A CORRELATION OF STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN BIOLOGY AND THE QUALITY OF BIOLOGY TEACHERS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
ABSTRACT
The study investigated teachers’ quality as correlates of students’ academic performance in Biology in senior secondary schools in Ogun State. To guide the study, four research questions were raised, as well as two hypotheses were tested.Simple random sampling technique was used to collect data from two hundred respondents. A validated questionnaire titled “Teachers Quality as correlates of student Academic performance with the use of T-test techniques and chi-square for analysis. From the data analysis, it was revealed that; the role of professionally qualified/trained teachers is an important teacher quality which enhances students’ academic achievement in Biology, teaching methods adopted by the teachers significantly influence achievement of the behavioural objectives. Several schools in the population of the study lacked modern instructional materials without which effective teaching and learning cannot be utilized and teachers’ experience significantly influence students’ academic performance.Capacity building forms a major aspect of teachers’ experience that is yet to be given adequateattention. Its importance cannot be over emphasized in view of senior secondary school students’ poor performance in both internal and external examinations. Based on these findings, the study suggested the review of teachers’ education and certification programmes to enable it to meet with internal education standard at various level of educational process.
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
There is no gain saying 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 heart breaking that despite the key role and much emphasis, being laid on Biology, students at 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 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 to poor performance of students. Bassey (2005) attributed this syndrome in educational sector to 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 wrong location of market place, highway, airport, industrial areas constitute an academic unfriendly environment for learners.
