Determinants of Teachers’ Choice of Coping Strategies to Witchcraft Belief in Rural Public Primary Schools in Nzega Districts, Tanzania

This study examined the determinants influencing public primary school teachers’ choice of coping strategies in response to witchcraft beliefs in rural Tanzania, with empirical evidence from Nzega District. A cross-sectional research design was employed, drawing on survey data collected from 330 public primary school teachers selected through random sampling across five rural wards. A Multivariate Probit (MVP) model was applied to analyse the simultaneous adoption of multiple coping strategies. The findings reveal that teachers’ demographic and contextual characteristics significantly influenced strategy selection. Specifically, spiritual and religious coping was shaped by household size, marital status, distance to school, residence with villagers, and teaching experience; traditional ritualistic coping by age of household head, residence with villagers, and teaching experience; symbolic marking by sex of household head, witnessing witchcraft incidences, and residence with villagers; animal-based protection by years living in the community and residence with villagers; and seeking social support by household size, years living in the community, and religious affiliation. The results highlight that witchcraft beliefs continue to exert a meaningful influence on teachers’ well-being and decision-making in rural contexts. The study underscores the need for targeted psychosocial support, culturally sensitive community engagement, and strengthened institutional strategies to promote constructive coping and enhance teachers’ resilience. By applying a multivariate analytical approach within a culturally embedded rural setting, this study extends empirical and theoretical understanding of occupational stress and coping in education, offering context-specific insights relevant to policy and practice in the context of developing countries.