CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

 In-service Teachers refers to teacher involves schooling and working at the same time.

An inservice 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.

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.

There are various ways by which in-service could organize education for teacher’s instructional effectiveness. These include organizing refresher courses and school plant level.

The importance of teachers cannot be over stressed. This is because teachers play a number of roles. Specifically, teachers has been referred to by Oyedeji (2004) as an agent of innovation. For meaningful innovations, teachers’ academic qualification is very important. This is because teacher education is a very complex enterprise. The complexity arises as a result of several factors which include determination of what effective teachers are, teachers are expected to fulfil a variety of roles, some common to all teachers, others uniquely related to certain kinds of environments of students or subject matter. Added to this, is the fact that teacher education involves the training of professionals who will educate students in future. Despite the complexity in the field of teacher education, one cannot over-emphasize the importance of academic training of teachers of all categories. This is because the efficiency of any institution depends on the academic competence of the teaching staff since no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers (FGN, 2001, p. 38).

Integrated science is teaching of science in a way to present scientific ideas as a unified whole (Ajao, 1996). 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. Integrated science is an amalgamated course designed to show unity, wholeness and interrelationship of the distinct that make up science (Daudu, 2005). Integrated science syllabus is simply a collection of topic from single science (Abba, 2003). The expectation is that students combining physics with integrated science should be able to do better than those combining with computer since some of the things learnt in integrated science are in physics.

1.1BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Kwande local government actually is a colonial administrative name of Tiv ward UKONDOGH which literally translated as mountain dwellers because of its high topography, and was formally part of Katsina-Ala division. It was created by General Murtala Mohammed administration in 1976 with Adikpo as the administrative head-quarts. It comprises of Nanev, Usar, Shangev-Ya, Ikyurav-Ya and Turan district four clans. The local government has fifteen council wards and is bounded in the west by Vandeikya local government, in the south by the cross river state in the east by the republic of Cameroon and in the North West by Katsina-Ala and Ushongo local governments respectively.

It also shares a common boundary with Taraba state to the North-east. Kwande local government is the transitional belt between the tropical rain forest of the south and open grassland savannah, vegetation of the north. The entire people of Kwande local government are Christians these include the Roman Catholic and the protestants.

Kwande local government area is blessed with a number of large markets in the territory, prominent among them include Adikpo, Adagi, Ajio, Ichor, Ikyogen, Joto-Aka, Anwase, Abande, Achid, etc. in all the markets all these products mentioned above are sold in large quantity.

1.2STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

In-service teachers was set up as a result of government pronouncement that by the year (2000) the least qualification of teacher in primary school will be (NCE) Nigeria certificate in education. 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. 

1.3RESEARCH QUESTIONS.

The researcher formed some research question that will guide her to carry out this work so as to have a focal point in the study. Which the question are:

1.In-service teacher are more professional in teaching and dissemination of the duty. 

2.In-service teacher impart more to student academic performance 

3.How do you organize in-service teachers so that it will not interfere with the primary school programme?

4.How do we ensure that in-service teachers use the knowledge gained to improve the academic performance of the pupils?

1.4PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The researcher has a number of reasons for writing this project work. Some of the objectives this project is made to serve include the following 

i.To sensitize primary school teachers on the need for the in-service training.

ii.To make teachers in particular and the general public to develop a positive attitude towards in-service education.

iii.To provide a working tool for policy makers and education planners who are charged with the responsibility for in-service education.

1.5SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research work is vital in the following ways 

i.The study will investigate the effect of in-service teacher’s education on the academic performance of primary school pupils.

ii.The project work will also serve as a reference material to other researchers that may intend to undertake a similar work on effect of in-service education on academic performance of primary school pupils.