THE INFLUENCE OF IN-SERVICE TRAINING ON TEACHER JOB PERFORMANCE IN SOME SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS OF EDUCATION DISTRICT IV IN LAGOS STATE
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Education is extremely important not only for the success of an individual but for the nation as well. Education is defined as to develop knowledge, skills and character of the students. Its major objective is to make an individual learn about how to level with the society by developing intellect, equipping one’s self to deal with the reality of life and by facilitating realization of self-potential and latent talents of an individual. Education encompasses teaching and learning specific skills, positive judgment, well developed wisdom and profoundness ((Dushi, 2012). A successful teacher is required to be equipped with the characteristics like rnastery of subject matter, professional training, sound physical and mental health, devotion and dedication to his profession. Education has been defined in so many ways by different writers. This simply means that education has no single definition. Hence, education can be defined as the “totality of the experience is made available to the individual in order to make him/her develop a rounded personality and be useful to himself or herself and the community. Education is a purposeful activity we intend to bring certain desirable changes in the students. Education is a conscious effort and as such, it has definite aims and objectives. Education without aim is like a boat without rudder. Aims give direction to activity. The aims of education have changed from age to age and thus it is dynamic (Jimoh, 2003).
According to Oak (2011), we can get worldwide information and knowledge through education. That is because education let us receive information from external humanity and receiving all important information regarding the current (Experts Column, 2010).Education opens wonderful opportunities for the knowledge of a person to growth and expand even further. An educated person has an incanny trait to look and learn more about new territories (McGregor, 2010).
A mind is the complex of cognitive faculties that enables consciousness, thinking, reasoning, perception and judgement. Education is not only teaching people how to answer the exam but it is teaching people how to think, how to distinguish right and wrong, how to make decision and so on (Gattani, 2010) .Education is necessary for the society. Education fashions and models man for society. Education brings into focus the social aspect of man. Therefore, education signifies man’s supreme position in society (Dushi, 2012). Education makes a worthy contribution to our lives by making us responsible citizens. We get to know our history and culture through education and imbibe those values. Education opens our mind and expands our horizons.
According to the National Policy of Education (NPE, 2004) in Ogundiran (2015) education is and shall continue to be highly rated in the national development plans because it is the most important instruments of change, any fundamental change in the intellectual and social outlook of a society has to be proceeded by education.
Education can be divided into:
- Formal education which is usually in school, where a person may learn basic, academic or trade skills. Small children often attend a nursery or kindergarten but often formal education begins in elementary school and continuous with Secondary School. Post-Secondary education (or higher education) is usually at a college or university which may grant an academic degree.
- Non- formal education which includes adult basic education, adult literacy education or school equivalency preparation. In non-formal education someone (who is not in school) can learn literacy, other basic skills or job skills.
- Informal education on the other hand involves people learning while they go about their daily lives. For example, young children learn new words simply by hearing others speak to themselves. When people try to find out information or to gain skills on their own initiative without a teacher, this is also a part of informal education, (NPE, 2004) in (Ogundiran,2015).
Secondary education is provided for children after Primary education, that is before tertiary education. It is aimed at developing a child better than the Primary level, because it is obvious that Primary education is insufficient for children to acquire literacy, numeracy, and communication skill (Yusuf 2009; Ige 2011). Such education is provided in secondary school which can be owned by government (State or Federal) individual or community. It is divided into the Junior Secondary phase and the Senior Secondary phase.
The non- challant attitudes of the Nigerian teachers to the challenges of curriculum development and educational achievement have created a great gap between the school- teaching- learning programme and the achievement of educational goals. The instrument and strength of change too sustainable development, stable educational policies and viable educational achievement depends on the virtues of competent professionally dynamic teachers, the government concern about the dynamic nature of the society and the curriculum that will satisfy the aims and the goals of education.
The Nigerian teachers have strategic roles to play, being the prime executor of the government policies on education, through the curriculum. As such the operational performance of teachers could make or not the future of Nigeria learners. Efficient and dynamic curriculum development for functional and quantitative teaching outcome will bring new challenges and improvement in the production of self-reliant citizens.
The National Policy of Education (NPE, 2004) guidelines stipulate the objectives of Secondary education, the caliber of teachers to teach and their qualifications as well as the curriculum content. In spite of these guidelines by the NPE, lots of problems still hinder secondary school education development in Nigeria. NPE 2016 states that the teacher is the sulcrum around which school education revolves. It is rightly said that an education system is good as its teachers.
Pre-service teacher preparation programmes also called Initial teacher training education vary greatly. The structure course work and field experiences are important to consider when designing or reforming teacher training because they all contribute to the level of preparation. Pre-service programmes may be conducted as part of a secondary school diploma course, on higher education campuses, in other schools through school partnership programmes or through online and other forms of distance education. Pre-service education is carried out for preparing different types of teachers. Pre-service teacher preparation is a collection of unrelated courses and field experience
The moment a teacher has completed his training in a college of education, it does not mean that he is now trained for all times to come. A teaching degree, like Bachelor of Education make shim enter into service as a teacher. Thereafter his job continues well only if he continues his studies everyday in the classroom situations and outside the classroom, he comes across problems and side by side he is expected to sort them out. There is need of more and more knowledge, more and more education to make him a better teacher. In-service training is the education a teacher receives after he has entered teaching profession and after he has had his education in a teacher’s college. It includes all programmes -educational, social, others in which the teacher takes a virtual part all the extra education which he receives at different institutions by way of refresher and other professional courses, (NPE, 2004).
A successful teacher is required to be equipped with the characteristics like mastery of subject matter, professional training, sound physical and mental health, devotion and dedication to his profession (Hanushek, 2004). According to Kakkar (2001), the teacher today is an individual who is not only interested in children’s acquired knowledge and skills but also equally involved in his total development. Examples of in-service training are seminars, workshops, conferences etc. Teacher productivity is crucial in any educational institution. This is often influenced by the teacher’s performance. Teacher performance on the other hand is highly affected by the knowledge of the subject matter, intelligence and ability to pass on the knowledge to the students in the most efficient and effective manner.
According to Kennedy in Tom (2010), he asserted that retraining means receiving in-service education. It implies exposing an individual to further teaching and practice after the initial training. It may also be taken as improving the teacher. Our society is dynamic, our needs, values, aspirations and expectation change from time to time. Knowledge, skills and methodologies also change as a result of research. Subsequently, since education is the fastest tool for socialization and propagation of culture and teachers are tools used to implement the teaching-learning process, all teachers should be retrained on a regular basis. The goal of education is the impact of knowledge, attitude, values, skills accepted and expected norms in the most successful way as to enhance the growth and development of the nation. Teachers are the primary and most crucial weapon in the achievement of educational goals. Teachers’ knowledge, ability, capability, skill, values, attitudes acquired overtime will determine or influence immensely the performance of students kept in the teachers’ care.
Edem (2008) maintained that in-service training comprises all activities engaged in by professional personnel during their service and is designed to contribute to professional improvement of the job. It is a means of assisting poorly prepared, untrained and inexperienced teachers to improve both academically and professionally. The society is not static it is dynamic and changes with time. Learning itself is from cradle to grave since the society and things therein are not static. The teacher needs to continue learning, improve on his previous knowledge and learn to learn new things to be able to live to the expectation of students and at the same time be able to withstand the challenges of our changing society hence, in-service training is very necessary and ideal in this present day Nigeria. Audio visual aids in learning are recent innovation in teaching to enhance learning because real things are brought in physically to the classroom rather than the rote learning and teaching in abstract as it used to be in the past. Teachers undergoing courses recently are being drilled through the preparation of teaching aids as well as effective use of these aids geared towards better teaching and better performance of the students. Professionalization of teaching
Contemporary issues and those teachers without teaching qualification in post primary schools are quickly going for in-service training in order not to lose their jobs. Methods of teaching are many and they change constantly. Research work often brings about such changes hence it is vital if not mandatory for teachers, heads of departments and principals to update their knowledge and ability in the area of teaching methodology in order to improve on their teaching (Edem, 2008).
Teachers, vice-principals and principals are agents of change. They need changes in them before they can effect change on the students they teach. Learning brings about a permanent change in behaviour due to experience change, before they can change their students. All things being equal, the better the performance put by the teacher the more effective learning will be and the better and more successful students will be. This paper is set out to examine the teachers, heads of departments, vice principals, principals to evaluate the influence of in-service training on teacher job performance in some selected Secondary schools of Education District IV in Lagos State.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The education system of Nigeria is plagued by a myriad of problems ranging from low productivity on the part of the teachers to poor performance of students and decline in the quality of education. There is also the problem of poor planning and organization whereby available activities for participants or teachers are impersonal and unrelated to their job settings in the classroom.
Many teachers do not have the opportunity to go for in-service training and so their knowledge are obsolete. In most case, only a few teachers are opportune to go for training and when they come back the knowledge and ideals acquired are not transfer to those that did not go, thereby making the knowledge one-sided. Finally, when teachers go for the right training for the right courses needed for the development and advancement of their profession it will work and students will benefit from in-service training. The above reasons brought about the need for this study which is the effect of in-service training on teachers’ productivity in some selected secondary schools.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of in-service training on teacher(s) job performance in secondary schools in Education District IV of Lagos State. Other specific purposes include:
- To find out whether training actually influence teachers’ productivity;
- To find out whether productivity of teachers influence academic performance of students;
- To find out whether there is need for re-training of teachers; and
- To ascertain the relationship between in-service training and improved standard of education.
1.4 Research Questions
The following questions have been formulated to guide the study
- Does in-service training programme enhance teachers’ productivity in Secondary Schools in Education District IV of Lagos State?
- Does in-service training of teachers enhance high academic performance of students in Secondary Schools in Secondary Schools in Education District IV of Lagos State?
- Does in-service training afford opportunity for better education advancement for teachers in Secondary Schools in Education District IV of Lagos State?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses have been formulated and will be tested using appropriate statistical tool analysis.
Ho1: There is no significant relationship between in-service training programme and teachers’ productivity in Secondary Schools in Education District IV of Lagos State.
Ho2: There is no significant relationship between in-service training of teachers and academic performance of students in Secondary Schools in Education District IV of Lagos State.
Ho3: There is no significant relationship between in-service training and opportunity for better education advancement for teachers in Secondary Schools in Education District IV of Lagos State.
1.6 Scope of Study
The study examines effects of in-service training on teacher(s) job performance in secondary schools in Education District IV of Lagos State. The research was carried out in six selected secondary schools in Education District IV of Lagos State. And it was limited to the teachers in the selected Secondary Schools.
1.7 Significance of Study
The beneficiaries of the outcomes of the study include:
Teachers would be one of the beneficiaries of this study as the findings and recommendations of the study will enable them to appreciate the importance of in-service training program in teaching and learning at the secondary school level of the country’s educational system. Also, teachers, will see this study as an eye opener, in the sense that, it will give them an insight into the appropriate in-service training in the teaching and learning processes at the secondary school.
Head of schools like principals, vice principals etc would benefit from this study, as the findings and recommendations of the study will enable them to understand the importance of in-service training on job performance and the role it plays in the teaching/ learning outcomes.
Parents would benefit from this study because it will enlighten them to know the importance of the in-service training on job performance by their children’s teachers and its effect on their children’s learning outcomes. Also, with the effective application of in-service training’ parents would notice a difference in the performance of their children at the secondary stages of their educational careers.
The society will also benefit from the outcomes of this study because the recommendations of this study will enable the members of the society to understand the effect of in-service training on job performance on teaching and learning at the secondary school level of Nigerian educational system.
Researchers’ both old and new, including students, will see this study as a contact or reference material for their further studies and academic work.
Finally’ the study will help to qualify the researcher as a graduate of Masters in Educational Administration.
1.8 Definition of Terms
In-service Training: A special educational exercise done while in service to improve on one’s knowledge, ability and attitude on a given job which in turn improve one’s performance.
Productivity: Is an assessment of the efficiency of a worker.
Training: The process of learning or strengthening a skill.
In-Service: It is a program intended to improve the skills of teachers for better performance.
Teacher: It is a professionally trained person for the purpose of imparting knowledge to a learner.
Empowerment: This is giving of power to workforce (teacher) to carry out duties.
Performance: It is how effective the teachers discharge their duties.
Job: This is an activity engaged in by someone to earn money.
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