Organizational politics and teachers’ turnover intentions in secondary schools in Tororo municipality Uganda

Abstract

This study investigated the extent Organizational Politics (OP) influences teachers' turnover intentions in secondary schools in Tororo Municipality Uganda. The study was based on Vrooms' expectancy theory (1964). The following specific objectives guided the study: (1) To examine the extent to which OP manifests in secondary schools in Tororo Municipality; (2) To examine the extent of manifestations of teachers' turnover intentions in secondary schools in Tororo Municipality; (3) To assess the influence of OP on teachers' turnover intentions in secondary schools in Tororo Municipality; (4) To assess other factors that cause teachers' turnover intentions in secondary schools in Tororo Municipality. Cross-sectional survey design was used where both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection were employed. Validity which was above .78 the recommended validity was attained using a formula CVI = Number of questions considered relevant divide by Total Number of questions. Cronbach alpha was used to measure the reliability of the questionnaire. The values for subscales were .74 and .76 for OP and turnover intentions respectively which was above recommended .70. In this study five (05) administrators were sampled using purposive sampling and one hundred fifty-nine (159), teachers were sampled using stratified sampling. A structured questionnaire was used for collecting data from the teachers while administrators were interviewed. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze objective 1 and 2 while regression analysis was used for objective 3. The factors that cause turnover intentions were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results revealed a moderate (M = 32.0377, SD = 6.79993, Min =10, Max =50) level of manifestation of OP and a moderate (M = 28.1258, SD = 5.17019, Min=10, Max = 50) level of teachers’ turnover intentions in Tororo Municipal secondary schools. The results also indicated a low positive correlation between OP and turnover intentions (r = .299, p< 0.005). The study concluded that OP exists in schools moderately, also teachers have intentions to leave but have no alternative jobs. In addition, there was a low, positive, correlation between OP and teachers' turnover intentions in secondary schools in Tororo Municipality. The study recommended that administrators should be trained through workshops and seminars to make decisions through consensus to avoid promotion of self-interest and conflicts which lead to OP and also provide adequate remunerations to avoid turnover intentions. Keywords: organizational politics, turnover intentions.