Influence of in Service Training on Teacher’s Productivity in Secondary Schools in Mushin Local Government Area, Lagos

Abstract on Influence of in Service Training on Teacher’s Productivity in Secondary Schools in Mushin Local Government Area, Lagos

Teachers play significant, critical and valued roles in the educational system as they are at the center of all educational enterprises. This means that training is important to enhance their existing skill, knowledge, ability in order to consider the trends in technology to directly affect productivity, efficiency and accuracy.

Chapter One of Influence of in Service Training on Teacher’s Productivity in Secondary Schools in Mushin Local Government Area, Lagos

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

Quality education is the degree to which education is said to be of high standard, satisfies basic learning needs and enriches the lives of learners and their overall experience of living (Kennedy, 2016).

The achievement of quality education rests squally on the shoulders of teachers who need appropriate motivation and training to produce the desired educational productivity. Given the fact that education is one of the important factors that help in bringing about rapid social and economic development in any given nation, the role of principals and teachers cannot be downplayed. However, concerted efforts are always made through effective and efficient training and motivational strategies by the school principals to ensure teachers’ productivity in the school system.

Motivational strategies have always been regarded as the internalized drive that is more dominant in an individual at a given moment which is an integral and essential part of the secondary school administration (Kennedy, 2016). To this ends, no meaningful development could be achieved in the school system without the appropriate strategies to stir up the commitment of teachers on part of the school principal as regards their productivity. Motivation is to inspire people to work, individually or in groups in the ways such as to produce best results. It is the will to act. It is the willingness to exert high levels of effort towards organizational goals, conditioned by the efforts and ability to satisfy some individual need (Kennedy, 2016). Motivation is getting somebody to do something because they want to do it. It was once assumed that motivation had to be injected from outside, but it is now understood that everyone is motivated by several differing strategies as is also applicable in the school system.

Personnel training, also known as employee training, means training employees on operating procedures and standards. It helps in ensuring the level of professional and technical competence of employees within the current and prospective requirements of the company’s business; it also increases employees’ productivity and knowledge about a job. Even when the employee meets the requirement of the job, it’s necessary to raise the skill level to increase the versatility and adaptability of the employees over a period of time. As jobs become more complex over the years the importance of employee training increases. The rapid changes taking place in the business environment have created increased pressures for organizations to readapt the products and services produced, the manner in which products and services are produced and offered, the types of jobs required, and the types of skills necessary to complete these job. As an employer when you expect the best from your workers or employees you also have to provide the best for them, a popular saying goes thus garbage in garbage out.

.The issue of examination malpractice, failure, and short attention span in classroom, lack of interest of students in school activities, lateness and other forms of misconduct by students are a great concern in Nigeria and the world at large. most times, this behavior by the students are blamed on them, the common tag given to students in this category is lazy, we forget that the teacher has a major foundational role to play for each and every student to participate and enjoy their learning experience in school. Once the role of the teacher is not played effectively and efficiently in the short and long run, bad behavior or results will be evident. No wonder the Bible says in psalm 11:3 “if the foundation be destroyed, what can the righteous do?. Though, the success of the student or educational institution is dependent on many other factors that play a major role however, having quality and productive teachers to grow, improve and nurture the skills, knowledge and general performance of students is one of these major factors.

Teachers play significant, critical and valued roles in the educational system. The teacher is at the center of all educational enterprises (Giami, Christian, Oluwuo & Anyamele, 2018). The teacher aids the interpretation, implementation of the curriculum to the benefit of the student, school and nation at large. In other to meet the demands of the curriculum, policies, school goals and education objectives, teachers have to play multiple roles, which may include student discipline, classroom management, guidance and counseling, forming of lesson notes, grading of students, record of students’ progress, update parents on the progress of their children, supervising and organizing school functions, extra and intra-curricular activities and so on. Due to the multiple task of teachers everyone employed to take up the role has to be morally sound, emotionally intelligent, content smart, qualified and have passion for the profession therefore teachers have to be constantly equipped to meet up to the standard expected from them by the students, parents, school and nation, in an evolving world, where things are bound to change, these teachers also have to evolve in their methodology and manner of approach to various situations in and outside the classroom, the key way to ensure that these teachers are evolving is by constantly and periodically training them.

Productivity is the length to which an organizational member contributes to achieving the objectives of the organization. Employee productivity is the effectiveness and efficiency of a worker on a job according to the prescribed job description. It follows therefore that the employees in an organization to be able to perform their duties and make meaningful contributions to the success of the organizational goals (Olaniyan &Lucas, 2008), in other words teachers productivity is the dependent on their output. Teacher’s productivity is sometime measured by the academic performance of students; this is not accurate because it does not cover all the duties done by the teacher or all the roles played in and out of the classroom walls, therefore teachers productivity can be measured by their overall performance according to the job description. Productivity is the aim of today’s competitive business world and training can be a spring board to enhance productivity. The two major enhancers of productivity among workers is personnel training and motivation, in this study focus will be placed mostly on personnel training.

Training is like enhancing an existing skill, knowledge, ability in order to consider the trends in technology and other social –cultural environmental changes of a body, the previous statement spells out the basic importance of training. Training directly affects productivity, efficiency, accuracy. For the level of productivity of an organization to increase it relies on the competence of the work force, this is very well applicable to the educational system as it helps to improve classroom instructions, activity and grow individual professionally. Considering the crucial role of teacher in the development of a total child, training programs are majorly divided into pre-service training and in service training.

A man or woman cannot be given the role of qualified teacher until he or she has gone through the necessary training required by the governing board, this training is usually called preservice training. Pre-service teacher training programs are recognized and organized, private and public educational programs designed to train future teachers to formally enter the profession at a specified level of education. Graduates receive a government recognized teaching qualification (UNESCO Institute of Statistics 2019). This training help to develop different types of teachers and it helps to instill self-confidence, norms, morals and work ethics in them. Some of the disempowering behaviors exhibited by students in recent times can be avoided if qualified teachers are employed. Some institutions employ individuals that do not have any form of training to be teachers, these individuals may not know how to form a lesson note, handle individual differences of students, set standard examination questions, explain curriculum content etc. and most of this institutions do this because of selfish reasons and also in adequate supply of qualified teachers in the labor market. Due to this, students are not offered the best learning experience.

It is one thing to be a teacher who has gone through pre service training and it is another thing to go through in service training. In service training is training that is simultaneous to official teaching responsibilities to improve teachers’ qualifications and skills. In-service training can enhance the professionalism of teachers who can contribute to the organization to achieve its goals. In-service training is a professional and personal educational activity for teachers to improve their efficiency, ability, knowledge and motivation in their professional work (Che, 2014). The primary purpose of in-service training is to enable teachers to acquire new understanding and instructional skills (Che, 2014). It focuses on creating learning environments which enable teachers to develop their effectiveness in the classroom.

In-service training also provides teachers with ample opportunities to learn new concepts, methods and approaches through professional development. In-service training is the deliberate and continuous process involving the identification and discussion of present and anticipated needs of individual staff for furthering their job satisfaction and career prospects and of the institution for supporting its academic work and plans, and the implementation of programs of staff activities designed for the harmonious satisfaction of these needs (Eduwen, 2016). For the teachers productivity to be steady they have to undergo in service training in other to catch up with the changing world and in the long run produce students that are current and effective in the labour market.

Statement of problem

The prevailing understanding of the problem is the level and rate of teacher’s productivity in schools. The reports and feedbacks from teachers’ assessment, spot test and school inspection report have shown the increasing and frequent rate of low productivity of teachers.

It has also been seen that lack of professionalism has crept into the fabric of the school work force across primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, which has been traced to so many root factors. The dysfunctional nature of teacher’s orientation, employment and posting has further developed a crack in the wall of teacher quality. This has further led to poor academic performance, undesirable learning experience, absenteeism, lateness to school and social vices. The long term implication will include bad quality of graduates produced, increase in indiscipline, increase in crime rate, destruction of government and private property, non-attainment of the goals and objectives of the education system and so on. It is on this basis the researcher intends to investigate the influence of personnel training on teacher’s productivity in Secondary Schools in Mushin Local Government Area, Lagos State.

Objectives of the study.

The main objective of this study will be to investigate the influence of personnel training on teacher’s productivity in secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area, Lagos. This study will specifically seek to:

Identify what types of in service training programs are available to secondary teachers.
Assess the influence of personnel training on teachers’ productivity.
Examine if teaching experience will have moderating influence on teachers’ productivity in Mushin Local Government, Lagos.

Research Questions

What types of in service training are available to secondary teachers?
Will in service training influence teachers productivity?
Will teaching experience have any moderating influence on teacher’s productivity?

Research hypothesis

The following hypothesis will be tested during the study:

H₀₁: There will be no significant influence of in service training on teacher’s productivity.

H₀₁: Years of teaching experience will not have any significant moderating influence on teacher’s productivity.

Significance of study

This study will provide information to Nigeria government, school owners, administrators, teachers and other stake holders on the impact of personnel training on productivity. It will help the government of Lagos State as well as other governments to ensure the use of the right type of personnel for training, avoid the use of quack consultants, ensure training need assessment and ensure proper utilization of trained workers.

Similarly, it will provide information to teachers on the contribution of training to work productivity and as a result, encourage them to clamor for regular training as well as take training seriously within and outside the school; it will also prove to teachers that the length of service determines level of productivity. Also, Organizations will be motivated to commit more resources to the training of their teachers, use well experienced trainers and ensure proper utilization of trained teachers having understood the role of training in enhancing teacher productivity. Training agencies and consultants will discover the cogent as well as the importance of training and as such will commit optimum resources in terms of human and materials to the training of personnel in order to make training outcomes effective and efficient.

Scope of study

This research focused on the influence of personnel training on teachers’ productivity in secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area Lagos. This study will covers five secondary schools in Mushin Local Government Area.

Operational definition of terms

Personnel training: a program modeled to attain such objectives as orientation of new workers, growth of insight and abilities, or modification of supervisor or employee outlooks for present and future task.

Teacher’s productivity: The contribution teachers make to the learning in gains of students across multiple content areas over time, i.e., across all courses taught at the upper grades over several terms or school years, or across all subjects taught at the lower grades over several school years.

Teaching experience: generally means actual classroom experience.

Pre-service training: Pre-service education of teacher means, education of teachers before they enter into service as teacher.

In service training: In-service education can simply be defined as the relevant courses and activities in which a serving teacher may participate to upgrade his professional knowledge, skills, and competence in the teaching profession.