teachers: The connection between expectations and job satisfaction (A Master's Thesis). University of New Hampshire. Retrieved from http://academicarchive.snhu.edu.
Haddad, W. D., &Demsky, T. (1995). Education policy- planning process: an applied framework. UNESCO: International Institute of Educational Planning. http://www.unesco.org/education/pdf.
Isaac, R, G., Zerbe, W. J., Pitt, E. (2001). Leadership and motivation: The effective application of expectancy theory. Journal of Management Issues, 8(2): 212-226.
Hinnant, J. B., O'Brien, M., & Ghazarian, S. R. (2009). The longitudinal relations of teacher expectations to achievement in the early school years. J Educ Psychol., 101(3): 662-670. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0014306.
Johnston, O., Wildy, H., &Shand, J. (2019). A decade of teacher expectations research 2008-2018: Historical foundations, new developments and future pathways. Australian Journal of Education, 63(1), 44-73. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004944118824420
Joseph, O. B. (2014). The effect of employees' motivation on organisational performance. Journal of Public Administration and Policy Research, 7(4), 62-75
Khattab, N. (2015). Students' aspirations, expectations and school achievement: What really matters? British Educational Research Journal, 41(5): 731-748. https://doi.org/10.1002/berji.3171
King-McKenzie, E., Bantwini, B., &Bogan, B. (2013). Supporting teachers to enhance students' success in the United States and South Africa. International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 3(15), 25-33.
Kyriacou, C., & Kun, K. (2007). Beginning teachers' expectations of teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(8), 1246-1257. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.06.002
Lawal, Y. O. (2013). Education as an instrument for effective national development: Which way Nigeria. Business & Entrepreneurship Journal, 2(2), 27-38
Lewin, C., Smith, A., Morris, S. and Craig, E. (2019). Using digital technology to improve learning: Evidence review. Education Endowment Foundation
Lymo, G. E. (2014). Analysis of teachers' low payments in Tanzania: A case study of public secondary schools in Moshi Rural District. International Journal of Education and Research, 2(2), 1-14.
Minaz, M. B. & Alkin, M. A. (2019). Evaluation of teacher trainees & rsquo: Career expectations in terms of various variables. Educational Policy Analysis and Strategic Research, 14(4), 114-136. https://doi.org/10.29329/epasr.2019.220.7.
Mkumbo, K.A.K. (2012). Teachers' commitment to, and experiences of, the teaching profession in Tanzania: findings of focus group research. International Education Studies,5(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ies.v5n3p222.
Msuya, W. O. (2016). Exploring levels of job satisfaction among teachers in public secondary schools in Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Administration and Policy Studies, 8(2), 9-16.
Nyamubi, G. J. (2017). Determinants of secondary school teachers' job satisfaction in Tanzania. Educational Research International. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/7282614.
OECD. (2018). The future of education and skills: Education 2030, the future we want. Retrieved November 5, 2019, from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2018/06/the-future-of-education-and-skills_5424dd26/54ac7020-en.pdf
Othman, S., Darus, F., &Arshad, R. (2011). The influence of coercive isomorphism on corporate social responsibility reporting and reputation. Social Responsibility Journal, 7(1), 119-135. https://doi.org/10.1108/17471111111114585.
Pesambili, J. C. (2020). Exploring the responses to and perspectives on formal education among the Maasai pastoralists in Monduli, Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Development, 78, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102267
Pesambili, J. C., & Mkumbo, K. A. K. (2018). Implications of female genital mutilation on girls’ education and psychological wellbeing in Tarime, Tanzania. Journal of Youth Studies, 21(8), 1111–1126. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676261.2018.1450969.
Pesambili, J. C., & Mkumbo, K. A. K. (2024). Beyond the surface: Unpacking the methodological and ethical challenges of researching into a sensitive female genital mutilation practice. SN Social Sciences, 4(22), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-023-00822-4.
Pesambili, J. C., & Novelli, M. (2021). Maasai students’ encounter with formal education: Their experiences with and perceptions of schooling processes in Monduli, Tanzania. International Journal of Educational Research Open, 2, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedro.2021.100044.
Rahmi, Y., & Frinaldi, A. (2020). The effect of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating condition on management of communities-based online report management in Padang Pariaman District. Advance in Social Science, Education and Humanitarian Research, 458, 478-485. http://dx.doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.200803.059.
Roszkowska-Menkes, M. & Aluchna, M. (2017). Institutional isomorphism and corporate social responsibility: Towards a conceptual model. Journal of Positive Management, 8(2), 3-16. https://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JPM.2017.007.
Suciu, L., Mortan, M., & Lazar, L. (2013). Vroom's expectancy theory, an empirical study: Civil servant's performance appraisal influencing expectancy. Transylvanian Review, 39, 180-200.
Sun, H. (2021). The influence of teacher expectation on students' achievement of different grades. Proceeding of the 2025th International Conference on Humanities and Social Sciences. Advances in Social Sciences, Education and Humanities, 615. Atlantis Press.
Tsiplakides, I., & Keramida, A. (2010). The relationship between teacher expectations and student achievement in the teaching of English as a foreign language. English Language Teaching, 3(2): 22-26. https://www.ccsenet.org/elt.
UNESCO. (2015). Teacher policy development guide. UNESCO.
Versiani, A. F., Monteiro, P. R. R., & Loureiro de Rezende, A. F. (2018). Isomorphism and variation of the school management of the Brazilian public elementary school network. Cad.EBAPE.BR, 16(3), 382-395. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1679-395165934.
Vroom, V. H. (1964). Work and motivation. Wiley.
Yudina, I. A., Neustroeva, E., Makarova, T. A., & Fedorova, A. A. (2020). Future teachers forming professional expectations in modern educational conditions. Propositos y Representaciounes, 8(3), e720. http://dx.doi.org/10.20511/pyr2020.v8nSPE2.720.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Papers in Education and Development
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
This work may be shared and adapted for non-commercial purposes, with appropriate credit given.
