The Availability Of Human And Material Resources In Teaching Senior School In Lagos State

1.4 Research questions

The following question shall be considered in the study:

i. Does any relationship exist between availability of number and material resources and student performance in secondary school?  

ii. What are the various human and materials needed in secondary schools?

iii. Does quality teachers and staff has any effect on student academic performance in secondary schools?

iv. Does good classrooms, library and laboratories influences student performance in science and art subjects?

v. What are the problems that affect the availability of human and material resources in secondary schools?

1.5 Research hypotheses

The hypotheses formulated for the study shall include;

H01: Quality teachers and staff does not has any effect on student academic performance in secondary school

H02: Good classrooms, library and laboratories do not have any influence on student performance in science and art subjects.

1.6 Significance of the study ­ 

This study will have theoretical importance for academic as it will contribute to the body of literature on availability of human and material resources and student performance in schools. The data to be generated and information gathered from the field survey and library research shall become important sources of information and references for students in universities and other institutions of higher learning. It will also be useful for independent studies carried out by institutions that conduct educational related research.

Secondly, the study will have practical importance for education administrators at all levels in schools as it will give them an insight on the relevant of human and material resources. This study will equally be importance to government policy makers by helping them to make sound and intelligent policies that will ensure even development in the education sector.

1.7 Assumptions of the study

The following are the assumption of the study;

i. Human and material resources significantly affect student performance.

ii. The instruments to be used in gathering data are valid and reliable.

iii. The variables to be used in the study are appropriate and suitable.

iv. The results of the study can be generalized.

1.8 Scope and limitations of the study

Geographically, this study shall be limited to secondary schools in Lagos state. The study shall focus on the availability of human material resources in teaching secondary schools. This implies that issues relating to the various types of human and material resources, the importance of human and material resources to secondary school, the factor affecting the provision of human and material resources in secondary school shall be extensively discussed.

The following limitations were envisaged to be encountered by the researcher, first of all, poor attitude of the respondents toward questionnaires respond. The researcher had the problem of getting relevant information for the study due to the unwillingness of most teachers and staff of secondary schools to divulge information on the availability of human and material resources. Secondly, high cost of transportation fares to and from the case study. The researcher had difficulty in moving to and from the case study since Lagos as a whole is very large. Moreso, scanty research resources affected the researcher. The availability of relevant research materials to enrich the literature review was scanty. However, it should be noted that these limitations will not in any way hamper the achievement of the research objectives.

1.9 Historical background of Lagos State

Lagos state is an administrative division in Nigeria, located in the South Western part of the country. The smallest in area of Nigeria’s state, Lagos State is arguably the most economically important state of the country, containing Lagos, the nation’s largest urban area. The actual population total is disputed between the official Nigerian census of 2006 and a much higher figure claimed by the Lagos State Government. Lagos State is located in the South-Western part of the Nigerian federation. On the North and East, it is bounded by Ogun State. In the west it shares boundaries with the Republic of Benin. Behind its southern borders lies the Atlantic Ocean, 22 percent of its 3,577km2 are lagoons and creeks.

Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967 by virtue of State (creation and transitional provision) Decree No 14 states. Prior to this, Lagos municipality had been administered by the federal government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as regional authority, while the Lagos City Council (LCC) governed the city of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas (colony provience) of Ikeja, Agege, MushimIkorodu, and Badagry were administered by the western region. The state took off as an administrative entity on April 11, 1968 with Lagos Island serving the dual role of being the state and federal capital. However, with the creation of the federal capital territory of Abuja in 1976, Lagos Island ceased to be the capital of the state which was moved to Ikeja. Equally, with the formal relocation of the seat of the federal government  to Abika pm 12 December, 1991, Lagos Island ceased to be Nigeria’s political capital. Nevertheless, Lagos remains the center of commerce for the country (www.en.wiki/history_of_lagos-State.htm)

1.10  Definition of terms

Human resources: This is the set of individuals who make up the workforce of an organization. It involves the knowledge; the individuals embody and can contribute to an organization.

Materials resources: This involves facilities that are use to develop and add values to people. In this context, materials resources include the physical assets like laboratories, libraries, instructional tools, writing materials, classrooms etc, use to develop students academic performance.

Student academic performance: This refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers.

Teachers: Those are those persons who help others to learn new things.