TEACHER FACTOR AS A CORRELATE OF STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT
ABSTRACT
This study looked at the relationship between teacher factors and students’ academic achievement (at the University of Lagos’ Faculty of Education in Akoka – Yaba, Lagos). The study’s goal is to look into the link between teachers’ qualifications, experiences, competencies, modes of instruction, motivation, and students’ academic achievement. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The study was guided by five research questions and five research hypotheses.
The study’s population included sixty students from all departments in the Faculty of Education at the University of Lagos. The instrument for data collection was a carefully prepared questionnaire. To analyze data, the researchers used Pearson Product Coefficient Correlation to test each of the study’s hypotheses.
The findings revealed that teacher factors have a significant relationship with students’ academic achievement. As a result, recommendations were made that the government, through its agencies and parastatals, provide qualitative and functional education to students in order for them to perform well at the expense of teachers’ contributions.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The Study’s Background
Educators and researchers have been debating which school variables influence students’ academic achievement for many years. This question is becoming increasingly important as policymakers become more involved in school reform, because many of their initiatives rely on assumed relationships between various education-related factors and learning outcomes.
However, it is not uncommon to hear people incorrectly state that the teacher has the most influence on students’ academic achievement. Of course, the true statement is that teachers have the most influence among all in-school factors. Furthermore, research has shown that more than two-thirds of the factors influencing student achievement occur outside of school.
That isn’t to say we shouldn’t keep looking for ways to help teachers improve. It does, however, imply that we must also devise methods to alter the external factors (lack of affordable housing, health care, safety, etc.) It also implies that pinning all of the blame on teachers, as some school reformers intend to do, is deceptive. However, the fact remains that teacher quality is crucial to student academic achievement.
Without a doubt, there has been a great deal of interest in providing quality education that will ensure the school’s internal and external efficiency in society. As a result, the academic achievement of students is of the utmost importance to the government, educational administrators, policymakers, parents, and teachers.
However, more often than not, the concerning students’ academic achievement level The various levels of education, particularly at the tertiary level, have paved the way for conscientious researchers to investigate the factors thought to affect students’ academic achievement.
Coleman et al. (1966) asserted that schools have little influence on a child’s achievement, regardless of his background or general social context. Other evidence suggests that factors such as teachers’ qualifications and experience, his competence in front of his students, his creativity, resourcefulness, age, gender, and so on are important for students’ quality education.
Students’ academic achievement is usually the quantifiable yardstick of the educational system, and a high level of student performance is the pride of the system’s management. The number of Nigeria newspapers, magazines, and journals that usually cry out against the falling standard of our education attests to the populace’s demand for educational accountability.
According to Ajayi (1977), “From personal experience, I can confirm that educational standards are indeed deteriorating in terms of the competence of the majority of university freshmen and women. The intellectual performance of the average school leaver, who can barely read or write after six years of elementary school, is the most disturbing symptom of our educational system’s declining standard. Similarly, tertiary performance reveals serious flaws in the educational system.
Many parents, and indeed many people, speak as if teachers are solely responsible for their students’ success or failure. The search for what constitutes an effective or quality teacher has become a critical issue for the nation and education researchers in particular.
The question then becomes, who is the most effective educator? To the uninitiated, an effective teacher is one whose students excel academically. This definition of teacher effectiveness is, however, limited because teacher effectiveness is a very complex and contentious concept in terms of definition due to the numerous factors that go into determining teacher effectiveness.
According to Amimi (1986), if true standards are to be met, every group and every person involved directly or indirectly in the educational service must know what to do. There has been little research into the effects on achievement that may be associated with policies and institutional practices that affect the overall level of knowledge and skill of teachers, as well as students’ academic achievements.
We live in a changing world, one in which men and things change at a rapid and continuous pace. Technology evolves, and as a result, job demand shifts. There is also a knowledge explosion. People’s values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors change. As a result, in order to cope with changing circumstances at their workplaces, teachers must adapt accordingly. This can only be accomplished through employee training and development.
Training is the process of improving someone’s proficiency, effectiveness, and efficiency in performing a task or set of tasks. Training assists one in growing and developing in a desired direction. In the context of schools, staff training or development refers to all programs designed to continue the education of teachers or school personnel.
It is also known as professional development, in-service education, or on-the-job training in some cases. In-service education is portrayed by Halliday (1989) as a design for drawing on individual strengths to help others and overcome weaknesses, either individually or collectively, and by preparing teachers for new tasks and broader responsibilities. What effect does teacher education have on students’ cognitive development?
In terms of teacher experience, if long-term teachers are consistently ineffective, new tasks could be devised for them rather than retraining them in the classroom. The most important aspect of staff training is that it focuses on improving the
effectiveness and efficiency of all those involved in the teaching-learning profession. Staff development, when properly conceived, embraces individual professional development while also furthering the school’s goals. The quality of a teacher will improve as a result of training.
Statement of the Issue
No educational institution can be better than the caliber of its faculty. One of the goals of teacher education is to produce highly motivated, conscientious, and effective teachers at all levels of education. According to Fafunwa (1964), a Nigerian teacher of yesterday was expected to be “a good citizen, a community leader, an innovator, a disciplinarian, an enlightened parent, and often a reservoir of all knowledge and skills.
Prior to 1966, these were the guiding principles of Nigerian educational philosophy. As a result, prior to 1966, the teacher was regarded as a repository of knowledge and a symbol of authority. He was intimately familiar with each child and his parents.
He served as a cultural bridge builder, connecting the school and the community. The school served as an extension of the family, and the teacher truly acted “in loco parentis.” This is why the teacher instilled respect and discipline in his students.
A good teacher from yesterday is not necessarily a good teacher today. The modern teacher most likely lacks proper professional training, which may have a negative impact on his or her job. When the UPE was introduced, teacher trainees and auxiliary teachers were chosen at random from a pool of market women, housewives, petty traders, and disgruntled job seekers.
As a result, many unsuitable individuals were discovered in teaching and teacher training institutions who had no basic aptitude, interest, or calling for teaching. As a result, even with the best training, such unmotivated individuals should not be expected to become better teachers. As a result, the teacher training colleges produced ill-trained and ill-equipped teachers who were pushed into the classrooms to teach.
Now the question is: “Can teachers who are ill-trained and ill-equipped be effective? The answer is “No,” because these people were incapable of absorbing or learning the concepts and rigorous training programs because they never wanted to be teachers in the first place.
As a result, the much-discussed falling educational standard cannot be blamed solely on teachers, but rather on inadequate teacher preparation. “If you don’t train them, don’t blame them,” as the adage goes. One cannot give what one does not have.
A certification, such as a degree, is simply a statement that the individual has potential. The degree does not attest to one’s ability to perform, but rather to one’s potential, capability, and promise, rather than to one’s readiness to operate.
The ultimate goal of teacher education should thus be the preparation of effective teachers who are capable of instilling behavioral changes in students while making the best use of the available resources (human, physical, and material). Teachers’ retention in the services is as important as their quality, recruitment, selection, and training.
Based on the observations made above, this study examines the relationship between teacher factors and academic achievement of students at the University of Lagos Akoka-Yaba in Lagos.
The Study’s Objectives
This research aims to accomplish the following goals:
1. To investigate the relationship between teacher qualifications and student academic achievement.
2. To look into the impact of teachers’ experience on students’ academic achievement.
3. To investigate the link between teacher competence and student academic achievement.
4. To investigate the impact of teachers’ modes of instruction on students’ academic performance.
5. To investigate the connection between teachers’ motivation and students’ academic achievement.
Research Issues
This study provides answers to the following questions:
1. What effect do teachers’ qualifications have on students’ achievement?
2. What is the link between teacher experience and student achievement?
3. How does teacher competence influence student achievement?
4. How does the mode of instruction used by the teacher affect student achievement?
5. How does the motivation of teachers affect students’ achievement?
Hypotheses for Research
In this study, the following hypotheses are proposed and tested:
1. The qualifications of the teacher have a significant impact on the achievement of the students.
2. There is a strong link between teachers’ experience and students’ achievement.
3. There is a strong link between teacher competence and student achievement.
4. There is a significant relationship between the mode of instruction used by teachers and student achievement.
5. The motivation of the teacher has a significant impact on the achievement of the students.
The Study’s Importance
This research is important for the following reasons: Policymakers could be well informed about the importance of teacher recruitment, selection, and training, as well as retention. Parents would be taught that their children’s performance, whether positive or negative, should not be blamed solely on the teachers.
Similarly, teachers would be well informed that on-the-job training is one of the ingredients required for an effective teacher and should not be avoided.
The Study’s Purpose
This study includes 50 students from various departments at the University of Lagos’ Faculty of Education in Akoka-Yaba, Lagos.
Terms with Operational Definitions
1. Teacher Factors: The sum of all the various factors that influence the teacher’s performance of his teaching to the students.
2. Academic: Activities that require a lot of reading and studying as opposed to practical or technical skills.
3. Student Academic Achievement: The success that students achieve through their academic activities by applying their own knowledge, effort, and skills.
Do You Have New or Fresh Topic? Send Us Your Topic
INSTRUCTIONS AFTER PAYMENT
- 1.Your Full name
- 2. Your Active Email Address
- 3. Your Phone Number
- 4. Amount Paid
- 5. Project Topic
- 6. Location you made payment from