IMPACT OF TEACHER QUALIFICATION AND SUITABILITY ON STUDENT PHYSICS ACHIEVEMENTS
ABSTRACT
The goal of this study was to discover the link between instructor traits and student academic achievement. The study was led by the education production function, which links students’ academic success to the characteristics of teachers. The research was carried out in Yewa South, Ogun State, Nigeria. The target population included the principals of the division’s 29 secondary schools, as well as the teachers and students of SS3. A descriptive research design was used in the study.
For data collection, a questionnaire and an interview guide were employed. The data was examined using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study discovered that teacher qualifications have a significant impact on students’ academic success in Physics. Teachers’ attitudes toward students, demographic features of teachers, and qualifications all had a substantial impact on students’ academic progress.
The researcher thus recommends that immediate measures be taken to reduce the teacher-student ratio in order to enable individual education programs to be implemented on learners, as well as a device for monitoring and evaluating curriculum implementation in schools to ensure complete syllabus coverage. Further research can be conducted to determine the extent to which other educational elements, such as gender, socioeconomic affects, the environment, and peer pressure, have an impact.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
Physics is characterized as a mode of reasoning that encourages the practice of correctness, logical systematicity, and orderly arrangement. Physics also provides us with powerful theoretical and computational approaches to increase our understanding of modern world and societal challenges, as well as to build and manage the technology sectors that support our economy.
All nations around the world are concerned about and challenged by quality education. This is due to fast changing technology and work demands, which have caused the educational focus to shift. We now live and work in an era dominated by computers, global communication, and a global economy.
A teaching qualification is one of several academic and professional degrees that allow a person to work as a certified teacher in a secondary or secondary school. Qualifications such as the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), Professional Graduates Diploma in Education (PGDE), Bachelor of Education, and National Certificate of Education are examples of such qualifications (NCE).
The first step of obligatory education is secondary schooling. It comes after pre-school or nursery education and before secondary education. In most nations, children are required to attend secondary school, however it is permissible for parents to offer it. Secondary education’s main goals are to achieve basic literacy and numeracy among all pupils, as well as to lay the groundwork for science, physics, geography, history, and other social sciences.
Secondary education is typically delivered in schools, where the child will remain in steadily rising classes until they finish and progress to high school/secondary school. Children are typically assigned in classes with a single teacher who is primarily responsible for their education and welfare for the entire school year. The continuity with a single instructor and the ability to develop a close relationship with the class are prominent elements of the secondary education system.
Physics is typically taught in most schools by persons with merely a supplemental background in Physics, such as graduates of physics, chemistry, biology, and even economics. The need to increase students’ Physics achievement is crucial. Students’ performance in Physics, on the other hand, is determined by a complex interaction of elements both within and outside the classroom. These characteristics include teacher qualification, professional development acquired to assist teaching, student socioeconomic backgrounds, and the instructional strategies used by teachers to carry out their professional activity.
Educators and scholars have been debating which school variables influence student accomplishment for many years (Darling 2000). Ferguson (1991) found from his research in Texas that “good teachers had discernible effects on pupils’ examination performance” (p.465). Sander (1998) discovered that the “single factor influencing academic advancement of student populations is differences in the efficiency of individual classroom teachers” (p.27).
Examining the links between a teacher’s certification, college/graduate school year, years of experience, and student achievement in Physics may assist instructors and school officials in gaining a better understanding of students’ performance. A well-prepared teacher is a vital factor in student learning, according to the Alabama Teacher Equity Plan (2006).
All teachers in essential academic courses must be highly qualified, according to the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. According to the NLCB, in order to be regarded highly qualified, instructors must have sufficient subject – matter knowledge and teaching skills to be effective teachers. Highly qualified teachers must, in particular,: –
Have full state certification as a teacher, passed the state teacher licensing exams, and have a teaching license.
Have shown subject matter expertise in all academic topics that he or she teaches, and
A bachelor’s degree is required. Jante Ecker, Ontario’s Education Minister, stated in 1999 that governments must demand teachers to have adequate skills and knowledge in order to keep teacher certifications and give the highest level of education to pupils.
1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT
The importance of understanding the fundamentals of physics cannot be overstated. Physics instructors (teachers) at the lowest level of education (secondary school) must be qualified because this is the foundation upon which “everything” is built. It will be tough to develop on a shaky basis.
Secondary school teachers do their best, but to no avail. Why? Because they’re constructing on “nothing” and a shaky basis. Depending on the quality of the teacher who first exposed the “innocent” students to the subject, phobias and bad attitudes against learning Physics could be formed immediately away.
This concerning scenario, as well as the need to improve students’ learning and achievement in Physics in Nigeria, highlight the need of investigating the impact of Teacher Qualification and Suitability on the academic performance of Physics students in secondary schools.
1.3 THE OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The goal of this research was to determine the impact of teacher qualification on students’ academic performance in Physics in Yewa South LGA, Ogun State, Nigeria.
1.3.1 Objectives of the Research
To determine how teacher attitudes toward teaching affect students’ academic achievement in Physics in Yewa South LGA.
To investigate how instructors’ demographic factors influence students’ academic achievement in Physics in Yewa South LGA.
To analyze the impact of teacher qualification on students’ academic achievement in Physics in Yewa South LGA.
To determine how the classroom teacher’s teaching experience influences students’ academic achievement in Physics in Yewa South LGA.
1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
How does teachers’ teaching attitude effect students’ academic achievement in Physics?
How do teachers’ demographic features affect students’ academic performance?
How do the qualifications and suitability of the teacher affect students’ academic performance?
How does the classroom teacher’s teaching experience affect students’ academic performance?
1.5 THE STUDY’S IMPORTANCE
The study’s goal is to evaluate the relationship between student performance and teacher qualification and suitability, as well as the extent to which they predict student achievement in Physics in Ogun State’s Yewa South Local Government Area.
1.6 STUDY OBJECTIVES
The researcher’s study will be based primarily on information gathered from teachers in a few selected secondary schools in Yewa South Local Government.
1.5 THE STUDY’S LIMITATIONS
The study is limited to the Yewa South Local Government Area of Ogun State. Schools were chosen at random, and data was collected based on student achievement in math tests, teacher qualification and suitability, subject major, and years of experience.
1.8 TERM DEFINITION
Student academic performance: The demonstration of knowledge obtained or skill developed in a school subject as indicated by test and examination results or marks assigned to students by the subject teacher. This demonstrates a valued judgment placed on diverse methods of teaching-learning evaluation.
Physics: Is a very desirable instrument in almost all fields of human activity, including science, engineering, industry, technology, and even the arts. It is a key subject in the school curriculum and is regarded as information that is important to an educated person.
Physics Exam: This is a criterion exam with a variety of questions. The questions require students to select one of four answers, and each student is graded on a four-point scale.
Qualifications and suitability of the teacher: – According to research, the quality of Physics teachers in schools is unevenly distributed, and children with the greatest needs tend to have access to the least qualified and least effective professors (Peske and Haycock 2006)
Subject Major: – The individual teacher’s area of specialization.
– Previous teaching experience: Teachers will be classified based on whether or not they have more than five years of Physics teaching experience. According to Peske and Haycock (2006), years of experience and educational background are useful factors for measuring teacher quality. However, while they are connected with traits, they do not ensure academic achievement in students.
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IMPACT OF TEACHER QUALIFICATION AND SUITABILITY ON STUDENT PHYSICS ACHIEVEMENTS