The Application of Porter and Lawler’s Expectancy Theory to Elementary and Secondary School Teachers at the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk School in the City of Goma

Abstract

Our research, “The Application of Porter’s Theory and Lawler’s Expectancy Theory to Teachers at the Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk’s Primary and Secondary Schools in Goma, 2015–2018,” focused on the study of teachers’ expectations. The government’s absence from the public sphere, which has created problems in the public sector, has compelled us to address one of the current challenges in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: teacher motivation. To that end, the general objective of this study is to explain the application of Porter and Lawler’s Expectancy Theory at the Ursuline de Tildonk Nuns’ primary and secondary schools. Additionally, our secondary objective is to first present the perceptions of teachers at these schools regarding how their expectations are addressed, and then to demonstrate the relationships between the rewards they receive and the efforts they make, in order to implement strategies likely to improve their motivation levels and enhance their performance.The originality of this study lies in the contextualization of Porter and Lawler’s expectations theory in four schools in the DRC, in the city of Goma. In fact, the question is how the nuns in charge of these schools should apply this theory to motivate the teaching staff. To achieve the objective of our research, the main methodological guidelines of our study were based on the use of the systemic method combined with an evaluative approach. To obtain the results, our research involved a survey of 104 teachers. Our sample was exhaustive. This allowed us to obtain results indicating that teachers’ expectations are taken into account (73.1%), rewards are equitable (63.5%), and the level of satisfaction is high (57.7%). These results confirm our first hypothesis. However, 65.4% of respondents judged the material rewards to be inequitable. In fact, the hypothesis stated that intrinsic rewards should outweigh extrinsic rewards; the results showed that intrinsic motivations are considered equitable (63.5%). This confirms that intrinsic motivations outweigh extrinsic motivations. While we thought that organizing meetings to encourage participation and address teachers’ expectations would be prioritized over creating an entrepreneurship committee for teachers’ projects, the main proposal selected was to improve teachers’ quality of life, which was chosen by 62.5%. From this research, we have learned that teachers’ expectations are being taken into account and that extrinsic rewards need to be improved for the well-being of teachers. Based on rational and scientific reasoning, the primary solution to the problem of the teacher motivation system at the Ursuline de Tildonk Nuns’ elementary and secondary schools in Goma, according to our research findings, is to improve teachers’ quality of life. This has led us to create a fund investment project to manage these funds for the benefit of teachers. 

Key Words: Effort, Performance, Needs, Expectations, Satisfaction, Rewards, Perception, Dissatisfaction.

Received Date: August 17, 2026

Accepted Date: September 09, 2026

Published Date: October 01, 2026

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/1063