Quality Assurance Practices as Determinants of Academic Staff Effectiveness in South-West Nigerian Polytechnics

Abstract

Quality assurance practices are input, process and output systems that are put in place by school administrators in order to ensure academic standards. It is on this premise that this study examined quality assurance practices as determinants of academic staff effectiveness. The study population consists of 6,577 academic staff in South-west Nigerian Polytechnics. Stratified and random sampling techniques were used to select 327 academic staff. An adapted instrument titled “Quality Assurance Practices Questionnaire’’ (QAPQ) and “Academic Staff Effectiveness Questionnaire’’ (ASEQ) were used to collect relevant data. Data collected were analysed using percentage and correlation methods. Findings indicate several quality assurance practices, which include quality assurance in recruitment of lecturers, staff supervision, capacity building, and library services. Also, the study revealed a significant relationship between quality assurance practices and academic staff effectiveness. Specifically, it was found that ensuring quality assurance in recruitment of lecturers is a determinant of academic staff effectiveness. Similarly, quality assurance in library services is a key determinant of academic staff effectiveness. Based on the findings of the study, it can be said that quality assurance practices had great influence on academic staff effectiveness as revealed in the study and that the predominantly used quality assurance practice among Polytechnics management in South-west Nigerian Polytechnics was library services. The study recommends that management of polytechnics should sustain the optimal utilization of quality assurance practices, to boost institutional effectiveness.