WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
EFFECTS OF POOR TEACHER-STUDENTS RELATIONSHIP ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF BIOLOGY STUDENTS IN PANKSHIN AREA DIRECTORATE OF EDUCATION

ABSTRACT

The study was designed to find out the Effects of poor teacher-students relationship on academic achievement of biology students in Pankshin Area Directorate of Education. A descriptive survey research design was employed and simple random sampling technique was used to arrive at 120 respondents. Three research questions guided the study. Structured questionnaire with fifteen (15) items were formulated from the three research questions and was used as instrument of data collection and were analyzed using statistical mean tool. The result revealed that, the most powerful elements within the learning environment is poor teacher – students relationship which greatly influence the academic achievement of senior secondary school biology students. And that there exists many causes that leads to poor teacher-students relationship in school some of which are; Lack of awareness on the part of the teacher, Bullying by a teacher and Disrespectful or condescending behavior of the students. The study concludes that, the teachers have important role in developing, nurturing and maintaining other relationship with their students. Teachers are required to foster positive relationship with their students to create a conducive environment (classroom) for teaching and learning activities and also meet students’ developmental, emotional and academic needs, since student’s who posses position and supportive relationships with positive attitude as well as positive academic “outcomes” such as higher grades. The study recommends among others that, Mentorship should be encouraged in schools to foster and improve the relationship between the teachers and students.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study        –           –           –           –           –           –                      

1.2       Statement of the Problem        –           –           –           –           –           –          

1.3       Purpose of the Study  –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

1.4       Research Questions    –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

1.5       Research Hypotheses  –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

1.6       Significance of the Study       –           –           –           –           –           –          

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

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms        –           –           –           –           –          

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1       Design of the Study    –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

3.2       Population of the Study          –           –           –           –           –           –          

3.3       Sample and Sampling Techniques     –           –           –           –           –          

3.4       Instrument for Data Collection           –           –           –           –           –          

3.5.1    Validation of the Instrument   –           –           –           –           –           –          

3.5.2    Reliability of the Instrument   –           –           –           –           –           –          

3.6       Method of Data Collection     –                       –           –           –           –          

3.7       Methods of Data Analysis                  –           –           –           –           –          

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.0       Introduction    –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

4.1       Results –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

4.2       Hypotheses Testing     –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

4.3       Discussion of the Findings     –           –           –           –           –           –          

CHAPTER FIVE

                                    SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1       Summary of the Findings       –           –           –           –           –           –          

5.2       Conclusion      –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

5.3        Recommendation       –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

5.4       Suggestions for Further Studies         –           –           –           –           –          

REFERENCE           –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

APPENDIX     –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –          

CHAPTER ONE

 INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

There is no certainty that education is a tool or device for national development. It has become an instrument which every country across the globe wants to adopt for their development. Education tries to take care of students’ in different fields of science subject. (Biology) is part of natural science that offers excellent background for various professional studies and competence in relating effectively to what is learnt in school to real life outside school. Education is highly rated as public enterprise whose results are used as a tool par excellence in national development. Also Education is a process of imparting or giving out systemic knowledge at all levels of learning particularly at the university level. According to Olumba (2013) the educational aims cannot be actualized if there is a poor relationship between the teacher and their students’. Bringing the aims of education to reality depends on the orientation of teachers and the students’ in the educational system because good education required trained and committed teachers who will carry the students’ along with them to achieve the educational goals. One of the most deeply inspirational relationships is that of a devoted teacher and willing students’. Almost every student has a favourite and those they liked less in the classroom setting, it totally depends on how the teacher- student relationship is developed, nurtured and given space to grow. Aligned with the attachment theory, positive teacher-student relationship enables the students to feel secure and safe in their learning environment.

There is no doubt that education is an instrument for national development. It has become an instrument which every country across the globe has adopted for their development. Education tries to groom students in different fields of which science subject (biology inclusive) are part of. Biology as a natural science offers excellent background for various professional studies and competence in effectively relating what is learnt in school to real life outside school (Eryilmaz, 2010). It has been acknowledged as a pre-requisite for the study of several courses in the universities. For examples medicine and other applied science courses need biology. Biology education is generally aimed at equipping the individual learner with such knowledge, skills and attitude that will enable them live a meaningful development of the social economic and cultural benefits (NERDC, 2006).

Teachers who support students in learning to attain knowledge, competences or values can positively have impact on their academic outcomes which are important for long term academic achievement and eventually gain employment, (Brophy, 2017). According to Fan and Williams (2010) Science, particularly biological knowledge holds the key to attainment of national goals, which include food and security, eradication of child mortality, and reduction of the spread of HIV/AIDS among others. However, the dwindling poor academic performance of students’ in Biology makes the realization of such goals unrealistic. The causes of their poor performance are linked to many factors including home environment, peer pressure, culture, socio-economic status and each of these factors has magnitude and direction in the causes of poor academic performance if not handled well. The summation of these factors drives the student in a particular direction. The student will move in the direction of these summed factors although, many instances this direction is not supportive of reaching the educational objectives the student needs to meet. If the teacher is aware of these factors upon the student, the teacher can apply influential/motivational forces to assist the students’ in obtaining the educational goals/objectives for the students’ success. Unfortunately, little attention has been given to examine how the management of these factors affects teacher-student relationship in universities. According to Broaddus, Allie; Jaquis; Jones; Jost; Lang; Li; Qiwen; Nelson and Spear (2019). Academic achievement is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school, diplomas National Certificate in Education bachelor’s degrees etc. Represents academic achievement. Academic achievement is commonly measured through examinations or continuous assessments but there is no general agreement on how it is best evaluated or which aspects are most important procedural knowledge such as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts, Furthermore, there are inconclusive results over which individual factors successfully predict academic achievement, elements such as test anxiety, environment, motivation, and emotions require consideration when developing models of school achievement. Now, schools are receiving money based on its students’ academic achievements. A school with more academic achievements would receive more money than a school with less academic achievement.

Academic achievement represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to which a person has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in instructional environments, specifically universities. In developed societies, academic achievement plays an important role in every person’s life. Academic achievement as measured by the GPA (Grade Point Average) or by standardized assessments designed for selection purpose such as the SAT (Scholastic Assessment Test) determines whether a student will have the opportunity to continue their education. Non-cognitive factors or skills are a set of “attitudes, behaviours, and strategies” that promotes academic and professional success, such as academic self-efficacy, self-control, motivation, expectancy and goal setting theories, emotional intelligence, and determination. To create attention on factors other than those measured by cognitive test scores sociologists. The term serves as a distinction of cognitive factors, which are measured by teachers through tests and quizzes. Non-cognitive skills are increasingly gaining popularity because they provide a better explanation for academic and professional outcomes. Self-efficacy is one of the best predictors of academic success, it is the belief of being able to do something. The non- cognitive domain most strongly and consistently associated with academic success is self –control and the related constructs of academic self- efficacy, persistence and Effort (Heckman & Kautz, 2012). Richardson, Abraham and Bond (2012) also suggested that within the five factor model of personality, academic performance has been most consistently associated with conscientiousness and openness to experience. However, self-efficacy was more indicative of academic performance than personality in all of the analyses. This suggests that parents who want their children to have academic achievement can look to increase their child’s sense of self-efficacy at school.

Motivation is the reasoning behind an individual’s actions. Research has found that students with higher academic performance, motivation and persistence use intrinsic goals rather than extrinsic ones. Furthermore, students’ who are motivated to improve upon their previous or upcoming performance tend to perform better academically than peers with lower motivation. In other words, students with higher need for achievement have greater academic performance. Lavoie’s (2007) book: “The Motivation Breakthrough: 6 secrets to turning on the tuned-out child” he told the story of an inflexible teacher arguing the need for passive instruction and in passive learning. The teacher contended that their job was to provide students’ with information and their job was to absorb that information. The teacher continued by arguing those who did not want to learn could sit at the back and sleep.

No nation can exceedingly grow and develop above the standard of its teachers and students’. It is with much impact that a lot of emphasis is placed on the need for improvement of teacher- student relationship utilized by any institution in any country. Despite all efforts made towards the improvement of the relationship between the teachers and the students’, there is still Poor teacher-student relationship on students’ academic achievement, Many researches have been conducted to determine the impact of teachers quality on students’ academic achievement and no study have been conducted to ascertain the impact of poor teacher-student relationship in the sight of the above problem, the researcher is challenged and therefore intend to carry out this study in order to emerge with some empirical data to find out what really is the impact of poor teacher-student relationship on  Academic Achievement of Biology Students in Pankshin Area Directorate of Education?

1.2       Statement of the Problem

The school system generally in Pankshin Local Government Area has been associated with poor academic performance, formation of perpetual hatred to teachers, bad gangs by students and neglect of some subjects which gave rise to serious problems for the realization of educational objectives (Richardson et’al., 2012). In the sigh of the above problems, the researcher therefore intend to carry out this study in order to find out the extent to which poor teacher students relationship has influenced the academic achievement of senior secondary school biology student in Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State.

• Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to determine the effects of poor Teacher-Students Relationship on Academic achievement of Biology Students in Pankshin Area Directorate of Education. Specifically, the study intends to ascertain the:

1. Prevalent causes of Poor Teacher – Students Relationship and its impact on effective teaching and learning of Biology
2. Effects of poor Teacher-Student relationship on students’ academic performance in Biology in Pankshin LGA.
3. The extent to which teacher -students relationship can be encourage in the classroom

1.4       Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

1. What are the prevalent causes of Poor Teacher – Students Relationship and its impact on effective teaching and learning of Biology?
2. What is the Effects of poor Teacher-Student relationship on students’ academic performance in Biology in Pankshin LGA?
3. To what extent can we encourage students-teachers relationships in the classroom?

1.5       Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses guided the conduct of the study:

HO₁: There is no significant relationship between prevalent causes of poor teacher-student relationship and the effectiveness of teaching and learning biology.

HO₂: There is no significant impact of poor teacher-student relationship on students’ academic achievement in Biology.

1.6       Significance of the Study

The finding of this study will be of benefit and also will go a long way in helping all stakeholders of education which includes teachers, students, parents, educational planners, private organizations schools and entire system of education.

Teachers will benefit when there is an improvement in the relationship between the teachers and the students because it will serve as a sense of direction to them by helping them to understand and know the reason why students perform below standards academically. Also if the students perform very well the teachers will as well be rewarded.

Students will benefit when there is a cordial relationship between them and their teacher. More knowledge will be acquired because when there is cordial relationship the students can always go to their teacher and relate their problems to them and more emphasis will be laid on it. Also there are students  that  learns better when things are explained to them more outside the school or classroom. So when there is cordial relationship student will learn better and achieve better academically.

Parents will benefit because their wards been the students will learn better and achieve better or very well academically because parents always have great joy whenever their wards perform very well or do very well academically and also in school activities.

Educational planners will benefit when there is improvement in the relationship between students and their teacher because the educational goal that the educational planners set out will be achieved since their intention is for the schools to achieve the aims, goals and objectives, once there is positive relationship between the teachers and students, the educational goals will not only be achieved the society will have fruitful and intelligent graduates.

Private organization will benefit from improved relationship between the teacher and students because the school produces qualified and intelligent students that will be fruitful to the society as they have  related  very well with their teachers and perform very well in their academics. The private organizations will enjoy them (students) that graduate from schools because they will be focused, committed and  dedicated  in their work  when they are employed. 

1.7       Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The researcher have limited the study to effects of poor Teacher-Students relationship on academic achievement of Biology Students in Pankshin Area Directorate of Education.  The researcher encounters some constrain which limited the scope of the study;

1. Availability of research material: The research material available to the researchers is insufficient, thereby limiting the study.  
2. Time: The time frame allocated to the study does not enhance wider coverage as the researchers has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.

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.

Effects: It simply refers to a change which is a result or consequence of an action or other cause.

Poor: It typically refers to a state or condition of inadequacy, deficiency, or below-average quality. In respect to this study, it refers to a suboptimal or unsatisfactory state of teacher-student relationship or academic performance in the given context of teaching and learning biology in Pankshin LGA

Teacher-student relationship:  It simply refers to the dynamic and interaction between a teacher and their students in an educational setting.

Teaching: It refers to the concerted sharing of knowledge and experience, which is usually organized within a discipline and, more generally, the provision of stimulus to the psychological and intellectual growth of a person by another person or artifact.

Student: Is something or someone that is consider to learning. In this research, it refers to a secondary school biology learner.

Students’ academic performance: It refers to the extent to which a learner has attained their short or long-term educational goals.

Biology: It simply refers to the science that studies life, and living things, and the evolution of life. In this research, it refers to the foundational aspect of science education that deals with the impartation of the basic knowledge needed to understand science by senior secondary school students.