Mr. moses okweson

. 1. 1 Background Information to the Study The very fi rst sketch of the content and possible research questions and hypotheses of this study evolved during the years 1995—2000 when I was running a Master of Education program (M. Ed.) in Educational Management and Planning and a Postgraduate Diploma (PGD) in Human Resources Management Technology. At the time, I was a part-time lecturer at the University of Calabar, Yenagoa Study Center, and the College of Health Technology Port Harcourt, in Nigeria. My experiences from that period provided the background and aroused my interest in pursuing a Doctor of Education degree in order to do research on school effectiveness and quality improvement in Nigeria with focus on Academic and Professional Qualifi cation on Teachers Job Effectiveness (APQTJE), as limited academic materials concerning this area in Nigeria seem to exist. The doctoral degree is designed to prepare students for advanced professional practice directed mainly toward the application or transmission of existing knowledge. As a professional degree, it focuses on the utilization of research knowledge by those who aspire for leadership positions as administrators, policy analysts and curriculum designers. It also follows my exposure to the Finnish teacher education program that has given me a wealth of knowledge concerning the standards and values of teachers’ effectiveness. As a result, this study came about mostly after a detailed examination of the right segment of the Nigerian economy that required quality improvement for the enhancement of developmental growth, which explains the title of this dissertation. In a study conducted by the researcher in 1997, it was observed that educators in Nigeria have forgotten the important connection between teachers and students and how good teachers carry out their duties more effectively in meet2 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube ing the predetermined goals of education. In addition, it was observed that in Nigeria and in most developing nations the problem is not designing beautiful programs for national development but implementing them. According to Thomas Poetter, we overlook the treasure in our very own backyard: our students. Student perceptions are valuable to our practice because they are authentic sources of fi rst-hand experiences in our classrooms. As teachers, we need to fi nd ways to continually seek out these silent voices because they can teach us much about learning and learners (Poetter, 1997). Admittedly, there is more to teaching than feeling affection for children. Yet without love and an eagerness to serve schoolchildren well, teaching loses its heart. Moreover, when teachers forget that children come fi rst, their students and society are in serious danger. Therefore, teachers in schools are both among the most powerful and the most stressed adults in the world. They are powerful because of their infl uence over young minds, and they are stressed because of the responsibilities that are often out of proportion to their authority (Clark, 1995). The reality is that schools will change and develop only if the teachers within the institutions are empowered to develop themselves (Bayne-Jardine, 1994; Doyle & Hartle, 1985). Furthermore, realizing from the onset the importance of education, Lawal (2003) points out that “ Education is a powerful instrument of social progress without which no individual can attain professional development. ” It then follows that the best way to enhance instruction is through teacher education programs, which are key to understanding both teaching and learning. Such programs are meant to help individual teachers grow and develop as teachers, provide them with the skills and professional abilities to motivate children to learn, and to assist them in acquiring the right understanding of the concepts, values, and attitudes needed, not only to manage classroom instruction but also to contribute to the society in which they are born, grow, and live. Thus, teacher education is designed to produce a highly motivated, sensitive, conscientious, and successful classroom teacher who will handle students effectively and professionally for better educational achievement. For this reason, teacher education is a part of the education process or training that deals with the art of acquiring teaching skills. It is an essential exercise that enhances the skills of learning and teaching. In Nigeria, reasonable preparations are made to improve teachers’ professional development through the establishment of colleges of education, both at the federal and state levels. Institutes of education and faculties of education in various universities are also established to provide effective and professional teacher education programs. In such institutions, students are trained to form habits that will help them become teachers capable of shouldering responsibilities, showing initiative and being good models for their future pupils. Additionally, the National Policy on Education [NPE] (1989) Section 9, sub-section 65 states that at the National Certifi cate in Education (NCE) and General Background to the Study 3 degree levels, teacher education programs will be expanded to cater to the requirements of vocational, technical, and commercial education. The sub-section also recognizes the problems with Nigeria’s education system and the federal government’s promises to implement the commission’s recommendations by providing physical facilities and qualifi ed staffs in schools. Sub-section 67 acknowledges the federal government’s willingness to direct the universities to work out a program to make it possible for suitable qualifi ed holders of the National Certifi cate in Education (NCE) to complete a degree in education at the university in two years instead of the present three years. Sub-section 73 states that teacher education will continue to recognize changes in methodology and curriculum, and with the promise that teachers will be regularly exposed to innovations in their profession, in-service training will be developed as an integral part of continuing teacher education. The NPE further argues in subsection 74 that “ No matter the effi ciency of the pre-service training we give to teachers, there will necessarily be areas of inadequacies. In-service education for teachers will continue to fi ll these gaps. For instance, library service education, evaluation techniques, guidance and counseling, etc. will be systematically planned so that successful attendance at a number of such courses will attract incremental credit and/or count towards future advancement. ” Even with all these statements and programs in place, little has been achieved. However, the goal for which these moderate preparations were made has had no meaning because we have always expected that the products of these institutions will be employed to handle the instructional processes in our schools for which they are trained, yet incompetent teachers are still employed to carry out teaching. Educators in Nigeria (e. g., Adigwe, 1992; Odor, 1995) have argued that the falling educational standards can be attributed to the use of teachers who are unqualifi ed for instructional purposes, including those with general education (academic) qualifications such as BSc., BA., MSc., and MA. degrees etc. Those of us who care about education and how to best to improve its quality worry about this development in Nigeria. It then follows that as Nigeria is in dire need of development, Nigerian teacher education programs are so important that all avenues should be explored in order to increase the soundness of the nation’s education system at all levels. In order for a nation to develop, its education must be based on a solid foundation and all facilities needed for enhancing any educational program must be provided. These include the recruitment of professional and academically qualifi ed teachers who are interested in the educational development of the nation. A country can only develop signifi cantly and attain greater heights in the committee of nations through a comprehensive teacher education program (Ololube, 1997; 2004). Teacher education should assume a more active social role in producing research, in debates and in teaching as this will promote the development and general appreciation of the teaching profession. All 4 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube teacher education and training must include content that helps teacher trainees to interpret and infl uence current phenomena in society, the economy, culture and working life. Prospective teachers must also gain an awareness of the ethical responsibility intrinsic to the teaching profession not only in theory but also through experience. The models assimilated during teacher education constitute a crucial basis for future work. Arguing the need for an effective teacher education program, Lawal (2003) indicated that skilled and effective teaching and learning are expected from professionally trained teachers. They are expected to employ the use of teaching aids to supplement other methods and manage and control their classes for effective learning. It is Yusuf’s (2002) view that the main objectives of teacher education are to develop awareness, knowledge, attitudes, skills, evaluate ability and encourage full participation in the teaching and learning process. Again, Lawal (2003) argued that adequate training is the best possible way teachers in Africa can move forward in meeting the challenges of the 21st century. He quoted Fafunwa (in Akinyemi, 1972) as saying: “ If the African Teacher is to cope adequately with the monumental task that lies ahead of him, he has to be well trained for his job. He must be willing to enter into the spirit of new African age, willing to share new information and skills with his fellow teacher, seek more knowledge on his own initiative and above all, be fl exible and willing to experiment and not be afraid of failure. The new teacher envisaged must have fl exibility built into his total professional and academic make-up, and should be helped though regular in-service training to keep abreast of new techniques, skills and research in his fi eld. Effective teacher education programs are a necessary prerequisite for a reliant education system. They lead to increased confi dence in both teacher and students as they coordinated learning effectively and professionally, and rectify problems inherent in the teacher education. ” Clearly, it is believed in this study that experiences from other countries of the globe will offer increased insights on the importance of teacher education, and from these experiences Nigeria will learn “ best practices” and realize the signifi cance of teacher education in national development. This study could also help the Ministry of Education in Nigeria as well as those in other developing countries to effectively manage their teacher education programs. This study is undertaken with the belief in the premise that professionalism and academic training are two distinctive words and that both of them are necessary prerequisites for good job effectiveness. The kind of professional knowledge teachers require, the role of teachers in making this knowledge available to their colleagues and students, and the impact of motivation on teachers’ job effectiveness are essential to educational development. Thus, this research has both practical and conceptual aims which would facilitate a broad understanding General Background to the Study 5 of the issues surrounding teachers’ job effectiveness in connection with their competencies in Nigeria. Furthermore, in this circumstance, the need for strategic planning in education is essential to help revitalize the decaying teacher education program in Nigeria. It is against this background that this study points our attention towards empowering education planners and policy makers in Nigeria to learn from what is obtainable from other functioning teacher education programs around the world because insuffi cient planning has been identifi ed as one of the most important factors hindering education productivity in Nigeria (Fafunwa, 1985). In the same vein, Hannele Niemi’s discussion of whether teachers have a future and the condition for teachers’ growth drew attention to the fact that teacher education and school administration are important forces for the empowerment of teachers and changing their status in society (Niemi, 1996). The results of this research may be vital for the universities and other teacher education institutions particularly in developing countries. In essence, it would be possible to develop education in general and enhance learning so that future students and employees gain better knowledge and skills. This study is also aimed at fi lling the existing gap in the Nigerian teacher education literature. Though the author could have done a comparative study between two countries, but was narrowed down to Nigeria because of the lack of data from other countries. However, the author made use of existing literature from other countries especially from the West to support this study. The objective of Nigerian teacher education as contained in the National Policy on Education (1981) revised (1989) is as follows: – To provide highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels of our educational system1 – To encourage further the spirit of inquiry and creativity in teachers; – To help teachers to fi t into the social life of the community and society at large and enhance their commitment to the national objective. – To provide teachers with adequate intellectual and professional background for their assignments and to changing situations, not only in the life of the country but also in the wider world. – To enhance teachers’ commitment to the teaching profession. (NPE, 1989, p. 38) It is interesting to note that the aforementioned aims and objectives of teacher education in Nigeria are meant for all levels of education and sound very good and promising to move a country forward. However, embezzlement, corrupt practices and serious neglect have taken over the system. Thus, academic standards have fallen tremendously over the years. Educational achievements amongst students are purely self-effort with a little assistance from some sincere teachers. Presently, almost all the instructional materials that aid teaching and learning i. e. textbooks, classrooms, laboratory equipment, access to the Internet (computers), etc. are in short supply. To make matters worse, inconsistency in electricity and economic and political instability have hampered the growth of education in Nigeria. Another major problem with Nigeria’s education system is in the area of fi nance and human resources management (HRM). According to Nwagwu (1997, pp. 87—95) the crisis of educational funding is a fundamental issue because a critical shortage of fi nance has affected the organization and admin- 1 Chapter 9 of the National Policy on education deals with Teacher Education and starts with the famous truism “ no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers”. There is no gain saying the fact that no matter how laudable an education system may be, and no matter how well equipped the institution may be not much will be achieved by way of manpower training in the absence of adequately trained and well motivated teachers (Aiyepeku, 1989, p. 63—64). General Background to the Study 9 administration of education at all levels. The consequences of the shortage of funds were immediate. For example, the free universal primary education (UPE) scheme, which was started by the federal government in 1976, was hurriedly handed over to the state governments and the poor ones could not sustain the program. Bursary awards for students were stopped and subsidized feeding for students in higher institutions were also abolished as a result of lack of funds. In 2002 the incumbent civilian president of Nigeria (Chief Olusegun Obasanjo) re-launched free and compulsory primary education known as Universal Basic Education (UBE). Countless controversies have arisen regarding the success or failure of the program. In my opinion, the UBE program will only succeed if Nigerians learn from the mistakes of the UPE era. Nevertheless, primary school enrolment in Nigeria is currently as high as 95% under the UBE scheme. The current crisis in our educational system has led to private schools taking over the education industry in Nigeria following the constant strike actions embarked upon by public schools. Most parents, especially the rich ones and some middle class or poor who know the importance of education, have moved their children/wards to private schools. Thus, the private school business is booming in Nigeria. 1. 2. 1 Categories of Teachers in Nigeria The researcher discusses the various levels and what it takes to be a teacher in Nigeria with special reference to primary and secondary school education levels. The following categories of teachers2 can be identified in Nigeria. Prmary school level teacher qualification 1. Teachers holding the Teachers’ grade two certificates; thus teachers with: a) Five years of training in education and study of academic subjects after primary school leaving certifi cate; b) Two years of training in academic and professional subjects after full secondary school education but did not obtain a certifi cate. c) One year of training in mostly education after obtaining the secondary school certifi cate. 2 The word teacher can be used to refer to anybody who is involved in the business of teaching regardless of title–teachers, instructors, lecturers, associate professors or professors (Bin Mohamed Ali 1995, p. 1). 10 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube 2. Teachers holding the teachers’ grade one certifi cate; those with teachers’ grade two certifi cates, at least two subjects at the General Certifi cate of Education Advance level and a teaching practice level examination. 3. Teachers holding the Teachers’ grade two certifi cates and the Associateship Certifi cate in Education obtained after one year of professional studies in the faculty of education at a university: an institution affi liated with the faculty of education at a university 4. Teachers with the Nigeria teachers’ Institute (NTI) certifi cate which is obtained after two or three years of professional training. 5. Teachers holding the Nigeria Certifi cate in Education (NCE) “ Primary” after professional studies of three years in the College of Education. 6. Teachers holding Bachelor of Education degree (B. A /B. Sc. Ed, B. Ed.) Secondary school level teacher qualifi cations. 1. Teachers holding the Nigeria Certifi cate in Education; that is, those teachers with three years of studies in academic and professional subjects from the Colleges of Education after obtaining “ either” the West Africa School Certifi cate, Senior School Certifi cate or National Education Certifi cate. 2. Teachers holding a Higher National Diploma (HND) without professional studies in education from a Polytechnic. 3. Teachers holding the Bachelor of Art degree (B. A), Bachelor of Science degree (B. Sc.), Master of Art degree (M. A), Master of Science degree (M. Sc.) and so on. 4. Teachers holding the Bachelor of Art Education degree (B. A. Ed), Bachelor of Science Education degree (B. Sc. Ed), Bachelor of Education degree (B. Ed.) Master of Education degree (M. Ed.), Master of Art Education degree (M. A Ed), Master of Science degree (M. Sc. Ed), Doctor of Education degree (Ed. D. or PhD.) etc. 5. Teachers holding the B. A, B. Sc., M. A, M. Sc., Ph. D. Certifi cate and a Postgraduate Diploma Certifi cate in Education after one year of studies in Education at a university. The six categories of teachers in the primary schools level are regarded as possessing professional teaching qualifi cations while teachers holding certifi cates in categories 2 and 3 of the secondary school level are academically qualifi ed and not professionally trained to be teachers. Categories 1, 4 and 5 of secondary school level teachers are regarded as possessing professional teaching qualifi cations. It is important to note that there are teachers at the primary school level who hold Bachelor of Education Certifi cates. However, NPE secGeneral Background to the Study 11 tion 9, paragraph 61, p. 39, emphasized that the NCE will ultimately become the minimum basic qualifi cation for entry into the teaching profession. 1. 3 Statement of Problems An educational system is effective to the extent it makes use of the available resources to achieve its stated aims and objectives. The major objective of every school system irrespective of the level of education is to provide high quality education for learners An incompetent teacher is a disgrace to the teaching profession. Such incompetence may be a matter of low intellectual capacity, inadequate training, and resistance to modern pedagogical methods, or poor attitude about the teaching profession and a lack of dedication to professional duties (Fafunwa 1985; Ololube 1997). Researchers (e. g. Highet, 1963, Ukuje, 1979; Aghenta 1987; Edem, 1987, Peretomode 1991, 1995; Okwubunka, 1994) found that incompetence in teaching involves one or more of the following factors: 1. Poor classroom organization 2. Lack of knowledge of the subject-matter 3. Poor methodological competencies 4. Ineffective use of languages 5. Poor planning and preparation of lesson plan 6. Lack of motivation competencies 7. Poor material utilization competencies 8. Poor construction and employment of various evaluation techniques 9. Lack of interaction competencies. A competent teacher is one who knows and applies the principles, rudiments, methods and techniques of teaching in the teaching and learning processes. Teachers should be selected based on technical expertise because future evaluation procedures–in particular the objectives stated in the National Policy of Education of 1981–will be based on the ability to perform effectively. Professional courses in education intended to remove deficiencies in the teaching and learning process. This means that the effects of teacher’s professional and academic training on job effectiveness need to be investigated to assess their job value. The study also examines the utilization of available instructional materials, motivational process competences among co-teachers and the instructional process competencies of both academically trained and professionally trained teachers. The widely expressed view in Nigeria that all that is required to be an effective teacher is the general qualification earned from a university also needs to be investigated. Maybe that is the reason why unqualified teachers are still employed in Nigerian schools. To this end, this investigation also attempts to ascertain whether higher academic qualification improves a teacher’s job effectiveness in Nigerian secondary schools. 1. 4 Objectives and Purpose of the Study Research on school effectiveness and school improvement has become a major industry in the west, not only in the United Kingdom but also in Australia, Canada, and the United States of America. Though it took a decade or more to happen, this body of research has now had a major impact on policy at national, local and school levels. As a result, I have sought explicitly to learn from the research on school effectiveness and school improvement and to apply its lessons to policy on, for example, failing secondary school education in Nigeria. However, the revival of education in recent years has been built around 14 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube the same body of research. Indeed, it would only be a slight exaggeration to say that it saved these schools from extinction (Barber & White, 1997, p. 1). Conversely, given that there were limited research publications in Nigeria as regards this area of discourse, and those that did exist they were very narrow and did not focus on other possible features that might improve teachers’ job effectiveness, this study has given considerable insights to these divergent factors. However, that does not mean that this research is an end in itself; rather it is a means to help in resolving the problem mentioned. As a result, one of the purposes of this study is to fi ll the intellectual gap in the understanding of the key issues of educational achievement in Nigeria, with particular reference to teachers’ job effectiveness. By doing this study, the researcher participated in the global debate of educational improvement and students’ academic achievement from the viewpoint of a developing country. The overall objective of this study is to improve teacher education in Nigeria. This study’s expectation is to explore the practical policies of teacher education and understand professionalism and academic qualifi cation because they are two distinct concepts with reference to their application in Nigeria. It is also an attempt to analyze theoretically and empirically teachers’ academic and professional qualifi cations as a way of improving their job effectiveness. The study is also a demonstration of what actually happens in practice in the real world of instructional effectiveness and improvement (Creemers, 1994b, 1994c; Kerry & Wilding, 2004; Ololube, 1997; Scheerens, 1994; Wheldall & Glynn, 1989). Another reason for this investigation is to identify ‘ best practice’ management and planning strategies in the management of schools, especially at this time of austerity in Nigeria when educational systems the world over are doing more with fewer resources. The identifi cation of ‘ best practices’ and greater quality performance of teacher education and school management elsewhere will help Nigerian education planners, policy makers and educational effectiveness researchers to learn from other functioning educational systems how to implement these practices toward improving educational effectiveness in Nigeria. This research yields knowledge about the characteristics of teachers’ professional and academic competencies and how they affect education. As a result of these inherent problems, the need to establish whether higher academic qualifi cation improves teacher job effectiveness is essential. It is believed that higher education or increased academic qualifi cations are required to improve the work performance of teachers. Moreover, it is expected that teaching staffs that are actively committing to their academic and professional development will improve their job performance. This is because traditionally teachers have entered the profession with no professional training and as a result, there are large percentages of untrained teachers in the system. This is one of the strongest shaping forces in teacher education in Nigeria. Specifi cally, this study is designed to theoretically and empirically investigate the following research objectives: 1. To make a theoretical analysis of school effectiveness and teachers’ academic and professional competencies. 2. To investigate the methodological competencies of teachers and their role in improving instructional processes. 3. To investigate how teachers’ motivational competencies improve students and co-teachers ability to achieve educational objectives. 4. To examine if teachers’ material utilization competencies assist students during learning. 5. To explore how a teacher’s instructional process competencies affect teaching and learning. 6. To ascertain teachers’ evaluation competencies and their teaching effectiveness. 7. To determine the qualities of good teaching that are best for instructional purposes. Eliciting information from secondary school teachers, principals and educational supervisors from the Ministry of Education and Post Primary Schools Board in Rivers State of Nigeria, constitute an approach to reach this end. It is important to note that the scope of this research in limited to the examination of the management roles of educational planners and policy makers as they affect academic and professional qualifi cation and teachers’ instructional effectiveness in Nigerian secondary schools. Finally, the fi ndings of this study will constitute added input in the improvement of teacher education and school effectiveness in Nigeria. 1. 4. 1 Research Questions The following research questions were adapted from the problems stated above. The research questions of this study provide focus and direct attention to the major issues of concern in this research project and what the researcher specifi cally wanted to understand by doing this study. Therefore, they help determine what data to collect and how and where to collect it. In order to provide possible answers to the problems of this study, the following research questions were addressed: 1. To what extent does higher academic qualifi cation improve teachers’ job effectiveness? 2. To what extent does professional training of teachers’ improve their effectiveness on the job? 3. How do teachers’ motivational competencies improve their job effectiveness? 4. What type of instructional processes do teachers use to improve their effectiveness? 5. To what extent do teachers employ and use various evaluating techniques effectively? 1. 4. 2 Research Hypotheses Research questions are not the same as research hypotheses; research questions state what a researcher wants to learn. Hypotheses in contrast are the statement of the researchers’ tentative answers to those questions–what they think is happening (Maxwell, 1996, p. 53). Good research hypotheses3 are educated guesses about the relationship between variables; using concepts from probability and the sampling theory statistically tests the research hypotheses which helps to make decision about the hypotheses (Andy, 1992, p. 168). Nworgu (1991, pp. 44—45) drew attention to the fact that hypothesis is a conjectural proposition, an informed intelligent guess about the solution to a problem. It is an assumption or proposition whose veracity and validity is to be established. Formulation and testing of hypotheses are essential steps in any scientifi c research. A hypothesis provides the researcher with the necessary guide or direction in searching for the solution to the problem under investigation. This ensures that the researcher does not waste or dissipate all energy in searching for the solutions anywhere and anyhow. However, the main setback of explicitly formulated hypotheses is that, like prior theory, they act as blinders, preventing one from seeing what is happening. As with prior theory, one needs to treat these hypotheses critically, continually asking oneself what alternative ways there are of making sense of the data (Maxwell, 1996, p. 54). The following research hypotheses (null) were raised. A null hypothesis is a hypothesis, which states that “ no difference” or “ no relationship” exists between two or more variables. It is a hypothesis of “ no effect” or “ no difference” (Nworgu, 1991, p. 46). Thus, the hypotheses for this study include: 3 What makes a good hypothesis? Is that it aids researchers in evaluating ideas or explain why psychologists see certain research ideas as more meaningful and interesting than others. If one emphasizes that “ interesting” research ideas are manageable in scope, make specific predictions, and have implications beyond the immediate study (the fi nding relates to theory, to other studies, or to other behaviors rather than being an isolated fact), one may be spared from a class full of students saying things like “ I want to do a study to see if drinking alcohol affects cardplaying” 1. There are no significant differences in job effectiveness between teachers’ that have professional training and those without. 2. There are no signifi cant differences in the effectiveness of professional and non-professional teachers towards their methodological competencies. 3. There are no signifi cant differences in the effectiveness of professional and non-professional teachers towards their material utilization competencies. 4. There are no signifi cant differences in the opinions of respondents’ background information towards APQTJE. On the contrary, alternative hypotheses were raised in case the null hypotheses were rejected or not confi rmed. The alternative hypotheses are: 1. There are significant differences in job effectiveness between teachers that have professional training and those without. 2. There are significant differences in the effectiveness of professional and non-professional teachers towards their methodological competencies. 3. There are signifi cant differences in the effectiveness of professional and non-professional teachers towards their material utilization competencies. 4. There are signifi cant differences in the opinions of respondents towards APQTJE. 1. 5 Justification and Significance of the study It is important to pose the question raised in relation to a researcher’s motivation in conducting a particular study: Does our motivation for a given research topic or problem align with what the professional group sees as worthy of investigation? (Sarangi, 2002; Kamwendo, 2004). If the answer is no the research has no value, but if the answer is yes, then the need to carry out research of this kind is signifi cant. Concerns have increased over the years regarding raising standards of professional training and academic qualifi cations in order to improve teachers’ effectiveness (Buchberger et al., 2000). For that reason, the researcher hopes that the fi ndings from this present study might encourage the Ministry of Education to train teachers as professionals. This is also relevant to on-the-job training. In-service teacher development is part of a wider enterprise to adapt teachers to new challenges and new circumstances. This is because teachers are central to the ‘ capacity’ of schools to respond to the present world of technological changes. At the same time, professional development of teachers and 18 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube educational reform have always gone hand in hand according to the executive summary of OECD (1998, p. 11). The second justifi cation for this study is that the lukewarm attention paid to educational effectiveness in Nigeria by both the federal and state governments is reason for concern. In order to improve educational effectiveness, this study encourages policy makers in education and strategic education planners to explore the “ best practices” used elsewhere, at least in the West, to improve and support teacher in-service training programs. The Ministry of Education will be encouraged to know the cadre of teachers to remove from the teaching position, and by so doing entry into the teaching fi eld will be curtailed and controlled, thus focusing on manpower planning, training and development. The OECD’s (1992) report reveals that slower recruitment of teachers and the inability to recruit the right caliber of teachers in most developing countries makes it imperative to strengthen in-service training activities. Therefore, this study is signifi cant because it investigates the caliber of teachers found in Nigerian schools and fi lls the wide gap of improving the effective management of teachers as the human resources base of the school. In addition, discovering why certain educational systems in some countries progress while others stagnate, just like the situation we fi nd Nigeria’s educational system, is a phenomenon worth investigating. It is also signifi cant that the fi ndings from this research might go a long way in creating public awareness of the need to train children professionally. As mentioned earlier, some people are of the opinion that basic education is all that is required to become effective, and the rationale is that potential users can then determine for themselves if the results of this study can be used in a new but similar setting. The researcher made frantic effort to provide information about the content and context aimed at, offering contribution to the discussion and development of issues surrounding this research work. It is presumed that this study will bring some new insights and expand the discussion in this endeavor. Because this writing is from an international perspective, it is important that the results from this study might be sustained and improved upon by other developing countries in general and Nigeria in particular in the years ahead so as to guarantee an enduring system of secondary school education. It is important to mention that societal development depends on the acquisition of technical, human and conceptual skills, which are essential for teachers to help student’s developmental process, because training or remediation of these specifi c technical competences might be attained through the assistance of colleges of education and faculties of education at a university. Another very signifi cant feature of this investigation is that it examines the activities of teachers in relation to the environment, motivation and supervision, and by making connections and assessing the infl uences they have on the educational effectiveness and teachers’ job effectiveness. Not only did the General Background to the Study 19 researcher link the school effectiveness research and the school improvement literature, but he tried to develop a comprehensive picture of the changing process by relating this study to concepts such as Human Resources Management (HRM), leadership, learning outcomes and evaluation since the roles of teachers have continued to evolve to best match changing perceptions and the needs of the post industrial, postmodern educational system where there are very few certainties (Davies & Worrall, 2003, pp. 58—63). This dilemma of educational purpose between serving the needs of the market place and the requirement for democratic living is but one of the many postmodern paradoxes facing schools (Stoll & Fink 1996, p. 4). Therefore, it is argued that this study is signifi cant because to the best of the researcher’s knowledge this is the fi rst time that a study of this magnitude has been conducted concerning Nigerian secondary school teachers’ job effectiveness. This study therefore, breaks new academic ground by focusing on the under researched teachers’ job effectiveness domain. This study sets out to answer some important questions in relation to the researcher’s earlier studies of 1997 and others which were equally narrow. It is also important to state that this current study contributes to the understanding of educational effectiveness and school improvement in Nigeria. The reason for lack of publications in this area was not because of lack of researchers but the academically restrictive climate caused by decades of inadequate funding of research projects under the military dictatorship in the country. For example, the under funding of higher education in Nigeria by the government has resulted in reduced expenditure on research. This is one of the major reasons for the constant standoff between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has affected the educational development of the country. However, those who are fortunate enough to get research funding from external sources have to satisfy the donors’ research agenda (Kamwendo, 2004). Finally, when the researcher applied for a research permit from the Rivers State Ministry of Education as stipulated in the approval for research permit letter, I was further directed to furnish the Department of Planning, Research & Statistics with the details of my proposed study including the number of Schools and their location (see Appendix C). For this reason, I will donate one or two copies of this thesis to the Ministry and some copies of it to a few universities, national and state libraries in Nigeria with the aim of drawing attention on the need for research and to allow the stakeholders come in contact with the research fi ndings. 1. 6 Purpose and Outline of Chapters This research investigation is divided into seven major chapters. Every chapter includes more or less fi rst hand information, as chapter four is based on empirical data. Chapter 1 provided the general background of the study. The chapter begins with a consideration of the background information concerning the study, which includes an autobiographical statement in which the enthusiasm for the topic is anchored. In addition, the chapter neatly fi ts the statement of problems, research questions and hypotheses; it presents the objectives and purpose of the study by examining the reason for school effectiveness and improvement. Finally, this chapter further discusses the justifi cations and signifi cance of the study by examining teacher education programs as they affect academic and professional qualifi cation of teachers as well as the scope and delimitations of the study, likewise contributions and suggestions for further studies are put forward. Chapter 2 presents the conceptual framework and theoretical discussions. It is committed to the review of various theoretical literature relating to this study, which includes an examination of ideas and comments concerning school effectiveness and teachers’ perception of academic and professional training on their job effectiveness with reference to their competencies. The research’s specifi c objectives provide the bases of the review. Chapter 3 focuses not simply on what school effectiveness and improvement are, but the impact it has on teachers and students academic achievement aimed at meeting the challenges facing global competition for education reform. It also discusses quality teaching and learning in the schools. The subject of this chapter is to examine the wider context in which measures are made regarding school effectiveness and quality improvement. Chapter 4 describes the research methodology considerations and choices in this study. It involves a description of the research design, research population, sampling, and sample size. It also involves a compact description of the research instruments used. The validity and reliability of this investigation are equally presented in this chapter, as well as explaining the data collection methods. The last section is comprised of well-constructed data analysis techniques. Chapter 5 links the empirical data presentation, interpretation and analysis. It consists of the arrangement of the results of the empirical data in their raw form General Background to the Study 21 drawn from interviews and questionnaires from teachers, principals and supervisors of education from the Ministry of Education and Post Primary Schools Board. The interpretation and analyses of the data engross the determination of their strength and weaknesses which involve the use of multiple statistical procedures. The clear merit of this chapter in the researcher’s opinion is that the results are connected to the information given in the literature review. Chapter 6 is a description and discussion of the practices in education that demonstrate the importance of goal achievement within a system of school effectiveness and improvement. The discussion is based of the data from the respondents and makes use of evidence from literature to support the arguments. The obvious advantage of this chapter is that the results are connected to the literature reviewed. Chapter 7 concludes the study by discussing its main outcomes, which provide background for educational development policies and practices. The chapter discusses the relationship between theory and practice in the production of this treatise. It begins with a summary of the research investigation, major fi ndings, and implication of fi ndings, and conclusions. The chapter concludes with positive recommendations, scope and delimitation of this study and contribution and suggestions for further studies. Teacher Education, School Effectiveness and Improvement 23 2 Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Discussion 2. 1 Introduction This chapter is devoted to the review of various theoretical literature relating to this study, which includes an examination of ideas and comments concerning school effectiveness and teacher’s perception of academic and professional training and their connection to competency. The research’s specifi c objectives provide the basis of the review. The review of literature in educational research is regarded as a preparatory stage to gathering data. It serves to acquaint researchers with previous research on the topic they are studying. It thus enables them to continue in a tradition, to place their work in context, and to learn from earlier endeavors (Cohen & Manion, 1994). As Nworgu (1991) explains: The review of relevant literature is an exercise in which the researcher tries to identify, locate, read and evaluate previous studies, observation, opinions and comments related to his intended research. Such a review is aimed at providing the researcher with a good knowledge of the state of art in the area he is working. It affords him or her opportunity of knowing what areas have been covered, what remains to be covered, what techniques to employ in his investigation (p. 22). While Pole and Lampard (2002, p. 14) conclude that literature review allows new research to be located substantively in relation to what has gone before, by identifying what is already known, it also provides insight into where the new research may contribute and continues the process of progressive focusing. 2. 2 Theoretical Underpinning 2. 2. 1 Functionalism: Education for the Good of the Society The conceptual framework of this study is grounded in the functionalist conception of education. Functionalism is the oldest, and still the most dominant, theoretical perspective in sociology and many other social sciences such as education. This perspective is built upon two emphases: application of the scientifi c method to the objective social world and use of an analogy between the individual ‘ organism’ and ‘ society’. This study presumes a functionalist view of ‘ society’ specifi c to the middle years of the twentieth century, a time characterized by a high degree of occupational specialization, shared norms and values, stability, and the tendency to maintain equilibrium in the presence of social 24 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube changes. According to Murphy (n. d), underlying functionalism is the fundamental metaphor of the living organism, its several parts and organs, grouped and organized into a system, the function of the various parts and organs being to sustain the organism, to keep its essential processes going and enable it to reproduce. Similarly, Jarvie (1973) opined that members of a society could be thought of as cells that institute organs whose function is to sustain the life of the entity, despite the frequent death of cells and the production of new ones. Functionalist analyses examine the social signifi cance of phenomena, that is, the purpose they serve a particular society in maintaining the whole. Whawo (1993), citing Hearn and von Bartalanffy, sees society as an open system that maintains equilibrium through a feedback process or that portion of a system’s output that is fedback to the input and affects succeeding outputs and adjusts future conduct by reference to the past. Heylighen and Joslyn (1992) see functionalism as the ‘ Trans-disciplinary’ study of the abstract organization of phenomena, independent of their substance, type, or spatial or temporal scale of existence. Functionalism investigates both the principles common to all complex entities, and the (usually mathematical) models, which can be used to describe them. Schools are component parts of a system in the society and tend to maintain themselves in a steady state. A steady state occurs when a constant ratio is maintained among the components of the system, given continuous input to the system. A burning candle is often used as an example of a steady state. Upon being lighted, the fl ame is small, but it rapidly grows to its normal size and maintains the size as long as its candle and its environment exist. It is also self-regulatory; using the above illustration, a sudden drift will cause the fl ame to fl icker, but with the ceasing of the drift, the fl ame regains its normal characteristics (Whawo, 1993). According to an Internet source4, structural functionalists view schooling as essential to society, in that it sorts and sifts above average students from average and below average students. It does this in order to ensure that the more talented students rise to the top of the socio-economic status system. Another major role of structural functionalism is that it teaches the skills and norms of society. Structural functionalists believe that in order for society to remain a viable system all components must function together and thus requires a system to instill similar beliefs and values to each member of that society. Hurn (1995, pp. 45—48) asserts that according to functionalist theory those who excel in society are those who have worked the hardest for their position, a social phenomenon called meritocracy. According to Hurn “ this is a society where ability and effort count for more than privilege and inherited status”. Society needs the best and the brightest to function at the highest levels, and therefore it gives its highest rewards to this same group of people. Hurn also 4 http://uwp. edu/~goldmip/education/functism. pdf Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Discussion 25 theorizes that society functions much better economically when there is more education for the individual or for society at large An individual’s acquisition of additional skills provides benefi ts to the society in which he lives. Hurn further stated that the more education there is the less likely there will be much inequality. Whereas, human capital theorists see education as an investment in which those who feel that the benefi ts of college outweigh the money are the ones that rise to the top of the socio-economic pyramid. Those who do not decide to further their education, then, are less deserving of the rewards that society has to offer. This is the basic fundamental way that functionalists see education. Durkheim (1956, p. 71) feels that schools are there to teach morals to children. These morals are the ones that society has set up so that everyone is the same and need to be taught at school rather than in the home because there is too much bending of the rules at home whereas school is a colder environment. In teaching morals, the schools are also teaching children that they must become part of society and have ties to society or the child and society will break down. Durkeim concluded that these were the most important things that a school could give to its children, a sense of belonging to a larger society. In Talcott Parson’s opinion, a school’s main function is to socialize children by using the idea of commitments. There are two types of commitments, commitment to the implementation of the broad values of society and commitment to the performance of a specifi c type of role within the social structure (Parsons, 1959). Presenting the functions of education from the sociological aspect, Carr and Kemmis (1986) drew attention to the fact that the principal functional requirements of education are fi rst, to socialize the young into prevailing norms and attitudes so as to preserve social stability, and secondly, to stratify individuals in accordance with the complex network of roles that sustains the existing social order. The critical idea here is that school does not operate in isolation and its function in society is imperative to the development of the society. While D’Aeth (1975, p. 32) observed that the central objective of education was to raise the level of skills, especially technical and management skills, needed to support economic growth and to provide an adequate supply of the whole range of professional expertise needed to run a modern nation. Basic to this perspective is the conviction that the regular patterns displayed in human action are caused by social laws operating to ensure the order and cohesion necessary for the preservation of society. Society is therefore regarded as an interdependent entity maintained through impersonal law-like processes that operate without the intervention of human purpose. Particular institutions, such as education, are presumed to be ‘ functional’ in the sense that they exist in order to serve some of the functions that must be fulfi lled for society to survive (Carr & Kemmis, 1986, pp. 58—59). Carr and Kemmis further argued that the functionalist sociology of education provides knowledge of how the social 26 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube mechanism already operating in educational institutions could be modifi ed so that the equilibrium of society could be maintained. The researcher takes as his point of departure the functionalist approach to education because it views the school as a unifi ed purposeful organization or simply as a system that is made up of component parts. The entire staff in the school system are viewed as a whole and they are supposed to be experts in their fi eld. Thus, a clear picture of this ‘ classic’ view of ‘ professionalism’ is the fi rst step toward understanding the contemporary meaning of professionalism for today’s education and practical issues. Therefore, I conclude that functionalism as a school of thought focuses on what makes society function determines its use and purpose. However, given that different situations may infl uence instructional processes of students and the society at large, Eraut (1994, p. 1) argued that most accounts of the ideology of professionalism follow the functionalist models developed by Goode (1969), Merton (1960) and Parsons (1968), which accord primacy of place to the professional knowledge base. The problem, to which the concept of a profession is said to provide an answer, is that of the social control of expertise. Experts are needed to provide services which the recipients are not adequately knowledgeable to evaluate. Hence the emphasis put by the professions on moral probity, service orientation and codes of conduct. Equally, Jarkko Leino systematically argued that professional qualifi cations should be designed to indicate that aspiring professionals have completed their pre-service education and training and continuously sustained their competence of qualifi cation and competence in different ways during their practice years (Leino, 1996, p. 74). It was in this same perspective that he averred that the concept of qualifi cations and competences form a complementary pair describing both the knowledge of and ability to perform professional task. On a fi nal note, therefore, the application of the functionalist approach to this study was vital because it offered the opportunity to fi rst, defi ne problems in systematic/functional terms. Second, view problems as always interrelated thereby lending its application to other components in the society. And third, the interdependence of the other components of society was given consideration. Also, the purpose of this choice is not to test or refute functionalist theory, but to use it to select variables of interest and to organize my research. An examination of the concepts used in this work fi ts into this framework because a picture of the typical outlook of professionalism is the fi rst step towards accepting the contemporary meaning of professionalism for today’s teaching and practice issues. In essence, the goal was to test how academic and professional qualifi cation of teachers can infl uence the degree to which teachers fulfi lled their teaching job. The researcher’s preference of the functionalist theory does not mean that functionalist theory is not without criticism from other schools of thought. The functionalists were criticized on their view of the causes of Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Discussion 27 educational failure which apportioned blame on the individuals not the society, the poor, or the rich. Functionalists were positive regarding the common social goals of education and failed to recognize that it was hard to achieve common social goals. They also criticized the functionalist’s failure to see that social stability might be a result of a ‘ manipulated’ and ‘ illusive’ consensus. They failed to see education as necessary for motivating individuals for their own personal development rather than the sake of national economic need. 2. 3 Teachers’ Professional Competencies It is well known that a teacher’s way of thinking and beliefs guide his or her behavior and decisions inside and outside the classroom. The challenge set for the classroom teacher is high. Besides having to master their various subjects, they must have command over a wide repertoire of different teaching methods and strategies (pedagogy) and understanding of the learning processes of students (Ahtee & Salonen, 1995, p. 162). Shulman’s (1987) introduction of the term pedagogical content knowledge (pck) discusses the combination of content knowledge and pedagogic skills that are necessary for the organization of classroom situations and activities of learners. He defi ned pedagogical content knowledge as “ the particular form of content knowledge that embodies the aspects of content most germane to its teachability. ” It means that both teacher expertise and teacher knowledge of subject matter differ from ordinary scholarly knowledge and pedagogy. In other words, teachers have to be able to fuse the subject matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge into pedagogical content knowledge in their everyday actions in the classroom. Furthermore, in addition to knowledge of science pedagogy, content knowledge includes an understanding of what makes the learning of a specifi c concept diffi cult and what instructional strategies could help in presenting different aspects of the instruction processes. Pedagogical content knowledge also includes knowledge of what motivates students, students’ attitudes toward different subjects, learning and school, the cognitive development and reasoning abilities of a wide range of students and so on. For this reason, particular attention has been devoted to teacher education. Under headlines like academization and professionalization, reforms have been carried out at all levels of education. In addition to secondaryschool teacher education, other forms of teacher education have been more or less tightly linked to universities especially in the west. The overall aim is to improve the quality and status of the profession of teachers. For example, throughout the history of teacher education in Finland, secondary-school teacher education has been university based. Subjects are studied in subject faculties while the pedagogical contents are studied at a department of teacher 28 Nwachukwu Prince Ololube education, which is normally located within a Faculty of Education of a University (Bergem et al., 1997, pp. 433—458). The underlying principle is to continually increase the professional development and competencies of teachers (Day & Sachs, 2004). The Finnish education system is well regarded as offering a consistently high level of curriculum and scholarship and it is said to be one of the best in Europe and in the world5 (OECD, 2005, ). The signifi cant productivity of researchers, innovative instructional practices, successful placement of students into professional occupations, and carefully laid out national plans are among the noteworthy and unique features of the Finnish university system (Anyamele, 2004). According to the publication of Ministry of Education of Finland6 (n. d), the principle underpinning teacher education and the basis of the teaching profession is that: The teacher’s idea of man and conception of knowledge and learning are the foundations on which successful teaching is built. The teacher’s idea of man creates the basis for understanding different kinds of learners. The teacher’s conception of knowledge, in turn, underpins his or her conception of learning. It is on this foundation that teachers base all problem solving in the line of work. Consequently, these principles must be included in all initial and subsequent training given to teachers. This is because teachers who are aware of their work and its meaning are the foremost goal of teacher education in Finland. Being a teacher in Finland means encountering change, living with change and infl uencing change. Thus, changes in pupils, their living environment and society as a whole require sensitivity and willingness to anticipate future developments. One important skill for the teacher is to analyse changes in the environment with other members of the work community, to see these changes in relation to the teacher’s and the school’s possibilities and to determine which changes and outcomes are of the greatest relevance to the development of teaching. Teachers’ professional and academic competencies are seen in their ability to make use of the learning opportunities available in the environment. Their work is linked to society in many ways. In the future, being a teacher will mean willingness to take active part in infl uencing social development because the teacher infl uences the kind of values pupils adopt and how education for democracy is effected in the school. Both of these require a sound idea of education and the future the basis for which is built during teacher education. Teacher education needs close contact and diverse interaction with its environment in order to be able to anticipate and infl uence factors which will bear upon teaching in the future. 5 For more detailed reading, see Buchberger et al. 2000. 6 Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Discussion 29 From the above, teacher education in Finland seems to be based on a solid foundation which is worth emulating by developing countries not only in Africa, but around the world. It tells us about the where, what, who, and when, (4Ws) of how teacher education functions in order to achieve educational objectives. Nevertheless, in describing the categories of teachers in Finland, the Teacher Student Union of Finland7 (n. d), explained that teacher training is arranged by universities and vocational institutes of higher education, for instance: Pre-school teachers obtain a bachelor’s degree in educational science, which extends to 120 credits. This degree qualifi es an individual as a kindergarten teacher as well as a pre-school teacher. Classroom teachers study a master’s degree in educational science (160 credits). This degree qualifi es students to serve as classroom and pre-school teachers. Compulsory education in Finland lasts nine years, from the age of 7 to the age of 16. Subject teachers study for 160 credits for a Master’s degree. There are two possibilities to get into subject teacher education. The more common way is to start studying the subject at the university fi rst and then later add pedagogical studies. After these pedagogical studies one is qualifi ed to teach the subject in question. The other way is to apply directly to the subject teacher education. This direct selection to teacher education is getting more common, but so far it is only possible in a few subjects. Special-education teachers require 160 credits for a Master’s degree in educational science. This degree qualifi es them to serve as special-education teachers in elementary schools, junior high schools, and as classroom teachers. Vocational school teachers as a rule get a degree at a university or a vocational institute of higher education. After receiving their degree they work for a few years and then begin pedagogical studies at a vocational institute of higher education to qualify as teachers and develop their professional competencies. Competence in one’s professional work role is important in the overall learning process. Ready (1967) described competence as a motivational factor that is responsible for individual achievement. Still, results of numerous studies reveal that teachers are experiencing diffi culties in the performance of several professional activit