journal review - dr latif - the influence of school climate change on teachers - copy

7/29/2019 Journal Review - Dr Latif - The Influence of School Climate Change on Teachers - Copy

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THE INFLUENCE OF SCHOOL CLIMATE CHANGE ON TEACHERS PRODUCTIVITY AND

STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT

Musibau Adeoye Yusuf

Department of Educational Administration and Planning,Adeyemi College of Education

Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria

E-mail :[email protected]

and

Johnson Tayo Adigun

Department of Primary Education Studies,College of Education, Ikere- EkitiE-mail: [email protected]

Abstract:

This study investigated the relationship between school climate, teachers productivity and students

achievement in secondary schools in Ikere Local Government Area of Ekiti state. The study used

descriptive research of the survey type. The sample of this study was eighteen secondary school. Simple

random sampling technique was used for this study. Three sets of questionnaire were used to collect

relevant data from the subjects. The first instrument tagged Teachers Productivity Questionnaire (TPQ),

the second was tagged School Climate Questionnaire (SCQ) while the third instrument was tagged

Students Achievement Questionnaire (SAQ). Data collected were analyzed using percentage score,

means, standard deviation, t-test analysis and Pearson product moment correlation. All the hypotheses

generated were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that the pre-dominant used school

climate in secondary schools was open climate. The study also revealed that the level of teachers

productivity was low while the level of students achievement was relatively high. It was also revealed

that there was no significant difference in school climate between senior and junior secondary schools

and school climate and teachers productivity in senior and junior secondary schools while the study

revealed that there was a significant difference in students achievement between senior and junior

secondary school students. It was revealed that there was a significant relationship between school

climate, teachers productivity and students achievement. Based on the findings, it was recommended

that school administrators should create a favourable school climate in order to enhance better

teachers productivity and better students achievement.

Keywords: School climate, teacher productivity, students achievement
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Introduction

An organization could be defined as a system that consciously co-ordinates the activities of two or more

persons and influences their behavior (Barnard, 1960). The school as an organization has certain aims

and objectives which it has to achieve (National Policy on Education 2004). In order to achieve the aimsand objectives, the organization climate of the organization including the school system is very important.

This organization climate refers to the working condition among super ordinates (school heads) and

subordinates (teachers) in a bid to achieve the aims and objectives of the school system. School climate

refers to factors that contribute to the tone in schools, and attitudes of staff and students toward their

schools. Positive school climate is associated with well managed classrooms and common areas, high and

clearly stated expectations concerning individual responsibility, feeling safe at school, and teachers and

another supporting staff that consistently acknowledge students and fairly address their behavior.

(American Institutes for Research, 2007). The size of the school is equally important. In this regard,

Eberts, Kehoe & Stone (1982) examined the relationship between school size and students achievement

and found out that teachers satisfaction was greater in smaller schools than in large schools. In their

study, Smith and Gregory (1987) utilized a climate assessment instrument and a series or indepth

interviews and found that teachers were much more satisfied in the small schools than large schools,

while Fowler and Welberg (1991) found in one of their studies that large school size was negatively

related to school climate. Ramirez (1992) maintains that size per see is unrelated to achievement, rather

the organization of classroom and other instructional space are the major elements in a schools success or

failure. Teaching and learning situation in schools seem to be a function of the atmosphere of the school

and the productivity of the teacher. School climate is a set of unique characteristics of a school. These

characteristics distinguish one school from another. In one school the school head, teachers and staff may

find pleasure in working together. In another school, it may be discontent among the staff. In one school,

staff may appear well organized seem competent and exhibit confidence in whatever they do, yet in

another school, there may be tension as the school heads loses control (Clifton 1999). School climate is

related to school connectedness because without a positive and welcoming school climate, both students

and teachers are unlikely to experience connectedness; the poor conceitedness would have negative effecton teachers job productivityand students achievement. Productivity of an organization is defined as the

ratio of outputs produced by the organization and the resources consumed in the process. Teacher

productivity is the ratio of output produced by the teachers, here the output refers to the quality and

quality of students produces by the teachers.

Litwin and stringer (1988) investigated leadership behavior and organizational climate and found out that

by varying the leadership behavior in organization different climates could be created with implication for

teachers job productivity and students achievement. According to the authors, organization A may be

characterized by strong emphasis on structure, vertical communication, status, assigned role authority,

rules and regulations. Organization B may be characterized by emphasis on teamwork and friendliness

while organization C may be characterized by emphasis on quality, performance and creativity. Everyeducational organization has a climate that distinguishes it from other schools and influences behavior

and feelings of teachers and students achievement for that school (Sergiovanni and Starratt, 1988).

Climate has been defined in various ways by authors as the perceived subjective effect of the formal

system , the informal styles of managers and other important environmental factor that impact on the


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attitudes , beliefs, values and motivation of people who work in a particular organization , personality of

an organization , the atmosphere of the work place , including a complex mixture of norms , values ,

expectations, policies and procedures that influence individual and group patterns of behavior (Spencer ,

Pelote and Seymour,1998).

As for schools, climate is a necessary link between organizational structure, teacher attitudes to work and

behavior and student achievement. It was found that formal characteristics of schools had an important

influence on the way in which teacher perform their duties and obligation in the school system. Climate

could represent a composite of the meditating variable that intervene between the structure of an

organization and the styles and other characteristics of leaders, teacher productivity and student

achievement. Numerous studies have been done on organizational school climate. For instance, Halpin

and Croft (1963) find that it is behavior of elementary school principals, which in a large measure sets a

climate tone for school. Kelner , Rivers and OConnell (1996) in their study that on going since the

1956s, indicate that successful leadership competencies and managerial styles producing motivating

organizational climates ,which arouse employee motivation to do work well , and which predict the

desired organization outcomes which in the school system is referred to as the students achievement .

Hundred of studies have demonstrates the line between organizational climate and bottom link

performance measure such as volume, efficiency productivity. According to Spencer, Pelote and Seymour

(1998), the organizational climate has accounted for 10 to 25 percent of the variance in performance

measures. Pirolamerlo, Hartel, Mann and Hirst (2002) examined how negative event impact on team

climate and how team climate relates to performance. Based on the results, team climate had a positive

relation with team performance. Zohar (2000) demonstrated that variation in behavior at the level of the

individual supervisor, the group climate level of analysis affects safely behavior and it was plausible that

this would hold true for other aspect of climate.

Climate could represent a composite of the mediating variable that intervenes between the structures of an

organization. Halpin (1967) identified six types of organizational climate. He classified them as follows;

open climate that is, a climate in which nothing is hidden to teachers, and every teacher feels satisfied

with work. The second category is close climate; here the school heads and teachers are displeased with

everything while exhibiting lack of commitment to work. The third is autonomous climate which is

characterized by complete freedom for teachers to conduct their research; here the head teacher is

relatively aloof. The forth is controlled climate, here the school heads are highly domineering, personal

problems of staff are given little attention. The fifth is paternal climate. The school heads are dictators

while teachers do not get on well with one another. The last is familiar climate. It is characterized by

sociability at the expense of job performance. The school head, though considerate does not emphasis

productivity. Thus school climate will affect the classroom climate which in turn would affect theclassroom organization of the teachers.

High productivity is the hall mark of growth and development of nations all over the world, the level of

efficiency, productivity and the ability of the educational system to achieve its set goals depend on the

teacher as reflected in performing their defined roles because teacher are the fulcra upon which the


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whole educational system revolves (Eduese, 1996). Teachers have been shown to have an important

impact on student achievement and also play a crucial role on educational attainment (Lloyd, Mensch and

Clark 2000). Teaching and learning achievement depend on teachers, for there can be no meaningful

socio-economic and political development in any society without teachers. Productivity is concerned with

the overall effectiveness and efficiency of getting things done. It is essentially a ratio to measure how well

an organization converts resources into goods and services. In the school system, teacher productivity

may be measured in terms of teachers performance. In assessing teachers performance, qualitative tools

such as standardized test scores of student have been used (Schacter and Thum, 2004). Blankstein (1996

) opined that grades and test scores do not reflect the quality of instruction because teacher input is not

the only factor that influence students achievement in the school system , other factor that have been

identifies to have significant Influence on students achievement include peer effect, ethnicity , gender,

motivation , income as well as family background variables such as house hold environment and

parental educational background (Wenglisky, 2001). This suggests that teachers productivity level may

be evaluated in terms of what the teachers control and actually do in the classroom such as teaching

effectiveness and classroom performance. Teaching effectiveness has been accepted as a

multidimensional construct since it measures a variety of different aspect of teaching (Dunkin, 1997).

School administrators, students, colleagues and the teachers selfevaluation have been used to evaluate

and measure teachers effectiveness and productivity. Moreover students competence in the evaluation of

the effectiveness of their teachers has been of great concern to researchers in education. Barnett,

Matthews and Jackson (2003), suggest that student rating are valuable indicator of teaching effectiveness,

Nuhfer (2004) and Pozo-munoz, Rebolloso-pacheco and Fernandez-Ramirez.(2000) warned that student

rating should be one of a comprehensive evaluation system and should never be the only measure of

teachers effectiveness and productivity. The school administrator evaluation has also been used to

evaluate teachers effectiveness. The accuracy of school administrator evaluation of teacher has also been

identified and studied. Jacob and Lefgren (2006) found a positive correlation between principal

assessment of how effectiveness a teacher is at raising student achievement and that teacher success indoing so as measured by the valueadded approach . The above suggest that administrators, rating may

also be one of the comprehensive ways of evaluating teachers effectiveness and productivity is the

school system. Factors that influence teachers productivity have been identified to include teachers,

gender, marital status, academic attainment teaching experience and school climate. It is against this

background and literature that this study wants to examine the influence of school climate change on

teachers productivity and students achievement in secondary school in Ikere local government area of

Ekiti state.

Statement of problem

Teacher productivity and student achievement in secondary school may be determined by several

factors. It has also been observed that the teacher productivity and students achievement are poor. the

expected outcome of teacher performance which is better student achievement is not easily achieved

in the school system . People are complaining about the poor productivity of teacher which in turn leads

to poor students achievement. Hence the need to conduct this study is highly important.


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Purpose of study

The main purpose of the study was to determine the level of school climate, student achievement and

teacher productivity. The study used to determine the influence of school climate on teacher productivityof male and female student achievement research question.

The following research questions were raised to direct the study:-

1. What type of organizational climate is pre-dominantly used in school?2. What is the level of teacher productivity?3. What is the level of student achievement?

Hypotheses:

1. There is no significant difference in school climate between senior and junior secondary schools.2. There is no significant difference in teachers productivity between senior and junior secondary

schools.

3. There is no significant difference in students achievement between senior and junior secondaryschools.

4. There is no significant relationship between school climate and teachers productivity.5. There is no significant relationship between school climate and students achievement .

Research methods

The descriptive survey was utilized for this study .the study population comprised for all the 18 public

secondary school (both junior and senior) in Ikere local government area of Ekiti state. All the school in

the local government 18 was taken for the study. All the school heads of the schools constituted thesubjects of the study. After a careful review of the literature the productivity variable was determined as a

composite of teachers, productivity, school climate and students achievement. Three sets of

questionnaires and rating scale were designed. The first questionnaire tagged teacher productivity

questionnaire (TPQ) was designed for the school administrators to evaluate the teaching effective of the

school sampled teacher in each school .the second questionnaire was tagged School Climate

Questionnaire (SCQ) were to respond to by the teacher who were sampled by the study. The third

questionnaire tagged students achievement questionnaire (S A Q) was respond to by the school

registrars.

Methods of data analysis

The data collected for the study were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The

descriptive statistics that were used are percentages, frequency counts, means and standard deviation

while the inferential statistics used were t-test analysis and Pearson product moment correlation analysis.

Question 1, 2 and 3 were answered using frequency counts and percentages. Hypotheses 13 were tested


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using t-test analysis while hypotheses 4 and 5 were tested using Pearson product moment correlation

analysis. All the hypotheses formulated were tested at 0.05 level of significance.

Result

Question 1: What type of school climate is pre-dominant in secondary schools?

Table 1: Type of school climate common in secondary schools

school climate Common % Not common %Open climate 180 100%Closed climate 180 100%Autonomous climate 180 100%Controlled climate 180 100%Familiar climate 180 100%Paternal climate 180 100%

Table 1 show the pre-dominant school climate type that is commonly used in secondary schools.

Respondents (180) in all the schools claimed that their schools have an open climate type ofadministration while they claimed that none of the other climate types were commonly used in their

schools.

Question 2: What is the level of teachers productivity in secondary schools?

Table 2: teachers level of productivity in secondary schools

Variables N High % Average % Low %Performance in teaching 180 15 8.3 35 19 130 72.2Lesson preparation 180 17 9.4 23 12.7 140 77.7Evaluation of teaching 180 21 11.6 100 55.5 59 32.7Extra-curricular activities 180 32 17.7 60 33.3 88 48Effective leadership 180 24 13.3 33 18.3 123 68.3


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Motivation 180 29 16.1 44 24.4 107 59.9Disciplinary ability 180 18 10 36 20 126 70Lesson presentation 180 16 8.8 20 11.1 144 80Average 180 22 12.2 44 24.4 114 63.3

Table 2 indicates the level of teachers productivity in performance of teaching, lesson preparation, lesson

presentation, extra-curricular activities, effective leadership, motivation and disciplinary ability as low as

indicated by the school administrators. The performance level was on the average in the evaluation of

teaching. The average productivity shows that 22 representing 12.2 percent had high level of

productivity while those who had average level of productivity were 44 representing 24.4 percent and 144

representing 63.3 had low level of productivity. This implies that the level of teachers productivity was

low.

Question 3: What is the level of students achievement in secondary schools?

Table 3: level of students achievement in secondary schools

Students achievement Frequency Percentage

Low (0- 76.22) 31 17.2Moderate (76.23-82.61) 43 23.8

High (82.62-100) 106 58.8

Total 180 100

Table 3 indicates the level of students achievement in secondary schools, the result indicates that out of

the 180 respondents 31 representing 17.2 percent had low students achievement. Those who had

moderate level of students achievement were 43 representing 23.8 percent while those had high level of

students achievement were 106 representing 58.8 percent of the respondents. This indicates that the level

of students achievement was relatively high.

Testing of hypotheses

Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in school climate between senior and junior secondary

schools.


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Table 4: t-test analysis difference in school climate between senior and junior secondary schools

Variables N Means SD Df r-cal r-tableSenior school 90 48.57 8.79

178 0.73 1.96Junior school 90 50.03 11.63

P >0.05

Table 4 reveals that the difference in school climate in senior and junior secondary schools. The result

obtained from the analysis reveals that the value of t-calculated of 0.73 is less than the t-table value of

1.96 at 0.05 level of significance. Hence the null hypothesis is not rejected. This means that there is no

significant difference in school climate between senior and junior secondary schools.

Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference in teachers productivity between seniorand junior

secondary schools.

Table 5: t-test analysis difference in teachers productivity between senior and junior secondary schools

Variables N Means SD Df r-cal r-table

Senior school 90 82.44 6.12

178 0.2 1.96Junior school 90 82.63 6.52

P >0.05

Table 5 shows the difference in teachers productivity between senior and junior secondary schools. The

result obtained from the analysis shows that the value of t-calculated value of 0.2 is less than the t-table

value of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore, the null hypothesis is not rejected. This means there

is no significant difference in teachers productivity between senior and junior secondary schools.

Hypothesis 3: There is no significant difference in students achievement between senior and junior

secondary schools.

Table 6: t-test analysis difference in students achievement between senior and junior secondary schools


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Variables N Means SD Df r-cal r-table

Senior

school

90 82.06 6.60

178 2.11 1.96Juniorschool

90 84.75 5.22

P


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Table 8: test of relationship between school climate and students achievement

Variable N r-cal r-table

School climate 180

0.472 0.195students achievement 180

P


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Table 8 reveals the relationship between school climate and students achievement. It could observe

that r-calculated (0.472) is greater than the r-table (0.195) at 0.05 level of significance. Therefore the

null hypothesis was rejected. That is there was a significant relationship between school climate and

students achievement. The finding implies that students achievement is a function of the school

climate. This means that students achievement would be high in a favourable school climate.

Discussion

The study revealed the pre-dominantly used school climate in secondary schools in Ikere-Local

Government area of Ekiti state during the period under investigation. The study revealed that the pre-

dominant school climate in secondary schools is open climate. The reason for using open climate

might not be unconnected with proper seminars organized by for the school administrator by the state

Government. This implies that there are better induction programme for school principals on how to

manage their schools which in turn may enhance better teachers productivity and batter studentsachievement in schools. This finding of this study supports that of Adeyemi (2008).

The study also revealed that the level of teachers productivity was low during the period under study.

The reason for this might not be unconnected with the fact that the state government did not pay the

salary of teachers as at when due. There are other factors outside the scope of this study that may

contribute positively to teachers productivity in secondary schools. The study contradicts that of

Olonisakin (2002) while it supports that of Adeyemi (2008). The study revealed that level of students

achievement in secondary schools in Ikere local government area of Ekiti state was relatively high

during the period under investigation. The relative high level of students achievement might not beunconnected with open climate style of administration been used by the school administrators and

other factors such as provision of physical facilities, students commitment to their study, societal

value among others. The finding of the study supports that of Yusuf and Adigun (2009). The reason

for contradictory findings might not be unconnected with the variation in sampled used and period

and area covered by the study.

The hypotheses tested revealed that there was no significant difference in school climate between

senior and junior secondary schools. The reason for this outcome might be due to the fact that the

government of Ekiti always organized seminars for school principals, vice- principals and Head ofdepartments on how to administer their schools to yield better results. The study revealed that there

was no significant difference in teachers productivity between senior and junior secondary schools.

This implies that whether a teacher is working at junior or senior secondary school does not make a

difference in their productivity, what maters is the administrative competence of the school principal

and provision of facilities to work with in the school system.

The study further revealed that there was a significant difference in students achievement in senior

and junior secondary schools. The mean score of junior secondary school is greater than the mean

score of senior secondary schools. This showed that junior secondary had better studentsachievement than the senior secondary schools. The reason for this might not be unconnected with


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thorough inspection of the junior secondary schools by inspectorate division of ministry of education

and provision of both physical and material to work with by both the federal and state government.

The study further revealed that there was a significant relationship between school climate andteachers productivity. The finding implies that teachers productivity is a product of better school

climate and that better teachers productivity would be enhanced through a better school climate. This

would create better and conducive environment for the teachers to work within the school system.

The study also revealed that there was a significant relationship between school climate and students

achievement. This study implies that better school climate would enhance better teachers

productivity which in turn produces better students achievement in secondary schools.

Conclusion

The findings of this study has led the writer of this paper to conclude that variables of school climate

are critical variables in teachers productivity and students achievement in schools in Ikere local

government area of Ekiti state. However, the open climate was found in the study to be the pre-

dominant methods of administration in schools, yet the study revealed that the level of teachers

productivity in the school was low.

Recommendations

Based on the findings, it was recommended that the school Principals, school maintain and create a

favourable climate in secondary school system in order to enhance better teachers productivity and

better students achievement. The school principal should monitor regularly, control, direct and guide

teachers work and motivate them by providing physical facilities and other materials to work within

the school system. The state government should not relent in their effort in organizing seminars for

the school heads and ensure effective utilization of both physical and human facilities in school.

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