Environmental Factors and Job Satisfaction among Integrated Science Teachers in secondary school

    Environmental Factors and Job Satisfaction among Integrated Science Teachers in secondary school

    CHAPTER ONE

    INTRODUCTION

    1.1   Background to the study

    Many business fail to understand the importance of working environment for employees’ job satisfaction and face a lot of difficulties during their work. Such organization are weak internally therefore unable to introduce innovative product into the market as to producing a well equipped graduate into the labor market. However, the working environment consists of two broader dimensions such as work and context.

    Work includes all the different characteristics of the job like the way jobs  is carried out and completed, involving the tasks like task  activities training , control on ones own job related activities , a sense of achievement from job[Rasiq, A and Maulabakhsh R, 2014]. Furthermore, job or work is an important aspects of an individual’s life and occupies a lot of personal and professional time compared to any other activity. It provides the financial basis for person’s life [Santhaparaj and Alam,2005].

    Moreover, job satisfaction is a worker’s sense of achievement and success on the job. It is generally perceived to be directly linked to productivity as well as personal well-being . Job satisfaction implies doing a job one enjoys, doing it well and being rewarded for one’s efforts [Kaliski,2007].

    Moreso, work has been done to understand the relationship between work environment and job satisfaction all round the world in different contents over the years; the study is gaining more and more importance with the passage of time because of its nature and impact on the society. The findings of a Danish study suggest that a firm can increase its productivity through the improvement of physical dimensions of work environment and may have a positive impact on firms productivity [Buhai,Cottini and Nielseny , 2008].

    In-addition, organizations provide rewards to members in the form of wages and salaries, promotions, long service awards and certificates, end of the year bonus and other fringe benefits. These rewards are to motivate behavior that will contribute to the achievement of the goals of the organizations. Therefore, if the rate at which people are leaving the organization or avoid joining the organization is high, the organization must investigate the underlying causes and this may be a function of negative job attitudes, low job satisfaction and the state of labour market [perry et.al, 2006].

    Moreso, the school needs teachers to work willing towards achieving their organization goals. Willingness to work however depends on how well  the school principals integrate the interest and needs of the teacher with the objectives of the school . How to motivate teachers in the school system is a very significant role of a good leadership. Absence of motivation could hamper performance, because stress, discomfort, frustration, all of which subsequently reduce student’s quality output [Odden, 2000].

    According to behavior scientists, people work because of the need to attain a number of goals or satisfy certain needs and teachers are not exception [Adelabu, 2003].It is against this background that the researcher is motivated to examines, whether environmental factors such as School location and school physical environment influence job satisfaction among integrated science teachers in secondary schools in Abak  Local Government  Area.

    1.2   Statement of the Problem

    Over the years, there has been public outcry on the falling standard of education in Nigeria. Parents and the government complain that teachers are to blame as they have not been alive to their responsibilities.  They accuse teachers of abandoning their duties for other businesses, truancy, absenteeism and dereliction of duty, leaving the students to their fate.

    Teachers on their part blame the government for late payment of salaries and allowances, poor working conditions, poor salary structure, lack of incentive, poor motivation leading to job dissatisfaction. The Nigerian Union Of Teachers[NUT] has used incessant strike actions to press for salary increase and better condition of service . The non-professionalization of teaching has also compounded the problem of teachers as teachers do not receive the same treatment as their counterparts in other professions who have better salary structure and conditions of service .

    More so, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization [UNESCO] recommended that developing nations spend 26percent of their annual budget on education but Nigeria spends on about 10percent or less of its budget on education. This has led to the inability of the government to equip schools with modern facilities. Teachers work under very poor conditions and this situation cannot make for school effectiveness and efficiency. Furthermore, most government policies that concern education are formulated by politicians who know little or nothing about education.

    These policies are  then pushed down to teachers to carry out and they end up not working at times as those policies are most time not aligned to the educational problem of the nation and this make teaching job cumbersome. It is against this issue that prompted the researcher to examine if environmental factors such as school physical environment and school location(urban or rural) influence job satisfaction among Integrated Science Teachers in Secondary School in Abak Local Government Area.

    1.3 Purpose of the Study

    The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between environmental factors and job satisfaction among integrated science teachers in Abak Local Government Area. Specifically, the study seek to :

    • Examine the influence of school physical environment on job satisfaction among integrated Science teachers in secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area.
    • Examine the influence of school location(urban or rural) on job satisfaction among integrated Science teachers in secondary school in Abak Local Government Area.

    1.4   Significance of the Study

    The research will highlight suggested ways  for improving teachers working conditions. The research will be relevant in the following areas; the study will enlighten school administrators on the important of providing a good working environment to teachers in school . The study will bring to the fore of government and  other stakeholders in education on the important of proper school location and provision of necessary infrastructures in and around school already sited.

    1.5   Research Questions

    For the purpose of the study, the following research questions were formulated:

    • To what extent does school physical environment influence job satisfaction among integrated science teachers in Secondary schools in Abak Local Government Area?
    • To what extent does school location(urban or rural) influence job satisfaction among integrated science teachers in Secondary Schools in Abak Local Government Area?

    1.6   Limitations of the Study

    The limitation encountered at the course of going through this research work includes; time and financial constraints. The time allotted for the study which was expected to be carried out alongside the semester courses were very short. Similarly, unavailability of funds for transportation to schools within the study area in which some of the schools were located in remote areas which made accessibility difficult due to non-motor able road constituted the constraints to the study.

    1.8   Delimitation of the Study

    The study was restricted to examine the environmental factors such as school physical environment, school location and its influence on job satisfaction among Integrated Science teachers in Abak Local Government Area. This research work employed only junior secondary schools teachers teaching Integrated Science in the study area.

    1.9   Operational Definition of Terms

    Environment:  This is the immediate surroundings of an individual, organization or a thing.

    School location: This is an area urban or rural where a school is situated or sited.

    School physical environment: This is the physical surroundings of the school, it includes ; the classrooms, offices and other facilities provided in the school.

    CHAPTER TWO

    REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

    This chapter focused on the review of literature related to this study. It was discussed under the following sub-heading for easy understanding.

    2.1    Concept of environmental factors and job satisfaction

    2.2    School physical environment and job satisfaction among Integrated Science teachers

    2.3    School location and job satisfaction among Integrated Science teachers

    2.4    Summary of the review of related literature

    CHAPTER FIVE

    SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

    This chapter deals with summary, recommendations, conclusion and suggestion for further studies.

    5.1   Summary

    The study was conducted to investigate the influence of environmental factors on job satisfactions among Integrated Science teachers in Secondary Schools in Abak Local government area of Akwa Ibom State. To achieve the specific objective of the study , two research questions were formulated and tested.

    Ten (10) integrated Science teachers were randomly selected from the five public secondary schools visited in the study area. A ten items questionnaire was  the instrument used for data collection while Simple percentage was the statistical method used for data analysis . The findings revealed that there is a significant influence of school physical environment , school location on jobs satisfactions among Integrated Science teachers in Secondary Schools in Abak Local government area.

    5.2   Recommendations

    Based on the objectives and findings of this study, the researcher recommended that ;

    • Government and other stakeholders in education should ensures that necessary physical facilities are provided and maintain in schools
    • School s should be located at a place where the teachers has access to necessary infrastructures like house, electricity, water and recreational centers or such infrastructures be located where it is not available
    • The government should employ laborers in secondary schools so that they can help with the with students in keeping the schools compound clean.

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