THE INFLUENCE OF ECONOMICS TEACHER’S EFFECTIVENESS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background to the Study

The topic of poor academic achievement among Nigerian students has piqued the interest of many. The situation is so severe that it has resulted in the widely acknowledged decrease in educational standards. Education has been called the "key that unlocks the door to modernisation." Observation has revealed that the situation differs at the national level. Over time, academic performance of students in both external and internal examinations has been used to determine teacher and teaching excellence (Taya, 2001).

Teachers have been shown to have a significant impact on students' academic achievement, and they also play an important role in educational attainment because the teacher is ultimately responsible for translating policy into actions and principles based on practice during interactions with students. Eze, E.N. (2011) Teachers are responsible for both teaching and learning. It's no surprise that a successful teacher has been defined as one who achieves the required results while doing his or her duties as a teacher.

Nigeria's secondary schools are in desperate need of dedicated and qualified economic teachers, especially since 1989, when the number of secondary school students in many states of the federation began to skyrocket. It should be noted that no educational system can outperform the effectiveness of its teachers, and in order for a society to change, its citizens must be committed.

This is because education allows one to gain information and skills that allow him to comprehend his difficulties and seek solutions to them. It is an ironic coincidence that, while developed countries would love and cherish economics in their schools, Nigerians in secondary and tertiary institutions are terrified of economics due to the mathematics and statistics aspects of it. This hatred has also resulted in poor performance in the senior certificate exam.

According to the Ashby commission, which was established in 1959, the first important step to consider in an attempt to train skilled labor is a well-qualified teaching staff. According to the commission, one out of every two secondary school instructors should be graduates. The panel also suggested that all Nigerian universities provide a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education (B.A (Education). It is well acknowledged that instructors are the primary factor of the quality of education received. The type of instructors who are trained and assigned to our secondary schools may easily shape the next generation.

The early agricultural, manufacturing, weaving, trade, industrial, and mercantile operations brought the civilisation that began in Egypt, Greece, and Rome. When one group acquires culture and information from another, there is a need for transaction. This exists anytime and wherever people have this sort of interaction. So, while it is still impossible to say the precise statistics, economic events have been converted into important manner in monetary terms to give opportunity for educated judgment, thus the requirement for practicing economics. (Udo, 1995) sees economics as a pursuit toward understanding those fundamental concepts and issues that economics as a subject aspires to find solutions to, such as wants, scarcity, choice, scale of preference, and opportunity cost, among others. Because these concepts and issues are so important to man's existence, proper analysis and documentation of their functional rehire is critical. It is incorrect to think that only profit-making enterprises must keep economic statistics. They are also crucial in non-profit organizations such as social clubs and motherless baby homes, among others. As company activity expands, the demand for economics and statistics in the labor market exceeds the availability of relevant economic data. This is owing to low performance in economics in the senior school certificate exams, which is caused by a lack of educated teachers.

1.2  Statement of Problem

In recent years, there has been a greater emphasis placed on pupils' success in economics in senior secondary schools. Bad performance has been linked to untrained teachers who teach economics, a lack of instructional content, a poor manner of teaching, and learners' and teachers' attitudes toward teaching and learning. Furthermore, as a result of their poor performance, students' enrolment in economics at the senior secondary school test has been low, affecting the number of students who would study pure economics in a higher institution.

According to Amafula E.U. (2001), the problem is mostly the result of poor teacher training.

1.3  Purpose of Study

The purpose of this research therefore is to determine the influence of the level of effectiveness of teacher on the students academic performance in economics also in some other subject in our secondary school.

i. To investigate how the qualification of economics teachers in senior secondary schools affect the performance of the students.

ii. To ascertain how the teachers method in teaching economics affect the student in senior secondary schools.

iii. To find out how the motivation of the teacher affect the academic performance of the students in senior secondary school.

1.4  Research Question

The following research questions are formulated as a guide to the study:-

i. To what extent does the qualification of economic teachers in senior secondary school affect the performance of the student?

ii. To what extent does the teachers method in teaching economics affect the student academic performance?

iii. How often does the teacher motivation affect the academic performance of the student?

1.5 Significance of Study

The initiative would be extremely beneficial to the government since it would serve as a working document for policy creation regarding teacher training. It will add to the current literature on student performance and teacher certification, making it useful to both instructors and students.

It would go a long way toward assisting curriculum planners in making changes to some of the items on the syllabus. It is critical for economics teachers to implement the curriculum and seek further improvements on the subject through in-service training such as attending seminars and workshops, which will aid in the improvement of their teaching method.

In this part of the country, there has been a significant increase in the number of people enrolling in economics classes in order to run their business affairs. The question is, how effective is economics teaching and learning in secondary schools in making economics understanding a reality for the average student? This study would also determine whether the goal of including more economics in the curriculum was met. This is due to the fact that economics aims to provide vocational skills that would be required for Nigeria's overall industrial and economic growth.

1.6 Delimitation of Study

The study would be limited to testing the impact of teacher’s effectiveness on student performance in economics and some other subject in senior secondary certificate examination in the government owned senior secondary school in Owerri Municipal Council of Imo State.