SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND TEACHERS ATTITUDE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENT IN BIOLOGY (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Attitude as a concept is concerned with an individual way of thinking, acting and behaving. It has very serious implications for the learner, the teacher, and the immediate social group with which the individual learner relates and the entire school system. It is also the concept which arises from the attempt to account for the observer regularities in the behavior of individual person.
Attitudes are formed as a result of some kind of experiences. This is mimicry or imitation which also has a part to play in the teaching and learning situation. in this respect, the learner draws from his teachers disposition to form his own attitude which may likely affect his learning outcomes.
Bandura (1971) demonstrated that behaviours are acquired by watching another person ( the model, the teacher, parent, mentor, friend) that pattern the behaviour. The model displays it and the learner observes and tries to imitate it. Teachers are invariably role models whose behaviours are easily copied by students. What teachers like or dislike, appreciate and how they feel about their learning or studies could have a significant effect on their students. Unfortunately, many teachers seldom realize that how they teach, how they behave and how they interact with students can be more paramount than what they teach.
Chidolue (1986) found that teachers’ attitude towards Biology teaching is one of the major contributors towards explaining the variance in the students’ cognitive achievement. Teachers’ attitude towards the teaching of Biology plays a significant role in shaping the student attitude towards the learning of Biology. Ogunniyi(1972) found that students’ positive attitude towards science could be enhanced by the following teachers- related factor.
- Teachers’ enthusiasm
- Teachers’ resourcefulness and helpful behaviour
- Teachers’ thorough knowledge of the subject matter and their making science quite interesting.
From the above, we can say that the role of a teacher as facilitator of learning and their contribution o students’ achievement is enormous.
Bajah (1991) was of the opinion that the success of our science programme depends on the classroom teacher as he is the one that translates all our thoughts into action. It can be argued to some extent that the teachers’ characteristics, their experience and behaviour in the classroom contribute to the learning environment of their students which in turn will have an effect on the student’s outcome. Furthermore, more experienced teachers are considered to be more able to concentrate on the most appropriate way to teach particular topic to students who defer in their ability, prior knowledge and backgrounds (Raudenbush and Bryk 1991;Stringfield and Jeddlie, 1991).
Ejiogu (1999) wasof the view that in order to improve on any aspect of education it is therefore imperative to involve a well articulated teacher education programme that will prepare the teacher for the leadership role they are expected to play. The importance of teacher in the meaningful education at all levels is reflected in the national policy on education (2004). As it declares that no education system rises above the quality of its teachers. This declaration in the policy document underscores the need for teacher effectiveness in our school.
