Impact Of Teacher-competence On Students’ Achievement In English Language

1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

In this study, the following hypothesis will be tested:

1. There will be no significant relationship between teacher’s mastery of content and students’ academic performance in schools.

2. There will be no significant relationship between teaching methods and students’ academic performance in schools.

3. There will be no significant difference in student’s academic performance due to teachers’ educational qualifications in schools.

4. There will be no significant difference between teachers’ years of experience and students’ academic performance in schools.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be of great benefit to the following:

(1) Teachers: They would benefit from the findings and recommendations of this study because it will give them an insight on how to carry out their jobs in the school. It will enable teachers to be more productive in doing their daily job of teaching and learning. With this study, many teachers would be-oriented in the art of teaching knowing fully well that the way they teach will affect students’ academic achievement in schools.

(2) Students: They would benefit from the study because it will help them to have the understanding that their teachers required to be an exemplary one, if his/her teaching experiences would be of great benefit to the child or the student. With the findings and the recommendations of this study, students would be able to identify teachers who “cheat” as a result of incompetences and real teachers of note in the school system. With this study also, students would be able to know that they need to be taught by trained and experienced teachers if they would put up high performances in their academic careers.

(3) Parents: They would learn that the careers of their children hang in the balance, if they are being coached by unprofessional, inexperienced teachers. With this study, parents would be able to know that there is a great difference between the academic achievement of students who are taught by well trained teachers and those taught by non-trained, inexperienced teachers.

(4) Society: The society will be able to understand the difference in the academic performance of children taught by two types of teachers (the trained and the untrained) in the school system. This is because the society benefits if the children are well brought up by a well trained teacher. Students will be well behaved apart from the exhibition of high academic achievement, and this will better the lots of the society.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study will cover the impact of teacher-competence on academic achievement of students in selected Senior Secondary Schools in Mainland Local Government Area of Lagos State, Nigeria.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Teaching competence: This is the expertise of the teacher in English language or any other course taught in schools. It means in order words, the mastery of teaching contents and the methodology in classroom presentation of English language.

Education: Education is derived from the Latin word “educare” which means to draw out. Education is therefore defined as a process of drawing out and developing the potentialities of an individual.

Teaching: Hyman (1990) sees teaching as the art and practice of imparting to a learner knowledge, skills, values and norms that will be useful to the total development of the individual.

Training: This refers to giving a course of specific instruction or practice to a learner with the purpose to shape, develop or acquire appreciable habits.