EFFECTS OF TEACHER PROFESSIONALISM ON SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN PANKSHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – i
Declaration Page – – – – – – – – ii
Approval Page – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgements – – – – – – – – v
Table of Contents – – – – – – – – vi
Abstract – – – – – – – – – viii

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background to the Study – – – – – – 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem – – – – – – 7
1.3. Purpose of the Study – – – – – – – 8
1.4. Research Questions – – – – – – – 8
1.5. Research Hypothesis – – – – – – – 9
1.6. Significance of the Study – – – – – – 9
1.7. Scope and Delimitation of Study – – – – – 10
1.8. Operational Definition of Terms – – – – – 10

CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 English Language in the Curriculum – – – – – 12
2.2 Importance of English Language – – – – – 13
2.3 The Concept of Teacher Professionalism – – – – 14
2.4. The Effects of Unprofessional Teachers on Students – – – 17
2.4.1. Poor Academic Performance – – – – – – 17
2.4.2. Falling Standards of Academic Achievements – – – 18
2.5. Qualities of a Good Teacher – – – – – – 19
2.5.1 A sense of Purpose – – – – – – – 19
2.5.2 Putting Learners First – – – – – – – 20
2.5.3 Sense of Humor – – – – – – – 20
2.5.4 Planning – – – – – – – – 20
2.5.5 Organization – – – – – – – – 21
2.5.6 Collaboration – – – – – – – – 21
2.5.7 Creativity – – – – – – – – 21
2.5.8 Endless Patience – – – – – – – 21
2.6 Factors that Determine a Qualified Teacher – – – – 22
2.6.1 Teachers’ Formal Education – – – – – – 22
2.6.2 Teacher Education in the Subject Matter of Teaching – – 22
2.6.3 Teacher Education in Pedagogical Studies – – – – 23
2.6.4 Duration of the Preparation Period – – – – – 23
2.6.5 Certification and Licensing Status – – – – – 24
2.6.6 Years of Experience – – – – – – – 25
2.6.7 Participation in Professional Development Activities – – 26
2.7 Concept of Academic Performance – – – – – 27
2.8 Gap in the Literature Review – – – – – – 31
2.9 Summary of Literature Review – – – – – 31

CHAPTER THREE
METHOD AND PROCEDURE
3.1 Research Design – – – – – – – – 33
3.2 Population and Sample of the Study – – – – – 33
3.3 Sampling Technique – – – – – – – 34
3.4 Instrument for Data Collection – – – – – – 34
3.4.1 Description of the Instruments – – – – – 35
3.4.2 Validity and Reliability of the Instrument – – – – 35
3.5 Procedure for Data Collection – – – – – – 36
3.6 Method of Data Analysis – – – – – – 37

CHAPTER FOUR
RESULT AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Data Presentation – – – – – – – 38
4.2 Analysis of Demographic Variables – – – – – 38
4.3 Research Questions – – – – – – – 39
4.3 Test of Hypothesis – – – – – – – 42
4.4 Discussion of Results – – – – – – – 43
4.4.1 Finding from research questions – – – – – 43
4.4.2 Finding from Hypothesis – – – – – – 44

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of Findings – – – – – – – 47
5.2 Conclusion – – – – – – – – 48
5.3 Recommendations – – – – – – – 48
References – – – – – – – – 50
Appendix – – – – – – – – 55
Abstract
This research was carried out in order to examine the effect of teacher professionalism on the academic performance of students in English in secondary school students in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. The study adopted the ex post facto research design. The population of this study consisted of all the SS 2 teachers and students of English in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State. The sample of this study consisted of the ten (10) selected senior secondary schools in Pankshin Local Government Area. The method of sampling applied in this work is the purposive sampling technique. The instrument used for the collection of data was students’ termly academic records. The instrument for data analyses was SPSS, mean and t-test for testing hypothesis. The findings of the study indicated that professionalism has a positive effect on the academic performance of the students, female students performed better than the male student taught by professional teachers in English Language, female students performed better than the male students taught by non-professional teachers in English Language. The study concluded that professionalism of teachers has positive effects on the academic performance of students in English as seen from the findings. Based on the findings, it was recommended that government at all levels should support TRCN in enforcing the employment of only professional teachers to teach in our schools, teachers should also aspire to attain higher qualifications in order to enhance their productivity, government and other stakeholders of every institution should enforce/set standard in terms of qualification for those who would teach in the senior secondary schools.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.2. Background to the Study
Once the educational foundation of a nation is cracked, the nation is doomed. Nations are built and destroyed in classrooms; that is the future of a Nation depends on the youths, while youths are the product of educational organizations. Thus, teachers are considered the builders of a nation. If the teacher shows positive professional attitude towards students from all the perspectives such as maintenance of personality, knowledge, communication and management during the class, then students will be easily motivated towards their academic performance (Khan, 2016). There is a great relationship of professional development between teachers and their performances. Positive professional attitude of teachers have a significant effects on the overall academic achievements of the students (Borko, 2004).
During the last few decades, the professional life of teachers has significantly changed. Educational development and technological changes brought a lot of positive modifications in the educational environment of the schools, colleges and universities. Professional development is also among the positive modifications of educational institutions i.e. schools, colleges and universities (Robert, 2003). Borko (2004) mentioned in his study that improvement or modification of education totally depends on the professional development of the teachers. No doubt, one can say that teachers have key role in bringing changes in the educational system. Professionalism of teachers needs to be enhanced (Villegas-Reimers, 2003).
Therefore, the different scholastic achievements of students in Nigeria have been and is still a source of concern and research interest to educators, governments and parents. This is so because of the great importance that education has on national development of the country. All over the country, there is a consensus of opinion about the fallen standard of education in Nigeria (Adebule, 2004). Parents and government are in total agreement that their huge investment on education is not yielding the desired dividends. Teachers also complain of students’ low performance at both internal and external examinations. The annual releases of Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations results (SSCE) conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) justify the generalization of poor secondary school students’ performance in different school subjects. Poor academic performance according to Aremu (2003) is a performance that is adjudged by the examiner and some other stakeholders as falling below an expected standard.
Poor academic performance has been observed in core school subjects especially English language and mathematics among secondary school students, (Adesemowo, 2005). Aremu (2003) stresses that academic failure is not only frustrating to the students and the parents, its effects are equally grave on the society in terms of dearth of manpower in all spheres of natural life. Education at the secondary school level is supposed to be the bedrock towards higher knowledge in tertiary institutions. It is an investment as well as an instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic, social, political, technological, scientific and cultural development in the country. The National Policy on Education (2013) stipulates that secondary education is an instrument for national development that fosters the worth and development of the individual for further education and general development of the society and equality of educational opportunities to all Nigerian children, irrespective of any real or marginal disabilities.
The quality of education is directly related to the quality of instruction in the classrooms. It is a fact that knowledge of the subject matter, competence and skills of teaching and the commitment of the teacher have effective impact on the teaching learning process. Improvement in the education depends upon the proper training of teachers. The teachers cannot play any of the roles unless properly trained, (Yadved & Singh, 2008). The high performance of students especially in external examinations goes a long way to show the level of preparedness of the students definitely by qualified teachers.
The issue of declining academic performance of students in Nigeria secondary schools in English language has generated much interest among stakeholders in the education sector. The quality of education and performance of students depends on the teachers as reflected in the discharge of their duties. Over time students’ academic performance in both internal and external examinations had been used to determine the professionalism of teachers and teaching (Ajao, 2001). This was buttressed by Ogunsaju (2004) that the academic standard of students in all Nigerian educational institutions has fallen considerably below societal expectations.
Teachers have been known to have important influence on students’ academic achievement and they also play a crucial role in educational attainment because the teacher is ultimately responsible for translating educational policies and principles into actions based on practice during interaction with the students (Afe, 2001). Both teaching and learning depend on teachers: no wonder a professional teacher has been conceptualized as one who produces desired results in the course of his duty as a teacher (Uchefuna 2001). Considering governments’ huge investment in public education, its output in terms of quality of students has been observed to be unequal with government expenditure. Consequently, upon the observed deterioration in the academic achievement in English, attitude and values of secondary school students in public secondary schools, one wonders if the high failure rates in English language and the failure of the students especially in external examinations is not a reflection of the instructional quality in the schools. Therefore, the professionalism of teachers in classroom interaction with the students could be responsible for the observed poor performance of students in English language and the widely acclaimed fallen standard of education in Nigeria.
Teaching is an art. It can be refined by training and practice. The availability of competent teachers is central in the reconstruction of the educational system. English has acquired the status of a global language, (Crystal, 1997). Keeping in view the growing need and importance of English language in everyday life, English has been made a compulsory subject in Nigeria from the very beginning of the academic career. This increasingly necessitates good quality initial preparation for non-native speaker teachers in the school system (Cullen, 1994).
English is taught as a compulsory subject from primary to secondary school and the whole teaching-learning process is carried out in English language. In other words, English is also the medium of instruction in Nigerian schools. This enables the students to learn English in an environment where most of the interaction between the teacher and the students is in English (Fuller & Clark, 2004). As a result, the students of these schools are more proficient in English and perform well in the external examinations.
In some schools, however, the teaching of English is done probably differently and the proficiency in the language is somewhat inadequate. Students are hardly exposed to the language outside the classroom and teachers are mostly comfortable with the traditional method of teaching.
Most of the activities in the class are done in the vernacular or the mother tongue. Even English language is explained through mother tongue or the vernaculars (Al-mutawa & Kailani, 2009). As a result, the students will resort to memorization or cramming. The teacher is the facilitator of examinations rather than of learning. They memorize, translate and retranslate and, finally reproduce the crammed information or knowledge in the external examinations. No creativity is witnessed on the part of the students from this kind of teaching experience (Baumgardner, 2003). The reason is that the teachers themselves are not qualified or competent enough to teach English efficiently. This causes poor results in English, eventually leading to high percentage of failure in English at external examinations. Thus, English becomes the biggest hurdle (particularly for the students from rural areas) to getting higher education and key administrative posts. In its annual report, the Federal Public Service Commission (2008) reports that English language as the medium of expression in external examination is depriving students from some poor institutions from competing with their counterparts from highly placed institutions.
English as a language plays a number of roles in the socio-economic, political and cultural development of Nigeria society. The continued slide in the performance of students in the English language in external examinations is a cause for great concern not only for the teachers but also for other stakeholders in the business of education. This is more worrisome when one considers the fact that English doubles as a medium of instruction in Nigerian schools as well as a lingua franca. The central role of English cannot, therefore, be wished away. The pattern of failure has, however, shown that the incidence appears to be higher in some schools than it is with other schools. A number of factors have been linked to the causes but more relevant is the issue of professionalism of the teachers. This is more important because in the business of teaching and learning, teachers offer only what they have; you cannot offer what you don’t have. The professionalism of teachers involved in teaching and learning has great roles in the performance of students and it is to find out these effects that this study is set out to accomplish. Chomsky (1972) states that one cannot really teach a language but can only present the conditions in which it will develop spontaneously in the mind in its own ways.
1.9. Statement of the Problem
Language teaching and learning has been the primary focus of applied linguistics. Formal instruction does not work in a vacuum. School environment, teacher professionalism, curriculum and instructional approaches, and many other factors interact to produce growth in student academic skills and knowledge. There is sufficient empirical evidence that suggests that the academic performance of students relies substantially on the teachers that teach them. Classroom based research is valid enough to determine whether the learners are receiving appropriate content instruction or not. Pennington (2009) says that the quality of teaching must be considered in determining what results can be expected. He further states that teachers make decisions about classroom management based upon the achievement gains. It is assumed that only those who have professional training in English teaching should teach English language. The English teacher should be the one whose competence and proficiency in all the language skills are in a good measure and not deficient especially in written and conversational English. The English language teacher should have a good knowledge of current usages and the theoretical aspects of English. In Nigeria today, most students in secondary schools and in fact even in universities lack the ability to communicate efficiently in English, both oral and written. This is still the major problem faced by English language students today. It is therefore important to find out if the professionalism of the English teachers has any effect on the performance of the students in written and spoken English in secondary schools. It is in the light of this that this research seeks to investigate into teacher’s professionalism and its implication on the academic performance of senior secondary school students in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State.
1.10. Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of teacher professionalism on the academic performance of students in English in secondary school students in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The following are specific objectives of this study:
i. To determine the mean performance of SS 2 students in English language taught by Professional teachers.
ii. To evaluate the mean performance of SS 2 students in English language taught by non-professional teachers.
iii. To find out the mean percentage of male and female students in English language taught by professional teachers.
iv. To bring out the percentage performance of male and female SS 2 students in English language taught by non-professional teachers.
1.11. Research Questions
In order to serve as a guide, the following research questions were formulated which will be answered at the end of the research:
1. What is the mean performance of SS 2 students in English language taught by Professional teachers?
2. What is the mean performance of SS 2 students in English language taught by non-professional teachers?
3. What is the mean percentage of male and female students in English language taught by professional teachers?
4. What is the percentage performance of male and female SS 2 students in English language taught by non-professional teachers?
1.12. Research Hypothesis
H0: There is no significant difference in the mean performance of SS 2 students in English language who taught by professional and non-professional teachers.
1.13. Significance of the Study
The importance of this cannot be overemphasized, especially now that importance is placed on the teaching and learning of English language in Nigeria. Therefore, the study shall be of importance to the Ministry of Education, the government, the teachers, school authorities and students too, who are at the forefront of this research.
To the Ministry of Education, this study will serve as a pointer that hiring unprofessional teachers to teach English at the secondary school levels will be at the detriment of the students’ future. This is because these students will soon find their way into university, and if they are not properly trained, they will perform poorly in English at the tertiary institution and the wider world at large. There teachers will be employed based on their level of professionalism.
Government, who are charged with the duty of financing education in th nation, will also benefit from this study as they will motivate this professional teachers by giving them incentives which will enable them to do their jobs well.
The school authorities, under the support of Ministry of Education can organize workshops to sensitize the teacher and even allow them to go for inservice training to enhance their knowledge in English language pedagogy.
The finding will also serve as a reference to people who want to conduct a similar research.
The students will benefit the students as the measures taken by the government, teachers, school authorities and Ministry of Education, will be to their advantage as it will enhance their ability and performance in English language.
1.14. Scope and Delimitation of Study
The study is covers the effect of teacher professionalism on the academic performance of secondary school students. The study is limited to Pankshin Local Government Area. However, despite the fact that the study is restricted to the selected local government and sampled schools, its findings will be generalized to other parts of the country as well.
1.15. Operational Definition of Terms
Teacher: A professionally trained person in a particular field, who is qualified and licenced to teach a particular subject.
Professionalism: It is fitness for purpose through fulfillment of necessary conditions such as attainment of a certain age, taking of an oath, completion of required schooling or training, or acquisition of a degree or diploma.
Evaluation: This refers to a systematic determination of a subject’s merit, worth and significance, using criteria governed by a set of standards.