WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
IMPACT OF IN-SERVICE TRAINING ON PERFORMANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS OF ENGLISH IN SOME SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN PANKSHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

 CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

Globally, educating a nation remains the most vital strategy for the development of the society throughout the developing world. Many studies on human capital development concur that it is the human resources of a nation and not its capital or natural resources that ultimately determine the pace of its economic and social development. The Principal institutional mechanism for developing human capital is the formal education system of primary, secondary, and tertiary training (Nsubuga, 2003). Since education is an investment, there is a significant positive correlation between education and socio-economic productivity.

In-service training is a process designed to improve job understanding, promote more effective job performance, and establish future goals for career growth. It helps staff in understanding their responsibilities. It is the opportunities available to new and experienced teachers and teaching assistants {paraprofessionals}. These activities are designed to improve the quality of classroom instruction; enable individuals to grow professionally; introduce practitioners to the practical applications of research-validated strategies; and help teachers of English meet their license and salary differentials. In-service trainings can also be referred to as the processes, and activities through which every organization develops, enhances and improves the skills, competencies and overall performance of its employees and workers. According to Lawal (2004), in-service trainings for teachers of English are important aspects of education process that deal with the art of acquiring skills in the teaching profession. They are essential practices that enhance subject mastery, teaching methodology and classroom management. The objective of in-service trainings is that it ensures the promotion of professional growth. Help to improve pedagogical skills. Keep teachers of English abreast with new knowledge. Meet particular needs, such as curriculum development and orientation. Help in leadership responsibility. Help new teachers of English to adjust to teaching field. Helps to promote mutual respect among teachers and recognizes the need for modern teaching methods (Madumere-Obike, 2007).

The need for teachers of English in secondary schools to improve their knowledge, skills, attitude and behaviors while on the job is more critical now in the developing nation like Nigeria than ever before for a number of reasons for example, academic programs in our schools rarely adequately prepared students as finish products for their future position as teachers of English and their accompanying responsibilities. Moreover, the issue of quality assurance to ensure credibility of certification is essential in teacher production. Uche and Enukoha (2014), points out that teaching is a profession, therefore all who desire to work as teachers should be well groomed in the art of teaching. Brennen (2001), asserts that new teachers of English are faced with several challenges upon beginning their teaching career; such as: class assignment, classroom discipline and management, demanding teaching workloads with assignment of extra duties, motivating students, dealing with individual differences among students, assessing students among others. Hence there is need to provide effective in-service trainings which will assist novice teachers as they begin their teaching career. In-service training can be regarded as series of activities an organization put in place in order to assist members of its staff acquire the knowledge, skills and experiences necessary for efficient and effective performance of jobs and responsibilities in the organization (Banta, 2008).

It is worth understanding that to undertake new strategies for delivering instruction; teachers of English need to be provided with the necessary training to utilize the new opportunities to ensure student success. In-service training is the key to increasing student achievement through the improvement of teachers’ skills and abilities. A successful in-service training is cyclic in nature. This ongoing process must be collaborative in nature involving teachers of English, administrators and stakeholders. Schools and school administrators must balance their student learning goals and curriculum with state requirements and then analyze the student achievement data to determine deficiencies in student learning. Once the problem areas are identified, research should be used to determine which effective and efficient instructional strategies would produce the desired results.

Therefore, in-service training is the provisions of skills to enable staff members effectively perform their duties. The types of in-service trainings include: simple orientation programs, organized visit, seminars and conferences, participatory management, and internal training programs (Ifidon & Ifidon, 2007). Mohammed (2010), posited that all these training programme can help both professional and nonprofessional staff to be current with new knowledge and development in the field. Also, given the deteriorating academic performance of secondary school student in external examinations Ekpoh (2007), a lot of people, notable among them; parents, students and government have expressed dissatisfaction with the quality of teaching and learning that take place in schools.

Esu (1997), observed that teachers of English who were trained some few years ago are not adequately equipped for effective teaching except complemented by in-service training. She further stated that the 2-3 years teacher preparation programs in higher institutions of learning do not adequately prepare teachers of English for the teaching job, as there are too many grounds to be covered in the teacher preparation programs. To take care of the inadequacies of pre-service teacher preparation, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, in the National Policy on Education (2004), made provision for development of teachers of English by stating that teacher education shall continue to take cognizance of the changes in methodology and in the curriculum, and that in- service training for teachers of English and head teachers shall be regulated. This therefore emphasizes the importance and the need for every staff to be constantly upgraded to keep abreast with the rapid changing society. This situation requires investigation into the in-service trainings of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area.

• Statement of the Problem

Large student enrollments, globalization of education with inherent rivalry for staff and students have called for more current knowledge in delivering quality education, as well as recognition and reputation. The value of in-service training cannot be overstated. Despite the obvious benefits, many establishment, particularly in public institutions, do not adequately fund in-service training. To encourage staff growth and job effectiveness, measures have been implemented that allow employees to further their education in areas related to their primary task. The National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004) encourages continual teacher training in all educational institutions. With the increasing educational problems comes a growing worry that teachers’ preparation must be improved to be completely effective in their jobs. Many secondary schools have abandoned orientation programs for new teachers of English, despite the belief that good mentorship programs are crucial to improving new teacher retention and growth. Sadly, there are no formal mentorship programs at secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area Plateau State, Nigeria. Many schools now administer external exams like the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO), but do not fully educate their teachers. The society, students, and stakeholders claim that teachers of English are not meeting expectations and are not meeting the requirements of students and stakeholders. Their performance still falls short of expectations, and the repercussions are predictable: inadequate student assessment coverage, late test results, missing marks, bad exam assessment, poor teacher student interaction, and declining academic achievement.

The employment of new teaching approaches to handle high class sizes and the usage of information technology in teaching seems to be a challenge to some teachers of English in this modern day. The performance of teachers of English will be assessed in terms of their commitment to attending training programs such as in-service training, conferences and workshops, student assessments supervise to completion, examination invigilation, and number of hours spent for teachers relationship with students in secondary schools in Jos South.

• Purpose of the Study

The main objective of this research was to investigate the impact of in-service trainings on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State. The specific objectives are to:

1. Examine the impact of in-service training on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State.
2. Ascertain the impact of conference on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State.
3. Assess the impact of workshop on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State.
4. Determine the impact of seminars on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State.
5. Examine the impact of mentoring on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State.
   • Research Questions

The following research questions guided the conduct of the study.

1. 1. What is the impact of in-service training on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State?
2. To what extent do conferences have impact on teachers’ performance in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State?
3. To what extent does workshop have impact on teachers of English performance in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State?
4. What is the impact of seminar on teachers of English performance in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State?
5. What is the impact of mentoring on teachers of English performance in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau State?

1.5 Significance of the Study

In-service training has become a central function for teachers management; it improves the overall level of productivity after pre-service training. The significance of this study is based on the research finding that will avail to the academic community on how in-service trainings impact on teachers of English effectiveness. The study is relevant to students and other researchers who are furthering their studies on different aspects of in-service training, school management and the larger academic communities as well will rely on the work. The study will benefit the federal government being the major financer of education across the country has spent a lot on in-service trainings.

However, the Teachers Service Commission will also benefit from the research work because of being the co-coordinating organ and policy making body for secondary schools. The study is reliable in encouraging government on the importance of in-service training, workshop, seminars, conferences, symposium and mentoring programs for teachers of English to improve their skills and academic performance in secondary schools. Furthermore, the study is relevant to administrators, stakeholder and non-governmental organization on the need for every staff to be constantly upgraded to keep abreast with the rapid changing society.

1.6 Scope of the Study

This study investigated the impact of in-service trainings on the performance of teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area Plateau State, Nigeria. This study was delimited to principals, zonal inspectors and teachers of English in secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area, Plateau state. The independent variables of the study include in-service trainings, conference, workshop, seminar, symposium, mentoring and the dependent variable, teachers performance.