THE IMPACT OF TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS QUALIFICATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ECONOMICS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
It is critical to define the nature and trajectory of educational progress in any developing country. Education is a systematic intellectual and moral training aimed at acquiring knowledge, character development, and mental development in order to ensure human survival. This is made possible through effective teaching and learning. The ability and capacity of prospective teachers and the school administration have a significant impact on student performance in school.
As a result, an efficient, dependable, and courteous teacher with professionalism, creative imagination, costly ingenuity, and depth of experience is required for optimal performance in the twenty-first century.
The disparity in scholastic achievement among Nigerian students has been and continues to be a source of concern and research interest for educators, the government, and parents. This is due to the significant impact education has on the country’s national development.
There is widespread agreement across the country that Nigeria’s educational standards have deteriorated (Adebule, 2004). Parents and the government are unanimous in their belief that their massive investment in education is not yielding the desired results.
Teachers also complain about their students’ poor performance in both internal and external exams. The publication of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination results on an annual basis (SSCE)
West African Examination Council (WAEC) research supported the problematic nature and generalization of poor secondary school students’ performance in various school subjects.
According to the National Policy of Education, “no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers” (Fgn, 2006). According to Orgunsaju (2004), the academic standard in all Nigerian educational institutions has fallen significantly below societal expectations.
Blumende (2001) backed up this point of view when he stated that the decline in educational quality cannot be ignored by anyone who understands the importance of education as a tool for societal transformation and development.
Teachers’ adequacy and competency in terms of pedagogical practices and strategies, as well as mastery of the curriculum and subject content, must be prioritized (Chall & Popp, 1990; Stuart, 2004; Rodgers, 2001). In support of the aforementioned scholars, Ekwesili (2006) institutionalized the Private Public Partnership (PPP) and School
Based Management Committee (SBMC) to manage secondary education and promote school effectiveness, recognizing that students’ success is dependent on the amount of learning that occurs in the classroom as well as other factors related to how effective and efficient the teacher performs in schools.
Ijaiya (1998) agreed and stated that improving the quality of the teaching force in schools is the key to increasing student achievement. As a result, raising educational standards should be the government’s top priority. Similarly, Lassa (2000) and Guga (1998) asserted that education cannot be provided by just anyone; it requires a teacher who plans and implements lessons.
delivers lessons or instruction in such a way that goals can be met Uncertified teachers cannot prepare students for WASCE/GCE because they are unlikely to pass. Corroborating this, Owolabi (2007) stated that the government should use all available means to retain veteran and experienced teachers who are still willing to serve in order for them to contribute their wealth of experience to the system’s improvement.
According to ESA (2005), the Baguada Seminar Reports on Quantities and Qualities in Nigerian Education (NERC, 1980) shared the consensus that teachers are the main determinants of quality in education: The entire nation is doomed if they are apathetic, uncommitted, uninspired, lazy, unmotivated, immoral, and anti-social.
They are not only useless but also dangerous if they are ignorant in their disciplines and thus impart incorrect information. As a result, the type of teachers who are trained and assigned to schools may well determine the character of the next generation.
Based on the aforementioned statement, this study investigated the relationship between the quantity and quality of teachers/principals and students’ academic performance in economics.
Abraham and Keith (2006) built an index of school effectiveness using a questionnaire as the foundation. According to their findings, teachers were the primary drivers of internal school conditions for effectiveness, development, and school change. According to Ibitoye (2003), there is a significant relationship between enrolment, use of classrooms provided for teachers, teaching of learning activities, and students.
academic achievement Similarly, Akpofure and N’dipu (2000) stated that schools must maintain a manageable carrying capacity in the use of classrooms, libraries, and laboratories for effective teaching and learning. According to them, this will pave the way for school quality assurance.
Aduwa (2004) reported in a similar study on the determinants of students’ academic success that a student’s home environment, cognitive abilities, self-esteem, and self-concept, (2005) contended that the provision of all these factors may not be significant principals, teachers, and other school teams.
Ehrenberg and Brewer (1995), as well as Ferguson (1991), asserted that students learn more from teachers who have strong academic credentials. According to these researchers, teachers’ assignments are determined by their knowledge of the subject(s) being taught.
Middle and high school students learn more from teachers with Bachelor’s or Master’s degrees in the subjects they teach, as well as from more experienced teachers, than from less experienced ones (Darling-Hammond, 2000).
Egungun (1992) discovered in a study on human resources and organizational achievement that placing only the right employees in the right jobs, at the right time and place, greatly aids in the achievement of organizational set goals and objectives.
According to various studies, the most important resource input in the school is teacher quality (TQ), which predicts student achievement. Economists who study the impact of TQ on student learning and achievement provide evidence of the value of teaching.
Researchers examine teachers’ effectiveness as a determinant of student achievement. A good teacher will have students who perform well on standardized tests. In this manner, the researchers distinguish the effect of TQ from the effect of other factors that may influence student achievement.
According to Goldhaber (2003), TQ plays an important role in student achievement.
Teachers clearly play an important role in shaping the future of individuals as well as entire generations, and new research has shown that teachers can have a dramatic effect on the outcomes of students from all academic and social backgrounds in recent years.
1.2 THE PROBLEM’S STATEMENT
The WAEC’s annual release of SSCE results validated the problematic nature and generalization of poor secondary school students’ performance in various school subjects, including economics. WAEC reported that only 20% of students passed five (5) compulsory subjects in the recently completed SSCE examination.
According to Adebule (2004), there is widespread agreement in Nigeria about the country’s declining educational standards. Parents and the government are unanimous in their belief that their massive investment in education is not yielding the desired results. According to Morakinyo (2003), the declining standard of academic achievement is due to teachers’ failure to use verbal reinforcement.
As a result, it has been observed on multiple occasions that senior secondary school students pay less attention to elective subjects, such as economics, and teachers’ attitude toward changing this view in students through their prospective skills, method of teaching, and level of experience is poor.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The study’s goal is to look into the effect of a teacher’s educational background on the performance of senior secondary school students in economics. The study’s specific goals are as follows:
To investigate the effect of teacher quality on secondary school students’ academic achievement in economics.
Determine the characteristics of a good economics teacher.
Examine the roles of economics teachers in helping students improve their performance.
Investigate the connection between economics teachers’ teaching methods and student performance.
Suggest to the state teaching service commission’s educational planners and policymakers.
1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
What is the level of the teacher’s contribution to student performance in economics?
What characteristics characterize a good economics teacher?
What has been the level of teacher improvement in the performance of senior secondary school students in economics in this millennium?
What are students’ perspectives on their poor academic performance and the teaching methods of their teachers?
How can teachers’ educational qualities influence students’ economic performance?
1.5 HYPOTHESIS OF RESEARCH
The study intends to test the following null hypotheses and make decisions about their outcomes based on the data gathered.
H0: Teacher characteristics have no significant influence on the academic achievement of senior secondary school students.
H0: There is no statistically significant relationship between teachers’ years of experience and students’ academic performance in economics.
1.6 STUDY SCOPE AND DELIVERY LIMITATIONS
The study will investigate the effect of teachers on the performance of senior secondary school students in economics.
Due to time constraints, this study will be limited to the research design in five (5) randomly selected secondary schools in Lagos state’s Yaba local government area, namely, Lagos City College, Kings College Lagos, Queens College, Eletu Odibo Secondary School, and Our Lady of Apostle School, Yaba.
In total, fifty (50) students offering economics will be chosen at random from the five randomly selected schools.
The questionnaire will be used as the research instrument, and the data will be presented using a non-parametric test.
1.7 THE STUDY’S SIGNIFICANCE
The research findings will benefit teachers, students, school administrators and educational planners, as well as the entire society. It will advise school administration on what qualities and qualifications to look for when hiring facilitators. It will also provide teachers with an understanding of what is expected of them.
These findings can also be used to inform educational planners about the need for qualified economics teachers in secondary schools in order to facilitate effective teaching and learning.
1.8 TERMS AND CONDITIONS
The following terms were defined based on the context in which they were used.
Teacher qualification refers to a teacher’s level of academic achievement from the level of teacher training to the level of in-service training.
Student performance refers to a student’s ability and capacity to achieve an educational goal.
Economics is the science of allocating and distributing scarce resources in order to satisfy human unlimited wants.
Teacher education refers to the process by which prospective teachers are trained to teach.
Human resource management is a method of supervising, directing, and controlling the number of people with critical skills, education, and experience for a country’s socioeconomic development.
Educational planning is a proposed intention to achieve educational goals and improve teaching and learning.
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