A Survey of Causes and Management of Teachers’ Behaviour Problems Among Head Teachers in Primary Schools in Ilorin West L.G.A
Chapter One
Aim of the study
The study aimed to explore the possible causes and effects of teacher problems in selected public secondary schools in Kwara state, Nigeria.
Objectives
Specifically, the study intended to;
- Investigate common teacher problems in the selected public secondary schools in Kwara state.
- Explore the possible causes of teacher problems in the selected public secondary schools in Kwara state in Nigeria.
- Find out the effects of teacher problems on the teaching and learning process in the selected public secondary schools in Kwara state.
- Establish the possible challenges faced in promoting ethical conduct among teachers in public secondary schools in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
Literature Review
Introduction
This chapter presents literature review on the ethical code of conduct. This is followed by examples of reported cases of teacher problems, their causes and effects. In the final analysis, it looks at strategies and challenges faced in promoting teachers’ code conduct.
Ethics and ethical code of conduct
Most professions and organizations have a code of conduct that guides their actions. The word ethics has its roots in the Greek word, ethos, which translates to customs, conduct, or character (Northouse, 2010). There are different definitions of ethics. According to Osland, Kolb and Rubin (2001) as cited in Reinhartz and Beach (2004), ethics refers to standards of conduct that indicate how one should behave based on moral duties and virtues arising from principles about right and wrong. However, for this study, ethics are a collection of values or principles that are stipulated in the code of conduct for teachers in Nigeria. This study also defines misconduct as any conduct by teachers contrary to the principles, values and morals found in the Teachers’ Code of Conduct for Nigeria.
Teachers’ Code of Conduct
According to Carr (2000) as cited in Anangisye (2005), teaching profession differs from many other professions and occupations in terms of the expected conduct. However, each profession has its own code of conduct which guides the behaviour of the members. Therefore, teachers are like any other profession guided by the code of conduct. As such, they are expected to conduct themselves following particulars in the Teachers’ Code of Conduct.
Teachers’ Code of Conduct is meant to guide and control teacher conduct. Van Nuland (2009) stated that the code sets out principles of action and standards of behaviour, how the members of the group will operate or work. These principles promote the professional conduct of teachers. As Van Nuland (2009) observed, students require teachers who are ‘good’ because of their education, training and experience. Fredrickson (2004) as cited in Van Nuland (2009) maintained that teachers can become ‘good’ through quality awareness, professional ethics and professional freedom.
Although the code of conduct is one of the most important tools organizations possess to promote proper conduct, Cleek and Leonard (1998) advanced that they are just one way of communicating an ethical culture to employees and not powerful enough to promote proper conduct (in Saat, Jamal & Othman, 2004). It is further argued that the ethical philosophies and values of management influence ethical choices and conduct of employees and their example is a critical component in creating ethical or unethical conduct by employees (Velthouse, & Kandogan, 2005). Gellerman (2003) noted that a code of conduct is not enough to assure proper conduct as they are forgotten the first few months for lack of emphasis. However, head teachers’ emphasis on the code of conduct might not be effective unless they show exemplary conduct, consistent with the social learning theory which states that leaders are role models by virtue of their assigned roles and have influence on followers.
Research supports the conclusion that the ethical values of management have a great influence on the ethical choices and conduct of employees (Stead et al., 1990; Soutar et al., 1994; Wimbush & Shephard, 1994) as cited in Saat, Jamal & Othman (2004). To this end, values, attitudes and behaviours of head teachers have a significant influence on the conduct of teachers. This argument is supported by the Social Learning Theory that emphasizes that employees learn behaviours by observing others (Trevino & Brown, 2004).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter describes the research design and methodology which includes administration of data collection instruments, sampling procedures and data analysis. The chapter further presents ethical considerations and worthiness of the research findings.
Research Design
Various research designs have already been described in the literature by several authors and could not be repeated here (Fraenkel & Wallen, 1990; Holliday, 2002; Creswell, 2003; Durrheim, 2004). Primarily, the study adopted a qualitative research design which allows for in- depth, more open and detailed study of selected issues regardless of the number of sites, participants or documents (Mason, 1996). It helps to obtain a more realistic feel of the world that cannot be experienced in the numerical data and statistical analysis used in quantitative research and provides a holistic view of the phenomena under investigation (Matveev, 2002). In addition, the design was adopted because the problem concerns the behaviour, feelings, and thoughts and lived experiences of head teachers and teachers who interact in a work environment (Carson, 2001; Holliday, 2002). The qualitative approach was thus used in order to provide a better understanding of the situation under which head teachers experience misconduct.
Even though this study was mostly qualitative, some quantitative approaches were also necessary; hence the study is a mixed- method study (Tashakkori and Teddlie, 2003). A mixed- method approach involves the use of both quantitative and qualitative methods in a single study. The advantage of this approach is that it allows the researcher to use the strengths of both methods to understand the phenomenon under investigation (Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie, 2003). Tashakkori and Teddlie (1998) defined mixed-methods research as those studies that combine the qualitative and quantitative approaches into the research methodology of a single study or multi-phased study. These multiple approaches are used in a variety of types of questions, research methods and data analysis procedures.
Study Population
A research population relates to the total universe of units from which the sample is to be selected (Ghauri & Gronhaug, 2005). The target population consisted of head teachers and teachers of public secondary schools within Kwara state in Nigeria. The total number of secondary school teachers in the division was 1,298 while Kwara state had 399 teachers.
CHAPTER FOUR
Data presentation, Analysis, Interpretation and Discussion
Introduction
This chapter presents the results of the study findings. This is followed by the interpretation and discussion of the results. The first part looks at the demographic characteristics of the respondents, availability of the Teacher’ Code of Conduct, knowledge and sources of knowledge of the Teachers’ Code of Conduct. Further, it also looks at cases of misconduct and their causes. In the final analysis, the chapter looks at the effects of teacher problems and challenges faced by head teachers in promoting ethical conduct among teachers.
CHAPTER FIVE
Conclusions and Recommendations
Introduction
The research results were presented and major findings reported in the previous chapter. Based on the major findings for the study, this chapter will provide the main conclusions and implications consistent with the research objectives. These are followed by limitations of the study, suggestions of areas for further research and the final conclusion.
Major findings, conclusions and implications based on main findings
This section will list the major findings from the study, draw a conclusion for each finding and provide the implication of the finding.
Major finding one
Various cases of teacher problems were reported in the selected public secondary schools in Kwara state. Although the actual recorded number of cases of teacher problems varied from one school to another, it was concluded that the common cases of teacher problems in the selected public secondary schools were unauthorized absenteeism and late coming. Unauthorized absenteeism and late coming may affect teaching and learning process.
Major finding two
The possible causes of teacher problems were found to be factors related to low job satisfaction, negligence, lack of support from authorities and lack of cooperation among teachers. The study revealed that teachers were dissatisfied with lack of promotions and low salaries. This situation resulted in teachers concentrating on secondary activities than actual teaching to supplement their incomes. It was also revealed that there was little or no support in terms of school supervision, a situation that led to feelings of relaxation among some teachers. Lack of cooperation between and among teachers also made it difficult for the head teachers to advance their beliefs and values which are said to have an impact on teacher behaviour as argued by proponents of transformational leadership. Although head teachers indicated lack of knowledge of the Teachers’ Code of Conduct as another possible cause for misconduct, the majority of teachers in the study reported being knowledgeable of the Teachers’ Code of Conduct. The major conclusion is that there are varied reasons for teacher problems in public secondary schools in Nigeria. The evidence of this study supports Kadzamira (2006)’s view that educational systems which do not provide good conditions of service like accommodation, good salaries and promotions are likely to have problems with some cases of teacher problems like unauthorized absenteeism. The implication is that as long as teachers are dissatisfied with their profession, cases of misconduct should be expected.
Major finding three
Cases of teacher problems were reported to have an effect on the performance of students through inadequate coverage of the syllabus due to among others late coming and absenteeism.
Teacher misconduct also affected the relationship between teachers and students as it affected class management and discipline. The main conclusion is that cases of teacher problems have far reaching consequences on the individual teacher and the teaching and learning process. The implication is that failure to address the root causes of teacher problems will have a negative impact on the student performance and unhealthy relationships within the school.
Major finding four
The promotion of ethical conduct among secondary teachers is made difficult due to human rights issues and lack of adequate financial resources to investigate reported cases and enforce the Teachers’ Code of Conduct in the public secondary schools. This implies that human rights if misunderstood can fuel misconduct. In addition, inadequate resources in the Ministry of Education Science and Technology (MoEST) may affect the promotion of ethical conduct thereby registering a lot of cases of misconduct.
This study also revealed that most head teachers displayed transformational characteristics. Transformational leaders are supposed to be role models to their followers. However, it is surprising to note that various cases of teacher problems were recorded in the selected public secondary schools. The implication is that cases of teacher problems cannot directly be linked to leadership. In support, Trevino and Brown (2004) argued that there was no evidence that transformational leaders transmit higher moral and ethical values and attitudes to followers.
Recommendations
- The study has revealed that lack of support through irregular school supervision or inspectioncreated feelings of relaxation among teachers in terms of their adherence to the Teachers’ Code of Conduct. Therefore, there is need to enforce the Teachers’ Code of Conduct through regular school supervision in the public secondary schools in Kwara state.
- The study has established that some cases of teacher problems were due to factorsrelated to job satisfaction. Therefore, there is need for the government to put strategies for improving teachers’ working conditions like considering issues of promotions and upward adjustment of salaries in order to improve teacher satisfaction so that cases of teacher problems are reduced since these have negative implications on the teaching and learning.
- The study has found that misconceptions of democratic principles of human rights and freedoms made it difficult for school authorities to enforce the Teachers’ Code ofConduct as one way of promoting ethical conduct among teachers. There is, therefore, need to sensitize teachers on their professional responsibilities and human rights in order to correct misconceptions.
Limitations of the study
Although the study has found out encouraging results, it is important to recognize that the current findings also have limitations. Notably, some teachers did not participate as they were reportedly administering the Nigeria School Certificate of Education (MSCE) examinations.
Since the study was carried out only in ten public secondary schools in Kwara state, generalization of the findings of this study may be limited. Furthermore, access to education information on teacher problems was made difficult due to lack of documentation and erratic internet.
References
- Adelabu, M. A. (2005). Teacher motivation and incentives in Nigeria. Retrieved February7,2010,fromhttp://www.eldis.org/vfile/upload/1/document/0709/Teacher_motiva tion_Nigeria.pdf.
- Anangisye, W, & Barrett, A. (2005). Professional status and responsibility Tanzanian teachers’ views on misconduct. Paper presented to the:8th UKFIET
- International Conference on Education and Development: Learning and Livelihood, University of Oxford, 13-15 September 2005.
- Alcazar, L, Rogers, F.H, & Kremer, M. (2006). Why are Teachers Absent? Probing Service Delivery in Peruvian Primary Schools. Washington: World Bank.
- Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood CliVs, NJ: Prentice–Hall.
- Banfield, S.R, & Richmond, P.V. (2006). The effect of teacher misbehaviour on teacher credibility and affect for the teacher. Communication Education, 55(1), 63-72.
