OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH TEACHING PROFESSION AS PERCEIVED BY SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS IN AWKA EDUCATION ZONE

The study investigated occupational hazards associated with the teaching profession as perceived by secondary school teachers in Awka Education Zone of Anambra State. The study was guided by four research questions and four null hypotheses, which were tested at the 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The study was conducted in Awka Education Zone. The zone has 65 public secondary schools with a total teacher population of 1,689. From this population, a sample of 304 teachers was selected using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Three education and measurement experts validated the instrument, and its reliability was established using Cronbach's alpha. The overall reliability index was 0.74. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while independent-samples t-tests were applied to test the null hypotheses. The findings revealed that respondents perceived physical, biological, psychosocial, and ergonomic hazards as associated with the teaching profession. Additionally, male and female teachers showed no significant differences in mean ratings across all four hazard categories. Based on the findings, it was concluded that occupational hazards are prevalent in the teaching profession in Awka Education Zone and that both male and female teachers are equally affected. The study recommended that, among other things, secondary schools train and deploy health and safety officers to monitor and mitigate biological hazards. Schools should establish and maintain hygienic practices, provide clean water and sanitation facilities, and ensure that teachers are adequately protected from communicable diseases through timely health education and medical check-ups.