CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The 21st century school system has undergone a lot of changes and has developed into new inventories. The evolving (growing) development and changes in quality of schools therefore demands that teachers’ needs should be provided in order to improve the morale condition of teachers. The morale condition of teachers is a state of mind, the confidence and enthusiasm that a teacher has at any particular time towards his/ her duty (Hirjih, 1993). It is a determinant state of action and performances of teachers towards the gradual changes in schools. There are a lot of changes in the school system without much concern for the moral condition of teachers (Shaeffer, 1993). As it is in Nigeria today, there are also a lot of changes in the school system without much effort to improve teachers’ morale. Much construction, reconstruction, and introduction of new inventories and other measures have been made for increased effectiveness in schools. All these are made in the absence of teachers’ needs. No effort has been made to provide the needs for improving teachers’ morale, whereas improving teachers’ morale is one of the basic functions in schools and without it increased effectiveness in schools will not hold.
Morale is derived from a Latin word; “espirit de corps”. ‘Espirit’ means capacity, ‘de’ means to do, and ‘corps’ means to acquire interest and zeal (Biggs, 1996). Literally morale is the ability to acquire interest and zeal towards a specific goal. Morale is a professional interest and enthusiasm that can be acquired and displayed in order to achieve a specific goal (Bentley and Rempel, 1998). Morale is a physiological state of mind, the interest and the confidence that prompt action and reaction towards specific goals and objectives (Washington and Watsonim in Lusden, 1999). It was further stated that morale is the capacity of a group of teachers to work together persistently in pursuit of a common goal (Washington and Watsonim in Lusden). Morale is the attitude of the mind and interest a teacher has towards his/her duty depending on the state of available needs in the school.
The availability of the needs in schools can improve teachers’ morale because it stimulates zeal and enhances teachers’ performances. This means that the provision of teachers’ needs will make the teachers to work hard for increased effectiveness in schools. That is to say that the presence of the needs makes teachers to work hard for the development of the gradual changes in schools. Fernald reports that the availability of teachers’ needs is not only to encourage the teachers but also to improve teachers’ morale in order to induce the teachers into action (Fernal in Sheldon, 1993).
“Teachers’ morale” is an attitudinal concept that leads to their various interpretive behaviors (Hirjih 1993). It is an indispensable stepping stone with which a teacher can climb in order to see and embrace teaching as a profession meant for learning and for increased effectiveness in schools. Teachers’ morale is the zeal which the teachers have in order to maintain good relationship with the school (Fernald and Gidabor, 2002). It is the inner drive to action which prompts teachers’ behaviour.
It was stated that teachers are lacking a lot of things in terms of the inner drive to action because nothing has been done to stimulate them by meeting their immediate needs. Such as the provision of computer facilities and other materials (Shaeffer, 1993). It must be noted also that the condition of teachers has resulted into strike actions, liasses faire attitude, and other contradictory behaviors. Shaeffer states that if this condition is allowed to persist, teachers may be left to grapple with the frustrating conditions of service that will in turn lead to a burn out and other social vices (Shaeffer). Suffice it to say that no teacher can effectively carry out his/her duty in the absence of needs without experiencing some level of stress. Therefore as an indispensable fact for increased effectiveness in schools, teachers’ morale needs to be improved in order to reduce teachers’ stress. This is because for any school to prosper in the area of increased effectiveness, government (federal and state government) should consider the condition of teachers, and steadily make adequate provisions for their needs to be met. Teachers’ needs should be adequately provided for in order to enhance their performances. These needs should be provided to stop the teachers from engaging in other duties. Such as trading in the schools, selling in the market during school hours, engaging in the riding of bikes, and other social or domestic activities outside the classroom context (Ogunna, 1996).
Teachers’ needs are those items that are needed to improve teachers’ morale, such as promotions, salaries, gratuities, pensions, welfare services, incentives, allowances, recognition and remuneration (Echefu, 2003). Teachers’ needs also involve adequate provision of teaching personnel (teachers) in schools. Akubue points out that teachers’ morale depends on the degree or extent of available needs in schools (Akubue, 1991). Vroom concludes that whenever teachers’ needs are adequately provided the teachers usually work peacefully. But in the absence of the required needs, the reverse is always the case (Vroom, 2006). This is to say that meeting the teachers’ needs brings about the enthusiasm as well as the confidence of a group of teachers; in order to work together under one umbrella, hence achieving the goals and objectives of a school. Therefore the effectiveness of teachers’ morale depends on the rate of needs given to the teachers.
Inquiry on improving teachers’ morale is very prominent as it ranges from examination of the condition of services given to the teachers (Perking and Hartless, 2002). From an inquiry made, it was found that the condition of teachers in schools has been traced to inadequate needs such as teaching materials’ and poor personnel administration. It was also discovered that there is lack of remuneration, irregular payment of salary, lack of computer system, lack of benefits, a lot of contradiction, poor welfare services and lack of incentives needs. There are problems of morale improvement among secondary school teachers. Those problems are pushing the teacher into low morale condition. Whereas low morale condition is a situation where the teachers are pushed into melancholic state (Okafor in Onwuasoanya, 1991). That is a situation where the teachers are left to take care of themselves under a state of insufficiency and lack of needs.
It was further stated that there are a lot of evidence to show that teachers are also suffering from low morale in Nigerian schools. Such evidence are selling in the schools, engagement in other duties, lateness, sleeping in the staff room, unskilled school leavers, lack of commitment to duties and dismissal before the school hour including other inconsistent behaviours (Okafor in Onwuasoanya). These attitudes have caused a lot of problems between parents and the teachers as the parents feel that their children are being cheated by the teachers. The attitudes also cause the students to neglect and look down on the teachers as a result of such inconsistencies found among them.
Many a time, the ministry of education, the post primary school management board and the local government officials refuse to pay teachers’ salary (Achimugu, 2000). They use teachers’ salaries as self rewarding contracts by diverting or embezzling such funds. Government failed to show concern on the morale condition of teachers. The following are aids/benefits, which are very essential and which we may find lacking in schools: computer systems in schools, promotion when teachers are due for promotion, remunerations/rewards due to teachers, gratuity and so forth.
The condition of teachers in Orlu Education Zone leaves more to be desired as their conditions of service is a far cry from what could be termed as ideal. The teachers seem to have been forgotten, teachers’ salaries are not being paid, and there is lack of welfare services and other needs. Teaching and learning processes are religiously been carried out in these schools without instructional materials. The rate of utilization and maintenance of a few available instructional materials in these schools are greatly unsatisfactory. Most of the few available instructional materials in the schools are old, of low quality and none stimulating. The majority of the materials is faulty, non-functional and in various stages of decay. Government has failed to equip the schools with adequate laboratory equipment, instructional materials, and computer systems. This has a lot of influence on teachers’ morale as well as on the image of teachers generally. Most of the teachers do not possess the basic operational knowledge as to how these materials are used for effective teaching. Even fresh graduate teachers do not have the idea on how to operate some of the equipments available. That is to say that government has failed to bring the status of teachers at pair with their counterparts in other professions where these equipments are used regularly. Akubue affirms that most of the instructional materials for learning are not available in schools, and even when they are available they are scarcely used (Akubua, 1991).
