AN EXAMINATION OF THE IMPACTS OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT AND TEACHERS’ RETENTION IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN RIVERS STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background To The Study
Functional education prioritizes utilitarian goals like preparing students for productive lives in society. Secondary education necessitates energetic and dedicated teachers who are eager to continue in the teaching profession in today’s knowledge-driven world due to the emergence of new technologies that have impacted many aspects of human endeavors, including education. This is due to the fact that teachers are the foundation of every country’s educational system and are critical to school performance (Rockia, 2017). As a result, retaining teachers is critical for the secondary educational system to stay on track.
Employee retention refers to a company’s efforts or policies to inspire its employees, encourage workers to stay with the company, and prevent competent and valued employees from leaving.
It entails making appropriate efforts to persuade employees to stay with a company for as long as possible (Hang, Hao, Kumar, Ramendran & Kadirsan, 2012). This implies that, while recruiting teachers to teach in secondary schools is important, so is retention. Teacher retention aims to meet the needs of teachers in order to increase job satisfaction and reduce turnover. Teachers’ retention in the teaching profession is expected to suffer if they are underpaid and do not receive frequent advancements. A well-designed teacher compensation system would motivate them to do a better job, increasing their retention. As a result, teacher retention is dependent on the “motivational qualities they value” (Ahiauzu, Dieprey & Onwuchekwa, 2011 p.29).
Palermo (2002) describes a Teacher turnover is influenced by a hostile work environment, a heavy workload, and a lack of promotion opportunities. Thus, maintaining a desired teaching force in the secondary school system is critical because it promotes better services and contributes to the school system’s high productivity and continuity. Rivers State’s teacher attrition rate has risen in recent years. Many Rivers State secondary school teachers resign due to dissatisfaction, low motivation, low pay, and delayed career teaching as evidenced by promotion delays. Secondary school teachers are underpaid and receive sporadic promotions, which has a negative impact on their retention in the profession. According to the State Secondary Education Board’s (SSEB) report, the state lost a number of teachers due to attrition in 2009.
It expanded in 2010. This suggests that the state’s secondary school system isn’t doing everything right in terms of teacher retention. Personnel management techniques may influence how long teachers stay in secondary schools.
Personnel management, according to Akpan (2011), is a subset of organizational management concerned with fostering harmonious relationships between employees and between employees and employers within an organization. He went on to say that personnel management entails efforts aimed at acquiring and retaining a competent and harmonious staff in which each employee is given opportunities for personal growth and is effectively used in the best interests of the organization. This suggests that how personnel (teachers) are treated in secondary schools has a significant impact on their performance.
commitment to the organization and their decision to stay or leave. A variety of personnel management techniques may influence teachers’ decisions to stay or leave the teaching profession. These approaches include teacher training and ensuring the job security of teachers. Training and job security, according to Bell (2004), are two important predictors of employee retention. In light of the foregoing, this study seeks to ascertain the impact of personnel management on teacher retention in Rivers State public secondary schools.
1.2 Problem Description
Many secondary school teachers and other education stakeholders want effective and result-oriented personnel management to ensure teacher retention. Teacher turnover, unfortunately, continues to rise year after year. A significant number of teachers leave the classroom in search of white-collar jobs. profession not related to secondary education (Omeke, 2010). Some stakeholders believe this is due to ineffective personnel management methods. There is insufficient ongoing teacher training, and the results of performance appraisals are not used appropriately for teacher advancement and further training, which would have served as a bond to keep teachers in the school system (Jessie, 2013). The remuneration structure is administered inefficiently, particularly the incentives, which are insufficient to keep teachers on the job. Teachers’ advancement, salary payment, and other benefits, according to Jota(2015), are unnecessarily delayed. Decision-making in some secondary schools is poorly managed, and teachers are excluded from the process. The school’s relationships between administrators and teachers appear to be unstable, sometimes resulting in violence.
confrontation (Onyeka, 2014). (Onyeka, 2014). Similarly, the state’s health programs for teachers are handled and managed inefficiently. As a result of these issues, teachers’ job security is jeopardized (Miliky, 2013). These issues lead to teachers losing interest in their jobs, as well as a lack of proper and timely advancement and a strained relationship between employee and employer. Despite government efforts to retain teachers, the problem of teacher retention persists.
1.3 The Study’s Objective
The primary goal of this research is to examine the impact of personnel management on teacher retention in public secondary schools in Rivers State. As a result, the research will be focused on the following specific goals:
1. Determine the extent to which teachers in public secondary schools are effectively managed.
The state of Rivers.
2. Determine whether there is a link between effective personnel management and teacher retention in Rivers State public secondary schools.
3. Determine the impact of poor personnel management on the job performance of teachers in Rivers State’s public secondary schools.
1.4 Research Issue
The following questions will guide the research:
1. To what extent are teachers effectively managed in Rivers State’s public secondary schools?
2. Is there a link between effective personnel management and teacher retention in Rivers State’s public secondary schools?
3. What is the impact of poor personnel management on the job performance of teachers in Rivers State’s public secondary schools?
1.5 Importance Of Research
The study will be extremely beneficial.
It will investigate the relationship between personnel management and teacher retention in secondary schools, which will benefit the entire educational system. As a result, the findings of this study will bring to the attention of relevant school authorities the need to modify their leadership style in order to effectively manage teachers and avoid the consequences of teacher attrition.
Furthermore, it will be used as a literature review by subsequent researchers. This means that other students who decide to conduct research in this area will be able to use this study as available literature that can be critically reviewed. Invariably, the study’s findings add significantly to the body of academic knowledge concerning the impact of personnel management and teachers’ performance.
Retention in Rivers State’s public secondary schools.
1.6 The Study’s Scope
The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of personnel management on teacher retention in public secondary schools in Rivers State. The study will, however, determine the extent to which teachers are effectively managed in public secondary schools in Rivers State, whether there is a relationship between effective personnel management and teacher retention in public secondary schools in Rivers State, and the impact of poor personnel management on the job performance of teachers in public secondary schools in Rivers State.
As a result, the study will be restricted to a few selected secondary schools in Rivers State.
1.7 Study Restrictions
During the course of this study, the researcher
Some constraints were encountered, including time constraints, financial constraints, and respondents’ attitudes. However, the researcher was able to manage these just to ensure the study’s success.
1.8 Terms Definition
Personnel Management: This is a traditional method of managing people in an organization. Human resource management is a modern approach to managing people and their organizational strengths.
Attrition of teachers: The departure of teachers from schools for any reason (voluntary or involuntary).
Teachers Retention: A school’s ability to prevent teacher turnover, or the number of people who leave their job voluntarily or involuntarily, in a given period.
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