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TEACHERS INPUT AS DETERMINANT OF STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ECONOMICS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

The impact of education to the modern society can not be over emphasized as the development of education is closely linked with  the development of any nation. The economic value of education started to generate greater analytical attention, When it becomes clear that a substantial part of economic progress made especially in the early 19th century by the industrialized nations and very recently by the Asian tigers could be attributed to the development of their educational system.

This view of what education is and it importance made many nations across the globe to define ideals of government as regards the education of its citizens. It is sad to note that, Nigeria is still far from running an educational system that prepares the country and its citizens for meaningful development.

In the past, teaching was one of the best professions in which teachers are highly respected, well paid and honoured for their jobs by both parents, students and the entire community. Unlike today, the reverse is the case. The group of people who now find themselves in the teaching profession are unqualified.  particularly a considerable number of teachers who handle economics at the secondary school level lack the basic relevant mathematical, statistical, economic concept and graphical knowledge essential to develop in students understanding  of problems, choices and opportunity cost facing individuals, government , society and upon which later theories can be built.

The few teachers who are qualified to effectively handle the subject are underpaid, ill-motivated and sometimes over worked which made them not to put in their best. Consequently, this resulted into poor academic performance of students in economics in the external examination  in the past years. West Africa examination council (WAEC) media head at the national office IYI UWADIAE told a press conference in Lagos in july 2011 that “  the 2010 Nov/Dec WASSCE result released, the majority of the students could not score above two credits”  it was further reported by an internet website Naijarules.com that according to the media head ‘a total of 133,507 candidates, representing 43.06 percent obtained credits and above in English language while 151,569 candidates, which  is about 48.88 percent of the total candidates, obtained credits and above in mathematics’.

From the official result released by the examination body for the core subjects, with economics as a subject and others not been reported it can be infer that students performance in these subjects are very low which necessitate it not been reported.

Obviously, teachers have been shown to have important influence on student's academic achievement and they also play a crucial role in educational attainment because  teachers are ultimately responsible for translating policies into actions and principle based on the practice during interaction with the students (AFE 2001).

Effective teaching and learning depends on the quality of teachers; no wonder an effective teacher has been viewed as one who produces desired results in the course of his duty as a  teacher.

In view of  the paramount roles teachers play in inculcating enduring and functional learning into the students, thus necessitate a probe into the  teachers input as determinant of students academic performance in economics

1.2      STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

There have been some observation on the student’s in senior secondary class having difficulties in understanding of graphical and mathematical concepts which make them to show some kind of  hatred for certain topics in economics and economics as a subject. This could be attributed to ineffective use of instructional materials in the teaching and learning of graphs and method adopted in teaching the mathematical aspect of it. The research intend to look at these factors and many others during the course of this study.

1.3      PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of this research is to look into the teachers input as determinant of students academic performance and also the effective use of instructional materials in the teaching and learning by students. There is the need to encourage the use of instructional materials in teaching and learning by students and to highlight the importance of using instructional materials in teaching the students.

1.4      RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following formulated hypothesis would be tested

1-  There is no significant relationship between teachers input and academic performance

2-  There is no significant relationship between method of teaching and student academic performance

3-  There is no significant relationship between teacher competence and preparation in academic performance

1.5      SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is quite clear that the findings and implementation of recommendations arising from this study will contribute to improved academic performance, social and psychological satisfaction of students and impact positively on the standard of the nation’s educational system mostly at a period when the sector is in dear need of reform.

The research will therefore be of great assistance to teachers, educational administrators, curriculum planners and policy makers in the education sector. The findings of this study will be of great value in enhancing teachers performance during instructional process and promote students-teacher classroom interaction for effective teaching learning process.

It is my hope that my findings at the end of this project would help proffer a veritable working tool for teachers in their daily teaching business in order to deliver qualitative teaching during classroom session so as to raise the standard of the education.

1.6      SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study shall cover five senior secondary schools within Kosofe local government area of Lagos state

1.7      LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Due to time and financial constraint are the major limitation facing the conduct of the study. Distance in terms of spreading of schools across the community and distance among them is a great challenge for the conduct of the study.

1.8      OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

It is important to explain certain key words that occur in this paper especially as they are used in this write up.

-      Input: according to Cambridge university press 2008, advanced learner dictionary third edition, it defines input as something as energy, money or information that is put into a system, organization or machine so that it can operate.

-      Teachers input: this is what teacher gives the student and all actions taken by the teacher to ensure that effective teaching and learning takes place within the classroom setting.

-      Academic performance: it is defined as the display of knowledge attained or skills developed in school subjects designated by test and examination scores or marks assigned by the subject teachers.

-      Instructional planning: it is the process by which teachers decide how best to select and organize a learning experience to maximize both teacher and student achievement and satisfaction.

-      Instructional materials: these are kind of tools or equipment which can help effectively the instructor in theory teaching, classroom or in practical assessment

-      Methodology/methods: it is a means or pattern adopted by the teacher in passing message across to the students

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