Comparative Relationship between Professionalism and Staff Development on Management of Business Education Programs among Public Universities in South-South, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between professionalism and staff development on the effective management of business education programmes in South-South universities. To accomplish this, three research questions were answered, and three corresponding hypotheses guided the study were tested at a 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study, and the targeted population was 98 Business educators in five selected universities in the South-south geopolitical zone. All 98 Business educators constitute the sample size since the population is of manageable size. An Instrument titled “Comparative Relationship between Professionalism and Staff Development on Effective Management of Business Education Programmes Questionnaire” (CRPSTDEMBEQ), validated by a business education specialist was employed for data gathering by experts. The correlation coefficient of the instrument was 0.736. The result among others showed a moderate overall level of professionalism but with variations across the assessed areas, which call for ethics training, workload management strategies, and professional development programmes, to enhance the professionalism of business educators in the region. Moreover, the result revealed a moderately positive and statistically significant relationship between staff professionalism and the effective management of the Business Education programme. The study concludes that professionalism and staff development are essential for effectively managing business education programmes in universities located in South-South Nigeria. It identifies a moderate level of professionalism with opportunities for improvement, highlighting the need for targeted interventions. The study recommended that Universities prioritize ongoing professional development by providing funding and facilitating access to workshops, conferences, certifications, and online courses.