Perceived Provision of Rewards to Struggling Students in Public Secondary Schools in Malinyi District, Tanzania: A Mixed-Methods Study

This study examined how rewards for students experiencing learning difficulties were perceived and described in four public secondary schools in Malinyi District, Tanzania. A convergent mixed-methods design drew on a questionnaire completed by 173 students and qualitative contributions from 23 teachers and four heads of schools, yielding 200 participants in total. Student responses were summarised descriptively, and interview and focus-group accounts were considered thematically. Of the students surveyed, 123 (71.1%) reported that struggling students were never rewarded, 42 (24.3%) reported that rewards were sometimes provided, and eight (4.6%) reported frequent provision. Illustrative accounts identified verbal praise, certificates, and classroom applause as forms of recognition and described financial constraints affecting tangible rewards. These findings indicate that respondents perceived recognition of struggling learners to be uncommon in the participating schools. They do not establish that rewards alter learning interest because the reported quantitative results contain no corresponding measure of learning interest or analysis of an association between reward provision and that outcome. Inclusive, specific, and low-cost acknowledgement of students’ effort and improvement may be a practical option for schools, but its effect on learning interest requires direct evaluation.