ABSTRACT
This study focused on teacher evaluation and students’ academic performance in junior secondary schools in Katsina State. Teacher evaluation here implies teacher qualification, teacher experience and workshop, seminar and conferences attendance. Three objectives, research questions and hypotheses each were established, raised and formulated. The study adopted surveying method and a total of seventy teachers and three-hundred fifty students were involved. Two instruments were structural questionnaire and achievement test administered for the teacher and students respectively. The finding of the study revealed that, teacher experience, qualification, workshop, seminar and conference attendance significantly affected students‟ performance in social studies leading to the rejection of all the three null hypotheses. Based on the finding, the study revealed that teacher’s qualification significantly affected students‟ academic performance. It is recommended that experience teacher with requisite qualification and regular attendance of workshops, seminars and conferences be given priority. The study recommended that workshops, seminars be organized on regular basis to enable social studies teachers keep abreast with contemporary happening in their areas of specialization.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Teacher evaluation is a function of human decision-making resulting from a value judgment about how good or weak a particular work performance is using information that compares the actual work performance with predetermined performance standards (Grobler, 2013). Appraisal comes from the work “praise” (to express warm approbation) in an effort to make teacher evaluation more palatable. Common synonyms for evaluation are assessment and appraisal.
Teacher evaluation is normative in nature because a value judgment is given. This value judgment must be weighed against definite criteria of fairness and should always fulfill a certain function (Danielson, 2011). Teacher evaluation fulfills two main functions namely; a formative function for the development of professional teaching skills and a summative function for selection and as a basis for grading and promotion (Isore, 2009).
Teacher self-evaluation is considered as a prime means of professional optimization (Piggott-Irvine, 2013). School leaders also have a crucial role in engaging teachers in self-reflection about their own practice, and in developing a culture of evaluation alongside ambitious goals, according to the school context and challenges. The majority of schools have implemented annual discussions between school leaders and teachers to evaluate the fulfillment of the personal objectives set up during the previous year and to establish further personal objectives (UNECO, 2007 as cited in Isore, 2009).
In Nigeria, the current teacher evaluation system is often describe as ‘not very fair’, ‘not very efficient’, and ‘generating malaise and sometimes suffering’ for both evaluated teachers and evaluators, because it is based on administrative procedures rather than a comprehensive scheme with a clear improvement purpose. Teacher evaluation is supposed to be undertaken on a regular basis, as an integral part of the work and duties of the teacher. Secondary level teachers are evaluated by a panel composed of an inspector and the school principal (Okumbe, 2009).
However, the intended frequent evaluations often fall short of expectations. First, the frequency of evaluations is not legally fixed, and is arbitrarily determined by the inspectors’ availability. This is a cause for concern regarding the fairness of the system-because teachers working under the same rules receive feedback at diverse intervals- as well as regarding its efficacy – the average interval between two evaluations being 6-7 years in secondary education, deemed much too long.
Moreover, the workload is such that concerns might be raised regarding the value of the feedback. An inspector takes responsibility for between 350 and 400 teachers’ practices. As a consequence, the inspectors themselves report malaise and frustration associated with the evaluation process, mainly because they feel that they have little impact on teaching practices and cannot develop their competences and skills for teaching enhancement. Their role is sometimes de facto restricted to control the abuses within the profession. Evidence on the teacher’s practice is gathered through the o observation of a teaching session, followed by an interview with the teacher (Pochard 2008 as cited in Isore, 2009).
As a Social Studies teacher and scholar, the researcher observed through experiences for many years that teachers teaching Social Studies are not well qualified in employing and exploring the method of teaching Social Studies instruction which has resulted to student’s negative perceptions and poor performance. As such it is against this background, therefore that the researcher was motivated to carry out an investigation in order to find out the impact of teacher evaluation on the academic performance of junior secondary school students in social studies. There is the need for teachers to use various teaching methods aimed at enhancing effective classroom management and control instead of using one single method which will lead to monotony and loss of interest from the learners.
1.2. Statement of the Problem
It is surprising that despite the efforts of government, individuals and non-government agencies in enhancing the educational development in Nigeria, the academic performance of students has declined greatly. This maybe caused due to the problem of evaluation of teachers, lack of appraisal of classroom environment, problem of evaluation of teachers professional responsibilities and lack of appraisal of teachers on classroom instruction (service delivery). If this is not checkmated, our graduates from the secondary schools may not be employable and those who may further in their University Education may experience difficulties because of their background. Consequently, our educational system will not attain its objective of producing qualified and competent product. Therefore, this research work will seeks to examine teacher evaluation and students’ academic performance in secondary schools. Therefore Social Studies as a subject should enable young people to understand their own complex industrial world. Social Studies is a subject that deals with the comprehensive study of man in relation to his social and physical environments and he deliberately applied science and technology in order to make the society a better place to live.
The problem of teaching and learning of Social Studies in Junior Secondary Schools is of colossal magnitude which this study attempts to analyze, because the National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004) identified Social Studies as an integrated subject which students must undergo at Junior Secondary School level to prepare them for social science based courses at Senior Secondary Schools (S.S.S.). However, for the subject to be fully appreciated by the students and to have higher performance in the subject the researcher feels that there is a need for using teacher evaluation, experience and teachers attendance of workshops, seminars and conferences to measure the performance of junior secondary school students in Social Studies.
1.4. Objective of the Study
The research study aimed to investigate the impact of teacher evaluation as variables on the academic performance of Junior Secondary School students in social studies in Katsina State. The present study sets out to achieve the following objectives:
- To find out whether teachers‟ qualification affects Junior Secondary School
academic performance in Katsina state.
- Whether teachers‟ experience in teaching affects Junior Secondary students‟
academic performance in Social Studies, in Katsina state
- Whether teacher attending workshops, seminars and conferences affect Junior
Secondary School Students‟ academic performance in Social Studies in the state.
1.5. Research Questions
The study attempts to find out answers to the following questions:
- Does teachers‟ qualification affect junior secondary school student’s academic performance in Social Studies in Katsina state?
- Does teacher’s experience affect junior secondary school students‟
performance in Social Studies in Katsina State?
- Do teacher’s training/attendance of workshops, seminars and conferences
affects junior secondary school students‟ academic performance in Social Studies in the state?
1.6. Research Hypotheses
Based on the above research questions, the researcher stated the following as the research hypotheses:
Ho1 There is no significant relationship between the teachers‟ academic qualification and student’s academic performance in Social Studies in Junior Secondary School students in Katsina State.
Ho2. There is no significance relationship between the teachers‟ teaching experience and their students‟ academic performance in Social Studies in Katsina state.
Ho3 There is no significant relationship between teachers attendance of workshop/seminar/conferences and students‟ academic performance in Social Studies.
1.7. Significance of the Study
This research is significant in the area of Social Studies Education for the fact that its findings will contribute immensely to researchers, teachers, curriculum planners and educational administrators. Above all it will serve to improve the teaching of the subject and a better student’s academic performance in social studies in the state.
The finding of the study will help and emphasise to the Social Studies teachers to further their education to a high standard, that is from NCE level up to PhD level, so that to foster learning and improve students‟ academic performance in the subject. The research will also help to generate more researches as related to teacher evaluation as they relate to Social Studies. It will also serve to encourage the researchers to research more of teaching qualities in the improvement of teaching and students academic performance in Social Studies. It will be of help to curriculum planners in the sense that, the importance of teacher as a teaching variables and the teaching of Social Studies and improvement in the students‟ academic performance will serve as suggestions so that when they are reviewing the Social Studies curriculum every topic should be accompanied with suggested teaching qualities experienced in employing teachers to teach social studies. Finally, it will help the educational administrators in the sense that it will highlight the need for the provision of sending the social studies teachers to further their education, and they should be sponsored by the government. It will also serve to highlight the needs for administrators to encourage and support teachers to be attending seminars, conferences, and workshops on social studies.
It will also serve to educational inspectors to encourage Social Studies teachers to be using suitable teaching method and suitable instructional materials to be used and their improvisation in the teaching of the subject.
1.8. The Scope of the study
This study is restricted to Government Junior Secondary Schools in Katsina State and it will only focus on “impact of teacher evaluation on the academic Performance of Junior Secondary School Students in Social Studies in with particular attention to Social Studies teachers. This scope is cumulatively built upon the fact that the study seeks to justify the academic performance of junior secondary school students with regard to the availability of qualified social studies teachers, sufficient social studies teachers, experience social studies teachers and furthering of their education from national certificate in education (NCE) to PhD degree level so that to improved the teaching of the subject in the state.
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