HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AS CORRELATES OF SCHOOL PRODUCTIVITY

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HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT AS CORRELATES OF SCHOOL PRODUCTIVITY

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

In education, the importance of human resource planning and management cannot be overemphasized. This is because, the role played by human resource management and planning on the achievement of education objectives cannot be neglected (Iyede, 1998). According to Odenu (2000), human resource planning and management involves planning, leading, directing and a number of other activities in order to achieve efficient utilization. Precisely, it involves integrating society’s needs with educational objectives, among other things.

In addition, the extent to which an organization like education, attains her objectives are directly proportional to the human resources available and their planning and management. In another development, Anyanwuocha (2000) described human resource as the most vital of the resources in the educational enterprise. The term, personnel administration refers to management of human resources, the acquisition of personnel and co-ordination of performance within the organization. Cubson (1985) opined that there are many literature in the area of human resource planning and management.

Peretomode (1991) and Nwangwu (1994), state that human researches planning and management are variously referred to as personnel management. They observed that human resource management and planning are that functions of all enterprises which provides for effective utilization of human resources in order to achieve both the objectives of the enterprise and the satisfaction and development of the employees. According to them, without the planning and management of human resources, the staff in the education sector would not be effectively harnessed and managed for effective utilization in education, especially in the teaching and learning processes.

The component part of management concerned with facilitating the accomplishment of the objectives of an organization through the systematic management of constraints and careful utilization of the available, limited resources which include human, material, equipment supplies, finance and work techniques or technology is known as administration (Peretomode, 1991). According to him, while management deals with the formation of plans, organization of programmes and formulation of policies, administration is fundamentally concerned with the execution and implementation of the formulated policies, plans or ideas and programmes. As Amaonye (2000) puts it, administrators are more of implementers of policies and programmes rather than formulators of programmes and administration, like management, involves such elements and activities as planning, organizing, staffing, budgeting, coordinating, reporting and evaluating, but this is done on a smaller scale when it is compared with management.

According to Ezewu (1983), the school management in the traditional sense is often thought of as involving the management and planning of human resource such as men (teachers and students), and perhaps money (school finance). The buildings, school space, and equipment are usually taken for granted for they are assumed to be there or “on the ground” as it were and therefore should not be given attention. But this assumption is unwarranted for they are actually not there.

Onyeuke (2000) observed that school facilities mean substantial costs to the school system for their establishment. According to him, if they are not properly maintained and managed, they depreciate and become dilapidated and even wear out faster than their normal “life span”. Also if not properly utilized, the school would not derive optimum benefits from their use.

As observed by Magbodule (1986), educational facilities are directly related with the school curriculum. Mgbodile (1986), described the school plant as the space interpretation of the school curriculum. According to him, the programmes of the school are expressed as it were through the school site, the buildings, play grounds the arrangement and design of the buildings and so on.

According to Amaobi (1990), the local place to start planning the educational resources or school facilities, is the development of the educational programme. The school educational programe should strongly influence the design of the school buildings. The basic principle here is that no educational facility should impose unwanted restrictions upon the educational programmes of the school building in the Nigerian school system.

School resource planning experts agree that curriculum development is a crucial aspect of school resources planning. For instance, no architect can design a functional educational need without a clear description of the educational programmes in the school (Castaldi, 1977).

As Onyeanwu (1990) puts it, it is advisable that considerable time should be devoted in developing the curriculum of the school before actual planning or designing of the school building by the architects. For instance, the architect should not only know what subjects would be taught, but should know the fundamental educational concepts and students’ experiences that underlie the design of the buildings. The architects should know what equipment is needed and how much space the teachers feel a student needs to perform each type of educational experience.

Given the increasingly volatile and complex nature and structure of the Nigerian school system, two basic factors are important for Nigerian educational success: capital and the human resource. Capital or fund, whether acquired through loans or government budgetary allocation, is by far, easier to manage, control and use optimally going by certain predetermined economic and managerial parameters. On the other hand, the acquired quantity and quality of the human resource is often hard to acquire as at when needed unless the need is preceded by long term planning (Banjoko, 1986).

By its nature, the human resource is complex, unpredictable and sometimes difficult to change. It required long period of development, and may not be available in the right quantity or quality when needed. Yet it is the most vital and critical resource required for organizational or institutional performance. According Nwachukwu (2000), teachers significantly affect the success of school as an organization. Teachers, depending on how they are selected and acquired, will bring few or many problems to the school. This is because, people often make their own as well as organizational life relatively pleasant or unpleasant. In short, the viability, growth and survival of any organization are tied to the availability of competent and well developed staff within the organization at the appropriate time.

Human resource planning can therefore, be described as that part of the overall organization, planning process by which an organization tries to ensure that it had the right number of staff and the right kind of staff at the right time, at the right places performing functions which are economically useful and which satisfy the needs of the organization and equally provides satisfaction for the individuals involved (Rowland, 1999).

In Nigeria school system, it is one thing to plan for human resource, it is another thing to manage and implement that which has been planned. According to Onuoha (2001), the implementation of the existing human resource is faulty. Planning for manpower in any organization such as the school, is as important as the implementation of the plan. Implementation of any plan, be it human resource or the curriculum of any school system, is where there is a lot of problem in this country. Any plan without proper execution or implementation, cannot be said to be in existence.

Statement of the Problem

The problem inherent in the examination of educational resources for school effectiveness in selected secondary schools cannot be overemphasized. This is because it is seemingly impossible for the secondary school system to grow and flourish without adequate plans being put in place and implemented on educational resources which include financial resources, physical resources and human resources (Adeogun, 1992). The planning for educational resources in Nigeria lacks effective implementation. No wonder there is under utilization of the human and material resources planned for the Nigerian education system. In most cases, some of the educational planners and managers of the Nigerian educational system are not experts and well experienced in planning and management of education. For instance, in many cases there is putting round whole in square pegs sort of employment and placement of those who plan our human and material resources for education in Nigeria (Asoluka, 2000) and this has caused the problem of educational growth and development in Nigeria today.

The above identified problems gave rise to the examination relationship between planning and productivity among selected secondary school teachers in Lagos State.

Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this study were:

(1) to ascertain whether educational planning affects the utilization of educational resources in the school.

(2) to examine whether there is a relationship between planning of educational resources and their implementation in Nigeria.

(3) to investigate whether a relationship exists between educational resources planning and teacher’s productivity in the school.

(4) to find out whether there is any relationship between teachers’ experience and educational resources planning in the schools.

(5) to examine whether there is a gender difference in the academic performance of students due to planning of educational resources in the schools.

Research Questions

The following research questions were raised in this study:

(1) Does educational planning affect the utilization of educational resources in the school?

(2) Is there any relationship between planning of educational resources and their implementation?

(3) Does any relationship exists between educational resources planning and teachers’ productivity in the school?

(4) Is there any relationship between teachers’ experience and educational resources planning?

(5) Is there gender difference in the academic performance of students due to educational resources planning?

Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

(1) There will be no significant relationship between educational planning and utilization of educational resources in the school.

(2) There will be no significant relationship between planning of educational resources and their implementation in the school.

(3) There will be no significant relationship between educational resources planning and teachers’ productivity in the school?

(4) There will be no significant relationship between teachers’ experience and educational resources planning.

(5) There will be no significant gender difference in the academic achievement of students due to educational resources planning.

Significance of the Study

The study will be beneficial to all stakeholders in the Nigerian school system for example the school authorities and the stakeholders in our educational sector at the secondary school level would find this study very useful because it will generate good information on the way forward to planning and management of educational resources in our various schools. Not only the school authorities, the teachers who are one of the most important and prominent stakeholders in Nigerian educational system, would be able to receive proper and better information on the effect of planning and management of educational resources for example, this study will afford them the opportunity of knowing how to effectively use the planned educational resources in their teaching and learning processes in the school.

With the findings and recommendations of this study, administrators of our educational system including educational planners, would be able to see the need to plan well the educational resources, because, guiding their usefulness, if the educational resources are not properly planned and adequately executed by the school administrators, it will result in low productivity of teachers in the schools.

This study will be very informative, educative and directional, in the sense that, it will help the school managers/administrators and school planners to redirect their system of thinking and planning for effective education of the Nigerian child.

The findings and recommendations of this study will afford school authorities and other stakeholders the opportunity of knowing the best way to plan educational resources and enough insights on how best to implement and manage the planned educational resources in the school system effectively.

This work if completed, will serve as reference material to researchers and students. This is because, they would use this material or part of it in their future studies or researches. Also, this study will be relevant to other agencies of our educational system, because it will help them to understand and appreciate the effect of educational planning on productivity of school teachers in Nigeria.

Delimitation of the Study

This study examines the planning of educational resources for school effectiveness in selected secondary schools in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Basic Assumptions for the Study

The basic assumptions that guided this study were that educational planners and managers of human and material resources will have more experiences due to the findings and recommendations of this study. This is because this study will enable them to be able to handle the issue concerning training of personnel and management of educational resources that are available in the school system.

Definition of Terms

In this study, terms were categorically defined thus:

Financial Resources: These are the monetary inputs available for and expended on the education system. These are usually referred to as cost of and expenditure on education.

Physical Resources: These include buildings, classrooms, laboratories, libraries, hostels, administrative staff offices, technical equipment, reprographic equipment and other physical plant like machines, vehicles, computer sets, typewriters duplicating and photocopy machines.

Human Resources: These refer to students, teachers, administrative staff, supervisory staff, from the ministry of education, guidance counsellors, school managers and others.

School Programme: This refers to the activities, events or programmes that place in the school environment such as orientation programmes, workshops, seminars or in-house programmes of the school.

School Plant: This refers to educational resources or every thing concerning the school or education which includes school buildings, classrooms, assembly halls and other general facilities in the school.