WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
EFFECT OF IN-SERVICE TEACHERS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF BASIC SCIENCE STUDENTS IN MANGU DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to find out the Effect of In-service Teachers on the Academic Performance of Basic Science Students in Mangu Directorate of Education. The population of the study comprises of four hundred and twenty five (425) students and twenty five (25) basic science teachers from ten (10) government approved junior secondary schools in Mangu LGA of Plateau State with 150 sampled respondents. The study employed descriptive survey design. Four research questions guided the study. The four research questions were analyzed using statistical mean. The results of the study revealed that in-service teachers are products of in-service training that is emanated from training of teachers in the pedagogical content area which significantly helps to update them on the job, improve their job effectiveness and thereby enhancing the academic performance of students. The analysis also revealed that effective teaching and learning cannot occur without congenial classroom environment. And that this congenial classroom environment can be succesffuly created by in-service basic science teachers to maintain positive and effective learning environment through well‐prepared and varied lessons, which cater for the range of student abilities and interests. Based on the findings of the study, the researchers concluded that teachers are the driving force behind students’ good qualitative science education. So to reduce poor achievement of students in Basic Science and science in general, those teachers that studied the subjects should undergo in-service training to get acquaintance with emergence of new trends and resources for teaching and learning process. The study recommends among others that, Government through the Ministry of Education should ensure that in-service training programmes are regularly made available to secondary school teachers.

TABLES OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study     –           –           –           –           –           –           1

1.2       Statement of the Problem     –           –           –           –           –           –           5

1.3       Aim and Objectives of the Study     –           –           –           –           –           6

1.4       Research Questions   –           –           –           –           –           –           –           6

1.5       Research Hypotheses            –           –           –           –           –           –           7

1.6       Significance of the Study                  –           –           –           –           –           7

1.7       Scope and Delimitation of the Study           –           –           –           –           7

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms     –           –           –           –           –           8

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

CHAPTER THREE

 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0       Introduction   –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           32

3.1       Research Design        –           –           –           –           –           –           –           32

3.2       Population and Sample of the Study           –           –           –           –           32

3.2.1    Population of the Study        –           –           –           –           –           –           32

3.2.2    Sample           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           33

3.3       Sampling Technique –           –           –           –           –           –           –           34

3.4       Instrument (s) for Data Collection –           –           –           –           –           35

• Validity and Reliability of the Research Instrument         –           –           35

3.5.1    Validity           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           35

3.5.2    Reliability      –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           35

3.6       Procedure of Data Collection          –           –           –           –           –           36

3.7       Method of Data Analysis      –           –           –           –           –           –           36

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

4.1       Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents –           –           –           38

4.2       Analysis of Research Questions       –           –           –           –           –           39

4.3       Discussion of the Findings   –           –           –           –           –           –           47

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1       Summary of the Findings     –           –           –           –           –           –           50

5.2       Conclusion     –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           51

5.3       Recommendation      –           –           –           –           –           –           –           51

5.4       Limitation of the Study        –           –           –           –           –           –           52

5.5       Suggestions for Further Studies      –           –           –           –           –           52

REFERENCE           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           54

APPENDIX I –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           60

APPENDIX II –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           61

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the Study

The importance of education in building an egalitarian society cannot be overemphasized. Probably, this was why the National Policy on Education (2016) states that every Nigerian child shall have a right to equal educational opportunities irrespective of any real or imagined disabilities, each according to his or her ability. It is therefore, a constitutional right, matter of self-interest and moral principle for a child to receive good quality education. Education needs to be reinforced throughout life because the nation depends on it for a competitive work force and cohesive citizenry (Hettleman, 2017). It has positive impact on human life and the level of educational attainment helps individuals to earn respect and recognition. Education has been the instrument for economic empowerment and development of sustainable economy and plays rudimentary role in our society. One of the national educational goals is the acquisition of appropriate skills and development of mental, physical and social abilities and competencies as equipment for the individual to live and contribute to the development of the society (FRN, 2013). Over the years, education has been assisting scientists to invent equipment and devices which has resulted in high technological advancement. Therefore, the more developed life becomes, the more necessary education is for everyone (Opdenakker & Damme, 2016).

The advancement of the society has being based on the emerging innovation and creativity that arises from science over the years. The human race has used science to meet the diverse trending needs of man through invention of various technologies. Alleviating human needs became easier since the consistent development in science created a new way of doing things stress less. The knowledge of science has indeed served as bedrock of creativity as it deals with the understanding of natural environment. For instance, the advent of various technologies which has impacted the globe with the touch transformation utilized scientific knowledge. According to Eboh (2012), science is the systematic study of nature and behavior of the material and physical universe based on observation, experiment, measurement and the formulation of laws to describe these facts. In general term science undergoes critical study of materials and cause and effect of things so as to draw general conclusion of the object under study. However, attaining scientific knowledge is not only beneficial to the individual but also the society in which he lives. This is because scientific knowledge tends to provide an attempt to understand the world through observation, analysis, and deduction. It enables integrative reasoning and empirically based evidence.

Integrated Science (now Basic Science) is teaching of science in a way to present scientific ideas as a unified whole (Ajao, 2016). It is a subject that comprises of biology, chemistry, physics and partly any other science related subject while computer science is a subject that has more relationship with mathematics than any other subject. Basic science is an amalgamated course designed to show unity, wholeness and interrelationship of the distinct that make up science (Daudu, 2017). Basic science syllabus is simply a collection of topic from single science (Abba, 2018). The expectation is that students combining physics with Basic science should be able to do better than those combining with computer since some of the things learnt in Basic science are in physics.

Basic Science teachers are those who bear the responsibility of transferring basic scientific knowledge to learners. They educate future generations through teaching of wide varieties of topics such as earth science, chemistry, physics and others. The teaching of the foundation of scientific methods to younger generation is inspired by them towards scientific thinking and innovation. According to Essel, Badu, Owusu, and Albert (2018), every educational process must possess qualified teachers as a fraction of the ingredients essential for the goals of the process to be measured and achieved. The teachers responsible for the process must be equally be accorded a very high priority. It is therefore pertinent for basic science teachers to engage in re-training service so as to constantly update their professionalism which in turn result to effective teaching process.  Science teachers specifically Basic science teachers are lifelong learners because of their association with scientific knowledge which keeps growing and so opportunities has to be afforded to ensure he keeps growing in his professional life. In-service training is therefore pertinent in feeling these discrepancies between science teachers and improvement in their professionalism. In-service training is special training given to teachers to improve their skills and learn about new developments in their profession.

Hettleman, (2017) defines in-service teachers as those teachers that involves in schooling and working at the same time. He went further to asserts that an in-service program is a professional training or staff development effort, where professionals are trained and discuss their work with others in their peer group. It is a key component of continuing medical education for physicians, pharmacists, and other medical professionals. It is also common among public servants including educators and public safety officials. Also that, in-service training refers to the training of teachers in special courses, workshop, or training given to employees in connection with their work to help them develop skills. It is a professional training programme where teachers are equipped with modern skills and discuss with in their peer group. In the view of Eduwen (2016) in-service training is designed for manpower development of social school system and the educational enterprise as a whole. Human resources in school system are required to possess adequate knowledge of their field of study and improve in the transfer of this knowledge to learners.  In-service program also refers to some programs offered to enlisted members of the military while they are in service. In-service programs also refers to educators, where they discuss methods and cases and workloads.

The effect of in-service education to the teacher cannot be over emphasized; this is more so when one considers the need to grapple with new trends in raiding techniques and the dynamic nature of knowledge as it affect the subject matter to be taught to learners (Oyedeji, 2014). Training teachers in the pedagogical content area helps to update them on the job, improve their job effectiveness and thereby enhancing the academic performance of Basic Science students. It is worthy of mention that availing the teachers with modern techniques of teaching help them in the mastery of their teaching subjects and be relevant in the global scheme.

A student success is measured by academic performance. Scottk (2019) generally refers academic performance to how well a student is accomplishing his or her tasks and studies. Academic Performance is the outcome of students’ evaluation in the educational process indicating to what level the students have achieved the educational goals as specified in the curriculum which is greatly influenced by internal and external classroom factors.  Wikipedia (2014) buttresses the above concepts by putting forward that academic performance is commonly measured by evaluation (examination) and continuous assessment but there is no general agreement on how it can best be captured. It emphasized among other factors that learning environments/ conditions, teacher’s quality, teacher’s characteristics and teachers’ professionalism have great influence on academic achievement of the students. It is upon this background that the researchers deem it fit to investigate into the effect of In-service Teachers on the Academic Performance of Basic Science Students in Mangu Directorate of Education.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

In-service teachers was set up as a result of Federal government of Nigeria pronouncement that by the year (2000) the least qualification of teacher in primary and secondary school will be (NCE) Nigeria certificate in education (FGN, 2018). It was because of this that every teacher want to obtain this certificate and in order to get it, many teachers are attending in-service teaching. Due to some problems, not all teachers can go in for regular courses; consequently, there is need for them to merge courses in the in-service teachers programme. 

Recent observations show that the quality of products from our institutions is reducing each year. Many employers of labour are beginning to lose faith in the quality of products turned out yearly by the institutions of learning. Many factors have been adduced by researchers as causes of poor academic performance of student specifically Basic Science Students to include: poor quality teachers, inadequate and out of date instructional materials, poor teaching methods, negative attitude to work by teachers, among others (Adeboyeje, Olaniyi & Adepoju, 2014). This is why Ayodele and Ige (2012) emphasized 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 the economy and politics. In-service teachers’ quality has been adjudged as one major factor that influence student’s academic performance. Harris & Sass (2007) in a study found that in-service training of teachers can improve students’ academic achievement. The need to address the developmental status of teachers and possibly plan in-service training programmes to build teachers’ capacity for service delivery becomes necessary.

1.3       Aim and Objectives of the Study

The general aim of this study is to determine the Effect of In-service Teachers on the Academic Performance of Basic Science Students in Mangu Directorate of Education. Specifically, it seeks to find out:

1. Effect of In-service Teachers on the Academic Performance of Basic Science Students
2. The type of in-service training have Basic Science teachers attended in secondary schools
3. The need for the in-service training of teachers for effective teaching and learning of Basic Science in Secondary Schools
4. The professional skills employed by in-service teachers in effective teaching and learning of Basic Science

1.4       Research Questions

In order to achieve the above objective the study came up with the following research question. The research questions are stated as follow:

1. To what extend do in-service Teachers affects the Academic Performance of Basic Science Students?
2. What is the type of in-service training Basic Science teachers have attended in secondary schools?
3. What is the need for the in-service training of teachers for effective teaching and learning of Basic Science in Secondary School?
4. What are the professional skills employed by in-service teachers in effective teaching and learning of Basic Science?

1.5       Research Hypotheses

Ho: There is no significant relationship between in-service teachers training and academic performance of Basic Science Students in Secondary Schools.

Ha: There is a significant relationship between in-service teachers training and academic performance of Basic Science Students in Secondary Schools.

1.6       Significance of the Study

The study will investigate the effect of in-service teacher’s on the academic performance of Basic Science Students. The findings of this study will change the attitude and skills of teachers and further increase the performance of students. It will also aid in professional development of teachers and to enhance their knowledge and quality of teaching and learning thereby changing the procedures, approaches and practices teachers teach, the way students learn and would also help to create an excellent school culture in schools.

The findings of this research work will also serve as a reference material to other researchers that may intend to undertake a similar work on effect of in-service teachers on academic performance of Basic Science Students.

1.7       Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study shall appraise the Effect of In-service Teachers on the Academic Performance of Basic Science Students. 

Due to financial constraint, the researchers are unable to go round and collect more materials or to obtain information from all the schools in the study area. Also the researchers being students are involved in other academic endeavours and are left with limited time to go round all the schools in the study area. These factors therefore, delimit the research work to only some selected secondary schools in Mangu Directorate of Education.

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms

Terms that are related to the study are defined below in order to remove somatic ambiguity in their usage.

Academic:                              Academic is used to describe things that relate to the work done in schools, colleges, and universities, especially work which involves studying and reasoning rather than practical or technical skills.

Academic performance:                   It refers to the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. 

Effects:                                               Degree or extend of impression good or bad

In-service Teachers:                         Literally, it refers to those teachers who have already completed their basic training and are now teachers. In this study, it refers to the quality of in-service training developed by professional teachers who are currently teaching and how it affects academic performance of Basic Science Students.

Performance:                         Literally, it implies the action or process of performing a task or function. In this study, it refers to successful completion of a program required by the department, including an education.

Secondary School:                Secondary school is an educational institution where the second stage of the three schooling periods, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age takes place. It is usually a school for pupils between the ages of 11 or 12 and 17 or 18.