DETERMINANTS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: TEACHER QUALITY AND WORK ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
The importance of qualified teachers and a positive school environment in secondary schools today cannot be overstated. The reason for this is that the school environment has a significant impact on the quality of education students receive. This means that schools that fail to provide the necessary learning facilities and create a conducive environment for teaching and learning, combined with qualified teachers, will struggle to bring out the best in their students, particularly in terms of academic performance.
The quality of education is determined not only by the teacher’s teaching abilities, but also by his or her ability to effectively control the school environment (Ajao, 2001). Many factors may contribute to students’ poor school achievement, including poor study habits and a lack of available resource materials, a poor school climate, indiscipline, insufficient facilities, teachers’ ineffectiveness, the teaching method and the type of learning environment available to both students and teachers.
The ineffectiveness of the teacher as a cause of poor student performance can be narrowed down to their qualification in the subject(s) being taught. Learning can also be defined as effective interaction with one’s environment. The term “environment” refers to the availability of facilities that aid in student learning and have a positive impact on their academic performance.
This environment includes books, audio-visual, software, and hardware of educational technology, as well as the size of the classroom, sitting position and arrangement, availability of tables, chairs, chalkboards, and shelves on which practical instruments are arranged (Farrant, 1991 and Farombi, 1998).
However, the extent to which some teachers exhibit high levels of indiscipline in the school environment does not appear to portray them as role models. As a result, they rather encourage indiscipline among students through their attitudes, which may have a negative impact on students’ academic achievement.
Teachers, on the other hand, can make or break the school curriculum; thus, their adequacy and quality, such as qualification, experience, attitude, and personality for better service delivery, must be assessed on a regular basis by the school authority, so that students’ academic performance is not jeopardized.
The availability of qualified teachers is a major determinant of student performance in schools, according to Akinsolu (2010). According to Coonen (1987), teachers who had received in-service training were more effective in the classroom than teachers who had not received any form of training.
Many scholars and researchers disagree that school environments, including teacher administration, play a more important role in positive academic performance than other variables (Patrick, 2005). The importance of teachers in learning cannot be overstated.
Teachers are said to have a great deal of influence over their students’ classroom practices. Teachers should have and use specific teaching skills and abilities that can be seen in their students’ performance in the subject they teach, so that the students can make the connection between what they learn in school and its application in real-life problem solving.
1.2 DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM
The impact of teacher quality and school environment on students’ positive academic achievement has long been a source of concern for educational stakeholders and researchers. This is evident in the high rate of student failure in both internal and external examinations, which could be attributed to a lack of basic infrastructural facilities such as good buildings and classrooms, as well as teacher qualification, experience, and competence.
However, several research studies have failed to identify other factors such as school climate, discipline and physical facilities, teacher quality, school location, and overcrowding in classrooms as being responsible for students’ poor academic achievement. The researcher, on the other hand, is looking into the impact of teacher quality and work environment on secondary school students’ academic performance.
1.3 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVES
For the Research Project, the following are the study’s objectives:
1. To investigate the quality of teachers as determinants of secondary school students’ academic performance.
2. To ascertain the impact of the work environment on the academic performance of secondary school students.
3. Identifying factors influencing secondary school students’ academic performance
1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCHER
1. What are the effects of the work environment on the academic performance of secondary school students?
2. What is the relationship between the quality of the teacher and the academic performance of secondary school students?
3. What factors influence secondary school students’ academic performance?
1.5 THE HYPOTHESIS
1st Hypothesis
HO: The academic performance of secondary school students is not determined by the quality of their teachers.
HA: The academic performance of secondary school students is determined by the quality of their teachers.
2nd Hypothesis
HO: The work environment has no effect on the academic performance of secondary school students.
HA: The work environment has an impact on the academic performance of secondary school students.
1.6 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
The findings of this study will serve as a useful guide for school administration/boards in terms of the type of school environment that can promote better learning among secondary school students.
The findings of this study will also help to maintain discipline among teachers, given the important role they play in students’ academic performance.
The findings of this study will also help to educate school administration and the school board about the quality of teachers employed.
This research will also serve as a resource base for other scholars and researchers interested in conducting further research in this field in the future, and if applied will go so far as to provide new explanations for the topic.
1.7 THE STUDY’S SCOPE AND LIMITATIONS
The assessment of a selected secondary school, its environment, and the teachers will be covered in this study on teacher quality and work environment as determinants of secondary school students’ academic performance.
1. Financial constraint- Inadequate funds tend to impede the researcher’s efficiency in locating relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as in the data collection process (internet, questionnaire and interview).
2. Time constraint- The researcher will conduct this study while also working on other academic projects. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.
1.8 TERMS
1. A teacher is someone whose job it is to pass on information and educate students about various subjects.
2. Student: a person who is formally engaged in learning, particularly one who is enrolled in a school or college
3. Environment: the setting or conditions under which a specific activity is carried out.
4. Performance: the completion of a given task as measured against known preset standards of accuracy, completeness, cost, and speed.
REFERENCES
Ajao, A. (2001). The impact of teachers on students’ academic performance 5th Annual Journal of Education and Practice (22).
Akinsolu, O. (2005). The utilization of resources and the internal efficiency of public secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria. PhD dissertation, unpublished. University of Ilorin, Department of Educational Management
J.G. Farombi (1998). Resource concentration, utilization, and management as predictors of students’ learning outcomes: an Oyo State School Quality study Ph.D. thesis, University of Ibadan, unpublished.
J. S. Farrant (1991), Principles and Practice of Education (Tenth Edition). Longman, Singapore.
B. Patrick (2005). Why children should not be compared in education for Kenya’s Quality Information Magazine
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DETERMINANTS OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: TEACHER QUALITY AND WORK ENVIRONMENT