ABSTRACT
This study examined the relationship between teacher
factors and students’ academic achievement (in the Faculty of Education,
University of Lagos) Akoka – Yaba, Lagos. The purpose of the study is to
investigate the correlation between teachers’ qualifications, experiences,
competences, modes of instruction, motivation and students’ academic
achievement. A descriptive survey research design was used for the study. Five
research questions and five research hypotheses guided the study. The
population of the study consisted sixty students across all the departments in
the Faculty of Education, University of Lagos. A carefully prepared
questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection. To analyse data
the research utilized Pearson Product Coefficient Correlation to test each of
the hypotheses postulated for the study. The result obtained showed that
teacher factors have significant correlation with students’ academic
achievement. Consequently recommendations were made that the government through
its agencies and parastatals should provide qualitative and functional
education for the students to perform excellently at the expense of teachers’
contribution.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
TITLE
PAGE i
CERTIFICATION ii
DEDICATION iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
TABLE
OF CONTENTS v
ABSTRACT vii
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION 1
Background to the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 5
Objectives
of the Study 7
Research Questions 8
Research Hypotheses 8
Significance of the Study 9
The Scope of the Study 9
Operational Definition of
Terms 9
CHAPTER
TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW 10
Teachers' Experience and
Students' Achievement 10
Teachers' Qualifications and
Students' Academic Achievement 14
Teachers' Age and Students'
Performance 16
Gender of Teachers and Students'
Performance 18
Teacher Training and Students'
Performance 19
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 24
Introduction 24
Research Design 24
Population of the Study 24
Target Population of the Study 25
Sample and Sampling Technique 25
Validity of the Instrument 25
Reliability of the Instrument 26
Administration of the
Instrument 26
Method of Data Analysis 26
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
OF RESULTS 27
Introduction 27
Analysis of Research Questions 27
Testing of Hypotheses 31
Discussion of Findings 36
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS 43
Summary of Findings 43
Implication for Policy and
Practice 44
Implication for Further
Studies 44
Conclusion 44
Recommendations 45
REFERENCES 46
APPENDIX 50
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
For many years, educators and researchers have debated which school
variables influence students' academic achievement. As policy makers become more involved in school reform, this
question takes on new importance, since their many initiatives rely on presumed
relationships between various education related factors and learning outcomes.
However, it is not uncommon to hear people inaccurately state that the teacher has the greatest influence on academic
achievement of students. Of course, the true statement is that, of all the
in-school factors, teachers have the biggest influence. On top of that,
research has shown that over two thirds of the factors that influence student
achievement occur out of school.
That is not to say that we should not continually look at ways to help
teachers become better. It does mean that we should also figure out ways to
change the outside factors too (lack of affordable housing, health care,
safety, etc.) It also means that placing all the blame on teachers which some
school reformers are to do, is disingenuous. But the fact still remains that
teacher quality is vital to student academic achievement.
No doubt, there has been a lot of interest in the provision of quality
education that will ensure the school’s internal and external efficiency in the society. Hence, the academic achievement
of students is of the highest concern to the government, educational managers,
policy makers, parents and teachers.
But more often than not, the worrisome students' academic achievement
level the different levels of education most especially at the tertiary level
has paved ways for conscious researchers to investigate the factors considered
to affect students' academic achievement
Coleman et al (1966) maintained that schools bring little influence to
bear upon a child's achievement, independent of his background and general social context. Other evidences suggest that
factors such as teachers' qualifications and experience, his competence before
his learners, his creativity, resourcefulness, age gender etc are basic factors
for quality education of students.
Students' academic achievement is usually the quantifiable yardstick of
the educational system and the pride of the management
of the system is a high level of
students' performance. The demand by the populace for educational
accountability can be attested to by the numbers of Nigeria Newspapers,
magazines and journals that usually cry out against the falling standard of our
education. Ajayi (1977) declared that "from experience one is able to
confirm that standards of education are really falling in so far as the
competence of most university freshmen and women are concerned. The most
disturbing symptom of the falling standard of our educational system is the
intellectual performance of the average school leaver who, after six years of
elementary school can hardly read or write. Similarly, the performance at the
tertiary level reveals grave weakness in the educational system.
Parents, and in fact many people, speak as if teachers alone are
responsible for students' achievement or failure. The search for what
constitutes the effective or quality teacher becomes a critical problem to the
nation and researchers in education in particular. The question then is who is
the effective teacher? To the layman, an effective teacher is one whose
students achieve well academically. This definition of teacher effectiveness is
however limited because teacher effectiveness is a very complex and
controversial concept in terms of definition because there are many factors at
play in determining teacher effectiveness.
Amimi (1986) opined that if real standard is to be achieved, every group
and every person involved directly or indirectly in the educational service must know what to do. There has been little
inquiry into the effects on achievement that may be associated with policies
and institutional practices that
affect the overall level of teachers' knowledge and skill and even -students' academic
achievements.
We live in
a changing world, a world in which men and things change rapidly and continually. There are changes in
technology and therefore changes in job demand. There is knowledge
explosion as well. People change in their values, beliefs, attitudes and
behaviours. It is therefore necessary that the teachers should change
accordingly so as to be able to cope with the changing circumstances in their
places of work. This can only be achieved
through staff training and staff development.
Training is a process of making someone to become more proficient,
effective and efficient in the performance of a task or sets of tasks. Through
training one is helped to grow and develop in a desired direction. Staff
training or development in the context of schools refers to all the programmes
designed for the continuing education of the teachers or school personnel. In
some cases, it is referred to as professional growth, in-service education or
on the job training. Halliday (1989) portrays in-service education as a design
for drawing on the strength of individual to help others and to overcome
weaknesses, either individually or collectively and by preparing teachers for
new tasks and wider responsibilities. What is the effect of training of
teachers on the cognitive growth of the students?
On the issue of teacher experience, if teachers of long experience are
shown to be consistently ineffective then, new tasks could be found for these
teachers instead of retraining them in the classroom. The essential element of
staff training is that it focuses on enhancing both the effectiveness and
efficiency of all those who are involved in teaching-learning profession. Staff
development properly conceived, embraces the professional development of the
individual and at the same time furthers the goals of the school. Through
training, the quality of a teacher will be improved.
Statement
of the Problem
No educational institution can be better than the quality of the teaching
staff. One of the goals of teacher education is the production of highly
motivated, conscientious and effective teachers for all levels of the
educational system. Fafunwa (1964) stated that the Nigerian teacher of
yesterday was expected to be, among other things, "a good citizen, a community leader, an innovator, a
disciplinarian, an enlightened parent and often a reservoir of all knowledge and skills." These were what
guided the philosophy of education in Nigeria before 1966. Therefore the
pre-1966 teacher was looked upon as a repository of knowledge, and a symbol of
authority. He had personal knowledge of each child and his parents. He was a mediator of culture, a link between the
school and the community. The school was the extension of the family and the
teacher acted truly "in loco parentis." This was why the teacher
commanded respect and generated discipline among his students.
Yesterday's good teacher is not automatically today's good teacher. The
present day teacher probably lacks proper professional training which might impact negatively on his/her job. When the
UPE was introduced, teacher trainees and auxiliary teachers were
selected indiscriminately from among market women, housewives, petty traders
and frustrated job seekers. As a result, many unsuitable individuals with no
basic aptitude, interest or calling for teaching, were found in teaching and
teacher training institutions. Therefore, one should not expect such
non-motivated individuals to become
better teachers even if given the best training. The teacher training colleges
therefore produced ill-trained and ill-equipped teachers who were pushed into
the schools to teach.
The question now is "can ill-trained and ill-equipped teachers be
effective? The answer is "No", because these individuals were
incapable of absorbing or learning the concepts and rigorous training
programmes, since they never really wanted to be teachers.
The much-talked-about falling standard of education cannot, therefore, be
solely blamed on the teachers but on the adequate planning of these teachers. A truism said, "If you don't
train them, don't blame them" cannot give what one does not have. Certification like degree is merely a
statement that says that the individual has a potential. The degree is not a
testimony that one can perform but that one has the potential, capability, the
promise, and not that one is fully ready to operate.
The
ultimate goal of teacher training should therefore be the preparation of
effective teachers who are skillful enough to bring about the behavioural
changes in students using the available inputs human, physical and material in the most efficient manner. The quality,
recruitment, selection and training of teachers are as important as their
retention in the services.
In view
of the observation made above, this study identifies the relationship between
teacher factors and academic achievement of students in the University of Lagos
Akoka-Yaba, Lagos.
Objectives
of the Study
This study sets to achieve the following
objectives:
1. To
examine the correlation between teachers’ qualifications and students’ academic
achievement.
2. To
investigate the effect of teachers’ experience on students’ academic achievement.
3. To examine the
relationship between teachers’ competence and students’
academic achievement.
4. To examine the effect of teachers’ mode of
instruction on students’ academic
achievement.
5. To
examine the relationship between teachers’ motivation and students’ academic achievement.
Research Questions
The following questions are answered in this study:
1. How do teachers’ qualifications have effect
on students' achievement?
2. What
is the relationship between teachers' experience and students' achievement?
3. In
what ways does teachers’ competence affect students' achievement?
4. How
does teacher's mode of instruction affect students' achievement?
5. How
can teachers’ motivation affect students' achievement?
Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses are postulated and. tested in this study:
1. Teacher's qualifications
significantly relate to students' achievement.
2. There is significant relationship between
teachers’ experience and students’ achievement.
3. There is significant relationship between
teachers’ competence and students’ achievement.
4. There is significant relationship between teachers’
mode of instruction and students'
achievement.
5. Teacher's motivation significantly relate
to students' achievement.
Significance of the Study
This study is significant for the following reasons: Policy makers could be well informed that the recruitment,
selection and training of teachers are as important as their retention. Parents
would be made to understand that the performance of their children positively
and or negatively should not be blamed on the teachers alone.
Similarly, teachers also would be well informed that on-the-job training
is one of the ingredients that an effective teacher need and therefore should not avoid it.
The Scope of the Study
This
study covers 50 students across different departments in the Faculty of
Education, University
of Lagos, Akoka-Yaba, Lagos.
Operational
Definition of Terms
1. Teacher
Factors: The sum of all the several
things that influence the teacher in the performance of his teaching to the
learners.
2. Academic:
Activities involving a lot of reading and
studying rather than practical
or technical skills.
3. Student
Academic Achievement: The
success derived by students from
their academic activities using their own knowledge, effort and skills.
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