‘I Am Because We Are’: An Ubuntu perspective on teacher motivation in Ghana's low‐fee private schools

Abstract This study investigates the policy paradox in Ghana's rural low‐fee private schools (LFPSs), where policies grounded in Western motivational theories threaten the sustainability of the local teaching force. Using a phenomenological case study design, we employed the indigenous Ubuntu–Nhorowondo framework to demonstrate why uncertified ‘grey area’ teachers remain profoundly motivated to teach despite precarious conditions. Drawing on virtual in‐depth interviews with 15 teachers, our analysis reveals that their motivation is not a generic psychological need but a context‐dependent duty rooted in communal survival. Critically, we expose this dynamic as a broken communal contract: the system leverages teachers' spirit of sacrifice (Ubuntu) without fulfilling its reciprocal duty to provide professional investment and care. We argue that Western motivation models fail to capture these relational drivers and propose policy recommendations that shift the focus from exploiting goodwill to building a system of mutual support, thereby creating a sustainable and equitable education pathway in developing regions.