Evaluation of Pedagogical and Behavioral Competence of Classroom Teachers on the Teaching-learning Process

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Globally, the profession of teachers occupies an important position, because preparing the qualification of human resources. A teacher carries a big responsibility in his/her classroom. One reason is that all students depend on his/her. Everything the teacher says will have an impact on the students. If a teacher feels joy of feels anger, it will be spreaded out among students. In this case, the attitudes of the teacher gets contagious. In a society, from the most backward to the most advanced, the teacher plays an important role as, almost without exception, the builders of prospective society members. As opined by Popham, & Baker 2015). It is partly true because teachers are the key players in classroom instructional activities that affect the success of students. Teachers’ pedagogical competence is the ability to manage learning , which includes planning , implementation and evaluation of learning outcomes of learners . These competencies should be owned by every teacher in order to achieve success in learning and teaching

In general, education professionals believe that three elements determine the success of the teaching and learning process. The society, school, and family contexts are all interconnected. Miguel and Barsaga (2017) conducted a research that investigated the variables of teacher, students, parents, and community, and determined that teachers were the most important factor influencing students’ accomplishment. Teachers are charged with the primary goal of ensuring that students learn effectively and efficiently, and in order to accomplish this goal, teachers must engage in a variety of activities such as planning, providing effective instruction, and evaluating learning activities using appropriate methods and techniques. Thus, the efficiency and quality of the instructor determine the quality of the teaching-learning process, which is especially important in the early stages of school when students are young. As a result, for the teaching-learning process to be effective, the teacher must be equipped with teaching competency. Teaching competency is defined as “the proper technique of transmitting to pupils the tasks of knowledge application and abilities.” The proper approach involves content understanding, procedures, techniques, and means of expressing material. Donald (2022) defines teacher competence as “the information, talents, and beliefs that a teacher possesses and brings to the teaching-learning scenario.” Being competent influences his performance and makes the learning process successful.

Without doubt, Teacher competence differs from instructor performance and effectiveness in that it is a consistent trait of the teacher that does not alter significantly as the teacher travels from one circumstance to another. Although According to the research thus far, there is no unique set of competencies that all effective teachers possess or that all ineffective teachers lack. This is due to the fact that the idea of teacher competence is very situational and includes value judgment whether a single absolute set of skills is successful in respect to all types of learner groups. There are several approaches to classify teacher competency, which might be in terms of teacher function. Teachers essentially have two responsibilities in the classroom. I to establish an environment conducive to learning, i.e. the social side of teaching; and (ii) to transfer “knowledge” to their students using a variety of techniques, i.e. the task-oriented side of teaching. The social aspect of teaching may be referred to as “enabling” or “management functions,” whilst the task-oriented aspect of teaching could be referred to as “instructional functions.” These roles complement one another and are difficult to disentangle in practice. Various organizations have sought to classify teaching competency based on this assumption. For example, the British general has identified promoting learner autonomy, subject knowledge, course and session preparation and planning, teamwork, flexibility, assessment and evaluation of learning as essential teaching competencies to possess in order to make the teaching-learning process efficient and effective. While the Scottish General Teaching Council defines teaching competence as professional knowledge and comprehension, professional skills and talents, professional value, and personal dedication.

For the purpose of this research work teaching competence for prospective teachers required by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN 2013) will be adopted. These include communication competence, intellectual competencies (conceptual, integrative and quantitative) abilities for problem solving and effective teaching, professional competencies, pedagogical competencies, behavioral competencies and social competence. Emphasis will be on pedagogical and behavioural competence and how it influences the effectiveness of the teacher in the classroom.

 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The ability of teachers to organize classrooms and manage the behavior of their students is critical to achieving positive educational outcomes. Although sound behavior management does not guarantee effective instruction, it establishes the environmental context that makes good instruction possible. Reciprocally, highly effective instruction reduces, but does not eliminate, classroom behavior problems. A significant body of research also attests to the fact that classroom organization and behavior management competencies significantly influence the persistence of new teachers in teaching careers (Ingersoll & Smith, 2015). New teachers typically express concerns about lacking effective means to handle the significant disruptive behavior of students (Browers & Tomic, 2020). Teachers who have problems with behavior management and classroom discipline are frequently ineffective in the classroom, and they often report high levels of stress and symptoms of burnout (Espin & Yell, 2014). Disruptive classroom behavior is a significant reason why teachers leave the profession.The inability of teachers to effectively manage classroom behavior often contributes to the low achievement of at-risk students and to their excessive referrals for special education. These effects are exacerbated by the current pattern of teacher distribution, which reveals a disproportionate assignment of less qualified and less experienced teachers to classrooms

Therefore it is unrealistic to anticipate great advances in student conduct, motivation, and success in the absence of adequate measures that can improve education per excellence. Upon this premise this study seeks to evaluate   pedagogical and behavioral competence of classroom teachers on the teaching-learning process

OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this study is to  evaluate   pedagogical and behavioral competence of classroom teachers on the teaching-learning process. Specifically, this study aims at examining:

i.          To investigate whether teacher’s subject knowledge influences teaching effectiveness

ii.        To ascertain whether teachers  attitude  behavior competence influences  teaching and learning outcome.

iii.      To determine whether teachers certification and experience impact pupils academic achievement

iv.      To ascertain whether teachers  behavior competence influences  pupils’ academic performance.

 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To direct this investigation, the following research questions were raised:

i.          Does teacher’s subject knowledge influences teaching effectiveness?

ii.        Does teachers  attitude  behavior competence influences  teaching and learning outcome?

iii.      Does teachers certification and experience impact pupils academic achievement?

iv.      Does  teachers  behavior competence influences  pupils’ academic performance?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is hoped that knowledge gained through studying the influence of classroom teachers’ pedagogical and behavioral competency on the teaching-learning process would aid in dispelling the fallacy that most primary school students, educators, and the general public have about academic brilliance.  The contribution that this study would make is in the provision of useful practical information on primary education for the Ministry of Education, while contributing to the intellectual debate and the literature on the relationship between classroom teacher’s pedagogical and behavioral competence and teaching effectiveness. A further contribution of this study is the attempt to assist curriculum development specialist and national policy makers who design teacher-training policy for primary schools.  The study also provides an integrated approach model for developing teacher competence in teacher training institutions. It is hoped that the development of this model will also be a contribution to the literature on how to develop teacher competency in teacher training institutions.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study borders on the impact of teacher’s pedagogical and behavioural competence on the teaching-learning process. The study is however delimited to selected secondary school in Calabar South in Cross River State.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The study was restricted to primary schools because this is the stage where the influence of the teacher is strongly felt. Also the best way of determining classroom teacher’s competence and effectiveness is through classroom observation and knowledge testing, but it was not possible to observe actual classroom situation because the research work is a secondary study. Another limitation encountered in the course of study was reluctance on the part of teachers and pupils to answer the administered questionnaire correctly and individually.

DEFINITION OF TERMS

Competence: It refers to skills or knowledge that leads to superior performance. These are formed through an individual/organizations knowledge, skills and abilities and provide a frame work for distinguishing between poor performances through to exceptional performance. Competence can apply at organizational, individual, team, occupational and functional levels. Competences are individual abilities or characteristics that are crucial to effectiveness in work.

Teaching Competence: This refer to the right way of conveying units of knowledge, application and skills to situations. The right way here includes knowledge of content, processes, methods and increase of conveying content, if in the knowledge, abilities and belief a teacher possessions and brings to the teaching situation. These attribute constitute a stable characteristic of the teacher that does not change appreciably whom the teacher moves from one situation to another.

Teacher performance: This refers to the behavior of a teacher while teaching a class (both inside and outside the classroom). It is defined in terms of what the teacher does.

Teacher effectiveness: This refers to the result a teacher gets or to the amount of progress the pupils make towards some specified goal of education. It is defined in terms of what the pupils do.

Pedagogical competence: This could be defined as the procedures of doing something and having enough skill and knowledge to carry out a function. As regards teaching, pedagogical competence is characterized by the ability of the teacher to adapt to effective work methods, to analyze the task to be performed, to begin the process, to perform the task and to analyze ones procedure.

Behavioural competence: These refer to competencies that are required by teachers in term of behaviour. It can be understood as manifestation of how a teacher views him or herself (self-image) and how he or she typically behaves (traits) and what motives him or her.