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IMPACT OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES ON THE JOB PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN PANKSHIN METROPOLIS

CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

It has long been recognised that education is the instrument of national growth that is most capable of driving change. It serves as the basis upon which all other types of national planning are constructed. Education is a sector that requires significant investments in human capital and has a high dependence on human labour. It assists in the development of an individual to his or her full potential and also prepares him or her for a life that is valuable to others in society. The individual should first be prepared for useful living within society, which should be the primary goal of secondary school, and then for further education, which should be the secondary goal. Principals and teachers are in charge of running secondary schools, and they have been given the role of assisting in the accomplishment of the objectives of secondary school education in both urban and rural locations. In recent years, reviews have been made in the curriculum of secondary schools in order to get rid of outdated aspects of the programme and to make room for new elements that were more in keeping with the spirit of the times, such as new courses and new methods.

Staff development programme is a procedure that aims to increase job comprehension, encourage more effective job performance, and defines future goals for professional development. The workers are able to better comprehend their tasks as a result. It is the opportunities that are open to both inexperienced and seasoned educators (paraprofessionals). These activities will help teachers meet their licence and salary differentials while also improving the quality of instruction in the classroom; allowing individuals to grow professionally; introducing practitioners to the practical applications of research-validated strategies; and introducing practitioners to the practical applications of research-validated strategies. It is possible to refer to the processes and activities that help an organisation develop, enhance, and improve the abilities, competencies, and overall performance of its employees and workers as staff development programmes. This is another name for these processes and activities. Staff development programmes for educators are vital components of the educational system. These programmes focus on the science and practise of skill acquisition in the context of the teaching profession. They are necessary procedures that improve topic mastery, teaching methods, and management of the classroom. The promotion of professional development is meant to be the end result of staff development programmes. This is the program’s primary purpose. Help to develop educational skills. Ensure that instructors are kept up to date with new information. Attend to particular requirements, such as the creation of new curricula and orientation. Help with the responsibilities of leadership. Assist newly hired instructors in becoming acclimated to the teaching profession. Assists in the promotion of mutual respect among educators and acknowledges the requirement for contemporary instructional practises.

It is more important than ever before for public school teachers in developing countries like Nigeria to work on improving their knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviours while they are employed there. There are a number of reasons for this, and one of them is Nigeria’s status as a developing nation. For instance, the academic programmes that are offered in our schools rarely fully prepare students for their future positions as teachers and the responsibilities that come along with those positions as finished products. In addition, the problem of quality assurance in order to guarantee the authenticity of certification is an essential part of the creation of teachers. Because teaching is a profession, everyone who aspires to be a teacher should acquire a solid foundation in the craft of instructing before beginning their career. When beginning their careers as educators, new teachers are confronted with a number of obstacles, some of which include the following: class assignment, classroom discipline and management, demanding teaching workloads with the assignment of additional duties, motivating students, dealing with individual differences among students, and evaluating students, to name a few. Therefore, it is necessary to create efficient programmes for staff development that will support new teachers as they begin their careers as educators. It is possible to define staff development as a series of activities that an organisation implements with the intention of assisting members of its staff in acquiring the knowledge, skills, and experiences that are required for the efficient and effective performance of their jobs and responsibilities within the organisation.

It is in line with the above discussion that this study seeks to examine the impact of staff development programmes on the performance of teachers in secondary schools in Pankshin Metropolis.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

It is impossible to overestimate the importance of training and education for employees. In spite of the undeniable advantages, many educational institutions, particularly public ones, do not allocate sufficient resources to staff development. Measures have been put in place that give workers the opportunity to advance their education in fields that are connected to the work they do primarily as a means of fostering staff growth and improving job performance. Continuous teacher training is strongly encouraged across the board by the National Policy on Education (NPE, 2013), which was released in 2013. Because of the growing number of issues in the educational system, there is a growing concern that the preparation of teachers needs to be enhanced in order for them to be entirely effective in their employment. The majority of public schools have done away with orientation programmes for new teachers, despite the widespread conviction that strong mentorship programmes are essential to enhancing the retention rate of new teachers and fostering their professional development. It is unfortunate that there are no formal mentorship programmes offered at any of the public schools in Pankshin Metropolis Plateau State of Nigeria. Even though many schools now give external tests like the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO), many of these schools do not train their instructors to their maximum potential. The society, the students, and the stakeholders contend that teachers are not living up to expectations and are not following the requirements that have been set forth by the society, the students, and the stakeholders. Their performance continues to fall short of expectations, and as a result, the repercussions are predictable: inadequate student assessment coverage, late test results, missing marks, poor exam evaluation, poor teacher student engagement, and deteriorating academic success.

Some educators in our present day seem to find it challenging to implement innovative instructional strategies in order to manage large class numbers as well as to make effective use of information technology in their classrooms. The performance of teachers will be evaluated based on their dedication to attending training programmes such as in-service training, conferences, and workshops, supervising student assessments all the way through to completion, invigilating examinations, and the total number of hours spent by teachers developing relationships with students in Pankshin public schools.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The main objective of this research is to investigate the impact of staff development programs on the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State. The specific objectives are to:

1. Assess the impact of Information and Communication Technology Training programmes on teacher’s job performance in Pankshin Metropolis of Plateau State.
2. Examine the impact of in-service training on the performance of teachers in schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State.
3. Ascertain the impact of conference on the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State.
4. Determine the impact of seminars on the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions would guide the conduct of the study.

1. What is the impact of Information and Communication Technology Training programmes on teacher’s job performance in Pankshin Metropolis of Plateau State?
2. What is the impact of in-service training on the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State?
3. To what extent do conferences have impact on teachers’ performance in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State?
4. What is the impact of seminar on teachers’ performance in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

            The following hypotheses were postulated to be tested at 0.5 level of significance:

H₀₁: There is no significant relationship between Information and Communication Technology (ICT) training programme and the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State.

H₀₂: There is no significant relationship between in-service training and the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State.

H₀₃: There is no significant relationship between conference and the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis Plateau State.

H₀₄: There is no significant relationship between seminar and the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis, Plateau State.

1.6 Significance of the Study

After receiving pre-service training, staff development has emerged as a critical function for the management of teachers. This function contributes to the increase of the overall level of productivity. The significance of this study is derived from the findings of the research, which will be made available to the academic community and will focus on how the efficacy of instructors is affected by staff development programmes. Students and other researchers who are furthering their studies on various aspects of staff development, school management, and the larger academic communities will also rely on the work because the study is relevant to students. Other academic communities will also rely on the study because of its relevance to students. The federal government, which is the primary funder of education across the country and has spent a significant amount of money on staff development programmes, would profit from the study.

Having said that, the Teachers’ Service Commission, which serves as the public schools’ organ of coordination and the body responsible for formulating policy, will also profit from the research work that was done. The findings of the study would be reliable and should be used to persuade the government of the importance of providing in-service training, workshops, seminars, conferences, symposiums, and mentoring programmes for educators in order to improve the academic performance of students attending public schools. In addition, the study is applicable to administrators, stakeholders, and non-governmental organisations on the subject of the necessity for every staff member to be continuously upgraded in order to keep up with the rapidly changing society.

1.7 Scope and Delimitation

This study investigated the impact of staff development programs on the performance of teachers in public schools in Pankshin Metropolis Plateau State, Nigeria. This study was delimited to principals, zonal inspectors and teachers in public schools in Pankshin metropolis, Plateau state. The independent variables of the study include staff development programs, in-service training, conference, workshop, seminar, symposium, mentoring and the dependent variable, teachers‟ performance.

1.8 Operational Definitions of Terms

Staff Development: Staff development means to improve the abilities of an individual employee and organization as a whole, hence staff development consists of individual employee and overall growth of the employee as well as that of the organization, which will make the organization flourish and employee performance will increase.

Staff Development Programme: Staff development is one of the most important functions of human resource management.  Staff development programmes are efforts, strategies and courses of action deliberately taken to help and facilitate employee to achieve technical, academic and psychological development to enhance their contribution to the development of the organization.

Teachers’ Performance: These are outputs of the teacher which encompasses of lesson delivery, lesson planning, classroom management, among other teachers’ duties.