MORAL VALUES AND TECHNICAL SKILLS AS DETERMINANTS OF JOB SECURITY AMONG PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN RIVERS STATE

Abstract

The study investigated moral values and skills as determinants of job security among private secondary school teachers in Rivers State. Three research questions were raised and three corresponding hypotheses formulated to guide the study. Correlation survey design was employed in the study and the population of the study was 14, 256 private secondary school teachers out of which 389 teachers were sampled for the study through simple random sampling technique. Two questionnaires named “Moral Values and Technical Skills Questionnaire” (MVTSQ) and “Job Security Questionnaire” (JSQ), having 10 questionnaire items respectively were used to collect data on the dependent and independent variables of the study. The two questionnaires were face and content validated by a Measurement and Evaluation expert at the University of Port Harcourt. Cronbach alpha was used to estimate the reliability of the instruments and while MVTSQ had a coefficient of 0.88, JSQ has a value of 0.82. There were 389 copies of questionnaire administered but only 366 which represented 94.1% retrieval rate was used for analysis. The research questions were answered using simple and multiple regression while the hypotheses were tested using t-test associated with simple regression and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that moral values contributed moderately to job security while technical skills had a highrelationship on job security. However, a combination of moral values and technical skills had a higher relationship on job security among the teachers and the relationship were all significant. The study recommended that the government should carry out its regulatory roles through the Ministry of Education on regular basis by ensuring that while teachers endeavour to acquire the right skills and morals, the school proprietors also ensure that their job is secured as both parties are partners in progress in the education industry