ABSTRACT: This study was carryout to investigate Teachers-Students Relationship and Academic Achievement in Economics among Secondary Schools Students. Research questions and hypotheses were formulated to guide the study based on pre-stated objectives. A literature review was carryout on the previous studies, views and postulation of authorities and scholars. The study adopted a survey research design. The population of the study comprises of four thousand two hundred and five (4,205) students who offered Economics. The selected consisted of one hundred and eighty (180) students randomly selected from six (6) schools in the study area. A structural questionnaire titled “Teacher-Students’ Relationship Questionnaire (TSRQ) and Students examination results were used as data collection. Data collections were analyzed using independent T-test. The result revealed that Teacher-students’ guidance and teachers’ mentoring significant affect or influence academic performance of students in Economics in secondary schools.
Teachers-Students Relationship And Academic Achievement In Economics Among Secondary Schools Students
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The teacher is basically saddle with responsibility of imparting knowledge, skills, attitude and technique to his students. Sandra (2002) opined that the quality of teaching make a considerable difference in students learning and achievement. This implies that the teacher is a key factor in what the students study. It has been established that there is a high correlation between what teachers’ knows and what they teach. (Davis, 2001). Usman (2003) argued that, teachers’ incompetency in relating to their students is responsible for the poor academic achievement observable among the students; while Ademulegun (2001) asserted that students taught by teachers who do not have a good sense of relationship hardly perform better academically. According to Ekanem (2004) teacher-students relationship acts as a communication channel between the teachers and the learners during the teaching learning process, the teacher adopt better teaching techniques that suit the level of the learners, the teacher equally manage the classroom during instructional process and uses varieties of teaching aids to enable the students understand the lesson better.
Teachers’-students’ relationship influence how a student’s develops. The manner of understanding or cooperation that exists between the teacher and the students goes a long way in influencing how students learn and perform in a particular subject. Danillo (2018) observed that successful teachers are those that have the ability to maximize the learning potentials of the students in their classes; believe that developing positive relationship between a teacher and student is a fundamental aspect of quality teaching and students learning. Teachers-students’ relationship influence students in a wide range of school adjustment outcome which include; liking the school, work habits, social skills, behavior and academic performance (Essays 2013).
A Good teacher-students’ relationships in the classroom involve the appropriate levels of dominance, cooperation, and awareness of high-needs students. It equally refers as the teacher’s ability to give clear purpose and guidance concerning student behaviour and their academics. By creating a clear expectations and consequences for student behaviour, this builds effective relationships. Such expectations may cover classroom etiquette and behaviour, group work, seating arrangements, the use of equipment and materials, and also classroom disruptions.
Teacher’-students’ Relationship refers to the way in which teachers and students interact in the school setting. It is that types of connection or interaction that exists between teacher and students either positive or negative which affect on students learning and their academic performance in secondary schools (Anthony, 2010).
Positive teacher-students’ relationships promote a sense of classroom belonging and encourage students to participate cooperatively. Students develop confidence to experiment and succeed in a learning environment where they are not restricted by the fear of failure. Teachers are able to assist students with motivation, mentorship and goal setting, and students can turn to them for advice and guidance. Hattie (2015) identified some of these strategies to enhance teacher-student relationship to include teaching strategies, classroom discussion, classroom cohesion, teacher expectation, teacher immediacy, teacher credibility and classroom behaviour. Establishing a positive and supportive classroom environment, combined with productive relationships between teachers and their students, will provide a platform in which students are encouraged and motivated to grow both academically and personally. Nwazor and Nwaukwa (2015) stated that more closeness and interaction between students and teachers improve students’ learning and achievement.
In other words, analyzing teacher-students’ relations in the classroom management context can allow for an expanded focus on effective classroom management strategies which take into account the effect of classroom interactions and relations. To draw on the area of teacher-students interactions in the classroom further, teacher-student relationships can also be characterized as teacher behaviour at the level of interactions (Wubbels, 2014). In particular, there are various factors (such as teacher and students characteristics and classroom environment) which influence teacher- students’ interactions, and can in turn affect the quality of the teaching and learning. Wubbels extended this notion by characterizing teacher-students relationships through a combination of agency (the notion that someone is individuated, dominant, has power and control) and communion (someone who is social, shows love, union, friendliness, and affiliation.
Through this characterization, teachers can offer a controlled environment that is structured and has clear expectations, along with an environment that sends students the message of empathy and mutual respect (Wubbels, 2014). The literature on teacher-students’ relationships also draws on the attachment theory, which suggests that caring and nurturing relationships between teachers and their students play a role in overall students performance (Weinstein, 2011). This area of study encourages teachers to see misbehaving students as children who need support and care from a caregiver, which a teacher may provide to a student within the classroom context (Weinstein, 2011; Riley, 2009).
With the proper care and support, along with a sense of safety and security to the teacher, students can be encouraged by the teachers to participate in class, be more motivated to learn, and become more self-confident and engaged in the classroom. It was on this background that the researcher was interested to ascertain whether teacher-students’ relationship influence the academic performance of students in Economics within secondary schools.
Teachers-Students Relationship And Academic Achievement In Economics Among Secondary Schools Students
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The continuous record of students’ poor attitudes towards the study of Economics is a serious problem in the Nigeria educational system, most especially at the secondary school level. Many factors have been put forward for this. Among them is how teachers relate with these students during and after the learning process (Esther, 2006). It has become a great concern for researchers, educators and all educational stake-holders over the years. It was observed that students usually have poor academic grade in examinations owing to improper teachers-students relationship in the schools system (Usman, 2006).
Nevertheless, the act of teaching is fundamentally concerned with passing ideas, skills and attitude from the teacher to the learner. Teachers-students’ relationship helps in improving students learning outcome and also builds a consisting attitudinal behavior towards the study of Economics in secondary schools.
Originally posted on October 11, 2021 @ 10:12 pm
