INFLUENCE OF TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS ON INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT OF JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOCIAL STUDIES IN NSUKKA EDUCATION ZONE OF ENUGU STATE

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INFLUENCE OF TEACHER CHARACTERISTICS ON INTEREST AND ACHIEVEMENT OF JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN SOCIAL STUDIES IN NSUKKA EDUCATION ZONE OF ENUGU STATE

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page i

Approval Page ii

Certification iii

Dedication iv

Acknowledgements v

Table of Contents vii

Abstract x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study 1

Statement of the Problem 7

Purpose of the Study 8

Significance of the Study 9

Scope of the Study 11

Research Questions 11

Hypotheses 12

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

ConceptualFramework

Concept of social studies 15

Teachers’ Characteristics 22

Concept of interest 30

Concept of academic performance 31 Theoretical Framework

Functional theory of attitude (Spherhre, 1992) 34

The Functionalist Theory (Emile Durkheim, 1951) 36

Review of Empirical Studies

Studies on the influence of teachers’ qualification

on students’ academic interest and performance 37

Studies on the influence of teachers’ experience

on students’ academic interest and performance 39

Studies on the influence of teachers’ attitude

on students’ academic interest and performance 40

Studies on the influence of teachers gender

on students’ academic interest and performance 42

Summary of Literature Review 44

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD

Design of the Study 47

Area of the Study 47

Population of the Study 48

Sample and sampling Technique 48

Instrument for Data Collection 49

Validation of Instrument 49

Reliability of the Instrument 50

Method of Data Collection 50 Method of Data Analysis 51

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULT

Research Question One 52

Research Question Two 52

Research Question Three 53

Research Question Four 54

Research Question Five 54

Research Question Six 55

Research Question Seven 55

Research Question Eight 56

Summary of the findings 62

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY

Discussion of the Findings 64

Conclusion of the Study 68

Educational Implications of the Study 69

Recommendations of the Study 71

Suggestions for Further Studies 71

Summary of the Study 72

References

Appendix

Abstract

The study focused on the influence of teacher characteristics on interest and performance of junior secondary school students in social studies in Nsukka education zone of Enugu state. Eight research questions and eight hypotheses guided the study. Literature was reviewed under conceptual framework, theoretical framework, review of empirical studies and summary of literature review. The study adopted ex-post-facto research design. The population of the study was 208 social studies teachers and 5643 students in all the fifty-nine (59) public secondary schools in Nsukka education zone. The sample size of the study was 798 which was made up of 208 teachers and 590 students. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw the sample size of the students. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and validated by three research experts was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using mean while ANCOVA was used to test the hypotheses. The findings of the study were that teachers’ qualification influences students’ interest in social studies and that there is a significant difference in the influence of teachers’ qualification on students’ interest in junior secondary school social studies; that teachers’ qualification influences students’ performance in social studies and that there is a significant difference in the influence of teachers’ qualification on students’ performance in junior secondary school social studies; that teachers’ experience influences students’ interest in social studies and that there is a significant difference in the influence of teachers’ experience on students’ interest in junior secondary school social studies; that teachers’ experience influences students’ performance in social studies and that there is a significant difference in the influence of teachers’ experience on students’ performance in junior secondary school social studies; that teachers’ attitude influences students’ interest in social studies and that there is a significant difference in the influence of teachers’ attitude on students’ interest in junior secondary school social studies; that teachers’ attitude influences students’ performance in social studies and that there is a significant difference in the influence of teachers’ attitude on students’ performance in junior secondary school social studies; that teachers’ gender does not influence students’ interest in social studies and that there is no significant difference in the influence of teachers’ gender on students’ interest in junior secondary school social studies and that teachers’ gender does not influence students’ performance in social studies and that there is no significant difference in the influence of teachers’ gender on students’ performance in junior secondary school social studies. Based on the findings of the study, conclusions were drawn and relevant recommendations were made.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The introduction of social studies education into the Nigeria education system in 1982 was borne out of the fact that the subject was considered very appropriate and relevant by the Federal Ministry of Education in helping the nation to achieve national unity and national consciousness. Nigeria as a multi-ethnic and multi-religious society needs effective means to properly and efficiently harness her abundant human and natural resources for holistic national development (Osakwe, 2010). The importance of social studies cannot be over-emphasized. This is because the learning of social studies equips learners with functional knowledge, attitudes, skills, and values. The functional knowledge, attitude, skills, and values which social studies offers could have

been the reason the Federal Government of Nigeria made the subject

compulsory at the junior secondary school level.

Social studies content of instruction is society focused. The curriculum is integrated and the composition of the content is derived from various sources. The sources are: the social sciences, humanities and physical sciences (Nwanyanwu, 2005). The components of social studies curriculum target among other things: to address the problems of man and to equip the learner with realistic skills, knowledge, values and attitude and to be responsive and responsible to environmental problems and challenges through social studies curriculum. The learners are further equipped with desirable values and attitudes capable of strengthening national unity, co-operation, tolerance, and national consciousness. However, with the right attitudes and values which social studies offers, learners will appreciate the fact that Nigeria as a multiethnic society requires peace and accommodation of one another, ethnic and

religious group notwithstanding.

Inspite of the above positive target of social studies curriculum such as equipping the learners with realistic skills, knowledge, values and attitudes among others, students poor performance and interest in social studies leaves more to be desired. Performance is a recorded academic level attain by individual students in a given subject such as social studies. According to

Cary, David, and Royer (2008),

performance is an academic task accomplishment which shows individuals’ comprehension, quality and accuracy of answer of test, quality and accuracy of problem solving, frequency and quantity of desired outcome, time or rate to solution, time on task, level of reasoning and critical thinking, creativity, recall and retention transfer of tasks.

Performance generally is not in itself a process but the end result of processes. Performance as it affects this present study refers to academic task accomplished by an individual or groups of individual in an examination obtained through the use of evaluation instruments such as test. The performance of students in social studies in junior secondary school certificate examination is usually being assessed through the examination bodies such as Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE). The grades made by students in social studies reflect the extent to which the students learnt social studies materials. The grades and their interpretations are as follows A1-B3 is Distinctions Pass, C4-C6 is Credit Pass D7-D8 is ordinary Pass, F9 means failure in the subject (Okoh, 2010).

Students’ performance in social studies could influence their interest in the subject. According to Adam (2010), interest means attention to something. In other words, interest means attention to studying of social studies. Furthermore, Adeleye (2011) views interest as the curiosity to do something. In the context of this study interest means the curiosity to study relevant social studies materials. The application of curiosity in studying social studies by students could enhance their performance in junior secondary school social

studies.

Students’ performance and interest in social studies will enhance as well as facilitate the achievement of the objectives of junior secondary school social studies curriculum. However, the present study concerned over the poor performance of students in social studies as well as their low interest in studying the subject. The successive reports from JSSCE results between 2010 to 2014 in Nsukka Education Zone have continued to show that students perform below expectations (Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination, 2014). This poor performance of students requires urgent attention because it indicates or spells doom for the achievement of the objectives of junior secondary school curriculum. The JSSCE report of 2014 further indicates that teacher characteristics remains one of the possible causes of students’ poor performance and interest in social studies.

There are many 21^st century teacher characteristics that could influence the outcome of learning. Some of the 21^st century teacher characteristics of a teacher include punctuality to work, diligent, honesty, sound knowledge of the subject, maintaining good teacher-student relationship, effective use of instructional methods and materials level of qualification, job experience, attitude towards teaching and gender. For the purpose of this study, the teacher characteristics to be considered include teachers’ level of qualification, job experience, attitude towards teaching and gender. According to Solomon (2009) the characteristics of the classroom teacher could influence the way students learn in school. Solomon (2009) further explains that a well qualified teacher could apply teaching methods and materials better than less qualified teacher. The implication of this is that when a qualified teacher handles a subject in the classroom, the students could pay attention to the learning activities which will enhance their performance and interest in the subject. Apart, from teachers’ qualification, the years of experience of the teachers could also influence students’ performance and interest in social studies. Udenyi (2010) argued that teachers with many years of teaching experience could easily organize students in the classroom and gain their attention more than less experienced teacher. Teachers’ ability to organize students in social studies classroom could stimulate students’ interest and enhance their

performance in the subject.

Furthermore, teachers’ attitude towards teaching social studies like coming to class regularly, teaching with instructional materials, diversification of teaching methods and even giving students proper guide on writing social studies examination could as well enhance students performance and interest in social studies. In corroboration of the above, Akpan (2008) remarks that teachers’ attitude towards teaching determine how well the students will like the subject (interest) and the students’ general outcome in the subject examination (performance).

Gender of the teacher is another thing that could influence students’ performance and interest in social studies. Gender is a social construct which is not biologically determined but a concept equivalent to race or class (Robert, 2007). Offorma (2004) viewed gender as a learned socially constructed condition ascribed to male and female. Offorma further noted that gender is enforced through cultural practices, as gender identity is the outcome of cultural learning; hence the expectations from male and female are dependent on their cultural milieus. These expectations could influence the way male and female teachers implement social studies curriculum to improve students’ performance and interest in social studies. The gender of the teacher could influence students’ attention in social studies classroom. For instance, if it is a female teacher who cares for the students and rarely flog them, the students would likely attend classes and pay attention. On the other hand, the students may avoid a social studies class where the male teachers handle them strictly. Hence, teachers’ gender could influence students’ performance and interest in

social studies.

Indeed, studies have been done to find out the factors responsible to students’ poor performance and low interest in social studies, most of the studies focused on teaching strategies, instructional materials, motivation of students and even students’ attitude to learning. However, based on the suggestion of JSSCE report of 2014 that teachers’ characteristics could contribute to students’ frequent poor performance and interest in social studies, the present study intends to determine the influence of teacher characteristics on students’ performance and interest in junior secondary

school social studies.

In Nsukka Education of Enugu State, which comprises three Local

Government Areas namely Nsukka, Igbo-Etiti and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Areas, the performance of students in social studies appears to be very poor. Eze (2015) noted that only 6% of students that sat for social studies in 2014 Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination obtained Distinctions Pass (A), 27% obtained Credit Pass (C), 43% obtained ordinary Pass (P), and the remaining 24% failed (F9). This obvious poor performance of students in junior secondary school social studies in Nsukka education zone will not only affect the achievement of social studies curriculum objectives but will affect the social lives and interactions of these students in future. Poor social lives and interactions in Nsukka Education Zone in the future will hamper the existing social harmony in the area and also affect social, economic, political and technological development of the area. Thus, there is the need to investigate the poor performance of students in social studies by looking into the influence of classroom teachers on students’ performance and interest in social studies in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.

Statement of the Problem

The effective teaching and learning of social studies is expected to enhance good social living and interaction. Students’ understanding of social studies contents taught by the teacher manifest through students’ performance in social studies examinations and by extension the students’ interest in learning social studies. However, the researcher is worried over constant poor performance and interest of students in social studies. Teachers’

characteristics such as teachers’ level of qualification, job experience, attitude

towards teaching and gender have been suggested as one of the possible causes of the poor performance and interest of students in social studies. It is

against this background that the present study sought to determine the influence of teacher characteristics on students’ performance and interest in

social studies.

Therefore, the problem of this study put in question form is could teachers characteristics have any influence on students’ performance and interest in junior secondary school social studies?

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to determine the influence of teacher characteristics on interest and performance of junior secondary school students in social studies in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.

Specifically, the study seeks to determine;

The influence of teachers’ qualification on students’ interest in junior

secondary school social studies.

The influence of teachers’ qualification on students’ performance in

junior secondary school social studies.

The influence of teachers’ experience on students’ interest in junior

secondary school social studies. iv) The influence of teachers’ experience on students’ performance in junior secondary school social studies.

v) The influence of teachers’ attitude on students’ interest in junior secondary school social studies. vi) The influence of teachers’ attitude on students’ performance in junior

secondary school social studies. vii) The influence of teachers’ gender on students’ interest in junior secondary school social studies.

viii) The influence of teachers’ gender on students’ performance in junior

secondary school social studies.

Significance of the Study

The study has both theoretical and practical significance. Theoretically,

the study anchored on functional theory of attitude. The theory was propounded by Spherhre (1992). The theory states that attitude is personal and relative to the individual that possess it. The theory explains that individuals exhibit their attitudes to influence other peoples’ actions and believe. In order words, social studies teachers’ exhibition of their attitude in

the classroom could influence students’ interest and performance in the

subject. Hence, the findings of the study will help to show if teachers’ attitude among other things has influence on students’ interest and performance in

social studies.

Practically, the findings of the study will be significant to the social studies students, teachers, and curriculum planners. For the social studies students, the study will help to show how teacher’s characteristics are

influencing their interest and performance in social studies. This findings will help all the concern authorities repositioned the teaching and learning of social studies such that teachers’ characteristics will enhance the students’ interest and performance in social studies. This can be done through organizing social studies curriculum review by the government as well as organizing seminars, conferences, and workshop for the social studies teachers.

For the social studies teachers, the findings of the study will help the teachers to have understanding of the influence of their characteristics on students’ interest and performance in social studies. This understanding will help the teachers to control their attitude in such a way that it will enhance students’ interest and performance in social studies. Furthermore, the findings of the study on the influence of teachers’ characteristics on students’ interest and performance in social studies could help the teachers to select relevant teaching methods and teaching materials that will capture the interest of the students and improve their performance in social studies notwithstanding the characteristics of the classroom teacher. This will be beneficial to the social studies teachers since it will interest them to see their students perform well in social studies general examinations like Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE).

The curriculum planners will find the results of the study useful. This is possible in the sense that the findings of the study will help the social studies curriculum planners to include relevant teaching and learning activities that will be student’ centered which will help the students to develop interest and perform better in social studies. Since the findings of the study will help curriculum planners to know the influence of teacher characteristics on students interest and performance in social studies, this knowledge will guide

curriculum planners in planning the above teaching and learning activities.

Scope of the Study

The study will be restricted to the influence of teacher characteristics on students’ interest and performance in junior secondary school social studies. The content of the study covers the influence of teachers’ qualification; experience, attitude and gender on students’ interest and performance in junior secondary school social studies. The study will be conducted in all public junior secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. It will involve all the students offering social studies in public junior secondary schools in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State.