Internal cohesion, professional freedom and academic staff performance in public universities in Rivers State

Abstract

The research work investigated the relationship between Internal Cohesion, Professional Freedom and Academic Staff Performance in Public Universities in Rivers State. Two research questions and two hypotheses were answered and tested in the study, respectively. The study adopted the correlational design, using 671 academic staff as sample size, from the population of three public universities in Rivers State which comprised of 2,582 academic staff. The sample was selected through multi-stage and simple random sampling techniques. The instruments for data collection were Internal Cohesion and Professional Freedom Scale (ICAPFS) and Academic Staff Performance Scale (ASPS) which were validated by experts. Reliability of the instruments was determined through Cronbach’s Alpha statistic of 0.82 and 0.90 respectively. All research questions were answered with Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) while all hypotheses were tested with test of significance of correlational coefficient (r) with special z_r-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that there was a positive and high relationship between: internal cohesion and academic staff performance; professional freedom and academic staff performance. Conclusively, there was a positive and high relationship between internal cohesion, professional freedom and academic staff performance in public universities in Rivers State. Based on the findings, the study recommended continuity in the current efforts of the government, and the universities’ authorities towards academic staff of the universities, in the areas of encouraging team work among academic staff; and supporting academic staff professional freedom as an intrinsic motivator for job performance.