Factors Affecting Economics Teachers’s Job Satisfaction In Secondary Schools In Oru West Local Government Area Of Imo State

ABSTRACT

This study is an investigation into factors Affecting Economic Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The population of this study comprises eight (8) public secondary schools in Oru west local Government Area, Imo State. The population of teachers in the eight (8) public secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area is 104 teachers, it also serve as sample of the study. Instrument for the research was” factors Affecting Economic Teachers’ Job Satisfaction in secondary schools (FAETJSSS) “using four point modified likert scale. Three specialist validated the study, two specialist from Measurement and Evaluation and one specialist from Education Economics Imo State University, Owerri. Person’s product moment coefficient correlation formula (r) was used to obtain a Reliability index of 0.75 which was and considered adequate for the study. Mean statistics was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that lack of teacher Motivation, unconductive work environment of teachers, students are not detailed instructed when the teachers are not properly paid, Teachers fail to go to class as usual when their needs are not catered by the government, Teachers are affected emotional when they are not sure of their salary, therefore it affects learning too. Based on the findings, it was recommended that: the condition of service need to be improved with adequate library facilities and proper expert cabins, proper attention should be given in the Areas of innovation ideas presented by the respondent and timely promotion is equally important in regard to the level of satisfaction, the skill of the teachers can be enhanced by frequent development sessions and training programmes related to their work and promotion; and that salary should be on the basis of qualification rather than favoritism.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In this chapter the researcher discussed the background of the study statement of the problem, scope of the study, purpose of the study, significance of the study and research questions.

Background of the Study

Education is the process of facilitating learning or the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs and habits. Educational methods include storytelling, discussion, teaching, training and directed research. Education frequently takes place under the guidance of educators, however learners may also educate themselves. Education can take place in formal or informal settings and any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks feels or acts may be considered educational. The methodology of teaching is called pedagogy.

It is considered as the cornerstone for meaningful and sustainable growth development and achievement in art, science and technology. Arguing in the same direction, Umo, (2005), had affirmed that, worldwide, education has been recognized as a catalyst for achieving socio-economic, scientific and technological development for instance, the Federal Government of Nigeria (2014) declared in its national policy on education that education is an instrument per excellence for achieving national development. In other words any meaningful growth and development of any country must be preceded by a sound educational planning, since education constitutes an indispensable aspect of social realities of a nation, it is of carotidal importance to any society.

There is no gain saying to the fact that job satisfaction is a key to efficiency and effected job satisfaction is a propeller and an energizer for every worker to put in his or her best to the assigned task. Hence teachers are not left out in the assertion.

The progress of any nation depends upon the standards of its educational system and educational institution the successful running of any educational systems depends largely upon the teacher, the students the curriculum and the facilities available there in of these the teacher is the most important one   and is the bedrock on which the enteric educational structure rests (Aggarwal and Sang (2012).

Job dissatisfaction among teachers In Imo State especially the secondary school teachers’ in Oru West Secondary School Imo State has been a recurrent dilemma.

Constitutionally the funding of secondary school education in Nigeria falls into the concurrent legislative list of the federal government of Nigeria. Hence, we have state and federal secondary schools. Empirical analysis of funding of state ministry of education over the years in Imo State have shown that there is a clear case of underfunding due to neglect by the past and present administrations in the state.

Moreover, this state of affairs has impacted negatively on job satisfaction of the teaching staff of secondary schools in Oru West Secondary School. Thus, inadequate funding resulting in poor remuneration of teachers, inadequate furniture both in the staff room and classroom poor learning/teaching environment, owing of teachers for many months cutting down their satires and wages etc. These are the hydra headed monsters challenging job satisfaction among the teaching staff of secondary schools in Oru Secondary School, Imo State.

Teachers are key facilitators of knowledge and play a vital role in building a nations future. It is this particularly important to fund how comfortable teachers feel in workplaces. Satisfied employees can more effectively fulfill their duties to facilitate all stakeholders in achieving the development and success of the nation through knowledge skills and their implications.

Many studies have found that teachers are dissatisfied with teaching, yet there is no permanent and accurate definition of job satisfaction. Instead, it varies from person to person and from organization to organization.

Have, we discuss the views on job satisfaction that are held by various expert and researchers however, as it is a process that implies enthusiasm happiness and can lead employees to recognition, income, promotion achievement and a sense of fulfillment of goals.

A positive favourable attitude and feelings relate to job satisfaction, while   negative, unfavourable attitudes and feelings relate to job dissatisfaction. Armstrong (2006) view job satisfaction as the collection of feelings , beliefs and attitude about the job, especially about work and its kinds and about co-workers, supervisors, subordinates and pay. It is complex and multifaceted and means different things to different people and its meets the person’s materials and psychological needs (Aziri, 2008). Job satisfaction,     motivation  and  organizational performances are interdependent and interrelated all three are a strongly associated and their association can be brought positive and successful result in any organization. Yet not all employees can be motivated through identical factors. Some may be inspired by achieving in higher level of authority and responsibility, some people may need flexibility and freedom in their work schedule and others may be motivated by a sense of accomplishment.

Job satisfaction or dissatisfaction is a result of employees’ perceptions of how well their job  premeds those things that they are view as important and necessary to working well and to their enjoyment. When it comes to the definition of job satisfaction, Okoye (2011) sees it as meaning how much an individual is contented with his or her job. Robbins (2005) believes that it focuses on the feelings of a person about his or her job. Newstrom (2007) describes it as the particular views of employees which are affected by the favorable and unfavourable feelings and attachments of one’s work. It is also considered a final state of agreement of a psychological process to work along with its terms and conditions, which are essentials for a higher competitive level and organizational success. In a study of 14 prospective indicators of JS, it was found that there is a 52% variance among employees for job satisfaction.

Job satisfaction shows a positive and significant link between workplace environment, the mental and physical well being of employees (Donald and Scot, 2000), including the indoor environment. Together, all factors of workplace environment influence on the job satisfaction level by 24% (Brill, Weidermann and Bosti, 2011). Job dissatisfaction, in contrast, can be due to an absence of work life balance a lack of advancement and opportunities, a non-supportive working environment lack of encouragement lack of recognition and stress.

These factors also increase the employee turnover rate (Ahmadi and Alireza, 2007). As a result dissatisfied employees may reduce their levels of performances and efficiency and may sabotage the work or leave the job.

Dissatisfied employees leave the organization and may deflate other employees motivated before they do.

Furthermore, education in all countries of the world has been considered very   important for personal and societal development, saw education as a crucial tool for development in every country. Hence, it is an instrument for the realization development, because the level of a national literacy determines her extent of development. It is in view of indispensible role of education in development of man and modern society that various declarations on education have been made both in Nigeria and in the global stage. Thus, in all societies education has been identified as an instrument of development both personal and national development. As a way of life, education serves as a means of transmission and preservation of core issues in every culture.  According Chauhan (2006), education is the  process  of chapping individual  behavior for adequate adjustment in  the  societal.  Adiele (2005) defines education as a desirable change in human behavior, thus, Nwagu (2006) asserted that “education is the process by which society attempted to preserve   and upgrade the accumulated knowledge, skills and attitudes in its cultural setting and heritage in order to foster continuously the well being of maintained and guarantee its survival against the unpredictable, at times hostile and destructive elements and forces of man and nature”.

Be that as it may Noord inland Jusoff (2009) posited that societal expectations depend upon the successful running of the education system. The success of the system depends upon the involvement effort and the contributions of the academic staff on the professional expertise. Job satisfaction, retention and commitment to the organization are essential for the academic institutions. Furthermore, higher job satisfaction of the teaching staff results to the healthy and positive climate of the institute. Positive climate of the institution not only increase job satisfaction of the staff but also the overall productions of the institutions.

According to Mohammed et al., (2012) human resources are the most essential and precious asset of any institution. They are the corner stone for any working place. The effectiveness of any institution to maintain a quality team of employee links to the ability to manage the staff as well as recognize the contributions of each individual. This project focuses on evaluation of job satisfaction among the teaching staff of secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area in Imo State. Therefore it is pertinent at this juncture to discuss briefly on secondary education which occupies a very unique and vital position in the educational system of Nigeria. Hence a secondary education is that level that determines the academic and professional career of students. It is this level that equally determines whether a student is an art or science student.

According to Federal Government of Nigeria (2004)  in the national policy of education the broad aims of secondary education within the overall objectives are preparing students for useful higher within the society and preparing them for revisit higher education.

According to the national policy on education of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigeria (2013) secondary education is that form of education that children receive after their primary education and before the tertiary stage. It is found in the middle of formal schooling stages of Nigeria educational system.  Abolade (2003) described secondary education level as probably the most unique and precarious of all other levels of education.

Thus, Abolade (2003) saw it as a pivot or junction board of all the subjects of the tertiary level. It is that junction where the different higher education takes off.

A primary school teacher or graduate cannot conveniently go into the world of work as a result of age doing that will amount to child labour. On the other hand a secondary school leaver has four good options faced with which are; if well qualified, he/she can come into

• A university
• A college of education
• A polytechnic or school of nursing
• The worth work as a messenger or clerk

The National Policy on Education (FRN 2013) outlined eight objectives of secondary schools education in Nigeria as follows:

1. Provide trained manpower in the applied sciences, technology and commerce at sub-professional grades.
2. Inspire students with a desire for self improvement and achievement of excellence.
3. Provide technical knowledge and vocational skills necessary for agriculture, industrial commercial and economic development.
4. Provide all primary school leaver with the opportunity for education of a higher level irrespective of sex social status religious or ethnic background.
5. Offer diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents, opportunities and future roles.
6. Develop and promote Nigerian language art and culture in the context of world’s cultural heritage
7. Foster national unity with an emphasis on common ties that unite us in own diversity.
8. Raise a generation of people who can think for they respect the view and feelings of others, respect the dignity of labour, and appreciate those values specified under the broad national goals and lives as good citizens. To achieve the above objective of secondary education in Nigeria, the teachers are the determinant and the driving face behind its achievement.

The education of a nation rest on the shoulders of the teacher and also the development of a nation is determined by what the teacher teaches in the classroom. The teaching profession is a job that holds a mark of respect and dignity in any society. The shining stars behind the success of education are teachers who are responsible for the growth and success of the sector and for the discipline and studious behaviors of the students. Therefore, there is the need to ensure that this in dispensable factor (the teacher) in the glomming of students as the middle level of our education. System is made to be satisfied with their job as to give their best to the students.

How can the secondary school teachers be satisfied with their job of teaching? A lot of factors will be combined for this question to be answered correct. The factor of motivation exerts a driving force on our action and work. A highly motivated team of employees helps in achieving the target of an organization or institution. Miracle is always high when employees are adequately motivated. The wealth of any nation is dependent on a highly trained and unmotivated workforce. Henry ford (2011) an American industrialist pointed out the importance of human resources by saying “take my business, burn up my building but give me my people and I will build the business right back again” undoubtedly, these are employees of the institution who can take the sector back to prosperity with their hard work act determination and then can also lead an institution towards the down fall if their needs are not being identified and satisfied speaking in the importance of job to the employee Szmanski and Parker (2006) asserted that “work determines persons worth and place in society and it influenced one’s revisit psychological identify and sense of well being. Furthermore work establishes one in the community of human kind it links a person to others advances the goals of culture and gives purpose of one’s very existence. In the same vein Smith (2007) posited that work does not only occupy a large part of each worker day but also the_ main source standing capable of defining who a person is physically and mentally.

Consequently, worker satisfaction is an important Component in overall well being. Hence job set’s faction is the key in making the teacher feel important in the society which he/she contribute a lot to build. Moreover job satisfaction can be viewed in three dimensions, according to Essien (2007) is viewed as an emotional response to a job situation and is often determines by low outcome meets or exceeds expectations. It also reveals some job characteristics that represent effective response of people such as. The work itself pays promotion opportunities, supervision, leadership and co-workers. The attainment of satisfaction with job and organizational structure, it must be noted is not restricted to certain professions. It is also evident that job satisfaction is not every distributed across occupations or workers. The assertion is correct when consideration is given to Bryner (2007) report of 2006 general social survey of 27,000 randomly selected Americans who expressed their satisfaction level with their jobs. The finding of the survey indicated that among the top ten most gratifying jobs, it is gladdening to note that teaching profession is one of the helping professing wherein satisfaction could be attained. Teachers are arguably the most important professionals in nation building and development (Bishay, 2006).

Consequently, their satisfaction at work is paramount to educational development of the nation. The important of teachers’ satisfaction with their job is made more regret poignant when Best (2010) affirmed that it is a predictor of overran student academic success in schools as well as capable of transmitting positive effects on the affective moral, cultural and spiritual gives of their students.

Moreover, by analyzing job satisfaction an organization can possibly increase positive outcomes such as employee satisfaction and performance and may decrease absenteeism and turnover (Mbah and Ikemefuna, 2012). Hence it is vital to have knowledge of how much these molders of future leaders are satisfied in their job. If teachers attain adequate job satisfaction they will be in a position to fulfill the national educational objectives of the country. This study evaluate job satisfaction among the teaching staff of secondary school teachers in Oru West Local Government Area Imo State. Against the foregoing background it would therefore be very necessary for government to look into factors that affect economic teachers job satisfaction and how this situation could be redressed in secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area, Imo State.

Statement of the Problem

For decades secondary school teachers in Nigeria have complained bitterly about the ill-treatment noted to then by successive government in Nigeria. This ill-treatment has resulted to the inability of the government to satisfy the needs of the teachers. Among teachers in the education system, the secondary school teachers are most ill motivated. Furthermore, their salaries are not paid as at when due, their promotion are over delayed and irregular, their working environment are not conducive teaching aids and teaching materials are in short supply the classroom is overcrowded and in some cases the children sit on the floor to study the ministry of education subdue them and treat them as a second class citizens. Even parents and members of the community where they teach are not left out in this ill-treatment of teachers in secondary schools. These and other forms of ill-treatment resulted in the dissatisfaction of teachers of secondary school in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo state. A close examination of studies on job satisfaction of secondary schools teachers in Nigeria indicates that much gap have .to be filled most especially in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State in terms of the extent to which secondary school teachers are satisfied or dissatisfied with their jobs.

Scope of the Study

The study is on factors affecting economic teachers’ job satisfaction in secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area Of Imo State. It covers all public secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area. The teachers and principals of all the public secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State and the level of their job satisfaction.

Purpose of the Study

The general purpose of the study is to find out factors affecting economics teachers job satisfaction in secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State.

1. Investigate the factors affecting Economics teachers’ job satisfaction among secondary schools in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State.
2. Investigate if emotions of teachers affect students’ academic performance when their needs are not catered for by the government in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State.
3. Ascertain the impact of motivation on Economics teachers’ job satisfaction in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State.
4. Find out ways to improve Economics teachers’ job satisfaction in Oru West Local Government Area of Imo State.

Significance of the Study

It is expected that the findings of the study will be beneficial to students, teachers, education policy makers, government and future researchers in the following ways:

To the teacher: Through this study, teachers will benefits having identified those factors affecting Economics teachers’ job satisfaction by the government and looked into. The government will also review the teachers’ salaries by increasing it and at the same time, adopt prompt payment of salaries.

The students; through the findings of this study will equally benefit by having revisit and recast problems of teachers they would be eager and motivated to teach the students for better academic performance with their whole heart and passions. The findings of the study will help education policy makers to make laws that will guide both teachers and students in the area of academics. This can be done by setting goal teachers and students should achieve. The government will benefit by knowing some of the problem; also be relieved of their burden.

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised to guide the study;

1. What are the factors affecting economic teachers’ job satisfaction among secondary schools in Oru West Local government Area?
2. To what extent do teachers emotions affects students academic performance when their needs are not catered for by the Government in Oru West Local Government Area?
3. What is the impact of motivation on economic teachers’ job effectiveness in Oru West Local Government Area?
4. What are the strategies to be employed to improve economic teachers’ job satisfaction in Oru West Local Government Area?
   

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   Pages:  76

   Category: Project

   Format:  Word & PDF         

   Chapters: 1-5                                 

   Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.

   

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