EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS, JOB TENURE, AND JOB SECURITY AS PREDICTORS OF INNOVATIVE WORK BEHAVIOUR AMONG STATE AGENCIES FOR MASS EDUCATION EMPLOYEES IN SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

<doi>10.24250/jpe/1/2026/WOA/FEA/KTS/RFO/REO/FAA/</doi>

Abstract

Innovative Work Behavior (IWB), an employee's ability to
explore, generate, realize, promote and sustain new ideas,
is a prerequisite for job performance and goal attainment
in the workplace. However, evidence indicated low IWB of
State Agencies for Mass Education (SAMEs) in
southwestern Nigeria, which has influenced effective
delivery of mass education programmes. This study,
therefore, investigated the predictive power of educational
innovative work behavior in southwest Nigeria. The study
employed an explanatory sequential mixed-method design.
Purposive sampling was used to select five (Oyo, Osun,
Ogun, Ekiti and Ondo) out of six states in southwestern
Nigeria owing to their homogenous patterns in programme monitoring, evaluation, and implementation. Two-hundred
and eight (208) SAMEs employees were sampled. The
questionnaire tagged Innovative Work Behaviour and Job
Security were used to elicit information from the
respondents, while interview guide was used to obtain
information from the executive secretaries of the SAMEs.
The quantitative data were analyzed using mean, standard
deviation and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05
significance level, while the qualitative data were contentanalyzed.
The study revealed that the employees of the
SAME maintained low degree of job security ( = 2.22) at
the agency level. The results revealed that the IWB of the
SAME personnel did not vary statistically significantly
based on their educational background (F 2, 198 = 2.542;
p 0.081> 0.05). Finally, the study indicated a statistically
basis of their job tenure F (3, 197 = 7.081 (p 0.000 <
favor of those
who had spent 6 years and above compared with their
counterparts that did not. The study concluded that while
employees exhibited a low orientation towards job security,
their Innovative Work Behavior (IWB) was not significantly
influenced by their educational background. However, job
tenure emerged as a significant factor, with employees
having 6 years or more of service demonstrating higher
IWB. The study recommended among other that the
government and another concerned stakeholder should
priorities job security by providing employees with a sense
of stability and permanence. They should introduce
programmes that prioritize employee retention,
recognizing that high turnover rates can negatively impact
innovation and creativity. Creating opportunities for
professional development, providing competitive
compensation and benefits, and fostering a positive and
supportive work environment are some strategies to do
this.