Microfinance Loan Repayment Obligations and Teachers’ Psychological Well-Being and Job Concentration in Public Secondary Schools in Kasulu Town Council, Tanzania
Shabani Juma – Kasulu Town Council, Kasulu
Edgar Nderego – The Open University of Tanzania
Coletha Ngirwa – The Open University of Tanzania
Email: shabanibaleka@gmail.com
Abstract: This study examined the relationship between microfinance loan repayment obligations and teachers’ psychological well-being and job concentration in public secondary schools in Kasulu Town Council, Tanzania. The study was guided by Herzberg’s Two-Factor Motivation Theory and Conservation of Resources Theory and adopted a pragmatist philosophy, mixed-methods approach, and convergent design. The study targeted 380 respondents from 25 public secondary schools, from whom a sample of 92 respondents, comprising 84 teachers and 8 Heads of Schools, was selected using simple random and purposive sampling. Data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics in SPSS Version 22, while qualitative data were analysed thematically and integrated with quantitative findings. The findings indicated that microfinance loan repayment obligations negatively affected teachers’ psychological well-being and job concentration. The quantitative results showed that 72.6% of teachers agreed or strongly agreed that loan repayment caused stress and anxiety, 64.2% reported that loan worries affected their concentration during teaching, 58.4% sometimes thought about loan problems while teaching, and 63.0% reported reduced motivation to work. The overall grand mean was 3.64, indicating general agreement. Qualitative findings corroborated these results, highlighting stress, anxiety, distraction, reduced motivation, absenteeism, and diminished concentration. The study concludes that excessive repayment obligations may undermine teachers’ well-being and concentration and recommends affordable repayment arrangements, financial literacy, counselling, and effective management of loan obligations.
