ABSTRACT
This study investigated the relationship between availability and utilization of technological innovations and administrative staff job accomplishment in Nigerian Police secondary schools, Nigeria. The study adopted a correlational research design. A sample of 242 administrative staff of Nigerian Police secondary schools were used for the study. Census sampling technique was used for the study because the entire population sample was drawn. The instruments for data collection were availability and utilization of technological innovations questionnaire (AUTIQ) and administrative staff job accomplishment questionnaire (ASJAQ). The instruments were validated by three experts: two from the department of Educational Management and one from Measurement and Evaluation, all in Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike. The stability aspect of the reliability of the instrument was determined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation with a coefficient of 0.75 and 0.95 for availability and utilization of technological innovations questionnaire (AUTIQ) and administrative staff job accomplishment questionnaire (ASJAQ), respectively. Eight briefed research assistants helped in data collection. The data collected were used for analysis. Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to answer the seven research questions raised for the study, while linear regression was used to test the corresponding null hypotheses formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The results showed that availability of social media, computers/accessories and teleconference gadgets relates with administrative staff job accomplishment to a high positive extent. Similarly, utilization of social media, computer/accessories and teleconference gadgets relates with administrative staff job accomplishment in Nigerian police secondary schools to a very high positive extent; and there was significant relationship between them. Consequently, it was concluded that availability and utilization of technological innovations have significant relationship with administrative staff job accomplishment to a very high positive extent in Nigerian Police secondary schools. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that stakeholders in Police education should encourage utilization of technological innovation facilities in Police schools by providing adequate training to teachers and school administrators, who will in turn encourage students to be ICT-compliant which will help them in external examinations that have become computer-best tests (CBT).
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title
Page i
Declaration ii
Dedication
iii
Certification
iv
Acknowledgements v
Table
of Contents vi
List
of Tables viii
Abstract ix
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 14
1.3 Purpose of the Study 14
1.4 Research Questions 15
1.5 Hypotheses 16
1.6 Significance of the Study 17
1.7 Scope of the Study 19
CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF
RELATED LITERATURE 20
2.1 Conceptual Framework 20
2.1.1 Concept of technological innovations 20
2.1.2 Concept of social media 35
2.1.3 Concept of computers/accessories 50
2.1.4 Concept
of teleconference gadgets 56
2.2 Theoretical Framework 59
2.2.1 Technological Acceptance Theory (1989) 69
2.2.2 Bureaucratic
Administration Theory (Max Weber, 1947) 61
2.2.3 Human Relations Theory
(1924) 63
2.3 Review of Empirical Studies 64
2.4 Summary of Review of Related Literature 89
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 91
3.1 Design of the Study 91
3.2 Area of the Study 91
3.3 Population of the Study 94
3.4 Sample and Sampling Techniques 95
3.5 Instruments for Data Collection 95
3.6 Validation of the Instruments 96
3.7 Reliability of the Instruments 97
3.8 Method of Data Collection 97
3.9 Method of Data Analysis 98
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION 99
4.1
Results
99
4.2
Summary of the Findings 113
4.3
Discussion of the Findings 114
CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY,
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 119
5.1
Summary of the Study 119
5.2
Conclusion 120
5.3
Educational Implications of the
Study 121
5.4
Recommendations 122
5.5
Limitations of the Study 122
5.6
Suggestions for Further Study 123
REFERENCES 124
APPENDICES 134
LIST
OF TABLES
4.1: Correlation
Matrix on relationship between availability of social 99
media
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.2: Regression
analysis of relationship between availability of social 100
media
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.3: Correlation Matrix on relationship between
availability of 101
computers/accessories
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.4: Regression
analysis of relationship between availability of 102
computers/accessories
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.5: Correlation
Matrix on relationship between availability of teleconferencing 103
gadgets
(ATG) and administrative staff job accomplishment (ASJA)
4.6: Regression
analysis of relationship between availability of teleconferencing 104
gadgets
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.7: Correlation
Matrix of relationship between utilization of social 105
media
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.8: Regression
analysis of relationship between utilization of social media 106
and
administrative staff job accomplishment
4.9: Correlation
Matrix of relationship between utilization of 107
computer/accessories
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.10: Regression
analysis of relationship between utilization of 108
computers/accessories
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.11: Correlation
Matrix on relationship between utilization of teleconferencing 109
gadgets
(UTG) and administrative staff job accomplishment (ASJA)
4.12: Regression
analysis of relationship between utilization of teleconferencing 110
Gadgets
and administrative staff job accomplishment
4.13: Correlation
Matrix on relationship between availability and utilization
of
technological innovations (AUTI) and administrative staff job 111
accomplishment
(ASJA)
4.14: Regression
analysis of relationship between availability and utilization of 112
technological
innovations and administrative staff job accomplishment
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
The Nigeria Police Force is one of the paramilitary agencies
in the country. It is the chief law enforcement agency, whose primary function
is to maintain law and order in the country. It is also responsible for
ensuring that the laws of the land are very well adhered to, while arresting
and prosecuting offenders. Although it is generally a paramilitary
organization, but within it is the Mobile Police (MOPOL) arm, which closely
resembles the military and is saddled with the responsibility of containing civil
unrests in the country. The Mobile Police are also known as Riot Police. Their
duties also involve containing large scale conflicts and any other act of crime
or violence which requires their attention.
Nigeria is a country where a high premium is placed on
the education of her citizens, having recognized education as a weapon against
ignorance, disease, squalor and poverty as well as a means of raising an
enlightened citizenry. The Nigeria Police authority through the then Inspector
General of Police, IGP Etim Inyang, made efforts to contribute to the
educational development of the country by establishing the Force Education Unit
(FEU). The FEU is saddled with the sole responsibility of financing and
managing Police Children Schools (nursery and primary schools) and Police
Secondary Schools nationwide. Ayegba (2014) asserted that the Nigeria Police
Force added to its primary responsibilities of maintaining law and order,
protecting life and property, the provision of education for its personnel
children, and other children in the community, as a matter of necessity. In
explaining further what prompted the Nigeria Police authority to establish
primary and secondary schools for children of its personnel, Ayegba (2014)
noted that the law enforcement function of the Nigeria Police is very complex
and enormous.
Consequently,
officers and men of the force are always prone to transfers from one part of
the country to another, and in the process have suffered untold hardships in
attempts to place their children and wards in public schools especially where
admission is very strict, when they are posted to a new command or division.
Ayegba (2014) further observed that these transfers and postings have adversely
punctured the educational progress of the children and wards of the affected
police officers and personnel. Their transfer is always with immediate effect,
and it can occur at any time of the year. If it happens within an academic
year, the children of the affected transferees stand the chance of losing one
academic year because of their inability to gain fresh admission in second or
third term of the academic year, especially in public schools. But with the
establishment of Police secondary schools, transfer of students from one school
to another, even within an academic year, is made very easy (Emanghe, 2021).
In essence, the establishment of these schools was a
welfare scheme for serving and retired personnel of the Nigeria Police. As
welfare schools, the school fees are relatively affordable. At the inception of
the schools in 1985, it was expected that after graduating from the primary
level of education, the pupils would proceed to Police secondary schools. As a
result of this, the Police authorities had already put in place Police
secondary school structures in Minna, Calabar, Akure and Kano. The first Police
secondary school to take off academic activities was the Police secondary
school Minna, Niger State in the 1992/93 academic year; and Calabar followed
immediately the next academic session which was 1993/1994 academic year. Today
there are eleven of such schools, which have gained full accreditation from the
West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council
(NECO). These schools are located at Minna, Calabar, Akure, Kano, Katsina,
Kaduna, Port Harcourt, Owerri, Ibadan, Abuja and Uyo, with many others in the
pipeline (Emanghe, 2021).
The
establishment of Police secondary schools was not only to mitigate the negative
effects of transfers on the education of the children of Police personnel, but
also among others, to prepare the children to enter the future workforce
especially the Nigeria Police Force, the Nigeria Police Academy, and to achieve
higher levels of success in schools. More importantly, Police secondary schools
were to provide the social and academic skills necessary to commence university
or other tertiary education, thus making the beneficiaries demonstrate
increased academic skills in their starting level (Anyaogo in Ayegba, 2014). In
realization of the noble roles these schools play in the education of Police
personnel’s children and other children in the society, the Police authorities
have invested heavily in the provision of infrastructure such as students’
hostels, classrooms, libraries, laboratories, school plants, furniture,
computer/information and communication technology (ICT) centers, and other
basic infrastructure that will help the students excel in their academic
pursuit. The Police secondary schools motto is: Knowledge Through Discipline.
The importance of secondary education in the
educational system cannot be overemphasized. Apart from serving as the link
between primary and tertiary education, secondary education provides
opportunities for a child to acquire additional knowledge, skills, and traits
beyond the primary level. A major factor that necessitates the acquisition of
secondary education in Nigeria is that the education being provided at the
primary level is proving to be insufficient for a child to acquire permanent
literacy, communication, and numeracy skills expected from him/her at the end
of the training (Okigbo, Okeke
& Mbakwe, 2016). Secondary education is provided in secondary
schools, which can be owned by the government (state or federal), individuals
or communities. Secondary education in Nigeria is divided into two phases as
follows: the junior secondary phase and the senior secondary phase.
Certification at the end of senior secondary phase depends on the performance
of a student in the Continuous Assessment (CASS) and Senior School Certificate
Examination (SSCE), coordinated by the West African Examinations Council (WAEC)
and National Examinations Council (NECO). A child must obtain a minimum of five
credits at two sittings including English Language and Mathematics to be able
to proceed to the tertiary level of the educational system, which is one of the
aims of secondary education according to the National Policy on Education in
Nigeria (2014).
Nevertheless, to achieve this and other aims of
secondary education, the onus lies heavily on the shoulders of the
administrative staff of the schools and the government. Educational
qualification, experience and leadership behaviour go a long way in assisting
the administrative staff discharge their administrative functions creditably.
But there are some challenges that can make or mar their efforts at achieving
the set goals of the educational system. These include: unreliable data,
shortage of skilled manpower, poor funding, inconsistent educational policies,
unstable curriculum, students’ indiscipline, industrial crises by teachers,
cult activities, and low application of technological innovations amongst
others (Ogbiji, 2011).
To carry out these noble functions, there is need for
availability and utilization of technological innovations. Technology is often
defined as the application of technical processes in order to achieve some
practical ends or organizational goals. Technology is the practice of any or
all of the applied sciences that have practical value and are of industrial and
developmental use (Popoola, 2016). On the other hand, innovation is derived
from the Latin word 'innovare', which means 'to make something new'. The quote
‘to make something new' refers to replacing old concepts or products with new
ones, continually updating and improving them for better results. Thus
technological innovation is a part of the total innovation discipline. It
focuses specifically on technology and how to embody it successfully in
products, services and processes. Technology as a body of knowledge might thus
be seen as a building block for technological innovation, serving as
cornerstone to research, design, development, manufacturing and marketing.
Technological innovations, therefore, involve the use
of computer hardware, software, computer accessories, social media,
teleconference gadgets, and the internet for the collection, storage,
processing, transmission and presentation of information (voice, data, text,
images) as well as related services. It is a broad term that has to do with the
harnessing of processes, the methods and the product of electronic
communication related technologies and other related resources in today’s
knowledge-driven society. This is to enhance the productivity, spread and
efficiency of set programme activities geared towards the achievement of
clearly defined goals. It is also an umbrella name for information and
communication technology (ICT) (Obanya in Uguru, 2019). Therefore,
technological innovation can be defined as an electronic device for managing and
processing information with the use of soft and hard wares to convert, store,
manipulate, protect, transmit, manage, control and retrieve information for the
enhancement of personal and organizational goal attainments.
It is believed that technological innovations in
school settings enhance teaching and learning, management of students’ data
such as test and examination scores, teacher data management such as attendance
and weekly lesson plans (Hadjithoma, 2011). In some Nigerian secondary schools,
the management has not still incorporated technological innovations into
managing the affairs of the school; and is thereby assumed to be creating room
for inefficient management such as difficulty in managing staff and students’
records, communication, coordination of activities, performance appraisal of
staff, general record keeping, supervision and management of school finances.
From the researcher’s experience, retrieval of information from manual records
has always been difficult because manual record keeping involves too much paper
work. Also, communication is always done through the use of memos. This may be
time-consuming and causes delay in the transmission process of important
information.
Some information technology systems available in
Secondary School Management of Nigerian Police secondary schools have been
listed as: e-mails, internet, intranet, teleconference gadgets, scanner,
facsimile (fax), e-portals, desktop computers, laptops computers, tablet
computers, notebook computers, Microsoft suite, and basic websites (Ayegba,
2019). It is the observation of the researcher that each of the eleven schools
under this study has well established ICT unit. For the first generation
Nigerian Police secondary schools like Police secondary school Mina, Police secondary
school Calabar and Police secondary Akure, their ICT units are so sophisticated
that they have met Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) standard,
with that of Police secondary school Akure gaining accreditation from JAMB to
be used as computer-based test (CBT) centre.
The availability and utilization of technological
innovations helps to enhance service delivery, speed up information delivery,
facilitate teaching and learning, administration and research. There seems to
be an overwhelming awareness and indications that there are great potentials in
the availability and use of ICT and other technological tools for
administrators’ and educators’ job effectiveness. Realizing the importance and
effect of technological innovations on the workplace and everyday life, the
educational institutions are trying to restructure educational curriculum and
classroom facilities to bridge the existing technological gap in teaching,
learning and administration of schools. The secondary educational system is seen
as a tool by which a national identity and civil society are built through
shared value and a commitment to a common goal. It plays a vital role in social
and cultural development. However, education at this level is not likely to
achieve its expectations without technologically trained and committed members
of administrative staff. Jack (2021) conceptualized the adoption of information
technology under: availability, adequacy and effective utilization. On this
premise, it is believed that for technological innovations to have significant
influence on task accomplishment, the technological tools must be available,
accessible and competently used.
The extent of utilization of technological innovations
in the administration of schools has come a long way such that its benefits
cannot be played with levity. It has enhanced job accomplishment in no small
measures such that it has become the in-thing among school administrators in
today technology-driven era. Consequently, a number of literatures on technological
innovations have produced immense benefits to school administration. Even at
that, the utilization of technological innovations for job accomplishment has
not been able to produce 100 percent results. This is because while some
schools use it immensely, some are struggling to integrate it in school
administration (Chifwepa, 2013). However, the attitude of administrative staff
towards the use of technological innovations for school administration is very
important. If they don’t display a positive attitude towards utilization of
available technological innovations, their ability to accomplish their jobs is
likely to be minimal. Therefore, to achieve tangible results in in the
utilization of available technological innovations in our schools, there is need
for positive attitude towards it by the administrative staff.
In the same vein, technological innovation tools
influence the way people interact, read, and think (Allen, 2019). Hence, in
society today, it plays a significant role. Living in the 21st century, digital
devices have made our lives apparently easy wherein we use different
technological innovations like social media platforms to communicate
effectively. According to Clement (2020), for more than a decade, the impact of
social media has gone from being a fun fare to being a completely integrated
portion of almost every aspect of life. The influence of social media is such
that by 2025, the number of global users is projected to exceed some 3.43
billion monthly users, around a third of the total population of the planet.
Bruce (2020) added that the emergence of social media has created a new venue
for facilitating daily information and communication needed. By using social
media in various ways of communication, it helps to create opportunities to interact
with other people easily by sharing information. Therefore, social media is
steadily and surely impacting the way people live and communicate with one
another. According to Ibiam (2015) effective communication helps administrators
to foster interrelationships among the different units or departments that make
up the school.
Furthermore, social media refers to the use of
web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive
dialogue. Social media takes on many different forms including magazines,
internet forums, weblogs, social blogs, microblogging, wikis, podcasts,
photographs or pictures, video, rating and social bookmarking. With the world
in the midst of a social media revolution, it is more than obvious that social
media like Facebook, Whatsapp, twitter, Instagram, orkut, myspace, skype etc.,
are used extensively for the purpose of communication (Bruce, 2020). This form
of communication can be with a person or a group of persons. Today most of the
people, especially the youngsters, are hooked on to the different social media
for keeping in contact with their peers.
In addition, every school has to develop a personnel
information system for the following purposes: to store personnel details (like
name, address, telephone number, date of birth, educational qualifications and
experience, salary, health data etc.) of individual employees and students for
reference purposes; and provide a basis for decision-making in every area of
personnel work like recruitment and selection, termination and redundancy,
education and training, pay, administration, health etc. (Thomas, 2017).
Similarly, Ibiam (2015) opined that if school records are properly kept, the
serve as information bank from which administrators and other staff can make
well informed decisions. Personnel records can be maintained manually. However,
the advent of micro-computers has increased the process of computerisation even
in personnel records management and maintenance. The maintenance of personnel
records on each employees of a school should include information on: the
application form giving personal particulars, interview and test record, job
history including transfers, promotions, and changes in occupation, pay
details, education and training record, details of performance assessment and
appraisal, absence, accident, medical and disciplinary records with details of
formal warnings and suspensions.
The main advantages of using computers for personnel
records maintenance in schools according to Willie (2011) are: (a) quickly
providing information on the employees grade, pay, length of service, age, sex,
qualifications, training details etc. (b) producing standard letters and forms
for recruitment, promotion, transfer, upgrading, appraisal, pay review, career
promotions etc. (c) information can be drawn from both personnel and payroll
systems to analyze payroll costs, and assess the impact of various pay increase
options on the pay structure and on total payroll costs. (d) absence and
sickness can be recorded by employee with reasons, and analysis can be done on
absenteeism and sickness. Moreover, the use of computers for record keeping
makes the processing, storage and retrieval of data very easy with high
precision.
Besides, teleconference can be used to enhance
administrative staff job accomplishment. Teleconference is a form of computer
mediated communication which allows information to be sent from one individual
to another or a group, and vice versa without the constraints of time and
location. Teleconference is one of the main advanced information and
communication technologies used by principals for communicating and
coordinating administrative process. Yoo, Boland, Lyytinen and Majchrzak (2012)
defined teleconference as a meeting among two or more participants which allows
them to interact by means of a two-way video and audio transmission
simultaneously, as well as to exchange data in real time through the internet.
Teleconference has become an indispensable tool in academic institutions seeing
that it offers the opportunity for several persons and machines to collaborate
and participate in live exchange and mass articulation of knowledge or
information while remaining in divergent regions, but linked by a
telecommunication system (Whitehead, Boschee & Decker, 2012).
On the other hand, job accomplishment has been defined
as the overall expected value from employees’ behaviour carried out over the
course of a set period of time (June & Mahmood, 2011). They further
stressed that job accomplishment relates to the act of doing a job or carrying
out a task. It is a means to reach a goal or set of goals within a job, role or
organization. It is viewed as the work related activities expected of an
employee and how well those activities are executed. Many top administrative personnel
and directors assess the job accomplishment of each employee on an annual or
quarterly basis in order to help them identify suggested areas for improvement.
Moreover, job accomplishment assesses whether a person performs a job well
because accomplishment is an important criterion for organizational outcomes
and success (Vazirani, 2010).
More so, job accomplishment has always been regarded
as an important factor in employee management. It has been associated with the
ability of an individual employee to realize their respective work goals,
fulfill expectations as well as attain job targets and accomplish a standard
set by their organizations (Armstrong in Sani & Musa, 2019). Most people
will immediately perceive job accomplishment as what a person does at work and
at different stages of their job. Consequently, the complexity of a job can
affect the overall accomplishment of the job holder. Sarmiento and Beale in
Sani and Musa (2019) saw job accomplishment as the result of two elements,
which consist of the abilities and skills (natural or acquired) that an
employee possesses, and his/her motivation to use them in order to perform a
job better. Since education today is technologically driven, it becomes
imperative that for secondary schools administrative staff to succeed in their
career, they must be efficiently competent in the utilization of technological
innovations for effective service delivery in areas like record keeping,
communication, staff briefing, and performance appraisal.
For record keeping, there is a popular saying in
Police Education that “Police has no records” (Ayegba, 2019). This is not good
for a school system, because no organization can thrive without proper record
keeping. Consequently, there is need to keep record of all school activities as
part of effective school administration. Record keeping and the management of
records is a vital responsibility of the school administrator because of the
indispensable role records and information play in the day-to-day activities of
the school system. School administrators rely on the short and long-term data
captured in records to make effective decisions about immediate issues and more
comprehensive school policies. Ibara (2010) asserted that without records there
can be no accountability. He further maintained that quality performance, task
accomplishment, and measurable outcomes are increasingly important
responsibilities of administrative heads, all of which depend immensely on the
accessibility of usable records.
Without access to records, it is virtually impossible
to determine responsibility for actions and to hold individuals accountable for
their actions. According to Osakwe (2011), school records are official
documents, books and files containing essential and crucial information on
actions and events which are kept and preserved in the school office for
utilization and retrieval when needed. Such records are kept by the principals,
teachers, counselors and other administrative staff. The purpose of record
keeping for effective school management is to ensure that accurate and proper
records are kept of students’ achievement and growth, school activities and
matters that will promote school efficiency and effectiveness. Record keeping,
otherwise known as storage of information, is an important function of both the
administrative and teaching staff of a school. To this end, it is believed that
the utilization of technological innovations by administrative staff of Police
secondary schools will go a long way in assisting them keep and manage their
school records effectively and efficiently, too.
Furthermore, in a situation where records are not
effectively managed with the attendant poor communication, then effective
performance appraisal of staff becomes very frustrating. Performance appraisal
is an evaluation of an employee’s performance along pertinent dimensions such
as results, participation, etcetera; and feedback is the communication of the
appraisal results to the person being appraised. Performance appraisals are
essential because they often influence vital issues such as the focus of
individual improvement, pay raises, promotions, and next work assignment.
Competent appraisal of individual performance in an organization or company
serves to improve the overall effectiveness of the entity. Kane and Lawler in
Mwema and Gachunga (2014) indicated that the three main functional areas of
performance appraisal systems are administrative, informative, and
motivational. Appraisals affect the administrative function in that it serves
the role of facilitating an orderly means of determining salary increases and
other rewards, and of delegating authority and responsibility to the most
capable individuals. The informative function is fulfilled when the appraisal
system supplies data to administrators and appraisees (the employees) about
individual strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the motivational role entails
creating a learning experience that motivates workers to improve their
performance.
When effectively used, performance appraisals help employees
and administrators establish goals for the period before the next appraisal.
Consequently, the appraisees (employees), appraisers (administrators), and
educational institutions all reap benefits from effective performance
appraisals. Appraisees benefit in a number of ways: for example, they discover
what is expected of them and are able to set goals. They also gain a better
understanding of their faults and strengths, and can adjust their behavior
accordingly. In addition, appraisals create a constructive forum for providing
feedback to workers about individual behavior, and for allowing workers to
provide input to their administrators. Finally, appraisees are (ideally) given
assistance in creating plans to improve behavior, and are able to get a better
grasp of the goals and priorities of an organization (Anindya & Sougata,
2017).
Finally, it is worthy of note that the utilization of
technological innovation facilities has revolutionized the way or manner in
which activities are carried out in today’s school organizations. Consequently,
any organization that fails to keep abreast with the provisions of
technological innovations can never accomplish their jobs effectively and
efficiently. In this light, the reason for poor job accomplishment among Nigerian
Police secondary schools can be attributed to their lack of expertise in
handling available technological innovation facilities in their schools. If
this anomaly continues, Nigerian Police secondary schools may find themselves
in a situation whereby they will be operating in the past, while existing in
the present times. The empirical studies reviewed in this work revealed that no
study had been carried out in Nigerian Police secondary schools, let alone
linking technological innovations with administrative staff job accomplishment
(Akpan, Dung & Ibegbulam, 2020; Ezennia,
2015; Eze & Aja, 2016; Archibong
& David, 2019; Ibrahim, 2021; Endu, 2022). It is against this
background that this study sought to examine the relationship between
availability and utilization of technological innovations and administrative
staff job accomplishment in Nigerian Police secondary schools, Nigeria.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Technological innovations facilities enable
administrative staff carry out their functions with much ease, efficiency and
effectiveness. They create an enabling environment where students, teachers,
administrators, and parents can easily communicate and collaborate with one
another to achieve the goals of the school. They also enable school
administrators to secure and share information round the clock, and ultimately
access a world of knowledge beyond classroom walls. In the same vein, the
utilization of available technological innovations can help school
administrators to accomplish their tasks effectively by simplifying the work
processes via internal computerization and automation, thus fostering
transparency and accountability.
However, it sad to observe that the state of
administrative staff job accomplishment in Nigerian Police secondary school is
unsatisfactory and worrisome. Personal observation of the researcher revealed
cases of delay in processing students’ results, poor students’ attendance monitoring
and admission of new students, inability to identify fees payment defaulters,
misplacement of vital financial records among others in Nigerian Police
secondary schools. Also, data on staff and students are inadequate, unreliable,
not readily available and difficult to retrieve.
It is on this premise that the researcher was poised
to ask: how does availability and utilization of technological innovations
relate with administrative staff job accomplishment in Nigerian Police
secondary schools? This is the gap which the present study sought to fill.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The
purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between availability
and utilization of technological innovations and administrative staff job
accomplishments in Nigerian Police secondary schools in the Federal Republic of
Nigeria. Specifically, the study sought to:
1.
determine the
relationship between availability of social media and administrative staff job
accomplishment.
2.
determine the
relationship between availability of computers/accessories and administrative
staff job accomplishment.
3.
ascertain the
relationship between availability of teleconference gadgets and administrative
staff job accomplishment.
4.
determine the
relationship between utilization of social media and administrative staff job
accomplishment.
5.
determine the
relationship between utilization of computers/accessories and administrative
staff job accomplishment.
6.
ascertain the
relationship between utilization of teleconference gadgets and administrative
staff job accomplishment.
7.
determine the joint
relationship between availability and utilization of technological innovations
and administrative staff job accomplishment.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were posed to guide
this study.
1.
How does availability of
social media relate with administrative staff job accomplishment?
2.
To what extent does
availability of computers/accessories relate administrative staff job
accomplishment?
3.
How does availability of
teleconference gadgets relate administrative staff job accomplishment?
4.
To what extent does
utilization of social media relate administrative staff job accomplishment?
5.
What is the relationship
between utilization of computers/accessories and administrative staff job
accomplishment?
6.
To what extent does
utilization of teleconference gadgets relate administrative staff job
accomplishment?
7.
How does availability and
utilization of technological innovations jointly relate with administrative
staff job accomplishment?
1.5 HYPOTHESES
The following hypotheses guided this study, and were
tested at 0.05 level of significance.
HO1: There is no
significant relationship between availability of social media and
administrative staff job accomplishment.
HO2: There is no significant relationship between
availability of computers and administrative staff job accomplishment.
HO3: There is no significant relationship between
availability of teleconference gadgets and administrative staff job
accomplishment.
HO4: There is no significant relationship between
utilization of social media and administrative staff job accomplishment.
HO5: There is no significant relationship between
utilization of computers/accessories and administrative staff job
accomplishment.
HO6: There is no significant relationship between
utilization of teleconference gadgets and administrative staff job
accomplishment.
HO7: There is no significant joint relationship
between availability and utilization of technological innovations and
administrative staff job accomplishment.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Drawing from the purpose of the study, it is expected
that the findings of this study if published would possibly make meaningful and
viable contributions to the Ministry of Police Affairs, school administrators,
non-administrative staff, students, parents, researchers and the general
public.
The officials in the Ministry of Police Affairs and
its agencies would be sensitized on the imperative of having a functional
computer/ICT centre in each school, manned by competent hands. They would
therefore be compelled to make money available for this purpose. Similarly, they
would recognize the fact that effective school administration cannot be
achieved without usage of ICT in general, and record keeping in particular.
Hence, the dictum, “Police has no record” will no longer apply to its
educational sector, which is a welcome development.
The findings of this study could serve as a guide to
school administrators to possibly create and implement strategies for effective
and efficient utilization of technological innovations in the educational
system. It could also help top school managers to determine the technological
innovation facilities that should be adopted for the managers and the type of
training needed to handle these facilities.
On the part of other administrative staff, the
findings of this study may help them assess the benefits or otherwise of
technological innovation integration in school administration, and how their
job accomplishment can be improved upon. The study may also educate them on the
various areas technological innovations can be employed so as to take their
duties beyond the conventional manual operations in order to enhance their
accomplishment and effectiveness in their job.
The result of this study may enable the
non-administrative staff to have knowledge of why their administrative staff
have not been able to provide them enabling environment to effectively showcase
their teaching skills. In addition, it may help them to place challenges
affecting them in proper perspective, instead of blaming the government all the
time.
Student could as well benefit from the study. It may
give them insight about the nature of their school administration, and so be
able to place in proper perspective the contribution of the administrative
staff on issue affecting their overall well-being in the school. Moreover, students
would also use the findings of this study to appraise the strength and
weaknesses of their administrative staff, and to note how necessary
technological innovations are needed in the administration of the secondary
school system in order to produce sound scholastic performance.
On the part of parents, this study may juxtapose the
internal working of Nigerian Police secondary schools, and their role in
effective administration. This study may also serve as a basis for other
researchers wishing to research on technological innovations utilization at any
level of education. It would also serve as a guide for further studies showing
the areas that have been covered and the areas which more research should be
carried out. In this way, researchers and the general public could benefit from
the findings of this study. Similarly, this study would create great and
meaningful awareness among the general public about the existence and services
of Nigerian Police secondary schools.
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study was delimited to
relationship between availability and utilization of technological innovation
and administrative staff job accomplishment in Nigerian Police secondary
schools, Nigeria. Specifically, this study covered all Nigerian Police secondary
schools situated in eleven states of the federation. The states are: Abuja,
Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Niger, Ondo, Oyo, and
Rivers States. These are the secondary schools managed by the Nigerian Police
Force Education Unit, which is the education department of the Nigerian Police
Force.
This study cut across all the
secondary school administrative staff of the eleven Police secondary schools.
The study had two major variables namely: availability and utilization of technological
innovations (the independent variable), and administrative staff job
accomplishment (the dependent variable). Geographically, this study was carried
out in the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
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