1.1 Introduction
The importance of qualified teachers and school environment in secondary schools today in particular cannot be overemphasized. Reason being that school environment has a major effect in the quality of education students received. This implies that schools that fail to provide the necessary learning facilities and create a conducive atmosphere for teaching and learning coupled with qualified teachers may hardly put in the best in their students especially in the area of academic performances. The performance of students in science generally is a major concern to science educators.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
The quality of education not only depends on the teachers teaching performances, but also on how he/she can control the school environment effectively (Ajao, 2001). Many factors might contribute to students’ poor achievement in school which may include: poor study habits and lack of available resource materials, poor school climate, indiscipline, inadequate facilities, teachers’ ineffectiveness, the teaching method and the type of learning environment available for both the students and the teachers, Teacher’s ineffectiveness as a cause of student’s poor performances can narrowed down to their qualification in the subject(s) being taught. Learning can also be said to occur through one’s effective interaction with one’s environment.
Ebietomiye (2009) noted that the success of any human endeavour especially in the field of teaching is closely related to the quality of personnel who perform the tasks in the organization. Hence, the need to recruit and utilize professionally qualified teachers in enhancing good performance in primary School education is essential. Effective teaching is enhanced by well-trained and qualified teachers. The word “teacher” crudely connotes undifferentiated meaning to the extent that any individual that transmits ideas of whatever nature that cause a change or influence the behavioural pattern of the recipient is called a “teacher”.
Ebietomiye (2009) corroborated this fact on who a professional teacher is. The implication is that, for a qualitative learning and improved academic performance to be ascertained, a qualitative teacher is imperative. On the other hand, the extent at which some teachers, exhibit high level of indiscipline within the school environment does not seem to portray them as role models. Thus, they rather encourage indiscipline among students by their attitudes as this may have negative influence of students’ academic achievement.
Teachers on the other-hand can make or mar the school curriculum; therefore, their adequacy and quality such as qualification, experience, attitude and personality for better service delivery needs to be assessed by the school authority on a regular basis, so that students’ academic performance won’t be jeopardize with. The availability of qualified teachers is a major determinant in the performance of students in schools Akinsolu (2010).
Many scholars and researchers generally are not in agreement that the school environments, which include teacher administration, play a critical role in positive academic performances than other variables (Patrick, 2005). The important role of the teachers in the learning is unquestionable. Teachers have been said to have a lot of influence on their classroom practices. Teachers should have and apply specific teaching skills and abilities that can be reflected in their students’ performance in the subject they teach, in which the students will be able to make connection between what is taught in school and its application in problem solving in real life.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Performance Evaluation of the Effect of Unqualified Teachers on the Academic Performance of Students.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that teachers are considered as the main pills of our educational system. The personal and professional development of teachers puts direct impact on student achievement. In government schools teachers are very old but academic course change every year. No proper trainings are conducted to update the knowledge of the teacher, still having low qualification and use the typical style to teach the students.
Mostly teachers know little or nothing about the new concepts included in the new curriculum. Unqualified teachers are recruited who cannot manage the process of teaching and learning in schools effectively which is reflection in the poor performances of students and consequently brings dissatisfaction among parents regarding the performance of government schools. This is especially worrying because poor instruction and ineffective teaching reduces the demand for education which in turn reduces the pool of qualified teachers. The problems include: poor teaching techniques, insufficient training, inadequate facilities provided by the government and inappropriate communications language.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to carry out a Performance Evaluation of the Effect of Unqualified Teachers on the Academic Performance of Students. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To examine the effect of unqualified teachers on academic performance of students;
- To investigate the factors that lead to influx of these unqualified teachers;
- To determine the attitudes of teachers and students toward learning in the area under study.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What are the effects of unqualified teachers on academic performance of students?
- What are the factors that lead to influx of these unqualified teachers?
- What are the attitudes of teachers and students toward learning in the area under study?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There is no significance relationship between unqualified teachers and academic performance
- H1: There is a significance relationship between unqualified teachers and academic performance
Hypothesis Two
- H0: There is no difference in the academic performance of students taught by professionally qualified teachers and those taught by unqualified teachers
- H1: There is a difference in the academic performance of students taught by professionally qualified teachers and those taught by unqualified teachers
1.7 Significance of Study
This study will be useful to both teachers and students who may want to know the factors that could make or mar student’s academic performance. Understanding classroom climate variables will allow for professional developments for teachers in focus on areas to increase student achievement. Understanding the importance of teachers and their impact on student performance will help school administrators at secondary schools retain teachers to make their teachings student centered.
The study findings would also guide schools’ management committees to employ school teachers who have the right mix of different teacher characteristics and is expected to assist physics teachers in the teaching of physics to enhance students’ achievement. This research will contribute to existing knowledge in entrepreneurship education literature, by developing an intention model that will be useful for researchers in undertaking further research on related areas of study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The study focuses on the Performance Evaluation of the Effect of Unqualified Teachers on the Academic Performance of Students using Kings College in Lagos State as a case study.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
Unqualified Teachers: Means teachers posting to schools lacking the proper, necessary or required qualification to handle teaching activities and other school responsibilities effectively.
Teacher: a person whose job is to pass information and orient students about certain subjects
Student: a person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college
Environment: the setting or conditions in which a particular activity is carried on.
Performance: the accomplishment of a given task measured against preset known standards of accuracy, completeness, cost and speed.
