The Level of Morale Among Teachers of Learning Disabilities in English Language in Irbid, Jordan

This study aimed at identifying the degree of morale among teachers of learning disabilities in English language in Irbid governorate from the teachers' point of view. The study used the descriptive approach and developed a questionnaire as an instrument of the study. The study sample included (30) male and female teachers. The questionnaire was administered to the sample after verifying its validity and reliability. The instrument's stability coefficient was (95%). The results of the study showed that the teachers' morale levels were moderate. The study recommended providing more training and incentives to teachers to boost their morale, which will have an impact on their performance


Introduction
Recent years have witnessed many changes in the public and private sectors, whether like work, methods of performance, information systems, techniques used in performance, or the expectations of individuals, and the extent to which they benefit from the services provided by organizations (Al-Amyan, 2002). Those who work with low levels of confidence, and under a high degree of psychological stress, and anxiety, feel fear, ridicule, mockery, or slander in the event of their failure. This makes them do a lot of effort to protect themselves or looking for scapegoats when things are not done as required, which prevents them from concentrating on their work performance and is bound to negatively affect performance and productivity (Sonnenburg, 1994).
Building trust in a democratic atmosphere builds trust among employees, and it is a very important issue for managers. Therefore, research on the phenomenon of trust in recent years has become the most effective tool for management. It creates the necessary conditions in Z theory related to the Japanese management philosophy, which is among the Group of Seven industrialized countries in the world and is based mainly on the slogan "Our need to learn", including confidence, tenderness, politeness, sharpness of mind, intimacy, and affection (Gilbert & Tang, 1989).
Reaching the optimal and best decision at the same time, assuming responsibility, and achieving loyalty to this decision by accepting and implementing it well, is reflected in the extent of the exchange of trust between the cooperating parties., in addition to the consolidation of common values. These are among the most difficult aspects of the Japanese administration. As it generates a sense of responsibility and access to the best results, and integration in the intertwined relations between workers with each other. The supreme meaning of Japanese teamwork remains is directly related to taking responsibility for the collective performance by achieving collective and functional stability for all (Al-Dahan, 2005).
Trust is related to the repercussions of morale, as the existence of morale for employees is inferred through the level of performance and a sense of loyalty, sacrifice, and defending the organization. The extent of the worker's absence or interruption from work, and the presence of disputes and conflicts is an indication of bad and lack of confidence, and this is called job turnover. The percentage of job turnover in Japan is (2%), while in America (35%). Morale is the enthusiasm and the interest that a person shows towards the goals of the individual and the group in the case of a particular job (Salama, 2015).
Morale is seen as one of the basic criteria that contribute to the success or failure of projects and organizations. The presence of trust between the manager and the subordinates leads to raising the level of morale for individuals and groups, to achieve a valuable goal, as it is measured by the nature of performance. Therefore, a successful manager is required to enhance reward, job security, participation in decision-making, make work more challenging and enjoyable, and give workers an opportunity for achievement, knowledge, and professional growth. He should also create a kind of structure and system for work to promote performance to the best (Al Taweel, 2010).
Therefore, this study attempted to investigate the levels of morale among teachers of LDs in English language in Irbid Governorate. It is important to identify such a topic to understand the levels of performance and their relationship to the organizational trends in Jordanian schools. The study attempted to answer the following question: What is the level of morale among teachers of LDs in English language in Irbid Governorate from their point of view?

Significance of the Study
The significance of the current study is evident through its attempt to identify the level of morale among teachers on the one hand, and their job performance on the other. The study attempted to clarify these concepts and to identify what they can cause in unifying the integrative efforts of the teachers in the educational institution, which ultimately leads to improving performance and increase productivity, to achieve the desired goals.

Delimitations of the Study
This study was limited to the teachers of learning disabilities in English language in Irbid governorate working during the academic year 2019-2020. The results of this study were determined by the instrument, the statistical analysis, the validity and reliability of the study instrument, and the objectivity of the sample members in their responses to the study instrument.

Literature Review
The concept of morale as a psychological element depends on the personnel of the workforce to achieve the goals of the organization. It is difficult to find any effort that is not affected by individuals, but rather that every decision, problem, or relationship must include the human factor directly or indirectly. The basic functions of management, planning, organizing, directing, and controlling, cannot exist without individuals and can only be achieved through them. The importance of the human factor in management becomes clear when we realize that management is a process that focuses on accomplishing certain tasks through other individuals who are led and directed to achieve a specific goal (Abu Al-Samin, 1994).
The function of guidance mainly includes spreading team spirit and cooperation among the members of the workforce in a way that can achieve the goals. It also mainly concerns the management of human behavior, the development of voluntary cooperation among workers in the organization, the study of collective behavior, and the effects of collective dynamics and  Simon (2010) stresses the targeting of guidance influencing human behavior. He argued that the behavior of individuals is the tool by which the organization achieves its objectives, and the manager is responsible for motivating subordinates to work efficiently and effectively and ensuring that they are linked to the organization's goals and policies with sincerity, by raising their morale. Increasing the levels of morale is a basic pillar next to the pillars of communication and leadership for effective guidance (Al-Zoubi, 2016).
Researcher in the field of morale has confirmed the importance of the human factor in management and confirmed that the productivity of the worker is greatly affected by his/her morale and that human relations are those that include and involve the creation of the trust, cooperation, and understanding between management and members of the organization. The latent energies of workers are released and revealed when the work relations with the organization improve. One of the biggest problems facing the administration is the development of voluntary cooperation between individuals and the team spirit so that efforts, energies, and forces can be combined and the organization can move successfully. Morale is a collective phenomenon and a form of energy spent by members as a group to reach its goals and increase achievements and social status.
It is established that there are no specific rules that management can follow to raise the morale of employees (Human Relations). Administrative leadership is an art of state based on mental behavior towards human relations, and like all arts, leadership cannot be trained in management as arithmetic or scientific equations. All administrative actions reflect the administrative behavior and the viewpoints on which these actions are based. Supervision at the level of the first grade, for example, greatly affects the morale and reflects the administrative models that will be decided by the higher management in the organization (Hashem, 2000).

Previous studies
Barakat (2019) investigated the common leadership styles among the principals of private schools in Ain Al-Basha, Jordan, and their relation to the morale of the teachers. The study used the descriptive approach. The study developed a questionnaire as an instrument, which was administered to a sample of (170) female teachers. The findings showed that the teacher's responses were high to the questionnaire. There was a strong connection between the common leadership styles and the teachers' morale. The better the leadership style used by the principals the more morales teachers have. The study recommended that the Ministry of Education direct the school principals to use the best leadership styles that foster teachers' morale to have a better performance.
Al-Sharman & Jubran (2018) explored the level of practicing management by wandering around among the principals of the schools in Irbid and its relation to increasing the morale of the teachers from their point of view. The study used a questionnaire consisting of two parts as an instrument, which was applied to a sample of (1064) teachers at public and private schools in Irbid during the academic year 2016/ 2017. The results showed that the level of using this style of management was moderate according to teachers. The level of morale among teachers was also moderate. The results also revealed a strong connection between using management by wandering around and the level of morale among teachers. Saqr et al (2018) identified the morale of heads of educational departments in Arabic local administration within the Greenline. The study used the descriptive approach and developed a questionnaire distributed to a sample of (63) participants. The results showed high levels of morale among the study sample. The results also showed differences in the level of morale according to gender, years of experience, and academic qualification. maintaining the high level of morale of heads of educational department in Arabic local administration within the Greenline, and provide the appropriate environment for educational department head's in Arabic local administration to work efficiently and psychologically.
Al-Masarwe (2018) explored the availability of morale among public schools teachers at Bani Obeid's district from their point of view according to the variables (Gender, Years of Experience, Qualification). The study used the descriptive and developed a questionnaire, which was administered to a sample of (382) teachers. The results revealed that the teachers' level of morale according to their point of view was high. The findings showed the absence of significant differences in the levels of morale according to the variables of gender, years of Experience, and qualification. The study recommended the need for conservatism with the high level of morale for public schools teachers at Bani Obeid's district, and developed mechanisms and procedures that increase their motivation to work. Alsababha & Khasawneh (2018) investigated the level of morale among faculty members of humanity science faculties in both King Faisal University and Hashemite University. The study used the descriptive methodology. The sample included (353) faculty members from both universities. The findings revealed that the level of morale among the sample was moderate. The results also showed the absence of significant differences according to age, gender, years of experience, and rank.
Al-Dhafiri (2017) identified the level of morale among Arabic-subject teachers in Kuwait public schools. The study used the descriptive approach and used a questionnaire as an instrument for the study. The sample included (1,402) teachers, who were selected randomly. The findings revealed that the level of morale for Arabic-subject teachers in public schools was high in general, and it was only moderately affected by salaries, incentives, and promotions. The results showed the absence of significant difference in the level of morale according to gender. On the other hand, the results showed differences in the level of morale according to nationality, educational experience, educational level, and school district. Jawarna et al (2011) explored the level of morale among primary stage teachers in Al-zarqa during the academic year of 2008/2009. The study used the descriptive approach and developed a questionnaire, which was distributed to a sample of (154) teachers from various disciplines. The findings revealed a low level of morale among the study sample. The results also indicated the presence of significant differences in the level of morale according to specialization in favor of vocational education teachers and physical education teachers, and according to years of experience in favor of (1-5) years of experience.

Methods
The study population consisted of all teachers of learning disabilities in English language in Irbid Governorate and principals of public secondary schools in Jordan. The study sample consisted of (30) male and female teachers. The instrument of the study was the morale questionnaire, which was developed after carrying out many procedures that made it possible to formulate its various paragraphs, in environmental and social conformity, and after reviewing the related literature. The previous studies tackling the topic of morale in education were used in drafting the statement of the questionnaire.
To ensure the validity of the instrument, the researcher distributed the questionnaire in its initial form to a group of judges who are faculty members in Jordanian universities with experience and competence to ensure the integrity, validity, and suitability of the wording of the paragraphs. In light of the judges' suggestions and observations, no modifications were made to the number of paragraphs of the questionnaire. To verify the reliability of the instrument, the test re-test method was used on a randomly selected group from outside the sample members, whose number was (20) male and female teachers. The reliability coefficient value was (0.96), which was considered acceptable and appropriate in administrative, educational, and psychological research

Results and Discussion
Table (1) shows the mean score and standard deviations of the level of morale among teachers of LDs in English language in Irbid Governorate from their point of view. The field of teachers and students came in the first place with a mean score of (3.13) and a standard deviation of (0.54), while the field of teachers and the workload came in the last order with a mean score of (2.56) and a standard deviation of (0.78). The total mean score of the level of morale as a whole was (2.88), with a standard deviation of (0.53).

First field: Teachers and students
Table (2) shows the mean scores and standard deviations of the statements of the field of teachers and students. The statement, "I feel proud of the outstanding achievement of my students" came in the first place, with a mean score of (3.34) and a standard deviation of (0.60), while the statement, "The way I treat students affects their educational achievement" ranked last, with a mean score of (2.78) and a standard deviation of (0.78).  Table (3) shows the mean scores and standard deviations of the statements of the field of teachers and colleagues. The statement, "I turn to my colleagues when I encounter some problems" came in the first place, with a mean score of (2.84) and a standard deviation of (0.81), while the statement, "Teachers cooperate in the school to achieve their goals" ranked last, with a mean score of (2.76) and a standard deviation of (0.81).

Third field: Teachers and workload
Table (4) shows the mean scores and standard deviations of the statements of the third field "teachers and workload." The statement, "I feel the fairness of distributing the academic burden on teachers" came in the first place with a mean score of (2.70) and a standard deviation of (0.80), while the statement, "the tasks entrusted to the teachers were clear and specific," came in the last rank, with a mean score of (2.37) and a standard deviation of (0.93). The researcher attributes these results to the failure to release the latent energies of the teacher on a permanent and continuous basis, and the failure to enhance mutual trust between the principal and the teacher. The high morale, rational enthusiasm, perseverance, collective work, performance, and good implementation release energies and capabilities. Through the implementation in such a spirit, cases of creativity appear and work to generate solutions and innovation if difficulties arise during implementation and teachers will respond to them with a spirit of challenge and determination to achieve.
Collective work and enthusiasm release high morale symbolized by creativity, perseverance, personal responsibility. The good implementation, rational, and non-hypocritical loyalty encourage the emergence of self-initiative and do not obliterate it. Therefore, the dependence on the leader is reduced and his cajoling is reduced and private agenda, personality, the illusion of reputation, and defamation are limited as much as possible. The experiences of Cattell & Stice (1960) confirmed the importance of high morale in strengthening the competitive position of the organization, facing challenges, and liberating the productive forces and innovation among workers.
Katle and Smith (1987) argued that a democratic work environment that is free of authoritarianism develops teachers' skills and confront them personally and that if they feel appreciated for their work, they take responsibility and perform their roles to the fullest. Stogdill (2000) also argued that employees' attitudes towards their work have an effective role in raising morale levels.

Conclusion
The study recommends the necessity of using the Job-Enrichment method by delegating powers, increasing the responsibilities of the employee, trusting his administrative and mental abilities, and appreciating his efforts at work because this has a significant impact on satisfying his higher psychological needs, especially self-realization. It is also recommended to increase the means of communication between the manager and his subordinates, holding periodic meetings to discuss development plans, and taking the opinion of employees about programs and plans before issuing them, to expand the base of decision-making, programs, and development plans. The study also recommends creating an organizational environment that helps release the creative potential of workers to the fullest extent, by providing opportunities for workers to express their opinions and suggestions, encouraging them to innovate and renew, and keeping them away as much as possible from everything that would suppress the creative' breath and limit their thoughts.