TEACHERS’ JOB COMMITMENT AS CORRELATES OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

The study examined teachers’ job commitment as a correlate of students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Awka South Local Government, Anambra State. Two research questions guided the study and two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Correlational research design was adopted for this study. The population of the study comprised 604 teachers from the 19 public secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area, Anambra State. A census sampling technique was used to utilize all 604 teachers for the study, given the relatively manageable size of the population. Two sets of instruments, namely: ‘‘Teachers’ Job Commitment Questionnaire (TJCQ)’’ and ‘‘Students’ Academic Performance Records,” were used for data collection. TJCQ was subjected to face validation by three experts, two experts in Educational Management and an expert in Measurement and Evaluation, all from the Department of Educational Foundations, Faculty of Education, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam Campus. The internal consistency of the TJCQ was determined using Cronbach's Alpha, which yielded an overall reliability index of 0.81. The instrument was administered by the researcher with the help of four research assistants who are secondary school teachers in Awka South LGA, Anambra State. A total of 604 copies of the questionnaire were distributed, and 589 were properly filled out and successfully retrieved, indicating a 97.5% return rate. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to answer the research questions, while simple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The study's findings revealed, among other things, that teachers’ affective and continuance commitment have a high relationship with students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Awka South Local Government, Anambra State. It was also found that teachers’ affective and continuance commitment have a significant relationship with students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Awka South local government, Anambra State.  Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that the Post Primary Schools Service Commission should organize periodic training for teachers to upgrade their knowledge of continuance commitment to enhance the academic achievement of students.