Research at UMT
Associate Professor Lekë Pepkolaj, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Zaragoza and Ahmad Dahlan University, presents the article: “Demotivating factors in teaching mathematics: A study on Albanian teachers”. This is a topic of great importance for the reality of our country.
Numerous scientific studies have shown the existence of demotivated teachers in schools. In general, there are classical demotivating factors, but in the case of Albania special factors and a high extent of various causes of demotivation emerge. The article analyses some of the factors that influence the demotivation of mathematics teachers and assesses the degree of demotivation in relation to the working environment, teaching autonomy, external motivation, and students.
The study conducted a statistical analysis to identify any significant differences regarding the factors contributing to demotivation according to teacher characteristics: a) gender, b) age, c) qualification, d) age of students and e) type of school.
From the results obtained, it can be concluded that the factors that generate the most demotivation are the following: textbooks, educational policies and corruption, curriculum aspects and costs that have to be incurred. Furthermore, school status, curriculum changes, meritocracy, material costs, autonomy and research significantly explain the demotivation of public sector teachers.
Finally, the article emphasizes the need to seek structured responses aimed at regulating the careers of mathematics teachers in Albania. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of addressing teachers’ demotivation as this has strong implications on the quality of their job performance. Another relevant aspect is the increasing demotivation of teachers in relation to the subject they teach, where, in addition to intellectual load and challenge, non-cognitive, metacognitive problems and low self-esteem emerge.
The article was published in the Infinity Journal, indexed in Scopus with a Q2 index.
You can find the full paper at the following link: http://e-journal.stkipsiliwangi.ac.id/index.php/infinity/article/view/4125