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SCHOOL CLIMATE AS CORRELATES TO TEACHERS’ JOB PERFORMANCE IN 

PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LAGOS STATE NIGERIA 

 

Lilian IjeomaAmaechi Ph.D 

Email: ijeakuibe2005@yahoo.co.uk 

Department of Educational Management,  

Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos Nigeria 

 

ABSTRACT 

This study examined the relationship between school climates as correlates to teachers’ job 

performance in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State. A hypothesis was (tested at 

0.05 level of significance) and a research question was set to serve as guide for the study. With 

the study’s foundation anchored on Systems theory. Correlational and descriptive research 

designs were adopted. The study population comprised 322 Principals, 644 Vice-principals, 

966 head of departments and 960 teachers in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State. 

The sample sizes were 96 Principals, 192 Vice-principals, 288 head of departments and 960 

teachers after stratifying the population into Education Districts and thereafter selecting 

through purposive and simple random sampling techniques. Two instruments were used to 

collect data after ensuring their validity and establishing their reliability using Cronbach Alpha 

Coefficient method. These included ‘School Climate Questionnaire (SCQ) (r=0.890) and 

Teachers’ job performance Questionnaire (TJPQ) (r = 0.837) Analysis of data was carried out 

using both descriptive and inferential statistics (Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation). The 

findings was that a positive, negligible and non-significant relationship exists between school 

climate and teachers’ job performance in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State (r = 

0.008, ρ > 0.05) The study concluded that, the more conducive the school climate, the higher 

teachers job performance in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State. The study 

therefore recommended that Principals and School Authority should make the school climate 

conducive for teachers to perform their duties well. 

Keywords: School climate, Teachers Job Performance, Public Senior secondary Schools. 

INTRODUCTION 

The School is a social organisation with a unique formation that influences behaviour of the 

human components. The human components in the school includes the students, teachers and 

administrators. Peretomode, (2014) conceived the school as a social system involving two 

classes of phenomena that are independent and at the same interactive with the individual 

behaviour and the social behaviour in a social system. The social behaviour is the normative 

dimension that ensures that behaviour is geared towards achieving organizational (school) 

goals. The personal dimension or the idiographic dimension consists of three interrelated 

elements, individual, personality and need deposition. 

The school as a social system is therefore characterized by the existence of organisational goals 

and individual goals. The attempt to balance the organisation and individual goals results to 

the creation of school climate. Conceptualized as multi-faceted concept, Petrie (2014) defined 

school climate to include the unwritten personality and atmosphere of a school including its 

norms, values, and expectations. Wang and Degol (2015) also postulated that school climate 

includes academic, community, safety, and institutional environment dimensions that 

encompass just about every feature of the school environment that impacts cognitive, 

behavioral, and psychological development. There are other views about the meaning of school 

mailto:ijeakuibe2005@yahoo.co.uk


               Lilian Ijeoma                                                      School Climate As Correlates To Teachers’… 

134 

 

climate. Hoy and Miskel as cited in Peretomode (2014) opined that school climate is an end 

product of school group – students, teachers, administrators (the formal and informal 

organisation leadership and personality of participants) as they work to balance the 

organisation and the individual of a social system. 

The quality of a nation’s educational sector depends considerably on teachers as well as on the 

collective interactions of the internal and external forces that intervene in the fulfillment of the 

purpose for setting up schools. The effectiveness and stability of the schools are mostly based 

on their school climate and the performance of teachers (Wentzel & Watkins, in Emu, 2018).  

Teachers are the backbone of an education activity, the success and failure of education 

activities highly depends on their performance (Muhammad, Rahmat & Malik, 2013). 

Meanwhile, job performance is the duties carried out by teachers in the school which is aimed 

at achieving both education and school objectives, it is defined as putting knowledge and skills 

into practice so that work can be done effectively and efficiently.  (Griffing, 2012; Adejumobi, 

2018). Muhammad (2013) also opined that teachers’ job performance is directly linked to 

process and product of education which is emphatic for the improvement of education. 

Peretemode, in Muhammad (2013), adds that job performance is determined by the worker’s 

level of participation in the day to day running of an organisation. Teachers’ job performance 

can be defined as the skill, knowledge and competence with which a person executes the duties 

and responsibilities associated with job description. It is also fulfilling of an obligation, 

carrying out of one’s duties and accomplishing a specified job or duty. It therefore means the 

accomplishment of set goals and objectives. This involves the teacher’s role in the 

dissemination of knowledge and providing guidance and counseling service for both on and 

off school activities. 

Thus, it is observed that teachers’ job performance is more than teaching in the class. It also 

comprises punctuality to class, finishing the scheme of work for each term, writing up- to- date 

lesson plan and notes, satisfying the students through their teaching style and quality 

management of class discipline, students motivation and improvement of their achievement; 

assisting students to solve their academic and learning difficulties, interaction with students, 

interaction and relationship with other teachers and high officials, performance of other 

assignments by the principal and the department (Muhammad, 2013). In the words of 

Adejumobi and Ojikutu (2013), teachers’ job performance is shown in terms of teachers’ lesson 

presentation which ranges from introduction of the lesson to teachers mastery of the subject, 

interaction with the students, evaluation, conclusion and students external examination. 

Teachers’ performance can be determined or measured using several yardsticks such as their 

effectiveness in delivery of lessons, writing of lesson notes, selection and usage of instructional 

materials, completing number of periods per week and scheme of work, as well as involvement 

and commitment to other duties that will lead to the realization of school goals. The success or 

failure of any educational programme then depends on the performance of teachers. Thus, 

stakeholders have continued to express interest in identifying the factors that enhance teachers’ 

appreciable performance in secondary schools in Lagos State.  

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM 

Teachers constitute human resource that makes school and educational objectives a reality. The 

failure or success of educational activities highly depends on teachers’ job performance. In 

spite of government and school management efforts to enhance effectiveness and efficiency 

among teachers in public senior secondary schools, however, there seems to be challenges such 

as overcrowded classrooms which may impinge upon the school with the ratio of 1:100 instead 

of expected ratio of 1:40 in some public senior secondary schools in Lagos state Nigeria 



                                                                  Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 5 Issue 2, August 2025. 

                          ISSN: 2786-9792                                     

 

135 
 

(FRN2013), also as observed by Ogundare (2018). The autocratic leadership style of some 

public-school principals, lack of collaboration and interpersonal relationship among teachers 

and colleagues, teachers and principals, teachers and students, teachers and parents are also 

characteristics of the school that present a climate that may hinder the adequate performance 

of teachers.  

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY 

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship that exists between School Climate 

and Teachers’ Job Performance in public Senior Secondary Schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. 

Specifically, this study was to examine the relationship between school climate and teachers’ 

job performance in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria 

RESEARCH QUESTION 

Q1. Is there any relationship between school climate and teachers’ job performance in 

public senior secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria? 

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS 

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between school climate and teachers’ job

 performance in public senior  secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria. 

THEORETICAL FRAME WORK 

The study anchored on Systems Theory. 

A system is comprised of a whole made up of interacting parts, and therefore, systems scientists 

in both the natural and social sciences study the interaction between parts to better understand 

the complexities of reality (Lalande and Baumeister, 2015) Arnold and Wade (2015), further 

define a systems as, “groups or combinations of interrelated, interdependent, or interacting 

elements forming collective entities”. A system therefore denotes a set of parts that are 

interrelated so as to function as a whole in order to achieve a common purpose. For example; 

school organisations with all their institutional components that make them function as a whole 

(Bozkus, 2014). 

A system is a set interrelated parts working together as a whole to achieve a common goal. The 

system theory has been used to describe and explain the universality of bodies, It is a set of 

interrelated and interdependent parts, such that the interaction of any part or sub-system affects 

the whole structure (Ndu & Okeke, in Rufai, 2018).This theory rests on the assumption that 

school is a system which comprises different parts that are inter-related (students, teachers, 

administrators etc.).What affects one part affects the other in the same system and environment. 

Thus, systems theory is a transdiciplinary study of systems in general, with the goals of 

elucidating principles that can be applied to all types of system in all fields of research (Yahya, 

2014).As a transdiciplinary and multi-perspectival domain, the systems theory brings together 

principles and concepts from other disciplines. 

System theory thus serves as a bridge interdisciplinary dialogue between autonomous areas of 

study as well as within the area of systems science itself. Bertalanffy, (1968) is the proponent 

of the system Theory. According to this theory, behaviour, relationships, emotions, 

effectiveness and efficiency, thoughts are influenced by personal characteristics and 

surrounding climate. Human development occurs through the complex, reciprocal interaction 

that an individual has with others in the school and the surrounding. The environment is made 



               Lilian Ijeoma                                                      School Climate As Correlates To Teachers’… 

136 

 

of internal (teachers, students, administrators) and external (parents, community) that affect the 

system (Jason 2020). 

 Meanwhile, the secondary education production function is a system of human resources, 

physical resources, methods, procedures and processes working together in a definite 

environment to deliver desirable outputs(Mwangeka, 2020).  

Systems theory is the interdisciplinary study of systems, which are cohesive groups of 

interrelated, interdependent components that can be natural or human made. Every system has 

causal boundaries, is influenced by its context, defined by its structure, function and role, and 

expressed through its relations with other systems (wiki loves2022).  

RESEARCH METHOD 

In this study, descriptive survey and correlational research designs were considered suitable. 

The study population comprised all public senior secondary schools in Lagos State in the six 

Education Districts. There are 322 Senior Secondary Schools of Lagos State.  

THE SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES 

The sample of the study consisted of 96 schools that were selected from the population of 322 

public senior secondary schools in Lagos State.A multistage sampling technique was used to 

select schools from each Education districts for this study. This enabled every public senior 

secondary school to have a chance of being selected in the existing six Educational Districts 

in Lagos state. A disproportionate stratified sampling technique was used to select 16 public 

senior secondary schools randomly from each Education District for the sample size making 

a total of 96 schools. Lastly, a purposive or judgmental non- probability sampling technique 

was used to select principal or principal cadre, two vice principals, three head of departments 

and ten teachers who have spent not less than five years in each sampled school making a 

total number of 96 principals, 192 vice principals, 288 head of departments and 960 teachers, 

making a total number of 1,536 as the study participants or respondents. 

RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS  

The instrument used for this study is structured questionnaire constructed by the researcher. 

The structured questionnaire is made up of the following; School Climate Questionnaire (SCQ) 

and Teachers Job Performance Questionnaire (TJPQ). 

The SCQ was divided into two parts, Part A consists of items on personal data of respondents, 

part B consists of 5 structured items to get information on the school climate. 

The TJPQ was divided into two parts. Part A consists of items on personal data of respondents; 

Part B consists of 5 structured items to obtain information on Teachers’ job performance. The 

principals, vice principals and head of departments were the respondents to the questionnaire. 

The School climate and teachers job performance response options were Strongly Agree (SA), 

Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree (SD). 

HYPOTHESES TESTING 

The hypothesis for this study was tested using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC)  

DECISION RULE 

The level of significance for the hypothesis in this study is 0.05. The null hypothesis assumed 

that there is no significant influence of the independent variable on the dependent variables. In 



                                                                  Aquino Journal of Philosophy, Vol 5 Issue 2, August 2025. 

                          ISSN: 2786-9792                                     

 

137 
 

this study, if the SPSS output significant value of the tests exceeds the significant level (0.05), 

then the null hypothesis is accepted and the alternative hypothesis rejected, but if the p-value 

is lesser than 0.05, the null hypothesis is rejected and the alternative is accepted. Furthermore, 

the researcher employed the Cohen (1988) table to interpret the correlation strength. The rules 

of thumb to interpret the strength of correlation (r) are 0.10-0.29 signifies weak correlation; 

0.30-0.49 represents moderate correlation; 0.50-1.00 represents strong correlation (Cohen, 

1988).  

HYPOTHESES   

H01: There is no significant relationship between school climate and teachers’ job 

performance in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State Nigeria. 

In order to test the hypothesis, Pearson’s Product-Moment Correlation Analysis was conducted 

between school climate and teachers’ job performance. The scores of responses on items of 

school climate were computed and used as a single variable to correlate the sum of scores on 

items of teachers’ job performance. The result is presented in Table  

 

Table 1: Relationship between school climate and teachers’ job performance in public 

senior secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria 

 School climate Teachers job 

performance 

School climate Pearson Correlation 1 0.008 

Sig. (2-tailed)  0.862 

N 933 467 

Teachers job performance Pearson Correlation 0.008 1 

Sig. (2-tailed) 0.862  

N 467 467 

The result of the test performed indicates that there is a positive, and non-significant 

relationship between school climate and teachers’ job performance in public senior secondary 

schools in Lagos State, Nigeria (r = 0.862, ρ > 0.05). The implication of this is that there is no 

linear association between school climate and teachers’ job performance in public senior 

secondary schools. This depicts the lack of association (r approximately = 0) between school 

climate and teachers’ job performance. Hence, the null hypothesis which states that there is no 

significant relationship between school climate and teachers’ job performance in public senior 

secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria is hereby rejected. 

 

CONCLUSIONS 

The conclusion can be drawn from this study that the more conducive the school climate, the 

more teachers perform their duties in public senior secondary schools in Lagos State, Nigeria.. 

Meanwhile, the two variables are interrelated and interdependent, school climate relate to 

teachers’ job performance in public senior secondary in Lagos state, Nigeria.  

RECOMMENDATIONS 

Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are hereby made. 

1. Principals and school authority should make the school climate conducive for 

teachers to perform their duties well. 



               Lilian Ijeoma                                                      School Climate As Correlates To Teachers’… 

138 

 

2. Government should continuously improve the school climate to provide  conducive 

atmosphere for teachers to perform their duties 

3.  The government and school management staff should ensure regular training and 

re-training of teachers through in-service training, seminars, conferences and 

workshops towards enhancing school climate and job performance. 

4. Government should try as much as possible to provide public schools with adequate 

facilities to stimulate a climate that will enhance teacher job performance. 

5. Teachers should prepare adequately to improve in their job performance. 

 

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