An Examination of Gender’s Influence on Teachers’ Productivity in Secondary Schools

Abstract

The study examined the influence of gender on the productivity of secondary school teachers in Delta State; Nigeria. The study was descriptive in nature and involved nine hundred and seventy-nine teachers made up of four hundred and sixty males and five hundred and nineteen females. Two questionnaires and a rating scale were used to collect data for the study. The results of the analyses revealed that although there was no significant difference in the productivity of male and female teachers, the male teachers were generally more productive than their female counterparts and that female teachers were more influenced by location than the male teachers. It was recommended that school administrators should consider gender when posting teachers to various locations. Efforts should be made as much as possible to post female teachers to urban and semi-urban schools. More male teachers should be retained in rural schools and attractive incentives should be used to achieve this. Furthermore, in-service trainings aimed at enhancing job performance should be organized regularly, especially for female teachers in the first five years of employment. Efforts should also be made to retain experienced female teachers in secondary schools. Finally, more males should be encouraged to teach in secondary schools.