PERCEIVED INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS TEACHING SKILLS ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

1.1 Introduction

The teaching of science in general and Biology, in particular, required the active participation of students in the teaching-learning process, to enable students to connect scientific concepts and theories to real purposes and practices in the world in which they live (Dumela,.& Bree, 2016). Unfortunately, the majority of the teachers teach Biology without engaging the learner actively during the teaching-learning process. (Okoli &Azubuike, 2012: Ibe, 2015). Students’ poor performance in external examinations could be as a result of poor teaching strategies and neglecting of students’ learning styles. However, different teaching strategies have been introduced but could not improve the achievement of students in Biology.

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.

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1.2 Background of Study

The teaching of science in general and Biology, in particular, required the active participation of students in the teaching-learning process, to enable students to connect scientific concepts and theories to real purposes and practices in the world in which they live (Dumela,.& Bree, 2016). Unfortunately, the majority of the teachers teach Biology without engaging the learner actively during the teaching-learning process. (Okoli & Azubuike, 2012: Ibe, 2015). Students’ poor performance in external examinations could be as a result of poor teaching strategies and neglecting of students’ learning styles. However, different teaching strategies have been introduced but could not improve the achievement of students in Biology.

Teaching and planning are different ways employed by a teacher to impart knowledge to the learners. It is also disheartening to note that, in spite of the much focus on teaching strategies in science, students’ performance in science subjects particularly Biology have continued to record a persistent and depressing downward trend ((Ikitde, & Edet, 2013: Okoli &Azubuike, 2012). Several factors have been identified as affecting students’ achievement, these factors include inadequate laboratory equipment, inadequate science teachers, lack of science textbooks, poor teaching strategies amongst others but the neglected variables is learning the style. It is believed that effective learning takes place when the interactive process is one that is best suited to the individual students in terms of learning styles (Ikitde, & Edet, (2013).

Biology as one of the science subject is defined as the study of life and structure of living things. Biology is the study of living things and concerns itself with the study of the structure, behaviour, distribution, the origin of plants and animals and their relationship with their environments. Abugu (2007) stated that biology is a natural science in which we study living organisms – plants and animals. Furthermore Iloeje (1981) viewed Biology as the science in which we study living things. Based on the above statement, man lives in a novel world, there are animals, plants, rivers, oceans, deserts, mountains, and so on, all round him. Being a curious being, man takes delight in exploring his world, the seeks to have a world view of the universe, the strives to investigate all matter around him – their origin, nature, characteristics and other features, the inquires in his inquiry, he asks a lot of questions and in his search for answers to such questions, he needs to be systematic and unbiased. To achieve his goal, he engages in experimentation and observation, which are fundamental to science. Like other science subjects, biology in secondary schools is composed of practical activities. In all the sciences, biology geared towards simplifying theoretical content, so as to enhance effective instruction and learning of the subject. Allan, Rob and Jonathan (2000), stated the reason for emphasizing practical activities in biology like a realization of practical; work to be predecessor to real science knowledge. Practical work stimulates learner interest in the science subject they are studying, when they are made to personally engage in useful activities; knowledge obtained through practical; work and experience, promote long term memory that theory alone cannot do, from this reason, it becomes obvious that a learner acquired more in any science lesson, if giving the opportunity to do activities, ranging from manipulating apparatus, classifying, designing, experimenting, hypothesizing to maker inferences and verifying results. Hence, there is an urgent and serious need to justify the exposition of the students biology practical activates as well as studying its effect on student’s achievement in biology. Unfortunately, the ugly situation observed in the majority of our secondary school and students in lack of exposure of the students to practical activities. This contributes to persistent poor performances in biology.

In this study, the effect of individual students learning styles on achievement in Biology was investigated. However, theory of multiple intelligence suggests that there are a number of distinct forms of intelligence that each individual possesses in varying degrees. According to Howard Gardner (1995), the implication of theory is that teaching and learning should focus on the particular intelligence of each learner. For example, if an individual has strong spatial or musical intelligence, they should be encouraged to develop these abilities. Gardner (1995) points out that the different intelligence represents not only different content domains but also learning modalities/learning styles.

Therefore, in Tai Local Government Area where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Perceived Influence of Teachers Teaching Skills on Students’ Academic Performance in Public Sector Senior Secondary Schools.

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1.3 Statement of Problem

Investigation revealed that not much attention has been giving to the performance of the students in senior secondary school subjects most especially in biology and biology practical aspect of biology in schools has been blamed on such factors as the inability of the school authorities to provide materials and equipment for practical work, teachers failure to recognize the importance of practical work in science teaching.

The dismal performance and low achievement of students in both internal and external examination has made educational researchers, parents and other stakeholders to be concerned about the causes of this performance. Teachers have a lot of influence on their classroom practices, this study therefore sought to investigate the Perceived Influence of Teachers Teaching Skills on Students' Academic Performance in Public Sector Senior Secondary Schools in Tai Local Government Area.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the Perceived Influence of Teachers Teaching Skills on Students’ Academic Performance in Public Sector Senior Secondary Schools in Tai Local Government Area. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To investigate whether teachers’ academic qualifications influence student academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area
2. To examine whether teachers’ teaching experiences influence students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area
3. To find out whether the level of teachers’ teaching skills affects students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area
4. To examine whether there is a relationship between teachers’ teaching skills and students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area

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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:

• Does teachers’ academic qualification influence student academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area?
• Does teachers’ teaching experience influence students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area?
• What is the level of teachers’ teaching skills affects students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area?
• Is there any relationship between teachers’ teaching skills and students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area?

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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: The level of teachers’ teaching skills does not affect students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area
• H1: The level of teachers’ teaching skills affects students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant relationship between teachers’ teaching skills and students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area
• H1: There is a significant relationship between teachers’ teaching skills and students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Tai Local Government Area

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1.7 Significance of Study

This study will give a clear insight on the Perceived Influence of Teachers Teaching Skills on Students’ Academic Performance in Public Sector Senior Secondary Schools in Tai Local Government Area. The study will be beneficial to students, teachers and educational sector. The study will come with strategies on how to teach biology to understandably of students. It will also serve as a reference to other researchers that will embark on this topic.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The study focuses on the Perceived Influence of Teachers Teaching Skills on Students’ Academic Performance in Public Sector Senior Secondary Schools in Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

1. 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.
2. Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. 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).

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Teaching: The objective is typically accomplished through either an informal or formal approach to learning, including a course of study and lesson plan that teaches skills, knowledge or thinking skills. Different ways to teach are often referred to as pedagogy.

Student Achievement: Student achievement means improving academic outcomes for all students to ensure their success in school and life.

Biology: Biology is the natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their physical structure, chemical processes, molecular interactions, physiological mechanisms, development and evolution