THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS CHARACTERISTICS ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The Study’s Background
Education is widely regarded as the most viable tool for long-term human development. It is also an essential tool for boosting economic growth and national development. Education is regarded as the cornerstone of all development, serving as the foundation for literacy, skill acquisition, technological advancement, and the ability to harness the state’s natural resources.
Participants at the World Conference on “Education for All” in Jomtien (2006) stated that education is a fundamental right of all people, men and women of all ages, worldwide. It contributes to a safer, healthier, more prosperous, and environmentally friendly world.
It is a necessary key to personal and social development. UNESCO (2005), on the other hand, has stated that the current education system is seriously deficient and that it must be made more relevant, qualitatively improved, and universally available.
In recognition of the inestimable value of education, the Nigerian government has designated education as the primary tool for achieving national development. Thus, education is regarded as a tool for constructing a free and democratic society, a just and egalitarian society, a united strong and self-sufficient nation, and a great and dynamic economy (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004).
Secondary schools are expected to provide quality instruction aimed at instilling values such as respect for the worth and dignity of individuals, the ability to make rational decisions, moral and spiritual values in interpersonal relationships, and shared responsibility for the common good of society, among others, in order to achieve these national aspirations (FRN, 2004).
The quality of education in any country determines its development status to a large extent. Education is often referred to as a country’s “heartbeat.” As a man feeds his heart in order to live, a nation must feed her educational system in order to keep it ‘alive’ technologically, economically, politically, socially, and to ensure quality products.
Education imparted through quality instruction is not only for good grades, but also for the acquisition of the necessary values, skills, and competencies to make an individual a useful member of society. To achieve this goal, education must be of high quality
which, according to Nwangwu (2000), “should not only consist of passing examinations (which is usually the first priority), but also include the acquisition of skills (in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains) through improved schools’ ability to facilitate and support teachers’ and students’ work.”
Secondary education is a crucial stage in any educational system. This is due to the fact that it is the bedrock upon which higher education is built, as the academic foundation for whatever a child wishes to become in life is laid here. It is unfortunate that academic performance of students at this level in the western part of the country is very poor. The quality of secondary school leavers in Lagos state, for example, has continued to deteriorate.
Students look for unethical ways to pass their exams. This is due to the fact that exam success serves as a good motivator for students, teachers, administrators, and labor employers. Failure to perform well in an examination, on the other hand, demoralizes everyone, especially students.
The desire to succeed and avoid the frustration and embarrassment associated with failure drives students to engage in examination malpractice, endangering the very foundation of our educational system (Ijaiya, 2004).
Poor working conditions for teachers, as well as insufficient teaching and learning facilities, are among the causes of examination malpractice. These have a negative impact on teacher quality as well as instructional quality because no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers (FRN, 2004). The level of development of a country is determined by the quality of its education.
The teacher is the central figure in the educational process. The teacher is the most important person in the entire education program, and he has the power to make or break the best educational program in the world. As a result, education is defined by the teachers who teach it.
As a result, competent, dedicated, and professionally qualified teachers are a necessary foundation for a good educational system. In other words, the achievement of national objectives for adequate examination preparation of students and the achievement of educational objectives are largely dependent on teachers.
According to Ali (2009), there is a statistically significant link between teacher characteristics and student academic achievement. According to Adeyemo (2005), teacher characteristics influence classroom teaching and learning. Olaleye (2011) establishes a link between teacher characteristics and student performance.
Although it has been stated that the explanations for good or poor student academic performance are quite extensive, there is still disagreement among scholars as to what contributes singly or jointly to students’ poor performance. Qualification, experience, attitude, and teachers’ in-service training are the teacher characteristics found to be dominant in cross-country studies.
The concept of highly qualified teachers is sound, but implementation has been slow. Some Nigerian states have low expectations for teacher quality, and it sometimes depends on the school where a teacher teaches. The question that begs to be asked is, what defines a good teacher?
When asked about a highly qualified teacher, students will most likely mention the teacher who spends extra time with them and makes the class content clear and attainable. Unqualified teachers, on the other hand, are boring and fail to connect with their students.
Students are unconcerned about educational credentials or years of experience. Anobi (2006) recognizes that teachers, as true educators, are always learning, and that teachers must continue to define the meaning of highly qualified rather than doing as little as possible within the confines of the law. Teachers must progress from competence to excellence in practice.
Defining teacher quality is a recurring theme in the literature on teacher preparation. Does content knowledge, in addition to teaching knowledge, influence student achievement? One group believes that quality teachers have content knowledge and have researched instructional ideas and practices that have increased student achievement, whereas another believes that teachers only need strong content knowledge.
According to Kaplan and Owings (2001), there is disagreement in the literature about whether traditional teacher preparation improves student achievement. They discovered that teachers who learn and apply sound pedagogical practices techniques can influence students’
measured achievements, and that students whose teachers had strong content knowledge and had learned to work with students from different cultures or with special needs outperformed their peers by more than one full grade.
Due to the increasing nature of poor academic performance of secondary school students, particularly in external examinations such as the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB), many educators blame the government for a lack of funds to provide quality textbooks.
These, however, may not be the primary reasons why students perform poorly in exams. All indications indicate that some secondary school teachers are incompetent, which may result in poor academic performance of students.
According to Akinsolu (2010), the availability of qualified teachers influenced student performance in schools. There is evidence that teachers who received in-service training were more effective in the classroom than teachers who did not receive training.
According to Wirth and Perkins (2013), teacher attitude has a significant impact on student attention in classrooms, whereas Adesoji and Olatunbosun (2008) show that student attitude is related to teacher characteristics. As a result, the teacher’s attitude had a direct impact on the students’ attitude. According to Adu and Olatundun (2007), teachers’ characteristics are strong predictors of students’ performance in secondary schools.
Scholars and researchers generally agree that school variables, including teacher administration, play a more important role in educational achievement than other variables. The importance of teachers in learning cannot be overstated. Teachers have a great deal of influence over their students’ classroom practices.
Teachers must have and use specific skills in order for their influence to be reflected in their students’ performance in the subject. The teacher must be effective in order for students to make the connection between what is taught in school and its application in problem solving in real life.
There has been no agreement on the significance of specific teacher factors, leading to the common conclusion that existing empirical evidence does not support a strong role for teachers in determining academic achievement. As a result, the purpose of this study was to look into the role of teacher characteristics in influencing students’ academic performance.
The key issue that must be addressed is the relationship between teachers’ behavior, knowledge, and values and student learning. Teachers must be aware of their own behavior and how it affects student performance. They require an understanding of the developmental nature of the construct areas in which they teach, which must come before or follow their understanding of developmental assessment.
The issue of declining academic performance of students in secondary schools in Lagos State’s Mainland Local Government Area has piqued the interest of stakeholders in the education sector in Lagos State. The quality of education and student performance are dependent on teachers and how they carry out their responsibilities. Over time, the academic performance of students in both internal and external examinations has been used to assess the effectiveness of teachers and teaching (Ajao, 2001).
According to Ogunsaju (2004), the academic standards of students in all Nigerian educational institutions have fallen significantly below societal expectations. Teachers are known to have a significant impact on students’ academic performance, and they also play an important role in educational attainment because the teacher is
ultimately responsible for translating educational policies and principles into actions based on practice during interactions with students (Afe, 2001). Teachers are responsible for both teaching and learning, so it is no surprise that an effective teacher has been defined as one who achieves the desired results while performing his or her duties as a teacher (Uchefuna 2001).
Teachers are the most influential school-based factor in determining student academic performance levels. Knowing what characteristics of teachers influence student academic performance levels will assist administrators in prioritizing who to hire, retain, and assign to classes.
The goal of this research is to determine whether teacher characteristics are related to student achievement. A look at teacher quality, subject matter mastery, and teacher background provides some context for the relationship between teacher characteristics and student academic performance.
Many factors influence student performance. Family life, community, diet, participation in extracurricular activities, and the school environment are all examples. Teachers, on the other hand, bear direct responsibility for shaping a student’s academic performance.
This is why it is critical to investigate which teacher characteristics may be associated with performance. Every school has a unique combination of teacher experience, education, teacher attendance, and student-teacher ratio, among other easily accessible measures.
Consider which teacher characteristics produce the best student achievement at the school level to assist the school in identifying unique ways to increase student achievement with the teacher resources at their disposal.
Examining the relationship between teacher characteristics and student academic performance in secondary school allows this study to look at the school and see if there are any teacher characteristics that improve students’ academic performance.
Knowing what teacher characteristics influence students’ academic performance is important for education administrators because it allows the school administration to make adjustments to increase student achievement. This does not necessarily imply that all students will benefit, but it will aid in the identification of teacher characteristics associated with improving the school’s overall student academic performance.
Despite governments’ large investments in public education, its output in terms of student quality has been found to be unequal to government expenditure. Following the observed deterioration in academic performance, attitude, and values of secondary school students in public secondary schools, one wonders if the high failure rates and failure of students,
particularly in external examinations, are not a reflection of the instructional quality in the schools. As a result, teachers’ ineffectiveness in classroom interaction with students may be to blame for observed poor student performance and Nigeria’s widely acclaimed falling educational standard.
The purpose of this study is to see if the characteristics of teachers have a significant impact on the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in Lagos State’s Mainland Local Government Area. It sought to answer the question,
“Does the characteristics of teachers have a significant influence on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Lagos State’s Mainland Local Government Area?” The study determined and described the relationship between teacher characteristics and student academic performance in order to answer this question.
As a result, this study is significant because the findings will allow the researcher to make useful recommendations to the ailing problem of poor academic performance among students.
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