CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
The development of human and
material resources has been the focus of concern of recent, towards the
development of a nation. This is due to the fact that the growth of
tangible capital stock of a nation depends to a considerate degree on
human capital development. Without adequate investment in developing the
human and material resources of the education sector, the possibility
of the growth of any nation might be hampered. Education is the vital
instrument for social and economic mobility at the personal level and an
instrument for transformation of society at the national level (Okpala,
2006)
The major concern of the
researcher is on the availability of human and material resources in
secondary school as both of them are the major ingredients to determine
the effectiveness and performance of the school. Resources, according to
Flippo (2003) mean anything that can give help or support when needed
in order to achieve a goal or objective by an individual, group of
individuals or an organization. Thus, educational resources according to
Flippo (2003) mean those things that are needed to help or support in
achieving educational goals and objectives. Irondi (2009) maintains that
educational resources are made up of human, financial and materials
resources. He adds that human resources are made up of school
administrators, the same people teachers, bursars typists, Clarks,
messengers, cleaners, watchman, cooks, drivers, librarians, gardeners
etc. Human resources in secondary school are made up of both skilled and
unskilled workers.
Castetter (2006) opined that
there is no organization that can function properly without adequate and
qualified personnel. He maintains that the quality of the personnel
determines the quality of the school products. Adequate provision of
human resources in schools will help to produce quality students and
will help to promote good schools administration. It is the
responsibility of the school and the government to provide human
resources to secondary school.
Adeogun (2009) notes that it is
the responsibility of the school administration and the state government
to ensure that adequate materials resources are made available to the
concerned school. This will enable the schools to equip their students
effectively and produce good performance on the part of both teachers
and students; there is need for the provision of adequate human and
materials resources in our secondary schools. Adequately of the human
resources according to Adeogun (2009) means having the right quantity
and quality of staff in an organization. According to Nwana (2003),
teacher quantity refers total number of teachers in the school system
and for teachers to be effective; they must be adequate in number.
Lassa (2008) asserted that the
success of any human endeavor, secondary school inclusive, is closely
related to be quality of personnel who perform the tasks. He added that
the extent to which public education succeeds will depend to a large
extent, upon the quality of the personnel engaged in the educational
process and upon the effectiveness with which they discharge individual
and group responsibilities. He also pointed out that among all the
ingredients needed in making secondary education succeed, is the
competency of the personnel charged with the task of effecting desirable
changes in children. In another view, Nwana (2003) found out that the
adequacy in the number of teaching staff and availability of teaching
materials influence the overall efficiency and effectiveness of an
educational institution. This implies that for secondary schools to be
effective and efficient, there is need to for the provision of adequate
human and materials resources consequently, this study will assess the
availability of human and materials resources in teaching senor
secondary District I, Lagos State.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The availability of human and
material resources in secondary schools is crucial and government of the
state has been consistent in ensuring that these educational resources
are available for schools. Inspite of the effort of the government to
provide the schools with both human and materials resources, most
secondary schools have still not met the academic standard and are
struggling good student performance. Report from past researchers reveal
that government secondary schools lack adequate infrastructural
facilities like laboratories, libraries and ICT centres and those affect
the performance and productivity of schools.
Also, poor administration in most
secondary schools leads to bad maintenance of human and material
resources in school. Good supply of materials like textbooks and other
instructional materials may be mismanaged by school administrators,
principals and teachers. Moreso, many secondary schools lack textbooks
in the four care subjects, that is, English, Mathematics, Basic Science
and Technology. Lack of textual materials and instructional materials
like teachers guide, hand books, manuals have affected quality delivery
of the curriculum. Thus, the main thrust of this study shall be assess
how effective is the availability of human and material resources in
teaching senior secondary school in Lagos State.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The main objective of the study
is to assess the availability of human and material resources in
teaching senor school. The specific objectives shall include;
i. To establish a relationship
between availability of human and material resources and student
performance in secondary school.
ii. To identify the various human and materials needed in secondary schools in Lagos State.
iii. To ascertain the effect of
quality teachers and staff on student academic performance in secondary
school in Lagos State.
iv. To examine the influence of good classroom library and laboratories on student performance in science and art subjects.
v. To identify the problems affecting the availability of human and material resources in secondary school.
vi. To make necessary recommendations based on the findings to be made.
1.4 Research questions
The following question shall be considered in the study:
i. Does any relationship exist
between availability of number and material resources and student
performance in secondary school?
ii. What are the various human and materials needed in secondary schools?
iii. Does quality teachers and staff has any effect on student academic performance in secondary schools?
iv. Does good classrooms, library and laboratories influences student performance in science and art subjects?
v. What are the problems that affect the availability of human and material resources in secondary schools?
1.5 Research hypotheses
The hypotheses formulated for the study shall include;
H01: Quality teachers and staff does not has any effect on student academic performance in secondary school
H02: Good classrooms, library and laboratories do not have any influence on student performance in science and art subjects.
1.6 Significance of the study
This study will have theoretical
importance for academic as it will contribute to the body of literature
on availability of human and material resources and student performance
in schools. The data to be generated and information gathered from the
field survey and library research shall become important sources of
information and references for students in universities and other
institutions of higher learning. It will also be useful for independent
studies carried out by institutions that conduct educational related
research.
Secondly, the study will have practical
importance for education administrators at all levels in schools as it
will give them an insight on the relevant of human and material
resources. This study will equally be importance to government policy
makers by helping them to make sound and intelligent policies that will
ensure even development in the education sector.
1.7 Assumptions of the study
The following are the assumption of the study;
i. Human and material resources significantly affect student performance.
ii. The instruments to be used in gathering data are valid and reliable.
iii. The variables to be used in the study are appropriate and suitable.
iv. The results of the study can be generalized.
1.8 Scope and limitations of the study
Geographically, this study shall be
limited to secondary schools in Lagos state. The study shall focus on
the availability of human material resources in teaching secondary
schools. This implies that issues relating to the various types of human
and material resources, the importance of human and material resources
to secondary school, the factor affecting the provision of human and
material resources in secondary school shall be extensively discussed.
The following limitations were envisaged
to be encountered by the researcher, first of all, poor attitude of the
respondents toward questionnaires respond. The researcher had the
problem of getting relevant information for the study due to the
unwillingness of most teachers and staff of secondary schools to divulge
information on the availability of human and material resources.
Secondly, high cost of transportation fares to and from the case study.
The researcher had difficulty in moving to and from the case study since
Lagos as a whole is very large. Moreso, scanty research resources
affected the researcher. The availability of relevant research materials
to enrich the literature review was scanty. However, it should be noted
that these limitations will not in any way hamper the achievement of
the research objectives.
1.9 Historical background of Lagos State
Lagos state is an administrative
division in Nigeria, located in the South Western part of the country.
The smallest in area of Nigeria’s state, Lagos State is arguably the
most economically important state of the country, containing Lagos, the
nation’s largest urban area. The actual population total is disputed
between the official Nigerian census of 2006 and a much higher figure
claimed by the Lagos State Government. Lagos State is located in the
South-Western part of the Nigerian federation. On the North and East, it
is bounded by Ogun State. In the west it shares boundaries with the
Republic of Benin. Behind its southern borders lies the Atlantic Ocean,
22 percent of its 3,577km2 are lagoons and creeks.
Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967
by virtue of State (creation and transitional provision) Decree No 14
states. Prior to this, Lagos municipality had been administered by the
federal government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as
regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the city
of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas (colony provience) of Ikeja,
Agege, MushimIkorodu, and Badagry were administered by the western
region. The state took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968
with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the state and federal
capital. However, with the creation of the federal capital territory of
Abuja in 1976, Lagos Island ceased to be the capital of the state which
was moved to Ikeja. Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of
the federal government to Abika pm 12 December, 1991, Lagos Island
ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos remains
the center of commerce for the country (www.en.wiki/history_of_lagos-State.htm)
1.10 Definition of terms
Human resources: This
is the set of individuals who make up the workforce of an organization.
It involves the knowledge; the individuals embody and can contribute to
an organization.
Materials resources: This
involves facilities that are use to develop and add values to people.
In this context, materials resources include the physical assets like
laboratories, libraries, instructional tools, writing materials,
classrooms etc, use to develop students academic performance.
Student academic performance:
This refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope
with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers.
Teachers: Those are those persons who help others to learn new things.
References
Adeogun, A. (2009). Instructional resources and school effectiveness in private and public Secondary Schools in Lagos state. Lagos Journal of Educational Administration and Planning, (1), 74-81.
Okpala, P. (2006). Researching learning
outcomes at the basic education level. Inaugural lecture presented at
the university of Ibadan, Ibadan on 21st September.
Flippo, E. (2003). Personnel management. London: McGraw Hill International Book Company.
Irondi, E. (2009). Record keeping for better management.Enugu; Pan-African Publishers.
Castetter, W. (2006).The personnel function in educational administration. New York: Macmillian Publishing Company.
Nwana, O. (2003). Standards in Nigeria education: Key Note address at the 18th Congress of Nigeria Academic of Education held at Kaduna November 18th.
Lassa, P. (2008). Teacher production a focus in Nigeria: The state of education in Nigeria. Journal of Education, 2(2), 11-19.