ABSTRACT
This study titled teachers quality and students’Academic performance in Chemistry of Secondary schools students in Obio Akpor Local Government Area”. The study sought to: determine the relationship between teachers qualification/ certification and students’Academic performance. Establish the relationship between teachers years of teaching experience and students Academic performance. Establish the relationship between teachers knowledge of subject matter and student Academic performance. Examine how teachers‟ teaching methods influence student Academic performance. In the study, four research questions were raised and answered using the descriptive statistics and four (4) null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. A total sample size of 250 SSS2 students were randomly selected out of population of 9,938 students in all the ss schools in the metropolis. All the seventy five (75) teachers teaching Chemistry in the schools were selected to represent the sample for the teachers. Survey design was used in the study and the instruments for data collection were 40 items questionnaire for teachers and the result of standardized examination for students‟ Academic performance. Pilot study was conducted in a school outside the study area and the reliability of the instrument was obtained to be 0.88 using test-re test reliability coefficients. The research questions were answered using the descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation and frequency count while the Research hypotheses were tested using inferential statistics such as r-test and F-test (ANOVA). Hypotheses 1, 2 and 4 were all accepted while hypothesis 3 was rejected. The major findings are that, teachers‟ quality has no significant relationship with students‟ Academic performance and that teachers „knowledge of subject matter played a significant role in the performance of students and therefore it led to the general conclusion that teachers with deeper knowledge of subject matter produced better students, than those with shallow knowledge of subject matter.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Education and its benefits can never be over emphasized as the root of economic, industrial, political, scientific and technological, and even religious development. All aspects of development are centered on education. Education is one of the vital instruments for development in any nation. Every educational system at every level depends heavily on teachers for the execution of its programmes. Teachers are highly essential for successful operation of the educational system and important tools for the educational development.
Teachers at all levels of education play the decisive role in pivoting the growth and the direction of education. It is an acceptable fact that teacher is the most important cog in the educational machine and that teachers are highly instrumental to the success of any educational programme embarked upon by any government. This is because apart from being at the implementation level of any educational policy, the realization of these programmes also depends greatly on teacher‟s dedication and commitment to their work (Adeniji 1999).
Darling-Hammond (2000) states that the characteristics of teacher quality are: verbal ability, subject – matter knowledge, knowledge of teaching and learning the ability to use a wide range of teaching strategies adapted to student needs. Quality of a teacher is another very influential determinant of the classroom environment (Lundberg and Linnakyla, 1993). A teacher‟s qualities include preparation and training, the use of a particular instructional approach and experience in teaching. This insight is shared by Mullis, Kennedy, Martin and Sainsbury (2004) who indicate that teacher quality is an important determinant of pupil performance.
The quality of education hinges on the quality of teaching that goes on in the classroom reinforcing the idea that quality teachers make up for the deficiencies in the curriculum and in educational resources (Anderson 1991). Teacher quality is widely thought of as an essential determinants of Academic performance, yet there is little agreement as to what specific characteristics make a good teacher (Hanushek and Rivkin, 2017). This is an important issue as the economic impact of higher student achievement can be a function of the depreciation rate of student learning, the total variation of teacher quality (as measured by student achievement on standardized tests), and the labor market return to one standard deviation of higher achievement.
Researchers, policy makers, parents and even teachers themselves agree that teacher quality matters. But defining, measuring and identifying teacher quality is a far more controversial task.
Subject matter knowledge is another variable that one might think could be related to teacher quality. While there is some support for this assumption, the findings are not as strong and consistent as one might suppose. Studies of teacher‟s scores on the subject matter tests of the National Teacher Examination (NTE) have found no consistent relationship between this measure of subject matter knowledge and teacher performance as measured by student outcome or supervisory ratings. Most studies show small, statistically insignificant relationships, between teacher quality and students Academic performance
A good teacher is perhaps the most common and least precise of all terms. Shulman, president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of teaching, describes a good teacher in the following way: in the classroom of a good teacher, students are visible, engaged, attentive and participating. In good teaching, students are responsible for their learning; they are accountable for their understanding. Good teaching is passionate, and it induces an emotional response in students…good teaching starts with inducing habits of mind, but doesn‟t stop there. Good teaching engages practical thinking and problemssolving skills that can be applied in a variety of settings. And good teaching affects students‟ values, commitments, and identities.
As stated above, the definition of teacher quality indicates certain qualities that make a qualitative teacher. There are so many problems that are associated with teacher quality, more especially in our secondary schools. The profession is not attracting the “right” individuals into teaching. Some view the quality problem as a concern about preparation. From this vantage point, teacher who complete university-based programs do not leave with the appropriate knowledge and practices to be effective in contemporary classrooms.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Teachers play a vital role in ensuring quality education delivery. They are best known for the role of educating students in their care. The most common role teachers’ play in the classroom is to dispense pertinent knowledge to students by following the curriculum. Teachers use various methods such as lecture, small group activities and hands-on learning activities to dispense knowledge to students. Beyond that, they serve many other roles in the classroom. Teachers set the tone of their classrooms, build warm environment, mentor and nurture students, become role models, listen and look for signs of trouble etc. (Fraser & Walberg, 2005). They are therefore, responsible for promoting the mission and ethos of the schools through structured classroom prayer, participation in the liturgical life of the school, and modelling of appropriate standards of behaviour.
Teaching is a career that provides challenges, excitement, personal reward and chance to encourage and support others to achieve their goals Johnson, Kahle and Fargo (2007).Good teachers work with their colleagues, parents, other professionals and community members to inspire their students to learn. Through the rigorous training teachers go through during their pre-service training, they acquire qualities such as strong knowledge in particular subject areas, patience, good sense of humour etc. These qualities are essential to ensure a permanent change in students’ behaviour. With such qualities, teachers are expected to motivate and encourage students to study hard to improve the standard of education.
However, there have been public outcries that the academic performance of students in ObioAkpor LGA is below expectation. Ochuba (2008) similarly reported that there has been a public outcry on the continual decline in the standards of education in Nigeria as indicated in public examinations and performance of education outputs that are inadequate for employment.This study aims at determining, whether there is a relationship between quality of teachers and the Academic performance of students of secondary schools in Chemistry.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study is set to achieve the following objectives:
i. Determine the effect of teachers‟ qualification on students‟ Academic performance in Chemistry in Secondary schools in Obio Akpor LGA.
ii. Investigate the effect of teacher‟s years of teaching experience on students‟ Academic performance in Chemistry in some selected secondary schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area.
iii. Establish the impact of teacher‟s knowledge of subject matter on students‟ performance in Chemistry in the some selected secondary schools of Obio Akpor Local Government Area.
iv. Find out whether teachers teaching methods affect student Academic performance in Chemistry in selected secondary schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area.
1.4 Research Questions
The study sought to provide answers to the following research questions:
i. What is the effect of teachers‟ qualification on students‟ Academic performance in Chemistry in Secondary schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area?
ii. Does teachers‟ year of teaching experience affect students‟ Academic performance in Chemistry in secondary schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area?
iii. What is the impact of teachers‟ knowledge of the subject matter on the performance of students in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area?
iv. Do teachers teaching methods affect students‟ Academic performance in Chemistry
language in Secondary Schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were raised for this research;
HO1: There is no significant relationship among students Academic performance in Chemistry taught by teachers of different qualifications in Senior
Secondary Schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area
HO2: There is no significant relationship among students Academic performance in Chemistry whose teachers have different years of teaching experience in Secondary Schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area
HO3: There is no significant relationship between students Academic performance in Chemistry whose teachers possess knowledge of the subject matter and those whose teachers do not possess knowledge of the subject matter in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area
HO4: There is no significant relationship between students‟ Academic performance in Chemistry whose teachers uses different methods of teaching in selected Secondary Schools in Obio Akpor Local Government Area.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The purpose of any educational research is to contribute to the development of knowledge. The research findings would be of great help to the government and other stakeholders by revealing the relationship between the quality of teachers and students‟ Academic performance in our schools. This will consequently guide the ministry in adopting a new policy of recruiting teachers i.e. to make sure they recruit qualified teachers who are highly effective i.e. those with knowledge of content, teaching experience, professional certificate and overall academic ability.
The findings will be of benefit to students, most especially those in the post graduate studies, to add more, or to contribute from where the researchers stopped or what is left to be done in the area of study.
The research findings will be of benefit to any individual who is interested in knowing the relationship between teachers‟ quality and students‟ achievement. The findings will be of great importance and help in conference writing related to the area. It will make teachers plan and present their lesson excellently and also those unqualified teachers to go and further their studies so as to meet the minimum required qualification for teaching.
The research findings will help the society to dictate what is to be included in the curriculum so as to improve the quality of the teachers as well as the students. This study will be of significance to curriculum planners. The information from this study will be of benefit to the curriculum developers of the National policy on education to forestall all the lapses during the course of building.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The study is concerned with teachers‟ quality and students‟ Academic performance. The researcher was restricted to teachers and students of SSS2 public Secondary schools of Obio Akpor Local Government Area.
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Item Type: Project Material | Size: 60 pages | Chapters: 1-5
Format: MS Word | Delivery: Within 30Mins.
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