TEACHERS’ JOB PERFORMANCE AND PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL EFFECTIVENESS IN LAGOS STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the effect of teachers’ job performance on public senior secondary school effectiveness in Lagos State, Nigeria, against concerns about declining educational quality and the assumed centrality of teachers to school outcomes. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The population comprised 328 principals, 656 vice principals, and 8,865 teachers across the six Lagos State Education Districts, from which 120 principals, 240 vice principals, and 1,200 teachers (N = 1,560) were selected using a combination of convenience, stratified, purposive, and simple random sampling techniques. Data were collected using the Teachers’ Job Performance Questionnaire (TJPQ), the Senior Secondary School Effectiveness Questionnaire (SSSEQ), and a semi-structured interview guide. Instruments were validated by experts and supervisors; reliability indices were established via test–retest. Mean and standard deviation answered research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation tested the hypothesis at 0.05 significance level. Findings showed that teachers’ job performance was rated at an appreciable extent (grand mean = 2.8754), while school effectiveness was rated high (grand mean = 3.14235). However, teachers’ job performance had a negative, very weak, and non-significant relationship with school effectiveness (r = -0.073, p = 0.271), indicating that teachers’ job performance alone did not significantly explain variations in school effectiveness. The study recommends strengthening supportive school-wide mechanisms that enhance instructional conditions and overall effectiveness.