Levels of Job Satisfaction and Performance of Sports Officers in Lagos State Secondary Schools.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between job satisfaction levels of sports officers and sports performance of secondary schools in Lagos State. Data were collected from 200 subjects across 10 Local Education Districts. Job Descriptive Index was used to determine job satisfaction while performance in the Principals ̓Soccer Cup competition was used as a measure of performance. Results show that job satisfaction is not related to performance. Findings suggested that performance may not necessarily be dependent on job satisfaction; and that job satisfaction might be more dependent on psychological and social conditions of the job. A primary objective of sports programmes in secondary schools is providing students with opportunities to excel and bring honours to their schools in various sports (Odegbami, 2005). The coordination of the programmes is handled by the schools ̓sports officers. They strive to ensure that students as well as schools perform well in achieving this primary objective. The importance of the role of sports officers in the administration of school sports cannot be over-emphasised. The execution of the programme and the coordination of its activities are within the purview of the officers ̓ responsibilities. However, the extent to which these duties are carried out is, to a large extent, contingent upon whether or not sports officers are satisfied with their job. Secondary school sports are acknowledged as the pivot of sports development for any nation (Onifade and Keinde, 2002; Josiah, 2005). Apart from being an important phase of the curriculum that fulfills the major needs of youths today, sports in schools provide the opportunity for students with superior athletic ability to compete at an advanced level within the framework of carefully defined educational goals so that they can reach their maximum potential. The term, sports officers, is used by the Lagos State Government of Nigeria to describe the category of secondary school teachers who teach physical education as a subject of instruction. From time to time, they also act as coaches and administrators of the schools sporting programme. These sports officers are thus directly responsible for the sporting programme of their schools in terms of supervision and coordination. In most cases, their job includes coaching of school teams in preferred sports. Where outside coaches are invited for a particular competition, such coaches work under the close supervision of the sports officers in each school. Thus an average sports officer in Lagos State secondary schools not only teaches physical education as a subject of curriculum instruction, but also coaches school teams, and administers the schools ̓sports Aiyejuyo (2004) had argued that a thorough and in-depth understanding of sports officers is needed for motivating them towards higher performance. This argument is relevant when one considers that the type of work performance needed from these individuals mostly goes with a corresponding motivational behaviour exhibited by the organisation (the schools) in which they work. In order for the sports officers to perform well there is a need to focus on their perception of personal and organisational stimuli (Keinde and Ayodabo, 2002). It is therefore important that a relative congruency exist between most of their needs and those of the organisation. Many studies have argued that if a worker is satisfied with his or her job, he or she will be motivated to perform his or her job well (Herrera and Lim, 2003). The school as an organisation therefore requires optimum performance from the expertise of their sports officers who are saddled with the task of achieving sports excellence for the school. Sports officers in various secondary schools have the tendency to improve on work performance if only they are exposed to a conducive and job satisfying environment which has the tenets of contributing favourably to job performance. For the purpose of this study, job satisfaction is defined in line with Aiyejuyo (2004) which states that job satisfaction is the totality of an individualʼs social and psychological well-being relative to his or her job and job performance. It therefore represents a feeling of relative pleasure or pain and expresses the amount of agreement between oneʼs emerging expectations and the rewards that the job provides. Several studies have examined job satisfaction of individuals employed in positions related to sport (Keinde, 1995; Onifade and Keinde, 2002; Keinde and Ayodabo, 2002; Herrera and Lim, 2003; Aiyejuyo, 2004). Most of these reflected varying degrees of job satisfaction especially as it relates to predictive variables especially performance. Some studies also examined job satisfaction of employees generally and in relation to performance (Brown and Leigh, 1996; Ching, 2001; Corbin, 2001). Often considered a barometer of the health and effectiveness of an organisation, a higher level of job satisfaction is associated with a number of other factors. These include, for example, reduced rates of turnover and absenteeism, less undesirable work-related behaviours such as aggression, strikes, and theft (Keinde, 1995), and better job performance (Ayodabo, 1994; Aiyejuyo, 2004). It should be noted, however, that research indicates general low satisfaction with some aspects of job in Nigeria especially with pay and promotion (Baridam and Nwachukwu, 1995; Onifade and Keinde, 2002) despite a relative higher performance index. It is more accurate to maintain that high job performance leads to high job satisfaction rather than the reverse (Aiyejuyo, 2004) and that positive relationship between job satisfaction and job performance is extremely complex (Snyder, 1990; Herrera and Lim, 2003). Job satisfaction is also positively related to a number of other Levels of Job Satisfaction and Performance of Sports Officers in Lagos State