Salary Disparity and Effectiveness of Teachers in Government Aided Secondary Schools of Bukanga County, Isingiro District

Abstract

The study assessed the effect of salary disparity on the effectiveness of science teachers compared to arts teachers of government aided Secondary Schools in Bukanga County, Isingiro district. Objectives of the study were; i) examine the effect of salary disparity on the effectiveness of Science teachers in government aided secondary schools of Bukanga County, Isingiro District. ii)examine the effect of salary disparity on the effectiveness of Art teachers in government aided secondary schools of Bukanga County, Isingiro District.iii) establish the difference in the effectiveness of science teachers compared to arts teachers in government aided secondary schools of Bukanga County, Isingiro District. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The study population included head teachers, deputy head teachers, directors of studies, science and arts teachers of government aided secondary schools. The appropriate sample size of this study was 126 respondents. The study adopted two sampling techniques namely purposive sampling and stratified random sampling. The study employed questionnaires, focused group discussions and documentary review. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed. Quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS where T-Test for independent samples was computed to establish if difference in the effectiveness of science and arts teachers was statistically significant. The results from field indicate no statistical significant difference in the effectiveness between science and arts teachers. The T-Test for Independent Samples reveals that when equal variances are not assumed, the results remain consistent (t (81.986) = 1.175, p = 0.244). Overall, these findings suggest that there is no statistically significant difference in the effectiveness of the science teachers compared to arts teachers, regardless of whether equal variances are assumed or not. The group statistics for teacher effectiveness ratings in science and arts subjects with science mean effectiveness rating of 3.36 and arts mean effectiveness rating is slightly higher at 3.84, with a similar standard deviation of 0.45 and standard error of 0.07. This indicates that, on average, arts teachers were rated slightly higher in effectiveness compared to their counterparts teaching science subjects. The study recommends to implement a comprehensive review of the salary structure for teachers in government-aided secondary schools, develop specialized training programs for science teachers to enhance their effectiveness in various teaching aspects, explore opportunities for cross-training between science and arts teachers and implement targeted performance improvement plans for science teachers based on the identified areas of lower effectiveness.