An Assessment Of Teacher Motivation For Peace And Moral Education In The Conflicting Herder-Farmer Communities In Mvomero District, Tanzania

Abstract

The herder-farmer communities in virtually every part of Africa are characterized by infrequent clashes which at times result not only in loss of lives but also in hostility that remains unnoticed and therefore unresolved. This paper reports the findings of the study undertaken to determine the teacher motivation to deliver moral and peace education to the students in the schools located in the areas with the frequently conflicting herder-farmer communities. The study was guided by two objectives namely, first, to examine teachers‟ experience of the hostility among students from the herder-farmer communities in the schools, and second, to assess the teachers‟ motivation to put to an end the apparent hatred that tends to emerge as they interact with their students. The study utilized the qualitative research approach through the interpretation of the informants‟ opinions regarding peace and moral education, and used the multiple case study design involving three primary schools and one secondary school. A total of fourteen (14) informants participated, involving three primary school head teachers, one deputy headmaster of a secondary school and ten (10) teachers using the documentary review, semistructured interview, focus group discussion and observation methods. Data were analyzed thematically. The results showed that teachers had an experience of hostility among children from the clashing communities, but were not involved in the peace building efforts. Further, teachers felt to be under pressure to deal with the subject teaching roles other than engaging in the local demanding roles such as peacemaking and this lowered their motivation towards peace building. The study offers recommendations on, among other things, need for interventions to enable teachers, parents and school committees to forge links for building a sustainable culture of peace in the herder-farmer communities.