Staff In Nigerian Universities Research Articles

Conflict between academic staff and non-teaching staff in Nigerian Universities: causes and consequences

Conflict between academic staff and non-teaching staff in Nigerian Universities: causes and consequences

Sociological application of behavioural theories to work performance of academic staff in Nigerian universities

Several authors have researched workplace circumstances and employee performance in organisations. Personal observations, documented observations, and discoveries in the literature all provided an incentive for this investigation. Some systematic observations revealed that academic staff in Nigerian universities are subjected to some unfavourable workplace conditions, even though they are expected to perform well in teaching, publish quality research papers that can contribute to global knowledge and development, and engage in community development services. Major theories have attempted to explain employee productivity in the workplace. Using secondary data, this article explores the Two Factor model by Fredrick Herzberg, the Contingency theory of leadership and the Expectancy theory by Victor Vroom. They were most relevant in associating motivating factors with the work performance of employees in the organisation. The criticisms of each theory have paved the way for theoretical triangulation and, thus, a synthesis of all three theories to explain the work performance of academic staff members in Nigerian universities. The article resolved that incentives are indeed essential in order to increase the performance of academic staff in Nigerian universities.

Trajectory of brain-drain and quality of work-life amongst Nigeria’s university lecturers: academic staff union of universities (ASUU) incessant strike in retrospect

PurposeBrain-drain insurgency has become pervasive amongst professionals and the last option for everyone in the country to realise a sustainable quality of work-life (QWL). All youths now in the country have perceived migrating to the international workspace as a noble idea. This study investigates the incidence of brain-drain and QWL amongst academics in Nigerian universities.Design/methodology/approachTo sparkle a clearer understanding concerning factors preventing the QWL amongst Nigeria's lecturers, this study utilised a cross-sectional research design to survey the participants across all departments in federal institutions through an explanatory research approach. This study applied an array of adapted scales to evaluate members of academic staff track of what provoked the incidence of brain-drain amongst Nigerian lecturers and possible influence on their QWL. The study surveyed 431 members of academic staff in Nigerian universities to collect useful data and employed a structural equation model (SEM) to analyse the obtained data.FindingsThe outcome of this study highlights that there is a horrible condition of service amongst Nigerian lecturers, a poor compensation system, poor academic research funding and lack of autonomy are bane to the QWL experienced in Nigerian tertiary institutions today. This study indicates that poor staff development and inadequate university funding are part of the justification that provoked brain-drain insurgence, and allowed the government to lose their skilled and competent egg-heads in the university to other foreign nations of the world.Originality/valueThis study demonstrated that brain-drain has become part of Nigeria's national life given that all professionals are seeking better life where their skills, competence and energy would be valued. Brain-drain was not common until these days amongst academics and fewer studies were noted but this study showed a novel paradigm regarding the QWL and brain-drain trajectory.

Assessment Irregularities among Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities: A Study of Students' Perceptions

Assessment irregularities are corrupt and unethical activities introduced in determination of learner's outcome. Assessment irregularities refer to all corrupt and unethical activities introduced by teachers in determining the abilities of the learner. The study analyzed assessment irregularities among academic staff of universities in Nigeria as perceived by their students. Relevant literature to this phenomenon indicates that the Nigerian Education is plagued by irregularities ranging from examination malpractices by students to falsification of assessment of students by their teachers. The design adopted for this study was survey. The sample was made up of 450 students from two public universities (one federal owned and the other state owned) in the country. Stratified and purposive sampling techniques were used to select the sample. The instrument used for data collection was a checklist designed by the researchers and titled Assessment Irregularity Scale (AIS). Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient of the instrument was .81. Results of the study showed that student's perceived assessment irregularities among academic staff are high for most items. The results also showed that place of residence, attitude towards school and self concept influenced students' perceptions about irregularities of their lecturers. Based on the findings, it was recommended that there should be wide training of university teachers, on periodic basis, in order to equip them with testing skills and modern assessment practices.

Media and Sexual Assaults on Students in Nigerian Universities: An Overview

The issue of sexual assaults mostly on female students and male lecturers in most Nigerian Universities has generated great concern among scholars and members of the society. This study examines the extent to which staff and students define and understands sexual assault in most Nigerian Universities. The paper explores the role played by the media in reporting and preventing sexual assault in most of Nigerian Universities where issues of sexual assaults are being reported and investigated. The paper investigates incidents of rape in Nigerian Universities, looks at the effects of sexual assault on victims and analyzes the role of the media in preventing sexual assault among students and staff of Nigerian Universities. The study employs the Social Responsibility Theory of the press to analyze the role of the press in curbing issues of sexual assault on campuses of Nigerian Universities. The study concludes that sexual assault, especially on female students in Nigerian Universities has positioned the media on the wheels of investigative journalism. The paper recommends that media professionals should intensify their social responsibility role, especially, investigative journalism in order to eradicate sexual assault on female students in the campuses of Nigeria Universities

An Assessment of the Impact of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Human Resource Development in Nigerian Universities

This paper examines the impact of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Human Resource Development (HRD) in Nigerian Universities. ASUU as a union of academics in Nigerian Universities has done so much in ensuring proper Human Resource Development in Nigerian Universities. The wage structure that is in place in Nigerian public Universities today is as a result of ASUU struggles. The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) which was formerly known as Education Trust Fund (ETF) and saddled with the responsibility of providing funds for the provision and upgrading of teaching and learning facilities and training of University staff is a brain child of ASUU. The Needs Assessment Fund that is also currently used in setting up structures, providing teaching and learning facilities and of course training of academic staff of Nigerian Universities is a fall out of the 2013 ASUU strike that lasted for six months. Based on the foregoing it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that if not for ASUU University education in Nigeria would have collapsed a long time ago. Education is generally very poorly funded at all levels in Nigeria which explains the level of decay in the educational system. This paper therefore contends that ASUU has always played a leading role in Human Resource Development in Nigerian Universities through its numerous and continuous engagements with the Government to always do the needful in ensuring that educational development in Nigeria remains on track. It is recommended that Human Resource Development through qualitatively education should be the priority of government. Education should be properly funded and other proactive measures put in place to ensure that the ivory towers are always in good shape.

Social capital and career advancement of female academic staff in Nigerian universities

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the social capital factors of career advancement of female academic staff in Nigerian universities.Design/methodology/approachA measurement and structural analysis were conducted for the three independent variables and a dependent variable on 20 public universities. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The dependent variable was female academic staff career advancement and the independent variables were mentoring, networking and government machinery. Using stratified random sampling, 532 academic staff were selected as the study respondents. They represented sampling criteria such as federal and state universities.FindingsStructural modeling analysis showed that social capital variables, specifically mentoring, networking and government machinery variables, were significant contributors to the career advancement of the female academic staff in Nigerian universities.Practical implicationsThis study creates an insight into the knowledge of career advancement among female academic staff in public universities. These institutions dominate the university system in Nigeria and serve as the main avenue for university education in the country. At the level of higher institution, HRD is significant, particularly in creating awareness among academic staff about their career planning and aspirations, the role that the perceived environmental factors play in their advancement to higher positions in the university and how they should further utilize those factors.Originality/valueThe paper examines social capital factors (limited to mentoring, networking and government machinery) that are of concern to managing the career advancement of female academic staff in public universities.

IMPACT OF STRESS ON ACADEMIC STAFF: IMPLICATION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

Stress influences staff performance as well as attainment of organizational goals. Members of academic staff in higher education institutions in Nigeria undergo a lot of stress when discharging their daily responsibilities. Their stress range from teaching, learning to other nonteaching responsibilities which have great influence on staff commitment and effectiveness in teaching and learning activities within the university system. This study therefore explores the impact of stress on academic staff performance in Nigerian universities. It adopted a qualitative approach in exploring the impact of stress factors on academic staff in Nigerian universities. A total of 10 academic staff members were randomly selected from 10 public universities in both Northern and South-Western Nigeria for this study. The findings of this study revealed that academic staffs in Nigerian universities are going through academic, administrative, job-related, student-imposed, social and psychological stress. In order to reduce academic staff stress and improve performance in Nigerian universities, school administrators, policy makers and Ministry of Education need to provide an enabling environment for academic staff, increase teachers’ motivation, support them in achieving their set goals and facilitate their job satisfaction.

Leadership skill, leadership style and job commitment among academic staff of Nigerian universities: the moderating effects of employee's attitude and work environment

Leadership skill, leadership style and job commitment among academic staff of Nigerian universities: the moderating effects of employee's attitude and work environment

Effect of crowd-funding on entrepreneurial intentions among academic staff of Nigerian universities

To develop greater interest in enterprise start-up, efficient corporate management among adults and effective enterprise finance strategy among policy-makers, this study was conducted to examine the level of awareness of crowd-funding model and its effect on entrepreneurial intentions among Nigerian university lecturers. With a survey, data were collected from 217 lecturers at three universities in north, east and west regions of Nigeria. Employing descriptive statistics and partial least square (Smart PLS-SEM) methods, data were analysed. Among others, we found that most of the lecturers were not aware of crowd-funding as a novel model for enterprise financing. We also discovered that crowd-funding has a significant positive relationship with entrepreneurial intentions. Therefore, it was recommended that the government and university management should draft appropriate strategies (e.g. inclusion in syllabus) that will engender greater awareness and adoption of crowd-funding, especially among entrepreneurial educators and students, for enterprise creation and development in the country.

Leadership skill, leadership style and job commitment among academic staff of Nigerian universities: the moderating effects of employee's attitude and work environment

The study aims to determine the moderating effects of employee's attitude and work environment on the relationship between leadership skill and leadership style, and employee's job commitment among academic staff of Nigerian universities. The results of this study would enable the Nigerian government to develop strategies to help lecturers develop more interest in research. The study employs cross-sectional survey design, with simple random sampling, to collect data from 340 academic staff of three universities in the northern, eastern and western regions of Nigeria. Descriptive statistics and Partial Least Square (Smart PLS) were used to analyse data. The results indicate that transformational leadership style is positively related to employee's job commitment and that attitude moderates between transactional leadership style and employee's job commitment. The study suggests that appropriate leadership (from heads of departments) and adequate funding (from government) could engender more research commitments among scholars at Nigerian universities.

Effect of Accessibility and Utilization of Electronic Information Resources on Productivity of Academic Staff in Selected Nigerian Universities

The aim of the paper was to investigate the effect of accessibility and utilization of electronic resources on productivity of academic staff in Nigerian universities. A survey method was used in the study, with a questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. Responses from 324 academic staff out of 586 that were surveyed were used for data analysis. Correlation analysis showed that, there was a positive correlation between accessibility and utilization of electronic resources on productivity of respondents in the survey (r=0.135; p=0.015). This implies that increase in access and use of e-resources will lead to increase in productivity among respondents at the surveyed universities. Similar result was obtained when the hypothesis was tested at international level with r=0.158 and p=0.004. In other words, respondents that access and use e-resources in research frequently publish more articles in international journals than those who do not. It was recommended that, in view of the observed positive impact of e-resources on productivity in the survey; university managements, university librarians, National Universities Commission (NUC) and other stakeholders in Nigerian universities should intensify the process of effective information and communication technology (ICT) diffusion and provision of relevant e-resources in Nigerian universities towards qualitative research. This will also make academic staff in Nigerian universities to be globally competitive for journal space in international journals, and thus bridge the productivity gap between Nigeria and developed countries.

Institutional Repository (IR) Awareness and Willingness of Faculty Staff to Deposit Research Work: A Study of Faculty Staff in Selected Public and Private University in Nigeria

This study appraised the awareness and willingness of faculty staff in Nigerian universities to deposit their pre and post research publications in open access institutional repository. Two universities (one private and one public) were systematically selected for the study. Nigeria has a total of 129 universities; 79 are public universities, while 50 are private universities. The researcher purposefully selected two universities from the public and private for convenience and easy analysis. The population of study cut across all faculty staff in the selected universities given a total number of 179 academic staff. Findings reveal that the majority of the respondents (52% and 36% from private and public universities respectively) are aware of IR. Findings also show that the majority (62% and 44% of the respondents in the private and public universities respectively) have published 1 - 10 research publications using materials from IR. While 22% and 26% of the respondents have also published up to 11 - 20 publications using materials published in IR. Unfortunately, despite benefitting from IR, findings reveal that 88% and 96% of the respondents from private and public universities have not deposited any publication in IR. The researcher, therefore, recommend that awareness of IR in institutions of higher learning must be prioritized and that faculty staff should be encouraged to contribute to IR project as a means of increasing their relevance, visibility and ranking and that of their affiliated university.

Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Senior NonAcademic Staff In Nigerian Universities

Information Needs and Seeking Behaviour of Senior NonAcademic Staff In Nigerian Universities

Gender Inequality In Academia: Evidences From Nigeria

Universities and other institutions of higher education in Nigeria see themselves as liberal and open-minded. They support social movements that encourage principles of democracy and social justice, yet their mode of governance is male dominated and patriarchal. This study, therefore, identified the causes of gender inequality in academia and the implications on the academic development of females in the university system. This study was considered necessary because of the observed anomaly in the composition of academic staff in Nigerian universities. Data for the study were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data were obtained through the in-depth interview of sixty (60) purposively selected male and female academic staff occupying key positions in three (3) Federal universities located in southwestern Nigeria. The study revealed that the recruitment and selection practices in the universities neither stressed male ideology nor discriminated against women; rather merit was the yardstick for acceptance into the profession. It was found that lack of mentoring, poor remuneration, womens lack of interest in academia, family responsibilities, the lengthy period of training, and the ideology that women should have low career aspirations due to traditional roles ascribed to them, accounted for the observed disparity in academia. The implication of this disparity on the academic development of women is the general reduction in their research output and the perpetuation of their low status in academia. The study concluded that appropriate institutional adjustments and affirmation action programmes are necessary to meet womens demands of equality and improve retention.

An analysis of female research productivity in Nigerian universities

This study examines the research output of female staff and the factors that affect their research productivity in the Nigerian university system. The study was carried out with a view to promoting strategies that will enhance productivity and increase the research output of female staff in Nigerian universities. The study adopted a survey research design. The purposive sampling method was used in administering questionnaires to 381 female academic staff from twelve randomly selected universities in the six geo‐political zones of Nigeria. The study revealed that female research output was generally low: 59.5 per cent of female academics published one paper annually; 23.6 per cent published up to two papers; 1.1 per cent published three papers; and 15.8 per cent did not publish on an annual basis. Although most female academic staff published annually, most wished to increase their publication rate. The study's results found that marital status, religion, academic position and number of hours of lectures per week had an impact on their ability to carry out research and publish the results. The study concluded that female academics made contributions that are more significant to teaching than research and that the Nigerian university system needs to develop strategies to enhance female research output.

An assessment of the problems of the use of ICT facilities in information sourcing and retrieval by the academic staff in Nigerian Universities

An assessment of the problems of the use of ICT facilities in information sourcing and retrieval by the academic staff in Nigerian Universities

Corrupt Practices among Academics as Perceived by Undergraduates: Implication for Counselling and National Development

This study investigated the various corrupt practices engaged in by academic staff in Nigerian universities as perceived by undergraduates. The sample was 1200 respondents of 600 males and 600 females who were purposively selected from all the faculties in Imo State University. One research question and one hypothesis guided the study. The mean score and z-test were used to respectively analyze the research question and hypothesis. The findings reveal that academic staffs in Nigerian universities to a large extent engage in different types of corrupt practices. There was no gender variation in the perception of the respondents. It is recommended that counselling center/unit be established in all universities. It was also recommended that defaulters be penalized in accordance with the stipulated penalty (ies) no matter how highly placed. Keywords : Corrupt Practices; Academic Indiscipline International Journal of Educational Research Vol. 4 (1) 2008: pp. 141-150

Labour Mobility Among Academic Staff In Nigerian Universities

Labour Mobility Among Academic Staff In Nigerian Universities

Factors Related to Job Satisfaction of Academic Staff in Nigerian Universities

This study was designed to investigate some factors related to job satisfaction of academic staff in Nigerian universities. A sample of 1142 academic staff from the three categories of universities were sampled. A questionnaire, validated and tested for reliability, was used for data collection. Simple percentage, mean, t -test and F ratio (ANOVA) were used for data analysis. The results show that the level of job satisfaction of the lecturers has generally increased over the past five years and that lecturers in federal universities have a higher mean job satisfaction score than those in state and private universities. The level of job satisfaction of the lecturers is significantly influenced by their sex and university status ( P <0.05).