IMPACT OF STAFF DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES ON THE JOB PERFORMANCE OF FEDERAL POLYTECHNIC LECTURERS IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

Staff training and development are based on the premise that skills of employees need to be improved for organisations to grow. Hence, Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria have over time engaged in the training and development of their lecturers in order to enhance productivity and job performance. Therefore this study investigated the impact of staff development programmes on the job performance of lecturers in Federal Polytechnics. The study sought to determine the impact of higher education programmes and Information Communication Technology(ICT) on the job performance of lecturers, examine the impact of seminars and workshops, conferences, orientation and mentoring programmes on their job performance, ascertain the impact of Federal Polytechnics’ management support for enhancing staff development, find out the impact of lecturers’ attitude towards attendance and participation in conferences and to find out the impact of organisational issues that constrain lecturers’ training and development in the Polytechnics. Nine research questions and nine hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The target population was 6028 which included all the management staff, heads of departments and lecturers in the 19 Federal polytechnics. A total of 807 respondents were selected using a two- stage sampling method. Eight hundred and two sample members responded by filling and returning the copies of the questionnaire drawn from six Federal Polytechnics, one each from the six geo-political zones of Nigeria. The sample was selected using the stratified random sampling technique. Data was collected by the use of a structured questionnaire and was analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 20). Descriptive Statistics such as frequencies, percentages and the Mean were used to analyse and present the data. The Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Statistics was also used to test the research hypotheses and they were rejected at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study revealed that, orientation and mentoring have no significant impact on the job performance of lecturers. Participation in seminars and workshops, conferences, higher education and ICT programmes have several positive effects on the job performance of lecturers in the Federal Polytechnics, including: gaining of new knowledge and skills that enable them perform their tasks better with job satisfaction and motivation. It was however found that the management of the polytechnics did not adequately support staff development. The attitude of lecturers towards attendance and participation in conferences was positive and there were organisational issues that constrain staff development in Federal Polytechnics. In conclusion, staff development programmes have significant impact on the job performance of lecturers and should be encouraged. Based on the findings recommendations were made which among others include; training of staff should be made regular, planned and continuous, orientation for new staff should be made compulsory and well-structured by the school management, formal mentoring programmes should be introduced and the informal mentoring encouraged by Polytechnic management in order to adequately tutor new academic staff on their responsibilities. A suggestion for further studies is the study of the impact of staff development programmes on the job performance of non-teaching staff in Federal polytechnics of Nigeria.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1.        Background to the Study

One of the most important resources in any higher educational institution is the human resource especially the lecturers who have the responsibility to impart knowledge on the students under their care. Lecturers are regarded as the pivot on which any educational development hinges and so schools are expected to employ and train competent and highly motivated lecturers in order for the goals of education to be realised. The need to have competent lecturers has even become stronger as a result of the challenges posed by a fast paced, highly dynamic and increasingly global economy (Nassazi, 2013). Lecturers are faced with the need to keep pace with rapidly developing fields of knowledge and technologies and at the same time meet the needs of an ever widening range of diverse students (Peretomode & Chukwuma, 2012). The government as well as administrators of educational institutions have realised the importance of continuous training of lecturers as part of Human Resource Development strategy to update lecturers‟ skills in respond to rapid changes in the world.

Staff development has been described as activities which aim at improving, updating or maintaining employees‟ skills and abilities (Elnaga & Imran, 2013; Malaolu & Ogbuabor, 2013). It is also a set of systematic and planned activities designed by an organisation to provide its members with the opportunities to learn necessary skills to meet current and future demands of work (Werner & DeSimone, 2006). Participation in staff development programmes by

an employee is to begin immediately as a person is employed and should continue throughout a person‟s career. The objective of staff development in organisations like Polytechnics is to increase the skills and knowledge of the lecturers. Planned development programmes add value to organisations in terms of increased productivity, morale and greater organisational efficiency (Nassazi, 2013; Muzaffar & Malik, 2012; Rashid, 2008). Thus when lecturers‟ skills are developed through various development programmes, like seminars, workshops, mentoring, further education, induction courses and establishment of adequate reference libraries, their productivity is enhanced, as well as that of the institutions they work for. Increasingly researchers have indicated that improving lecturer knowledge and teaching skills is essential to raising student performance (Owolabi, 2012; Hoy& Miskel, 2008; Yates, 2007; Meiers & Ingvarson, 2005).

It is in recognition of the importance of staff development in educational institutions that the Federal Government declared in its National Policy on Education, “that teacher education and re-training will continue to be given a major emphasis in the nation‟s educational planning, as no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers” (FGN, 2004:70). Several initiatives have been put in place for the development of lecturers in the Polytechnics by government, the administrators of Polytechnics as well as support from other organisations. Government funded initiatives include sponsorship of staff development programmes through the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and United Nations Educational Scientific Organisation (UNESCO) interventions (Yakubu, 2009;Yakubu, 2010). All these are done because Polytechnic education is regarded as a tool for industrial, community and national development, and it is regarded as the bedrock of Nigeria‟s technological development. The Federal Polytechnics are higher technical institutions established by the Federal Polytechnics Act of 1979 to among other functions provide full or part-time courses of instruction and training in technology, applied science, commerce, management and in other fields of applied learning relevant to the needs of the development of Nigeria in the area of industrial and agricultural production and distribution. (The Complete Laws of Nigeria, 2013). The most important agent for accomplishing the goals for the establishment of Polytechnics are the lecturers whose contribution to the attainment of these goals largely depends on their knowledge, skills and competences which translate into better job performance. The job performance of lecturers implies duties performed by them at a period in the school system (Adeyemi, 2010). Lecturers‟ performance can be measured in terms of teaching, lesson preparation, mastery of subject matter, competence, commitment to job, effective supervision and monitoring of students‟ work, class control and disciplinary activity (Adeyemi, 2010). Therefore the ultimate goal of any staff development programme is to grow and improve the skills of lecturers in stated areas so that they can transfer these skills to their students and contribute adequately to the achievement of Polytechnic goals. Most often, newly employed staff in organisations does not have all the competencies required for a successful or excellent performance of their duties. Consequently, while on the job, employees‟ skills need to be updated through training and development. Most common types of staff development programmes are orientation/induction, mentoring, conferences, workshops, seminars, higher degree programmes and exchange programmes (Aslam, 2011; Oyebade, 2008).

Orientation programmes are expected to be conducted for newly employed workers so as to help them quickly adjust to their work environment and understand their responsibilities. Mentoring is another strategy that can be used to enhance the performance of new or less experienced staff. In addition workshops, seminars, conferences and further education can be used to improve the personal and professional growth of staff. Over the years, the management of Polytechnics have sponsored many lecturers for higher degrees, conferences, seminars, workshops and exchange programmes as such it is necessary to carry out a study to determine the impact of such efforts for the purpose of evaluation and necessary policy adjustments.

1.2         Statement of the Problem

Much literature attests to the claim that effective staff development is essential for the success of any educational development. This implies that lecturers‟ development is critical for the improvement of educational standards (Nassazi, 2013; Aslam, 2011;Lowden, 2005). Based on this and the recognition by educational planners in Nigeria that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers, the National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004) states that continuous training in all educational institutions shall be encouraged. Polytechnics are established to produce technical manpower for the nation‟s industrial and socio economic development and such can only be achieved when skilled manpower especially lecturers are recruited and trained on a continuous basis. The training and development of lecturers would enable them to perform their duties of teaching and research effectively (Yakubu, 2010). The quality of lecturers has a direct impact on the learning outcomes of students and the quality of education (Yakubu, 2010; Lowden, 2005; Alabi, 2005). Therefore investment in the development of lecturers is imperative for promoting quality education. Lecturers are expected to grow continuously through exposure to induction, mentoring, conferences, seminars, workshops and higher education training. If a lecturer fails to keep himself in touch with rapid changes in the world, his knowledge could become obsolete which could render the lecturer ineffective in discharging his duties.

The significance of lecturers‟ development and job performance has necessitated the introduction of policies to encourage staff development. The policy thrust is to enable staff to add to their qualifications in an area of study directly relevant to their primary assignment and also provide opportunity for staff to develop transferable skills to their students (Kaduna Polytechnic, 2013; NBTE, 1986). Consequently lecturers have opportunities of being sponsored for further education, seminars, workshops and conferences (NBTE, 2011). Similarly, TETFund has sponsored a total of 8,309 academic staff of tertiary institutions for both foreign and local postgraduate training since 2009 (TETFund, 2014: 10). The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) assigned N1.25 million for staff training and development in 2007 to Polytechnics, while in 2008 the allocation was increased to N20.24m (Hafiz, 2008). In 2013 a total of N80, 000.000million was also given to each Federal Polytechnic (FME, 2014).

Apart from TETFund, the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) which is the organ of the Federal Government responsible for Polytechnic education spent twenty one million naira for human resource development in the year 2008. The UNESCO- Nigeria Technical and Vocational Education Project also trained 2,500 lecturers of Polytechnics in Nigeria since its inception in 2002 in various skills (NBTE/UNESCO Project Office, Personal Communication April 17, 2010). This shows that staff Development Programmes have been going on for Polytechnic lecturers for the development of their skills to teach and carry out research effectively.

But there are continuous complaints on the quality of lecturers and their poor job performance, poor content delivery, poor lecturer etiquette and commitment (Owolabi, 2012; Aigbepue & Idogho, 2010; Yakubu, 2009) which seems to suggest that lecturers are not effectively participating in staff programmes, the training and development programmes have no significant impact on their job performance, and there are constraints to lecturer‟ participation in staff development programmes.

Meanwhile, several studies (Quartey, 2012; Elnaga &Imran, 2013; Malaolu & Ogbuabor, 2013) have been carried on the impact of staff development on the job performance of employees in business organisations in developed countries, but there is limited literature on staff development issues in the polytechnic sector of education system in Nigeria. Hence this study will contribute in minimising the gap in the literature and provide answers to the questions raised above as well as other relevant issues in the research.

1.3         Objectives of the Study

The main objective of the study is to investigate the impact of staff development programmes on the job performance of lecturers in Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study are to:

1. find out the impact of higher education training programmes on job performance and retention of the lecturers,
2. assess the impact of Information and Communication Technology training programmes on job performance of the lecturers,

• examine the impact of seminars and workshops on job performance of the lecturers,

1. find out the impact of conferences on job performance of the lecturers,

• determine the impact of lecturers‟ participation in orientation programmes and its consequences on their job performance,

1. ascertain the impact of mentoring of lecturers on their job performance,

• ascertain the impact of Polytechnics management‟s support in staff development programmes to further equip lecturers in their job performance,
• find out the impact of lecturers‟ attitudes towards conference attendance and participation and their attendant effects on their job performance,

1. find out the impact of organisational issues that constrain staff training and development in the Federal Polytechnics of Nigeria.

1.4         Research Questions

The following research questions were generated to guide the study:

1. What is the impact of higher education training programmes on job performance and retention of the lecturers?
2. What is the impact of Information and Communication Technology training programmes on job performance of the lecturers?

• What is the impact of seminars and workshops on job performance of the lecturers?

1. What is the impact of conferences on job performance of the lecturers?

• What is the impact of lecturers‟ participation in orientation programmes and its consequences on their job performance?

1. What is the impact of mentoring of lecturers on their job performance?

• What is the impact of Polytechnics management‟s support in staff development programmes to further equip lecturers in their job performance?
• What is the impact of lecturers‟ attitudes towards conference attendance and participation and their attendant effects on their job performance?

1. What is the impact of organisational issues that constrain staff training and development in the Federal Polytechnics of Nigeria?

1.5         Null Hypotheses

On the basis of the objectives, the following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

1. There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of higher education training programmes on job performance and retention of the lecturers.
2. There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of Information and Communication Technology training programmes on job performance of the lecturers.

• There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of seminars and workshops on job performance of the lecturers.

1. There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of conferences on job performance of the lecturers
2. There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of lecturers‟ participation in orientation programmes and its consequences on their job performance.
3. There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of mentoring of lecturers on their job performance.

• There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of Polytechnics management‟s support in staff development programmes to further equip lecturers in their job performance.
• There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on the impact of lecturers‟ attitudes towards conference attendance and participation and their attendant effects on their job performance.

1. There is no significant difference in the opinions of management staff, heads of departments and lecturers of Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria on

the impact of organisational issues that constrain staff training and development in the Federal Polytechnics of Nigeria.

1.6         Basic Assumptions of the Study

This study was based on the following assumptions

1. Lecturers‟ participation in higher education training programmes does not have any significant impact on their job performance.
2. Lecturers‟ Information and Communication Technology training programmes do not have any significant impact on their job performance.

• The participation of lecturers in seminars/workshops has no significant impact on their job performance in the Federal Polytechnics.

1. Lecturers‟ participation in conferences has no significant impact on their job performance.
2. Participation of lecturers in orientation after appointment is inadequate, unplanned and unstructured to make any significant impact on the job performance of lecturers.
3. There is no informal/formal mentoring for lecturers in the various Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria.

• Polytechnic management does not offer significant support for staff development programmes.
• Lecturers in Federal Polytechnics have poor attitude towards conference attendance and participation and this affects their job performance.

1. There are many factors that hinder training and development of lecturers in Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria

1.7         Significance of the Study

Nigeria is endowed with abundant human and material resources, but some of the skills and knowledge of her human resource may have become obsolete because of the rapid changes in the world, and the lack of continuous professional development. Educational reforms have often concentrated on improving students‟ achievement which to a large extent depends on teacher ability to change their instructional practices through staff development. In addition, the changes in course contents, curriculum and the general global changes have made it imperative for a re-examination of staff development policies and programmes to enable lecturers acquire new skills and knowledge to improve their performance. Thus, in order for change to endure, lecturers must become committed to new practices through training and development. Their training and development must also be assessed regularly to determine whether their objectives are being realised. Consequently, this study on the impact of staff development programmes on the job performance of lecturers in Federal Polytechnics will be significant to the Federal government, the management of the Polytechnics, National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), lecturers, students and the larger society. The Federal Government being the owners of the Federal Polytechnics has spent billions of naira on staff development programmes but the effectiveness of this investment is yet to be determined. Therefore, this study will provide it with data which will be useful for evaluating the various staff development programmes and help to determine whether the programmes are accomplishing their objectives. The management of Polytechnics will also benefit from this research in the sense that it will help to determine the effectiveness of staff training and development programmes in producing the expected outcomes and whether or not anything needs to be changed or improved. It will thereby help the Polytechnics to come up with effective plans for staff development. In addition the study will help them understand that it is very necessary to provide all lecturers with training so that they could perform their assigned tasks in an efficient way.

The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), will also benefit from the research because it will have concrete information on the efficacy of their staff development initiatives in order to design better programmes where and when necessary. Lecturers, in order to deal with changing technological environment, need to keep their skills up to date. The findings of this study will help lecturers evaluate their job performance with regards to the development programmes they have been exposed to. It might encourage Polytechnic academic staff to seek for self -improvement so that the goals of the Polytechnic can be achieved. In particular, the lecturers will find the study useful as it will expose them to the expected outcomes of staff development programmes in equipping them with knowledge and skills about new ideas and new teaching methods. It will also reveal whether management support for their development is adequate. The staff of the Polytechnics would also be interested in the study as it will highlight the different opportunities available for their development. It is hoped that the recommendations of this research will benefit all the stakeholders in the Polytechnics.

1.8            Scope of the Study

This research on the impact of Staff Development Programmes on the Job Performance of Federal Polytechnic Lecturers in Nigeria covered the nineteen Federal Polytechnics recognised by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) in Nigeria. The Polytechnics are located in the six geo-political zones of Nigeria, namely North –West, North -Central, North- East, South- South, South-West, and South- East. However, due to the large size of the country the researcher selected six Polytechnics, at least one from each zone. The study sought the opinions of lecturers and heads of departments most of whom had participated in staff development programmes. The opinions of the management staff that were in charge of academic affairs of the Polytechnics were also sought because most of them were former lecturers. The study sought the opinions of the respondents on the impact of higher qualification programmes, ICT training programmes, participation of lecturers in orientation and mentoring programmes as well as the impact of staff development programmes such as conferences, seminars, workshops on job performance. It also examined the impact of management support for staff development programmes; the attitude of lecturers towards attendance and participation at conferences and its impact and the impact of organisational issues that constrain training and development of lecturers.

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