The Impact of Low Salaries on Teacher Motivation: The Case for Mutasa District-Zimbabwe.

This study sort to find out the extent to which teachers were motivated to carry out teaching tasks given the low salaries and incentives they were being paid by the state. A survey design was used so as to widen the reach to teachers’ views. Data were collected through self administered questionnaires distributed to 36 teachers. In addition, more data were generated through in-depth interviews with 10 school Heads. The study found out that: teachers were intrinsically motivated by their engagement in teaching and learning as well as seeing the children learn; parents were paying monetary incentives to the teachers; teachers were not motivated by the low monetary incentives they got from parents. The study, therefore, concluded that teachers were functioning more on intrinsic motivation deriving from the joy of engaging in teaching and learning as well as seeing the children learn. It is, therefore recommended that school leaders could maximise opportunity for intrinsic motivation through improving teaching and learning conditions. Also, Parents could add non monetary incentives in their attempt to improve current level of extrinsic satisfaction among teacher