ABSTRACT
This study examined the influence of qualification on the job
performance of public secondary school teachers in Edo State, Nigeria. The
study was descriptive in nature. The population consisted of the entire four
thousand, four hundred and ninety-six (4496) public secondary school teachers
in Edo State, Nigeria. The sample comprised of sixty (60) teachers in the
twelve (12) public primary schools in 6 Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs)
in Ikorodu. A well-structured questionnaire was used to collect the data for
the study. The data were analysed using multiple regression and t-test. The
result showed that qualification influences the job performance of primary
school teachers in Ikorodu. Based on the findings, it was recommended amongst
others that the State Primary Education Board should recruit qualified and
experienced teachers to teach in public primary schools in Ikorodu as well as
Lagos State in general.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Front Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Table of Contents v
Abstract vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 7
1.3 Purpose of the Study 7
1.4 Research Questions 8
1.5 Research
Hypotheses 8
1.6 Definition
of Terms 8
CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction 9
2.1 The
Nature and Definition of Teacher’s Educational Qualification 11
2.2 Teacher Qualifications 13
2.3 Concept and Causes of Poor Academic
Performance 18
2.4 Factors Affecting Teachers Academic
Qualification 27
2.5 The Need for Teacher Education 30
2.6 The Need for Educational Planning and
Human Capital Development 32
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 35
3.1 Research Design 35
3.2 Population of the Study 35
3.3 Sample and Sampling Technique 35
3.4 Research Instrument 36
3.5 Data Analysis 36
CHAPTER
FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
4.1 Research
Question One 37
4.2 Research Two 38
4.3 Hypothesis One 39
4.4 Hypothesis Two 39
CHAPTER
FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction 41
5.1 Summary of Findings 41
5.2 Conclusion 42
5.3 Recommendations 43
5.4 Implication of the Study for Qualitative
Planning 43
5.5 Suggestions for Further Research 45
References 47
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of
the Study
Teachers’ job performance is the extent that student’s
performance improves after a period of instruction in a manner consistent with
the goals of instruction (Olatoye, 2006). He found that evaluation based on a
particular score or scores that do not span a long period may lead to a
“miscarriage of judgment” in accessing teachers’ job performance. Omoniyi
(2005) corroborated the findings of Olatoye (2006) by observing that effective
learning and teaching include those activities that bring about the most
productive and beneficial learning experience for students and promotes their
development as learners.
Measuring teachers’ job performance at the classroom level,
rather than at the school level, is increasingly the focus of effectiveness
research (Cunningham and Stone, 2005). Researchers have focused on trying to
determine teacher job performance by examining teacher’s contribution to
student achievement gains for many years, but a lack of valid measures and
instrumentation has hampered the process. Only in the last 10-15 years have
researchers had the necessary combination of sufficiently computing power,
extensive data on student achievement linked to individual teachers, and appropriate
statistical models with which to determine effectiveness in terms of teachers
contribution to students learning. The result is a set of sophisticated
statistical models that are used with linked student-teacher data to measure
teaches contributions to the student achievement growth of the students they
taught in a given year. These value-added models are promising, controversial,
and increasingly common as a method of determining teacher effectiveness (when
effectiveness is construed as teachers’ contributions to achievement).
Holtzapple (2003) used Danielson (1996) Framework for
teaching to compare student achievement with teachers’ evaluation scores using
a value-added model of predicated achievement versus actual achievement in
Cincinnati. The author found a correlation between the observation scores and
the value-added scores for teachers: teachers who receive low ratings on the
instructional domain of the teacher evaluation system had students with lower
achievement, while teachers with advance or distinguished rankings on this
instruction generally had students with higher-than-expected scores, and
teachers rated proficient students with average gains.
The aforementioned models are a relatively new way to measure
teachers’ job performance, and there are researchers who support their use (for
example, Hamre and Pianta, 2005; Sanders, 2005). These researchers argued that
value-added Models provide an objective means of determining which teachers are
successful at improving student learning as measured by gains on standardized
tests. Despite these potentially positive uses for value-added models, some
researchers express reservations and described serious concerns about their use
for assessing teacher effectiveness (Bracey, 2004; Braun, 20055; Kupermitz,
2002; McCreffrey, et al., 2003; Ihum, 2003). In this critique, Bracey (2004)
said the assessment is not a theory of what makes a good teacher in all the
complexity that might be required.
It could also be observed that teachers may be differentially
successful depending on the context. This means that teachers are not
interchangeable-a teacher that performs well in one classroom may feel
challenged in another classroom. Thus, an evaluation of teachers’ job
performance should be specific to a context, subjects, and grade levels. In
addition, evaluating a primary science teacher’s effectiveness on the same
scale as that of another teacher in a different school may be problematic,
particularly if there is a need to identify exceptional teachers in specific
contexts grades, or subjects.
There are many different purposes for evaluating teachers’
job performance; a key reason is to identify weakness in instruction and
develop ways to address them. For this reason, one goal of evaluating teachers’
job performance should be to collect information that will be useful in
designing appropriate strategies to improve instruction. Donal (2003), citing a
number of success among school districts around the country, recommended a
“Human resources management” approach to improving instruction, wherein
vertical and horizontal alignment of practices enable school leaders to carry
out instruction objectives. They reported on three Chicago schools that
coordinated and align human resources to improve practices, including “teacher
recruitment and induction, professional development activities, communication
of expectation for teacher performance, specification of classroom teaching
strategies, provision of encouragement and incentives, principal supervision
and evaluation, and removal of poorly performing teaches”.
Every educational system in any known human society requires
highly skilled teaching personnel to sustain it. This explains why teachers are
regarded as most important element in the school system (Igwe, 2002). It is
generally believed that no educational system can rise above the quality of its
teachers. Hence, qualification is necessary to upgrade and update teachers’
knowledge and skills.
Teaching as a profession has suffered greatly from the
simplistic view with which it has been regarded for a long time and because of
this attitude, teaching becomes a job for all comers, the unqualified or
untrained as well as poorly trained teachers (Okeki, 2008). This phenomenon has
adversely affected both the quality of teaching and students’ learning.
However, as teaching is being given the attention it deserves, it has become
increasingly accepted as a complex activity. Ijaiya (2000) discovered that
teachers teach with many skills as teaching involves a lot of covert and overt
actions to produce the desired effect on the students. He also identified
several of such skills as technical skills, concept skills, problem solving
skills, psychomotor teaching skills, reflective skills and so forth. All these
skills therefore need to be taught in teacher education in order to improve the
teachers’ competence and promote good quality teaching.
According to Ijaiya, the poor handling of concept of teaching
by teachers have created more problems in the teaching learning situation in schools.
The inability of students to transfer knowledge across subject areas and poor
problem solving skills can be traced to lack of understanding of relevant
concepts by the learner. In Berret (2005) opinion, teaching concepts involve
teaching facts, principles and generalization in various fields of knowledge.
He insisted that most times, teachers teach words that symbolize the concept
and not the concepts themselves. He believed that concept teaching is a key
concept that supports other skills like problem solving skills. According to
him, if a student does not grasp the meaning of a given field, it would be
difficult for him to succeed in solving problems in such a field.
Teaching is an art. It can be refined by training and
practice. The availability of competent teachers is central in the
reconstruction of the educational system. The quality of education is directly
related to the quality of instruction in the classroom. Quality improvement in
education depends upon proper training of teachers. The teachers cannot play
any of the roles unless properly and professionally trained (Wayne and Youngs,
2003). Describing the importance of classroom assessment after a session of
quality instruction by a qualified teacher, Muijs (2006) stated that “What is
needed is an understanding of how assessment and instruction are interwoven,
with new conceptions about what assessment is and how it affects learning. He
further stated that teachers make decisions about classroom management based
upon the achievement gains.
In view of the importance attached to the training of
teachers in our educational system by the Federal Government of Nigeria, the
National Policy on Education (2004) requires all teachers in our educational
institutions from pre – primary to university level to be professionally
trained. It adds that teachers’ education programmes should be structured to
equip teachers for the effective performance of their duties.
The teacher is expected to bring about curriculum changes,
improved teaching, contribute to professional growth and development of
colleagues and above all contribute to students’ academic performance and the
most effective way of doing these things is through a well organized
educational programme. The ability of the teacher to find solutions on how best
to help students’ performance will depend largely upon his acquired
professional training.
According to Adeyemi (2008), inadequate teachers’ preparation
programmes result in majority of teachers’ inability to demonstrate adequate
knowledge and understanding of the structure, function and the development of
their discipline. Therefore, an effective teacher education programme is a
prerequisite for a reliant education which leads to good level of confidence to
the teacher and their students as a result of which learning is coordinated
effectively and professionally and problems inherent in the teaching process
rectified and solved (Leither, 2003).
Omoifo and Okaka (2010) said that knowledge of the subject
matter is the most essential trait, factor and characteristic which the teacher
must possess in order to effectively perform his responsibility as a teacher.
They posited that this professional quality is based on the professional
qualification of the teacher. They added that for a teacher to be effective in
delivering his lesson, he must have good command of the subject matter which
means, he must have an adequate understanding of the basic principles and
concepts of the subject to be taught.
Martneau (2006) posited that teachers have significant impact
on students’ academic achievements. Teachers directly affect how students
learn, what they learn, how much they learn, the ways they interact with one
another and the world around them. The effect the classroom teacher can have on
students’ achievements is clear because students’ achievements begin and end
with the quality of teacher. Martneau concluded that the professionally
qualified teacher produces a gain of about 53 percent points in students’
achievements over one year, whereas the unqualified teacher produced
achievement gains of about 14 percent points over one year.
Bruce (2005) and Byrne (2003) indicated in their research
that teachers who are professionally trained demonstrate a sound understanding
of instructional materials and concepts, use production tools to enhance
professional tasks such as correspondence, assessment, classroom materials
presentations, etc. Qualified teachers demonstrate introductory knowledge,
skills and understanding of concepts related to the use of materials needed for
instructional process and the continuous growth in technology, knowledge and
skills to stay abreast of current and emerging technologies and informed
decisions regarding the use of technology in support of students’ learning.
Oladunjoye (2005) asserted that qualified teachers have a
closer understanding of activities within the school and even of its potential
activities and strive to promote the stability of the academic achievement of
the students. He also suggested that non – qualified teachers should be made to
undergo the basic qualifying courses for teachers in order to be exposed to the
pedagogical skills in teaching to ensure competencies and functional
specialization just as qualified teachers.
1.2 Statement of
the Problem
The issue of falling standard in education and poor academic
performance of students have become a source of concern to many Nigerians. Most
often, when these issues are raised and discussed, teachers are mostly blamed
for the decline in the education sector.
The contention has often been that teachers do not effectively perform
their jobs. Some adduce poor teacher job performance to the lack of qualified
teachers in primary schools. There is therefore the need for an analytic
examination of the influence of academic qualification of teachers on pupils’
academic performance.
1.3 Purpose of the
Study
The overall aim of the
study was to find out influence of teachers’ qualification on primary school
academic performance in Ikorodu LGA of Lagos state
1.7 Research
Questions
1. What
is the level of academic performance of primary school pupils in Ikoodu LGA of
Lagos State?
2. Is
there a difference in job performance of qualified and unqualified teachers in primary
schools in Ikoodu LGA of Lagos State?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
1. Do
teachers’ qualifications predict their job performance in public primary schools?
2. There
is no significant difference in the job performance of teachers based on
qualification.
1.6 Definition of Terms
Influence: the capacity to have an
effect on the character, development, or behaviour of someone or something, or
the effect itself.
Qualification: a pass of an examination or
an official completion of a course, especially one conferring status as a
recognized practitioner of a profession or activity.
Teachers: A teacher is a person who
helps others to acquire knowledge, competences or values. Informally the role
of teacher may be taken on by anyone.
Academic
Performance: is the extent to which a student, teacher or
institution has achieved their short or long-term educational goals.
Primary School: (or elementary school in
American English and often in Canadian English) is a school in
which children receive primary or elementary
education from the age of about five to twelve, coming after preschool and
before primary school.
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