ABSTRACT: This study examined the influence of Teachers Variable and Their Instructional Effectiveness in Social Studies in Private Secondary Schools in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State. Three objectives, three research questions and three research hypotheses were formulated for the study. Notable and relevant literatures were reviewed to assist in drawing conclusion. The population for the study included all social studies teachers in private secondary schools in Odukpani Local Government Area which was 33 teachers. The sample size was 20 social studies teachers from 10 private secondary schools in the area. The sampling technique was simple random sampling technique. One instrument entitled Teacher’s Variables and Instructional Effectiveness Questionnaire (TVIEQ) was involved in this study for data collection. The TVIEQ was tested to enhance the reliability using chi-square statistical technique after given approval from the research supervisor on validity. The statistical analysis of the data was Pearson product moment correlation statistical technique in order to determine the relationship between the variables under study on instructional effectiveness.
Teachers Variable and Their Instructional Effectiveness in Social Studies in Private Secondary Schools
Findings showed that: there is a significant influence teacher’s qualification and instructional effectiveness in social studies in private secondary schools; also, that there is a significant influence teacher’s years of teaching experience and instructional effectiveness in social studies in private secondary schools; and that there is a significant influence teacher’s attitude and instructional effectiveness in social studies in private secondary schools in Odukpani Local Government Area. Based on the findings it was recommended that government should employ qualified teachers to teach in the private secondary schools for effective formation of the children as children at this level are demanded to be effectively groomed for good participation of the learners in the teaching learning process and that highly experience teachers should be encouraged by better condition of service in order to sustain high productivity in school.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Success in certain endeavours may be true of achievement in schooling. Good achievement in schooling could be the partial contribution of several factors such as teacher, learner and school variable among others. Adodo (2017) argued that one key overriding factor for the success of learner’s academic achievement is the teachers. In the same vein Ibrahim (2010), believed that teacher charts qualification and exposure can go a long way to bring about teacher’s high instructional effectiveness. It is probably for this reason; Ibukun (2009) asserted that no education system can rise above the quality of its teachers. Considering the assertions it implies that teachers role in the preparation of learner’s to successes in examinations cannot be undermined.
Grave stock and curator Greenleaf (2008) states that the explanation for good or poor teacher’s instructional effectiveness have been quite exhaustive yet controversy still exists among scholars as to what contribute singly or jointly to learner’s poor performance. Be that as it may the important role of the teachers in learning is unquestionable. Teachers have a lot of influence on the classroom practice. Teachers should have and apply specific abilities without which their influence may not be reflected for learners to be able to make connection between what is taught in school and its application in problem solving in real life, the teacher has to be effective in their teaching.
In his study Adeogun (2015) opined that the quality of the educational system depends on the quality of its teaching staff and that a school without human resources may not be able to achieve the goal and objective of the educational system, Adesina (1980) in Ekanem (2011) also noted that teachers are the major indication and determinate of quality education. Highly professional teacher who are dedicated are needed in schools. It has been established accounting to correlation between what teacher knows and what they teach. Thus the ability to teach effectively depends on the teacher’s knowledge and knowledge occurs in a variety of forms. Teacher effectiveness is impeded if the teacher is unfamiliar with the body of knowledge taught. The implication of this for teacher is that they must thoroughly understand the content of what they teach.
Usman (2013) argued that shortage of qualified teachers is responsible for the poor academic achievement observable among the learners while Ademulegun (2011) argued that learners taught by more qualified and experience teachers in terms of knowledge of the subject matter performs better than those taught by less qualified but experienced teachers. It is evident from the above background to the study that one key overriding factor for the success of teachers instructional effectiveness is the teacher’s qualification. It is believed that teacher qualifications, years of experience and attitude influence teachers’ instructional effectiveness in social studies. It is against this background that this research investigated teacher’s variable and instructional effectiveness in social studies in private secondary schools in Odukpani Local Government Area” has been undertaken by the researcher.
Teachers Variable and Their Instructional Effectiveness in Social Studies in Private Secondary Schools
1.2 Statement of the problem
Social studies being the core social science subject that is offered by all learners’ primary and junior secondary level of education has been seen to have been faced with the challenges faced by other subjects in terms of poor performance of learners. Consequently, this poor performance’ among learners has caused serious concern among teachers, parent, government and educational administrators. The parents and teachers have blamed the learners for not reading. Owning to the fact that no education can rise above the level of its teachers, the researcher was triggered to ask, “Could teachers variable such as qualification and teaching years of experience contribute to this instructional ineffectiveness?”
However, it has been observed that no research had been conducted in private secondary schools in Odukpani Local Government Area on the teaching and learning of social studies as a school subject. It is this existing gap that this present study intended to fill up by undertaking the research study on the topic: “teacher’s variables and their instructional effectiveness in Social studies in Private secondary schools in Odukpani Local Government Area Cross River State”.
