Influence of Workload on Job Performance Among Secondary School Teachers in Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Recently, concerns have been raised regarding the quality of job performance
among teachers in secondary schools in Southwest Nigeria with respect to
their workload. This study investigated the influence of workload on the job
performance of secondary school teachers in Southwest Nigeria. Descriptive
survey research design was employed. The population consisted of teachers
and principals from 2,262 public and 2,318 private secondary schools in
Southwest Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique was used. Three
instruments-Workload Questionnaire (WQ)(á = 0.78), Teachers’
Administrative Job Performance Questionnaire (TAJPQ)(á = 0.67) and
Teachers’ Instructional Job Performance Questionnaire (TIJPQ)(á = 0.7) wereused for data collection. Two research questions and three hypotheses were
raised and answered. The results revealed that public secondary school
teachers had a high level of job performance in both administrative (mean
=0.347) and instructional (mean=0.314) responsibilities, while private
secondary school teachers had a high level of job performance in both
categories as well(mean=2.98, mean=3.58). Test of hypotheses revealed
that there is a significant joint influence of workload indices (working time
and class size) (Adjusted R2=0.808, F=1601.069; p<0.05) on teachers’
job performance in secondary schools in Southwest, Nigeria. It was also found
that working time has the highest relative influence on job performance (â =
1.063; t = 36.933, p < 0.05) followed by class size (â = 0.059; t =
1.385, p > 0.05). There was significant difference of job performance of
teachers based on school types (Public – mean =0.4000, Private – mean =
0.830). It was recommended that there is a need for ongoing professional
development opportunities for teachers, clear expectations and guidelines
set by the government and school administrators.