SELECTED TEACHER VARIABLES AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOLS

SELECTED TEACHER VARIABLES AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOLS

ABSTRACT

The study was carried out to examine selected teacher variables and students’ academic performance in English Language among secondary schools in Ose Local Government in Ondo State.  The study specifically considered how teachers qualification, experience, method of teaching, attitude and use of instructional, and motivation enhanced students’ performance in English language .

This study used descriptive research design of survey type. It consist of all secondary school teachers in the local government area. Simple random sampling techniques was used to select one hundred and ninety   teaches selected from five schools in the study area. Well-structured questionnaire was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts in the field English language  and test-retest method of reliability was used to ascertain the reliability of the instrument. Simple percentage, mean and t-test were used for data analyses at 0.05 level of significance.

Findings revealed that teachers qualification, teachers experience, teachers attitude, teachers’ method of teaching and the use of instructional materials has significant impact and contributions on students’ performance in English language  among secondary schools in Ose Local Government area.

Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that teachers’ qualification, teachers’ teaching experience, teachers’ method of teaching, teachers’ attitude and the use of instructional material by teachers have significant influence and contributions on the performance of students in English language .

The study therefore recommended that:

  • Teachers’ with high qualification, good experience of teaching and qualify attitude should be recruited and allowed to teach English language in secondary schools.
  • There should be room and opportunities for teachers to attend seminars, conference and workshop on proper ways of utilizing teaching instructional facilities in order to foster learning and good performance among English language
  • Teaches should possess positive attitude that would enhance secondary student academic performance in English language
  • Teachers should apply appropriate teaching method and the use instructional material that would enhance  secondary student academic  performance in English language.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

                                                                                                PAGES

TITLE PAGE

CERTIFICATION

DEDICATION

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Statement of the Problem

Purpose of the Study

Research Questions

Significance of the Study

Delimitation of the Study

Definition of Terms

 

 

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Concept of Education

Who is a Teacher

Who is a Student

Poor academic Performance

Teacher Roles and Effect of Teaching On English language

Student Performance

Teachers’ Qualification and Students’ Academic Performance in

Secondary Schools

Teaching Experience and Students’ Academic Performance in

Secondary Schools

Teacher’s Attitude and Student Academic Performance in

English Language

Teacher’s Motivation and Student Academic Performance in

English Language

Summary

 

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD

Research Design

Population

Sample and Sampling Techniques

Research Instrument

Validity of Instrument

Reliability of Instrument

Administration of Instrument

Data Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results

Discussion

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Summary

Conclusion

Recommendations

REFERENCES

APPENDIX

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

In Nigeria, English language is regarded as the language of economics, law court, mass media, education, science and technology and of local and central government. Today, English is learnt as a school subject and it equally the medium of instruction right from primary to tertiary institution. It is apparent that, since the product of these schools will be absorbed into various employment where English language is the official language of communication and where proficiency in it is the necessary qualification for obtaining such employment [Execk WordPress.Com,2015].

In learning English language, there is the assumption that there is already a primary language, which is the mother tongue. For this, it is more difficult to learn a second language than the first language [Execk WordPress. Com,2015].English language as grown to  a great extent in the Nigeria society over the years. It is the official legacy from colonialist and it’s importance in Nigeria educational process remains unchallenged. Therefore, the preeminent position of English in educational system is likely to remain for a long time.

Education is a process by which a child or adult receives instruction which will make him develop the abilities, attitude, skills, values and norms including other forms of behaviour which are of positive values to the society in which he lives [Oyinloye and Adeosun2009.]

For education to develop the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of a learner, this doesn’t happen in a vacuum but through a professional and certified teacher [Bloom et al, 2010]

Oxford Advanced learners Dictionary defines a teacher as a person whose job is to impact knowledge, especially in a school, to give lessons to students in a school, college, university, to help somebody to learn something by given information about it. As a second language, English is learned and not acquired. When the first language [L1] come in contact the second language [L2].It is assumed that the student will encounter difficulty in producing sounds that are not present in their own language, in attempt to produce those sounds, they look for an equivalent sound in their mother tongue to substitute them. Hence, this attempt result in wrong pronunciation or nativised pronunciation. Therefore, for academic performance of students to be  enhanced, the effectiveness of the teacher is highly required. The teacher’s qualification, teachers’ motivation, attitude of teacher towards teaching and learning, method of teaching with instructional material and teachers remuneration are the essential selected teachers variables  to be considered on the performance of students academic performance in learning English language, because the teacher can correct some of the effects of bilingualism and interference [Mohammed 2009.]

          The quality of education of a nation could be determined by the quality of her teachers. The most important factor in improving students’ performance in English language is by employing seasoned qualified teachers in all schools (Abe and Adu, 2013). Policy investment on quality of teachers is related to improvement in students’ performance. Specifically, the measurement of teacher’s preparation and certification are correlated with students’ performance in English language and others related subject. It is further reported that, teacher’s characteristics such as certification status and degree in area of specialization are very significant and positively correlated with students learning outcomes in English language.  This report was in line with the findings of Salman (2009).

Abe and Adu (2013) opined that, a teaching qualification or teacher qualification is one of a number of academic and professional degree that enables a person to become a registered teacher in primary or secondary school. Such qualifications include, but are not limited to, the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGDE). The Professional Diploma in Education (PDE), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) and Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE). In Ondo State, teachers who are academically qualified and those that are professionally qualified are engaged to carry out instructional process.

Academically qualified teachers refer to those who have academic training as a result of enrolment into educational institution and obtained qualifications such as HND, B.Sc, B.A, and M.A. and so on; while professionally qualified teachers are those who got professional training that gave them professional knowledge, skills, techniques, attitudes as different from the general education (Edu and Kalu, 2012). They hold degrees like, B.Ed., B.Sc. Ed, B.A. Ed, and M.Ed and so on. On the other hand, there are studies that have found no significant relationship between teacher educational qualification and students’ academic performance.

On the contrary, however, Tuppen (2010) in his study found out that teachers’ length of teaching and administrative experience are not consistently related to students’ performance. The researcher however concluded that it is preferable to embark on advanced training and retraining programmes for teachers since experience alone does not necessarily make one a more effective teacher.

Teachers’ attitude towards English language  teaching and  teaching are also important. This is because the role of the teacher as facilitator of learning and the contributions to students’ performances is enormous. For example, the classroom teacher is the one that is saddled with the responsibility of translating the learner’s thoughts into action. In other words, teacher’s experiences and behaviours towards the teaching – learning process in the classroom contributes greatly in shaping students attitude towards their teachers and the subject being taught. This in turn will have an effect on the students’ academic performance.

Slavin (2012); Evans (2012); and Gibson (2012) were of the opinion that students taught by more experienced teachers tend to have favourable attitude towards the subject and perform at a higher level, because their teachers have mastered the content and acquired classroom management skills to deal with different types of classroom problems. Several research findings have confirmed the hypothesis that teachers’ attitude either towards English Language teaching affect their students’ academic performance (Philias, 2009).

Motivation of teachers is very important as it affects the students directly. This fact is supported by Marques (2010) in her conclusion that motivation, satisfaction and performance are interdependent. Teacher efficacy affects students directly as there is strong correlation between teacher efficacy and students’ performance hence a desired outcome by the students can occur with the help of the teacher. This means that low motivation of teachers affect his performance which affects the students’ performance in English Language.

In Nigeria teachers are being paid relatively low salaries. Teachers with more experience and higher education earn more than those with a standard bachelor’s degree and certificate while high school teachers have the highest median salary earning. Many teachers take advantage of the opportunity to increase their income by supervising after-school programs and other extracurricular activities. Merit pay systems are on the rise for teachers, paying teachers extra money based on excellent classroom evaluations, high test scores and for high success at their overall school (Sogomo, 2003).

Schools in Nigeria are fast decaying and the “rot” in the system ranges from shortage of teaching and learning resources to lack of effective leadership and proper motivation of teachers. He pointed out that 2 teachers in Nigeria were unhappy, frustrated, uninspired and unmotivated. The school environment is dotted with dilapidated buildings equipped with outdated laboratory facilities and equipments. Teachers at times have to work under the most unsafe and unhealthy conditions. This has no doubt, translated into students’ poor performance in external examinations, their involvement in examination malpractice, cultism and other negative dispositions. In Nigeria, teachers motivation and job satisfaction is not any better. For pay and allowances to the teachers is comparatively low than in the other professions. Teaching profession is considered as ‘profession of the last resort’ where individuals find themselves there after they fail to secure better professional courses.

In some schools teachers are not involved in decision making as staff meetings are merely used as directive forums. There is poor housing and working conditions. Provision of teaching and learning materials and equipments to the teachers is sometimes not prioritized.

It is imperative in such type of scenario that teachers may experience motivation or demotivation which may affect negatively or positively the performance of the English language students in examinations in secondary schools. Signs of motivation are higher performance, lower absenteeism and higher turnover. Motivation, satisfaction and performance are interdependent with each other.

It is on this background the study sought to investigate selected teacher variables and students’ academic performance in English Language among secondary schools in Ose Local Government in Ondo State.

Statement of the Problem

Some of the factors leading to poor academic performance in  English Language are shortage of teaching and learning resources, lack of qualified and experience teachers and lack of motivation of teachers. Teachers are unhappy, frustrated, uninspired and unmotivated. The school environment is dotted with dilapidated buildings equipped with outdated laboratory facilities and equipments.

Teachers at times have to work under the most unsafe and unhealthy conditions. This has no doubt, translated into students’ poor performance in internal and external examinations, their involvement in examination malpractice, cultism and other negative dispositions. For pay and allowances to the teachers is comparatively low than in the other professions.

Teaching profession is considered as ‘profession of the last resort’ where individuals find themselves there after they fail to secure better professional courses. In some schools teachers are not involved in decision making as staff meetings are merely used as directive forums.

There is poor housing and working conditions. Provision of teaching and learning materials and equipments to the teachers is sometimes not prioritized it on this basis.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study was to examine selected teacher variables and students’ academic performance in English Language among secondary schools in Ose Local Government in Ondo State.

The specific purpose are to;

  1. Examine the impact of teachers’ qualification on students’ academic performance in English language ?
  2. Examine the impact of teaching experience on students’ academic performance in English language .
  • Examine the impact of teaching method on students’ academic performance.
  1. Examine the effect teachers’ attitude has on students’ academic performance?
  2. Does the use instructional materials by teacher have impact on students’ academic performance in English language Area of Ondo State, Nigeria.

Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

  1. What are the impact of teachers’ qualification on students’ academic performance in English language ?
  2. What are the impact of teaching experience on students’ academic performance in English language?
  • What are the impact of teaching method on students academic performance?
  1. What effect does teachers’ attitude have on students’ academic performance?
  2. Does the use of instructional materials by teacher have impact on students’ academic performance in English language .

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study are significant in the following ways:-Education Management Institute will benefit from the study in getting to know what to include in its post teacher training needs. The findings may be used by academicians and other researchers for further research on how to improve teachers’ motivation in order to enhance English language students’ academic performance.

The Ministry of Education will use the findings to improve various teachers’ motivational strategies. The findings of the study will be useful to serving head teachers in identifying factors that motivate teachers and hence make adjustments where necessary especially as regarded to English language student academic performance.

Delimitations of the Study

The research examines selected teacher variables and students’ academic performance in English Language among secondary schools in Ose Local Government in Ondo State. However, due to the large number of school in Ondo State,  the research was delimited to five selected secondary in Ose –  Local Government Area in Ondo State.

 

Definition of Terms

Motivation It is the inner power that pushes you toward taking action and toward performance. Motivation is powered by desire and ambition, and therefore.

Performance refers to the mean score at the end of exams.

Resources refer to all those objects, people, buildings and environment that will enhance teachers’ performance.

Teaching refers to provision of information and all activities designed to facilitate learning.

Teacher : A person who cares enough about abusive and ungrateful teens to work for crappy pay and long hours while hoping someday students mature enough to realize how lucky they are to have someone who gives a shit about them.

Student: a person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college; or any person who studies, investigates, or examines thoughtfully:

Academic performance: Academic achievement or (academic) performance is the outcome of education — the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals.

Teacher Qualification: Teaching qualification or teacher qualification is one of a number of academic and professional degree that enables a person to become a registered teacher in primary or secondary school.

 

 

The post SELECTED TEACHER VARIABLES AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOLS appeared first on TY Computer Institute.

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