TEACHERS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROFESSIONALIZATION OF TEACHING CAREER IN NIGERIA: EVIDENCE FROM SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA
Keywords:
Auxiliary Teachers, Issues/Challenges, Professional Teachers, Professionalization, Professional Development, Students-Teacher Ratio, Teacher Availability, Teaching CareerAbstract
The study examined the professional development of teachers and the professionalization of the teaching career in Edo State, Nigeria. The study employed a quantitative survey research design. Five research questions were raised and five null hypotheses were formed. The population of the study consists of 297 principals and 1,327 teachers in the public senior secondary schools (SSS) in the eighteen local government area of Edo State. The sample for the study is 170 principals based on the Taro Yamane’s formula. Principals were selected through a non-proportional stratified random sampling technique from the eighteen local government areas of the State. The instrument used for data collection in the study is a structured questionnaire, titled: “Teachers Professional Development and the Professionalization of the Teaching Career Questionnaire (TPDPTCQ)” The instrument has a reliability coefficient alpha value of .845. The data collected were analysed using the descriptive, non-parametric statistics and one sample t-test statistics. The findings showed that the numbers of professionally-trained and auxiliary teachers in SSS in Edo State were not significantly different. Students-teacher ratio in most of the subjects studied were high. However, there were significant disparities in the students-teacher ratio across different subjects. The analysis also revealed substantial teacher shortages across the listed subjects. The study further showed that the levels of teacher availability for recruitment in the subjects studied were significant, indicating government challenges in meeting the teacher demand. The analysis of in-service training for teachers revealed that financial constraints, lack of resource persons, limited access to reference materials, and problems of logistics are common and critical issues and challenges facing the scheme. The study recommended, among others that policymakers, educational administrators, and stakeholders should endeavour to collaborate to implement policy reforms to address the identified gaps, improve working conditions and career progression opportunities for teachers, and enhance the professionalization of teaching career.
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