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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN WELFARE PACKAGES AND JOB PERFORMANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EDUCATION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Motivation, that is, the desire to do the job is recognized as a key factor in teacher attitude to work. One major goal of educational management today, according to Imam (2006) is effectively utilizing teachers in the schools to achieve the goals of education. This implicitly means that there is emphasis on teacher’s performance and result-oriented schools. Thus, Imam (2003) was emphatic that there is need for effective human resources management strategies that aim at positive attitude towards job and effective performance.

It is the good of the elementary and secondary public schools in Nigeria to provide a high-quality education to every student.  To do so requires an adequate supply of competent individuals who are willing and able to serve as teachers.  Organization such as the school needs teachers to work willingly towards achieving organizational goals.  Willingness to work however depends on how well the needs of individual teachers are met (Isa, 2007).

Teachers as all levels of education are very important in the overall development of any nation through their impact in the educational system. Education itself is the door to civilization and modernization of any country. But it is the teachers who hold the key to this door through performance of their primary functions in the schools. This fact was stressed by Nyerere (1967) when he stated that “it is the teachers more than any single group of people who determine the attitudes of society and shape the ideas and aspirations of the nation”.

Therefore, the quality of any educational system depends to a great extent on the quality of teachers in terms of incentive or welfare services which in turn is expected to produce a competent and dedicated workforce. Corroborating this, Ejiogu (1990) noted that a major goal of personnel management in any organization is the production of satisfied employees who will remain happy on the job to contribute their best towards achieving the organization’s objectives at minimum efforts.

Staff welfare services in education is a situation whereby a combination of relevant factors and variables lead to the satisfaction of the needs of individuals and of the collective body of teaching and non-teaching staff in secondary schools.  The provision of those basic needs also pre-supposes the attainment of a reasonable degree of commitment. These staff welfare services include:

-           financial reward and promotion;

-           free or subsidized medical services;

-           official accommodation or housing loans;

-           regular salary increment and payment; and

-           free or subsidized transport or vehicle loan.

Furthermore, welfare of teachers should constitute major necessary concern of any forward-looking educational programme.  In line with this, the National Policy on Education (F.G.N., 2004) asserts that teacher education will continue to be given a major emphasis in all educational planning because, “no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers”. In order to enhance the fulfillment of this provision, this policy went further to state that purpose of teacher education should be:

a.         to produce highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels of our educational system; and

b.         to enhance teachers’ commitment in the teaching profession.

Having rendered these set of objectives, the National Policy on Education further recommend ways and means by which these objectives could be achieved. A cursory glance through the recommended steps reveal a set of master plan towards the enhancement of an effective and efficient teaching force, through adequate motivation through provision of basic human needs. Motivational factors/variables have its role in meeting human needs, because it is believed to lead to job satisfaction, positive attitude and consequently work productivity of workers.

Since education plays a major role in the transformation of any society, and the teachers are the tool for effecting this, it therefore becomes essential and imperative that the issue of welfare packages for teachers should be examined with a view to determine the influence of its provision or otherwise on the attitude and performance of teachers.  In essence, the focus of this study is to examine welfare packages and performance of English teachers in public secondary schools in Educational District II of Lagos State.

Statement of the Problem

In all school systems of the world, some schools are considered better than others. In fact, based on such a judgement, parents often go to great lengths to have their children enrolled in one school rather than another.  One yardstick for making this judgement is student achievement, especially general performance in public examinations. Furthermore, among some experts and scholars in education opinions about schools are further narrowed down to teachers’ attitude towards teaching and the eventual performance. This, some have attributed to inadequate welfare packages to teachers.

Teacher’s motivation for efficient performance in our educational system has not always received due attention despite the obvious leading roles teachers play in the classroom towards attaining educational objectives.  The International Labour Organization (ILO) lamented that the situation of teachers in the school system in the Sub-Saharan region (including Nigeria) was so bad it had reached an intolerable low point.

Observations have shown that the societal image of the teacher has made the noble profession unattractive and considered as not being adequate for meeting economic, social and psychological needs. Thus, the question is that: won’t the ill-treatment and neglect of teachers breed dissatisfaction and hamper classroom effectiveness, efficiency and productivity?  It is on this basis, the study will examine the influence of welfare services on teachers’ attitudes towards work and their job performance.

Purpose of the Study

The main focus of this study is to examine the influence of welfare packages on English teachers’ job performance.  But specifically, the study will:

1.         examine if adequate provision of teaching facilities will influence teachers’ job performance;

2.         examine the influence of conducive work environment on teachers’ job performance;

3.         find out the role of regular payment of salaries on teachers’ job performance;

4.         assess the extent to which sponsorship of training programmes will influence teachers’ job performance;

5.         examine the influence of free health care services on teachers’ performance.

Research Questions

The following questions are formulated to guide the study.

1.         Will adequate provision of teaching facilities influence teachers’ job performance?

2.         Would conducive work environment influence teachers’ job performance?

3.         Does regular payment of salaries influence teachers’ job performance?

4.         To what extent would sponsorship of training programmes influence teachers’ job performance?

5.         Would provision of free health care services influence teachers’ job performance.

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses are postulated to guide the study.

1.         There is no significant relationship between teaching facilities and teachers’ job performance.

2.         There is no significant relationship between conducive work environment and teachers’ job performance.

3.         Regular payment of salaries is not significantly related to teachers’ job performance

4.  Sponsorship of training programmes will not significantly influence teachers’ job performance.

5.   There is no significant relationship between provision of free health care services and teachers’ job performance

Significance of the Study

There is no doubt that the findings from this study would be of immense benefits to various stakeholders in education, considering the fact that no nation can rise above the quality of its teachers. The findings, for instance, would be beneficial to the government agencies. The government’s perception of the essence of adequate provision and regular administration of welfare packages would be enhanced.

Also, it would enhance educational administrators and policy makers who need empirical information in getting the best out of teachers; it might also provide the direction for motivating teachers in secondary education system through the knowledge of job satisfaction and dissatisfaction variables which could be tapped to improve teachers’ attitude towards work and job performance.

Furthermore, other stakeholders in education such as parents, philanthropists, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Alumni Association, international bodies, corporate bodies, among others, would be sensitized to contribute their own quota towards the welfare of teachers; these could be  material or financial support.

Scope of the Study

The study is limited to selected public secondary schools in Education District II of Lagos State. The targeted participants are English teachers. The study focuses mainly on the influence of teaching facilities, conducive work environment, regular payment of salaries, sponsorship of training programme and free health care services on teachers’ performance.

Definition of Terms

Welfare Packages – these are tangible materials that are provided as job rewards and motivation to teachers. These include financial reward (salaries and allowances, subsidized medical services, loan schemes), teaching facilities, regular payment of salaries, on-the-job training, among others.

Teachers’ Attitude – this refers to a judgemental ability and disposition of an individual teacher based on personal values, psyche, and emotional towards external events and the behaviour of others.

Job Performance – this refers to the process of maximally performing a task towards achieving the stated objectives.

Teachers’ Job Satisfaction – this is the ability of the teacher to derive satisfaction and exhibit positive or high morale on the job.

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