TRAINING AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT AS REQUIREMENT FOR QUALITY EDUCATION IN SELECTED SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Building human capital has been recognized in recent times as crucial to the overall development of any nation. The best thing Nigeria can give to its citizens is quality education, which opens the doors to development and progress. The importance of developing human capital cannot be over-emphasized as it acts as a catalyst for change for a better future for individuals to realize their full potentials in the acquisition of knowledge and skills. It is apparent that the world democracies that are doing well are those whose education systems are producing well- educated citizens who can understand what is involved in life and are not ethnic biased (Anya, 1999).
According to Obike (2003) it is literally impossible for any individual to learn a job or enter into any profession and remain in it for long with his or her skills basically unchanged. This is more so in a complex and constantly changing organization like school, that must adapt to changing societal demand and instructional methodology. Thus no matter how excellent the pre-service, pre-paratory and how well qualified school personnel may be at the time of employment, efforts should be made to develop them personally and professionally. On a regular and continuous basis (Obanya, 2002).
The schools need well qualified staff to provide quality learning experience for students in line with the saying “ no school can be greater than its teachers” changes in position and job requirement within the school system demands that personnel must be well developed. It is important to develop the teachers that directly impart knowledge to students. It is only then that appropriate and adequate knowledge can be imparted to the students, resulting ultimately in successful achievement of the goal of education (Nwagbara, 1999).
Training both physically, socially, intellectually and mentally are very essential in facilitating not only the level of productivity but also the development of personnel in any organization. Therefore, training can be put in a context relevant to school administrators. However, knowledge is the ability, the skills, the understanding, the information, which every individual requires in order to be able to function effectively and perform efficiently (Garuba, 1996).
According to Olaniyan and Lucas (2008) Human resources are the most valuable assets of any organization, with the machines, materials and even the money, nothing gets done without manpower. Abiodun (1999) submitted that training is a systematic development of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by employee to perform adequately on a given task or job. It can take place in a number of ways, on-the-job of off-the-job; in the organizations. Martins (2004) observed that staff training and development is a work activity that can make a very significant contribution to the overall effectiveness and profitability of an organization.
The effectiveness and success of an organization therefore lies on the people who form and work within the organization. It follows therefore that for the employees in an organization to be able to perform their duties and make meaningful contributions to the success of the organizational goals, they need to acquire the relevant skills and knowledge. In appreciation of this fact, organizations like educational institutions, conduct final training and development programmes for the different levels of their manpower.
Chris (1996) submitted that training and development aim at developing competences such as technical, human conceptual and managerial for the furtherance of individual and organizational growth. Also Egbe (1992) postulated that the process of training and development is a continuous one. The need to perform one’s job efficiently and the need to know how to lead others are sufficient reasons for training and development and the desire to meet organizations objectives of higher productivity, makes it absolutely compulsory.
It is against this background that the researcher examines training and human resource development as requirement for quality education in selected schools in Lagos state.
Statement of the Problem
There is a general outcry about the poor performance of secondary school students in internal and external examinations. Akubiro and Joshua (2009) observed that in recent times, there have been complaints that the standard of education has fallen. Research reports and general observations make it obvious that resources in secondary schools such as teachers, classrooms and instructional materials are in short supply. Obviously, the quality of teacher is low, since they are not given opportunity for training and development programmes. The over-riding question here is how can quality instruction be achieved?
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to;
- Examine the impact of training/development on teachers quality
- Determine the relationship between teachers quality and students academic performance
- Examine the difference between the productivity of trained and untrained teachers.
- Assess the difference between the productivity of experienced and in-experienced teachers
Research Questions
The following questions were designed to guide the study;
- What is the impact of training and development on teachers quality?
- What is the relationship between teachers quality and students’ academic performance?
- What is the difference between the productivity of trained and untrained teachers?
- What is the difference between experienced and in-experienced teachers?
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were tested in the study;
- Training and development have no significant impact on teachers quality.
- There is no significant relationship between teachers quality and students’ academic performance?
- There is no significant difference between the productivity of trained and untrained teachers.
- There is no significant difference between the productivity of experienced and in-experienced teachers.
Significance of the Study
The following people will benefit from the result of this study;
Teachers will benefit through this research work because they will see the need to acquire more knowledge and skill which will in turn enhance their instructional methods and boost the quality of teaching and learning. Government will also come in terms with the importance of in-service training for the teachers and will be willing to sponsore the training programmes in order to facilitate teachers, job performance towards quality education.
The society will benefit, because the products of our educational system will be of a higher quality and this will enhance the quality of our economy. Students will benefit because they will be tutored by high-quality teachers who are acquainted with new trends and innovations in education hence there will be a grate improvement in students achievement in our secondary schools.
Scope of the Study
The research will cover five selected secondary schools in Lagos State.
