Assessment of Teacher’s Quality and Its Effect on Junior Secondary School Students Performance in Basic Science

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Since the middle of the twentieth century, the quality of teachers has been the subject of intense discussion all around the world. In the opinion of Riovkin, Hanushek, and Kain (1998), the effect of teacher quality on students’ accomplishment is several times bigger than the influence of any other generally observed variable such as students’ family backgrounds, favorable classroom environments, and so on. In spite of the fact that teacher quality vary significantly between nations and especially between states. The National Policy on Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, Revised 2004), while emphasizing the significance of teacher quality in curriculum implementation, also said that no nation’s educational system can outperform the quality of its teachers in any given country or region. Any discussion of schools would be incomplete without including teachers, and the vast majority of educational policies are geared at or directly address the function of teachers. Furthermore, parents, teachers, and administrators constantly underline the critical role that instructors play in the development of students’ academic success when compared to other determinants of academic performance. When compared to other determinants of academic success, teachers have a less role to play. Education systems are significant because the quality of instructors in any educational system determines to a large part the quality of that system. Teachers are therefore critical in every educational system. According to Peter (1997), “quality is the fundamental and indispensible characteristic of a product.” For example, the traits of high-quality scientific instructors are those that contribute to the fitness and efficiency of the teacher in the performance of the responsibilities that are linked with science education, such as enthusiasm and dedication.

Ingersoll (1996) defined teacher quality as a measure of a teacher’s qualifications, teaching methods, teacher certification, teacher experience, and teaching preparations. In education reform, it is a critical policy issue, and the American Council on Education (1999) stated that “the quality of the teacher is the key to improved student performance regardless of the condition of the schools, the affluence of the student, the nature of the community, or any other element in the lives or educational environment of school children.” Teaching techniques, experiences, assignments, and resources used by quality instructors to guarantee that students achieve a wide range of cognitive objectives are defined as follows: In order to guarantee that our children meet the high standards required for them to live full lives and to become productive students, we must ensure that they are well-prepared and highly competent teachers. Teacher qualification consists of a number of components, including topic knowledge, pedagogical expertise, teaching credentials, and oral communication ability. Professional knowledge for quality teaching has been identified by Shulman (1987) as being comprised of seven (7) areas: academic subject, knowledge of teaching strategies, knowledge of student characteristics and cultural background, knowledge of curriculum materials and programs, knowledge of teaching environment, subject specific knowledge of teaching strategies, and knowledge of the goals and purposes of teaching.

Salvin (2003) noted that a good quality teacher must be well knowledgeable about his or her subject area and understand how to excite students. He must also understand how to make good use of class time and how to deal with variances in personality and learning styles. An integrated science teacher should make every effort to acquire sufficient knowledge to enable him to teach any aspect of the integrated science program’s content, and in order to be effective in the classroom, the integrated science teacher must keep himself up to date on both the content of the integrated science program and the methods of delivering integrated science instruction.

Quality teachers are well-versed in their subject matter and have the language ability to communicate that information to their students, according to research. By attending professional seminars and conferences, they are deliberate instructors who are continually reviewing and improving their own teaching techniques in order to provide the best possible instruction to their students. Reynolds (1995) discovered that competent instructors are able to complete all of the responsibilities associated with providing effective education to their students. Quality teachers are critical thinkers who understand the developmental levels and requirements of their students, who are willing to experiment with new ways to address issues in the classroom, and who are educated to employ differentiated education that takes into account individual variations.

Gregorian (2001) emphasized that one of the most common complaints about poor quality teaching in schools today may be traced back to teachers’ pre-service schooling. Darling-Hammond clung and Fre low (2002) came to the conclusion that high-quality teacher preparation programs are crucial in preparing high-quality teachers for the classroom. Geo (2007), also discerned the following two key teacher qualification variables that, across studies, are consistently shown to produce strong, positive effects on student learning which are (i) Teacher’s knowledge of subject matter; he explained this using  basic science by saying that teachers with stronger science knowledge produce better students achievement in basic science compared with less knowledgable teachers. (ii) Teacher’s level of experience matters. He explained this by saying that after five years of experience years of experience.

 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM.

Teacher quality is a popular educational subject among policymakers, educational leaders, teacher education institutions, and individuals who are interested in (enhancing public education in general). There is an acute scarcity of trained instructors throughout the country, according to Omenazu (2012) and personal experience. As a result, several states have been obliged to hire persons who do not satisfy the qualifications of a certified teacher, i.e., those who have not proved subject matter competency in their respective fields. They do not have official teacher training, and many of them do not have prior teaching experience in any capacity. Many secondary schools have a substantially higher vacancy rate than the national average, but teachers are leaving to pursue other opportunities in bigger numbers.

Nchecube (2016), lamenting the low quality of teachers, asserted that some secondary schools hire teachers based on related subject specialization rather than the exact subject qualification; for example, a graduate chemical engineer can be hired to teach basic science without having received pedagogical training or having a teaching background. As a result, pupils in junior secondary school will have low academic performance as a result of this. According to the findings of a research conducted by Etim (1985), instructors received sufficient abilities from a preparation program to enable them to teach their topics at any level of secondary school. This demonstrates the need of providing instructors with sufficient subject matter training in order for their classroom instruction to be above board and compliant. According to Otuka (1987), misunderstandings among pupils were discovered, and these misconceptions were traced back to assumptions held by their professors. Students’ success at the secondary level is shown to be strongly correlated with teachers’ understanding of specific subject matter, according to the findings from the research. As a result, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of teachers and their impact on the performance of junior high school students in basic science.

 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to present an assessment on  teacher’s quality and its effect on junior secondary school students performance  in basic science. Other specific objectives includes:

i.          To determine whether teacher subject knowledge will impact teaching and learning of basic science.

ii.        To investigate whether teacher’s competency and experience will affect learning outcome during basic science instruction.

iii.      To ascertain whether  method of teaching adopted by the teachers affect student’s academic achievement in  basic science

iv.      To establish whether teacher’s qualification and utilization of teaching aid  in the secondary school affect performance of students in the subject?

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

 
The following research questions are raised to guide the researcher in this study:

i.          Does teacher’s subject knowledge will impact teaching and learning of basic science in junior secondary school?

ii.        Does teacher’s competency and experience will affect learning outcome during basic science instruction.

iii.      Does the method of teaching adopted by the teachers affect student’s academic achievement in integrated science?

iv.      Does teacher’s qualification and utilization of teaching aid  in the secondary school affect performance of students in the subject?

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

It is hoped that this study will advance teacher quality for effective achievement in students. This study will no doubt contribute immensely and meaningfully towards improving teacher quality and also help attend to other unfavourable working conditions which affect teachers, schools and students as a result of decrease in quality and number of teacher’s.This study will assist the federal, state government, Head teachers, and principals of schools to see the need for improvement of teacher quality in order to boost the academic performance of students.

 THE SCOPE OF STUDY

The scope of this study bother’s on  teacher’s quality and its effect on junior secondary school students performance  in basic science. Variables like teacher’s subject knowledge, competency, teaching method, experience, qualification were considered. The study is however delimited selected junior secondary schools in Etim-ekpo local government in Akwibom state.

LIMITATION OF STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only junior secondary school in  Etim-ekpo local government in Akwibom state.. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other  junior schools in other  states within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

 DEFINITION OF CONCEPTS

Subject matter knowledge: It refers to the extent to which the teacher exhibits and demonstrates a comprehension of purpose and ideas within the discipline.

Pedagogical Knowledge: In this work, it is used as teacher knowledge of subject matter (content) and general knowledge of the instructional methods or teaching methods in which teacher use to effect learning in classroom.

Experienced Teachers: Trained instructors who must have practiced in the field for at least five (5) years after graduation.

Qualified Teacher:- One who has  acquired professional competence as a teacher in any University or College of Education or obtained bachelor degree in education or Nigeria certificate of Education in integrated science, physics, chemistry or biology.