ABSTRACT
The study examined staff interactive co-operation and effective team building among primary school teachers in selected secondary schools in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos. .The descriptive research survey was used in order to assess the opinions of the selected respondents using the questionnaire and the sampling techniques. A total of 100 (one hundred) respondents were selected comprising of 50 males and 50 females to represent the entire population of the study. Three null hypotheses were formulated and tested using the independent t-test statistical tool at 0.05 level of significance. At the end of the analyses, the following results emerged: there is a significant difference between interaction and teachers’ work performance at the primary school levels, there is a significant gender difference in teacher performance due to interaction among teachers in the school, and there is a significant difference between the work attitude of primary school teachers, who interacted and those who did not.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
One of the most common causes of organizational inefficiency is poor communication or interaction among and or between staff and their leaders at the upper echelon. Communication is an important factor in human relations, for without interaction, meaningful relationships would be possible and without relationships among people, communication will not be necessary. Chigodu (1998), communication is the process of transmitting and imparting information from a sender to a receiver. It is a process of transmitting meanings from sender to receiver, for an effective communication to occur the receiver must first get the information as intended by the sender.
According to Uzor (1989), interaction in a system may be internal (that is within the organization) or external (that is outside the organization). Different types of interactions have been identified in various organizations such as oral or verbal interactions, written communications grapevine and signs or symbols. In any form of communications or interactions process, meanings are conveyed through a medium as a memorandum, a telephone call, or a conversation between two or more persons in the organization of an institution.
Meaningful interaction between the leader (principal) and teachers, and or students, can only occur through proper channels and medium of communication (Onyene, 2002). She notes that performance and expectations are transmitted upwards while suggestions flow downwards. That reports on teachers’ performances provide information required for administrative decision-making related to promotion, demotion, inservice programmes, transfers, rewards etc. That such report is channeled to higher educational personnel who may be in the ministry of education or schools’ board. Improvement, suggestion, resources and criticisms may be transmitted downward from the headteacher or some other personnel in school.
Thus, an earlier perspective (Adeleke, 1994), asserted that generally, the purpose of communication in the school is to afford the headheacher (principal or headmaster/mistress) and the teachers or students the opportunity to discuss the different aspects of the teaching or learning process and other business of the school. Both educational personnel therefore need to decide on certain arrangements or activities usually, initiates the interaction. This helps to develop a clear understanding of their responsibilities to each other.
In this regard relevant questions may be required on the why, when, what and how of the leadership engagement. No wonder Onaderu (1990) insisted communication will be necessary to set goals of students and the expectations of their academic achievement.
School transactions need to be communicated in verbal-oral and verbal-written forms. Both the principal and the teacher need to talk to each other. The dialogue and the teacher need to talk to each other. The dialogue between the school personnel usually services to clear uncertainties or apprehensions which the principal of headteacher may have. Dialoguing help to set the teacher at ease and to create the friendly familiar atmosphere required for effective instructional purposes in an institution (Anywnwu, 2000). For instance, teachers in the school system need to co-operate with one another for effective teaching/learning outcome; they need to adopt the intergroup relationship whereby they rub minds on crucial and nutty issues concerning the teaching and learning process.
Also, it has been said by Onyene (2005) that teachers who work together have the habit of guided practice. This, according to her, is a situation whereby teachers guide themselves on certain teaching problems and prepare to answer questions in the classroom. There should be teacher-teacher relationship if high productivity is expected from the staff; and principal and teachers should relate and be friendly if they will achieve great productivity in the school (Onyeji, 2001). He observed that experienced teachers adopt the cooperative review, which brings about the reviewing of important subject matters that will help them to teach well in the school. This is a simple but very useful informal cooperative teaching method called think-pair-share. It was developed to assist teachers to assist the students in the classroom.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Ineffective team building at the primary school level by the school and unnecessary charged atmosphere in the school environment are due to lack of staff interaction. Schools where there are rancour, bad politics and segregation amongst the entire rank and file of the workforce there would be inadequate love, mutual understanding which may lead to inadequate principal-teachers relationship, teacher – teacher relationship, teachers – students relationship which often results to backwardness and stuntedness in the school.
Inadequate interaction in the school amongst staff, can affect teachers’ work performance, principals’ leadership roles and students’ academic achievement in the school, and can adversely affect the school – community relationship. This study therefore examines staff interaction co-operation and effectively team building at the primary school level in Lagos State.
This study therefore investigates staff interactive co-operation and effective team building in Lagos State primary schools.