A CORRELATION OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN BIOLOGY AND THE QUALITY OF BIOLOGY TEACHERS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IFO LOCAL GOVERNMENT, AREA, OGUN STATE.
CHAPTER ONEÂ 1.1Â Â Â Â Â Â
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
There is no gainsaying about the fact that Biology occupies a very sensitive position in medical science and related disciplines. This informs several efforts geared towards studying biology at a secondary level of education. It is, however, very disheartening and heartbreaking that despite the key role and much emphasis, being laid on Biology, students at the secondary school level of education are still performing woefully in this subject and this has been an issue of great concern to stakeholders in education, most especially those in the field of science. This has been attributed to a myriad of factors such as poor parenting, poor attitude of students towards their studies. Bassey (2005) opined that several problems are associated with conventional methods of teaching. This indirectly results in poor performance of students. Bassey (2005) attributed this syndrome in the educational sector to a lack of perceived competence among the learners. However, Adegbite (2000) and Olaleye (1985) views on the causes of poor performance differs. They posited very strongly that the wrong location of the market place, highway, airport, industrial areas constitute an academic unfriendly environment for learners.
Agusibo (2008) asserted that many schools lack the necessary facilities for teaching generally. She however opines that the theoretical aspect of teaching alone will not make learners know the rudimentary fact of most science subjects, particularly Biology. She, therefore, made a clarion call to all the key players, international organizations like the United State Agency for international development, United Nation International Children Education Fund to render invaluable services by rescuing most schools by making available qualified teachers of Biology and making available supportive services for the teaching of Biology and other science subjects.
1.2Â Â Â Â Â Â STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The roles of the teachers in students’ performance cannot be over-emphasized. The progressive decline in secondary school students’ academic performance has raised a lot of questions as regards Nigeria’s educational system, of which the qualities of teachers are a key factor. Agusibo (2008), however observing that the absence of qualified teachers to teach Biology does contribute significantly to the poor performance of students in Biology. This seems to be corroborated by the West African Examination Council (2009) report on Biology, most especially. It is an obvious and glaring fact that in most of the secondary schools in Nigeria, some teachers teaching this subject are not professionally qualified. The professional qualifications required of any teacher in Nigeria are NCE, BSc (Ed), B.Ed, or PGDE in cases where teachers are not professionally qualified. On a general note, teachers without adequate educational backgrounds have been found to be ineffective in terms of instructional delivery competence. It is against this background; this study was carried out to ascertain the quality of Biology teachers as correlates to students’ performance in Biology of senior secondary schools in Ifo Local Government area of Ogun State.
1.3Â Â Â Â Â Â OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The broad objective of this study is to investigate the role which the teachers’ quality plays on students’ academic performance in Biology of Senior Secondary Schools in Ifo Local Government Area, Ogun State, Nigeria. This research work specifically sought to:
i.                   Find out what teachers’ quality entails
ii.                 Ascertain whether teachers’ experience enhances the better performance of students in Biology.
iii.               Examine whether teachers' use of appropriate instructional materials improves students’ academic performance.
1.4Â Â Â Â Â Â SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The findings of the study will broaden students’ knowledge, steer up their interest in Biology and improve the teaching skills of teachers in various senior secondary schools in the study area and Nigeria at large. It is hoped that the findings of this study will build a proper link between students’ academic performance in Biology in Ogun State and the quality needed for teachers’ effectiveness in handling this subject across the state.
1.5Â Â Â Â Â Â RESEARCH QUESTIONS
To effectively carry out this research, the following questions were raised.
i.                   Do students perform better when taught by professionally trained teachers than when taught by non-professional teachers?
ii.                 Does teachers’ experience enhance the better performance of students in Biology?
iii.               Does the availability and appropriate use of instructional materials affect the performance of students in Biology?
iv.               Does a teacher’s language of communication influence students’ academic performance in Biology?
1.6Â Â Â Â Â Â RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
The following hypothesis has been formulated to guide this research work.
Ho1:    There is no significant relationship between Biology teachers’ methodology and the academic performance of students.
Ho2:    There is no significant effect of teachers’ motivational techniques on the performance of students in Biology.
1.7Â Â Â Â Â Â SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study is limited to the teachers’ quality as correlates of students’ academic performance in Biology in Senior Secondary Schools in the Ifo Local Government area of Ogun State. It also investigates the impact of instructional materials and methodology used by teachers as it aids students’ academic performance and achievement. The study is conducted in senior secondary schools within Ifo Local Government Area, Ogun State.
Â1.8Â Â Â Â Â Â LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY
The limitations of this study have been attributed to lack of funds and time, which have necessarily limited the access to the number of schools and teachers in this study, also participation and cooperation from teachers in the schools were part of the constraints
1.9Â Â Â Â Â Â DEFINITION OF TERMS
TEACHER: A person who provides education for students (school teacher).
TEACHERS’ QUALITY: This includes reviews of qualifications test of teachers’ knowledge, teaching methods, use of instructional materials, observations of practice, and measurements of students learning gains.
STUDENTS PERFORMANCE:Â This is the outcome of education the extent to which a student has achieved their educational goals.Â
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