PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AS PREDICTORS OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS' ACCESS TO, KNOWLEDGE AND UTILISATION OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH IN OGUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Educational research exposes teachers to innovative classroom practices. However, reports have shown that many English Language teachers in Ogun State exhibit ineffective classroom practices due to poor access to, knowledge and utilisation of educational research. Previous studies largely focused on instructional strategies, with little attention paid to psychological factors influencing teachers’ access to, knowledge and utilisation of educational research. Therefore, this study was designed to investigate psychological factors [attitude, motivation, job satisfaction, Career Development Interest (CDI) and Perception of Professional Development Obstacles (PPDO)] as predictors of teachers’ access to, knowledge and utilisation of educational research in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Diffusion of Innovation and Planned Behaviour theories provided the framework, while the correlational sectional design was employed. The multi-stage sampling procedure was adopted. Four Educational Blocs (EBs) – Abeokuta, Ijebu, Remo and Yewa – were enumerated in Ogun State. A total of 160 senior secondary schools (40 per EB), and 409 teachers English Language (three per school) participated in the study. The instruments used were Attitude (r=0.75), Motivation(r=0.92), Job Satisfaction (r=0.72), CDI (r=0.79) and PPDO(r=0.93) questionnaires, Teachers’ Knowledge Test (r=0.83), Access to Research (r=0.78) and Utilisation of Research (r= 0.91) scales. In-depth interview was held with 12 teachers of English Language. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product moment correlation and Multiple regression at 0.05 level of significance, while the qualitative data were thematically analysed.

The participants were mostly females (73.3%), and 55.0% were holders of B.Ed./B.A.Ed. Teachers’ knowledge (93.9%) was high but access to (43.2%) and utilisation of educational research (45.4%) were low as against the threshold of 51.3% and 60.3%, respectively. Teachers’ attitude (r=0.08; 0.28; 0.84), motivation (r=0.13; 0.18; 0.23), job satisfaction (r=0.15; 0.13; 0.12), CDI (r=0.83; 0.14; 0.01) and PPDO (r=0.063; 0.17; 0.04) had positive relationships with knowledge, access and utilisation, respectively. The joint contributions of attitude, motivation, job satisfaction, CDI and PPDO to knowledge (F (4; 404) = 4.89; Adj. R2=0.06), access to (F (4; 404) =7.55; Adj. R2= 0.09) and utilisation of educational research (F (4; 404) =5.66; Adj.R2 =0.07) were significant, accounting for 6.0%, 9.0% and 7.0% of their variances, respectively. Motivation (β = 0.12; 0.04; 0.26), attitude (β = 0.06; 0.23; 0.02) CDI (β = 0.14; 0.02; 0.06), job satisfaction (β = 0.20; 0.01; 0.11) and PPDO (β = 0.01; 0.06; 0.03) contributed relatively to knowledge, access and utilisation, respectively. The majority of the teachers did not access educational research due to lack of school leadership support and non-affordable subscription to research outlets.

Motivation, career development interest and attitude to educational research influenced English Language teachers’ access to, knowledge and utilisation of educational research in Ogun State, Nigeria. These factors should be inculcated into teachers’ preparatory programme for improved access to, knowledge and utilisation of educational research.