IMPACT OF MILLENIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS RETRAINING PROGRAMME ON JOB PERFORMANCE AND INTEREST AMONG CHEMISTRY TEACHERS
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Introduction
There is no greater factor for the social economic and political advancement than a good educational system (Afolabi, 2013). For successful schools and educational systems, teachers are very vital. In view of this, Omotayo (2007) opined that teachers are very important to the success of the school system in achieving its goals and objectives. Fasanmi (1996) added that the standard of education in any country cannot be above the standard of its teachers. It is in line with this that the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC, 2008) incorporate teachers in planning and implementation of curriculum especially in secondary schools. The curriculum of senior secondary schools of Nigeria emphasise on two major subject groups namely core and elective (NERDC, 2008). The core subjects are compulsory subjects that students must offer before graduation. In sciences, the core subjects are Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, English. The concern of this study is Chemistry as a core subject prescribed by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in its National Policy on Education (FRN, 2014). Chemistry is defined as that branch of science which is concerned with fundamental ideas about nature and attempts to establish relationships between different quantities as precise as possible. Okpala (2001) observed that Chemistry is a physical science subject that is concerned mainly with matter as it relates to energy and it also deals with the study of laws that determine the structure of the universe with reference to the matter and energy in the universe. 2 Olarinoye (2000) observed that Chemistry is the most utilised basic science subject in most science and technology-related professions which its concepts and techniques result to the studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter. Chemistry, according to Theodore, Brown, Lemay, Bursten, and Lemay (1999) includes topics such as the properties of individual atoms, how atoms form chemical bonds to create chemical compounds, the interactions of substances through intermolecular forces that give matter its general properties, and the interactions between substances through chemical reactions to form different substances. Historically, Strodach (2012) stated that the word chemistry comes from the word alchemy which was an earlier set of practices that encompassed elements of chemistry, metallurgy, philosophy, astrology, astronomy, mysticism and medicine. It is often seen as linked to the quest to turn lead or another common starting material into gold. Alchemy, which was practiced around 330BC, is the study of the composition of waters, movement, growth, embodying, disembodying, drawing the spirits from bodies and bonding the spirits within bodies (Zosimos). An alchemist was called a „chemist‟ in popular speech, and later the suffix “-ry” was added to this to describe the art of the chemist as “chemistry”. Under the influence of the new empirical methods propounded by Sir Francis Bacon and others, a group of chemists at Oxford, Robert Boyle, Robert Hooke and John Mayow began to reshape the old alchemical traditions into a scientific discipline. Boyle in particular is regarded as the founding father of chemistry due to his most important work, the basic chemistry text The Sceptical Chymist where the differentiation is made between the claims of alchemy and the empirical scientific discoveries of the new chemistry. He formulated Boyle‟s law, rejected the 3 classical “four elements” and proposed a mechanistic alternative of atoms and chemical reactions that could be subject to rigorous experiment. Chemistry is typically divided into several major sub-disciplines. There are also several main cross-disciplinary and more specialised fields of chemistry (Reilly, 2007). Analytical chemistry is the analysis of material samples to gain an understanding of their chemical composition and structure. Analytical chemistry incorporates standardised experimental methods in chemistry. These methods may be used in all sub disciplines of chemistry, excluding purely theoretical chemistry. Biochemistry is the study of the chemicals, chemical reactions and chemical interactions that take place in living organisms. Biochemistry and organic chemistry are closely related, as in medicinal chemistry or neurochemistry. Biochemistry is also associated with molecular biology and genetics. Inorganic chemistry is the study of the properties and reactions of inorganic compounds. The distinction between organic and inorganic disciplines is not absolute and there is much overlap, most importantly in the sub-discipline of organometallic chemistry. In ensuring the attainment of its objective, Chemistry is taught in our schools using varieties of teaching techniques such as lecture method, discussion, demonstration, laboratory techniques among others. It is in line with this that the Federal Ministry of Education as stated on the National Policy On Education (FME, 2014) in its determination to ensure that right knowledge is transmitted to learners, recognise the importance of teacher training programme otherwise termed as staff development programme. Lornah, Sirima and Poipoi (2010) ascertained that staff development programme for teachers entails organised learning experience for teachers to attend in specific areas of interest which equipped them with competency, skills and professionalization 4 in teaching profession. Such programmes include in-service training, seminars, workshops, conferences among others. Involvement of a teacher in this activity and its success and effectiveness basically depends on the goodwill of the teacher. It is only when he is inclined and willing to take up such an activity that would volunteer him to a training programme and would take interest in drawing benefit out of it and would improve his interest towards his work. “It is widely accepted that many variables contribute to effective education. The most crucial factor is the quality of interaction between the teacher and the students taught. If we accept that the quality of any education system ultimately depends upon the quality of teacher, and that, “no country can rise above the level of their teachers”, then the matter of teacher development is the one which deserve our urgent, careful and continued attention (Zaman, 2004). Therefore, teachers must be ready to discharge their duties and obligations in order to achieve successful, effective and efficient teaching and learning processes in the educational system. However, these teachers appear to have complained that they were not well motivated on the job and adequate incentives were not given to them on the job. Teachers seem to complain that they did not enjoy adequate in-service training, workshops and seminars. Rewards, incentives and other remunerations appeared not to be enjoyed by them as they should. Teachers also appear to complain of poor welfare packages like loans. With evolution of human civilisation, Suleman (2014) noted that mankind has demonstrated its ability to conquer and harness natural forces for its development and welfare which resulted in large scale introduction of new scientific concepts and technologies for moulding economic, social and educational systems. “The stock of knowledge of a teacher and his pedagogical skills become obsolete in a short span of time hence requires time to time update. All educational 5 innovations have, therefore, routed through teachers training programme which, in order to be responsive, have to develop its own constant flow system of feedback through continuous evaluation”. Mohmood (2009) portrays the aspects of teachers training programme as “this may be reiterated here that the intention of teachers training programme has always been to enhance professional as well as personal development of teachers so as to provide its benefits to children they teach, class they deal and schools they serve.
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