ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS OF STUDENT TEACHERS DURING TEACHING PRACTICES IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Of The Study

Teaching, like any other profession, has a set of services that it provides to every human society. As a result, many individuals who want to be teachers must learn the required skills and meet the requirements. Notably , one of the important aspects in a teacher education programme is students' teaching practice. Teaching practice, according to Ruairc (2017), is an essential component of becoming a teacher. In the view of  Perry(2019), teaching practice is a "integral part" of teacher education that fills up its own phase. It gives student-teachers hands-on experience in a real-world teaching and learning setting. Hence , it is known to expose student-teachers to realistic teaching practice. Notably, no student teacher is eligible for a pass grade in teaching until he or she successfully completes the required practice, which is recognized as a basic course of teacher education programs and provides student teachers with the chance to face the reality of their professional career.

In light of this, Perry (2019) asserts that as student-teachers begin their teaching practice, they experience a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, excitement, and fear. But on the other hand , student-teachers have the opportunity to convey their unique educational philosophies, theories, and understandings. In other words, this allows student-teachers to explore and evaluate their knowledge and skills in the profession of teaching and learning with an understanding of their personal educational philosophies and theories.

However, it is crucial to note that teaching practice is not always a bed of roses for student-teachers because they encounter challenges that might impede their capacity to get the most benefits from the experience.  Student teachers however face variety of challenges, particularly in developing and underdeveloped countries where teaching is disturbed by a series of issues. Geographic distance, low and uneven levels of teacher skill, a wide range of resource unavailablity, and a lack of discipline among a cross-section of learners and educators are some of these challenges (Marais and Meier 2015).

Specifically, student-teaching practice is one of several student-teacher programmes in which teaching practice is carried out over a period of time during which history student teachers are assigned to a specific institution, such as a primary or secondary school, for supervised teaching as part of the graduation and effective teaching experience requirements (Agusiobo and Udegbe 2017). Teaching practice for history student teachers is an essential component in preparing students for future teaching responsibilities. To fulfill the primary objectives of students' teaching practice, the history student-teacher is often obliged to complete at least twelve weeks of teaching practice to acquire the necessary skills that would position him/her as a competent professional teacher.

Consequently, during this period, as recorded by Maduewesi (2015), students-teachers confront a number of challenges, including classroom management, supervisors' attitudes toward student teachers, curriculum design, instruction, and environmental challenges. According to Maduewesi (2015), learning environmental variables such as unhealthy classroom environments, inadequate physical amenities in the classroom, and so on have all created significant challenges to teacher-student performance. In this sense, the physical environment includes all of the equipment, materials, furniture, and learning spaces that form the place where teachers may effectively teach. However, if all of these resources were made available to student teachers, they would be encouraged to complete the task, and the goal of teaching practice would be accomplished.

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

It is well recognized that teaching practice exposes student teachers to the real practice of teaching. During this time, student teachers are given the chance to practice the skill of teaching before entering the real world of the teaching profession (Kiggundu and Nayimuli 2016). Significantly,  teaching in general has its own set of issues that professional teachers strive to solve. In likewise manner , history student teachers are not immune to these challenges, as they face a range of difficulties when teaching. According to Kiggundu and Nayimuli (2016), these challenges limit student-teacher performance, resulting in a shallow and devastating experience throughout their teaching activities.

Those challenges according to Grace (2016), comprises of insufficient instructional materials, insufficient availability of teaching facilities, insufficient school facilities, frequent student truancy and absenteeism, mastery of the subject matter, good methodology, inability to control the classroom during teaching, over familiarity, lack of accommodation and office facilities for student teachers, and lack of cooperation from their practicing schools,  attitude of the pupils towards the student teachers, and difficulty on the part of the student teacher to manage his class effectively. Thus, this study is carried out on this note "to critically examine the problems and possible prospects of student-teachers’ teaching practice.

1.3 Objective Of The Study

 the study's overall purpose is to analyze of problems of student teachers during teaching practice in Nigeria.  Specifically, the study is set;

i.          Ascertain the key challenges experienced by history students-teachers.

ii.        Investigate the relationship between these challenges facing student-teachers and their performance.

iii.      Identify effective and implementable measures through which students' and teachers' experience can be enhanced and made more favourable.

1.4 Research Question

       The following research questions were posed in accordance with the study's objectives:

iv.      What are the problems faced by history student-teachers while on teaching practice centres?

v.        What are the challenges students-teachers encounter  during teaching practice?

vi.      What are the effective and implementable measures through which students' teacher experience can be enhanced and made more favourable?

1.5 Significance of the Study

Students-teachers, lecturers, colleges of education and universities, and future researchers will benefit from this study. The major beneficiaries of this research epistle are student teachers, in the sense that the study will familiarize them with the programme's challenges and possible solutions to such challenges. This will enable them to be better graduates, more prepared to tackle the challenges of teaching. Through this study, supervisors of teaching practices and cooperating school teachers will become acquainted with the best and most effective ways of assisting student teachers to realize or achieve the objectives of teaching practice. The study will aid colleges and universities in preparing their students for teaching practice by providing them with the fundamentals of teaching. It will also aid in the development of solutions to the difficulties and, as a result, in the modification of the programme. Finally, future researchers will find the study useful as a reference for further research on related topics.

1.6 Scope Of The Study

The study will analyze of problems of student teachers during teaching practice in Nigeria. The study, however, will be specifically focused on identifying the key challenges faced by student-teachers in the course of carrying out their teaching practice. More so, the study will outline the possible means through which these challenges and unpalatable situations can be surmounted. The study will be limited to the secondary schools in  Ini local government, Akwa ibom State; hence, the respondents for the study will be obtained from  students-teachers in selected secondary schools in Ini local government.

1.7       Limitation Of The Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. More so, the findings of this study is limited to the sample population in the study area, hence may not be suitable used in comparison to other schools, local governments, states and other countries of the world.

1.8 Definition Of Terms

Teaching: The act of giving out instruction for the purpose of imparting knowledge from one person to another or a group of people.

Learning: Learning means to gain knowledge of skill by study.

Teaching practice: teaching practice is the training for teaching or any education work are engaged in a specified period of time on graduation under a supervisor or supervisor guiding, directing and assessing trainee teacher.

Student teacher: This is a student still undergoing teachers' education, which is being sent out to school as part of his or her training in the college.