CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1          THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

At the centre of any meaningful education system stands a teacher. Teachers serves as the nerve of education. They serve not only as the conveyor of knowledge but also as the passage through which knowledge passes to learners. Following from this, Taylor (2004) says that the role of teachers in the society lies at the heart of intellectual and social life’s. it is through teachers that each generation comes to the term with its heritage, produces new knowledge and learns to deal with change. This is true because For Tropps (2002) education is concerned with knowledge, with skills, with persons, with relationships between persons, and with values. Simultaneously, teachers are involved in these different facets of education all their working lives and everyday. Supporting this view. Castle (1999) says that it is in the person of the teacher rather than in the curriculum or organization of the school that all these aspects of education is harmonized. Adding to this, Alaezi (1999) describes teachers as those involved in the act of changing human behavior and transformation of society for better. Thus, teachers bring out into reality the potent or hidden knowledge in man. This makes Okon and Anderson (2000) to see a teacher as a dispenser of knowledge and facilitator of learning and model. As a dispenser of knowledge, this makes Kay (1998) to perceive a teacher as one who forms in every young man and woman, so far as he can, an ethical sensitiveness and a teacher from economic point of view, Wilson (2000) says that a teacher is a manager, director or salesman of indeterminate commodity. From mechanical model, he sees a teacher as a graduate greaser whose task is simply to keep the machinery of administration moving with education occurring as an incidental by production. All these made Ejunjiobi (2007) to say that, the teacher in the course of his teaching helps students to acquire, retain and be able to use knowledge, understand, analyze, synthesize and evaluate skill, establish habits and develop attitudes.

The above explanations and definitions which outlined the roles of a teacher show that the works of a teacher are enormous and challenging. The challenging and arduous tasks of teaching require that a science teacher should be hardworking, careful, attentive, strict and severe in carrying out his duties and dealing with students. However, there are still some teachers who show laxity and indolence in their duties.

Exposing these types of teachers, Basslier (2001) says that the failing standard of education in Nigeria is to a large extent caused by non commitment of some teachers to their duties. For him, some teachers do not attend classes even when they are in the school due to laziness. Some teachers exhibit lackadaisical attitude and laxity toward their primary duties as teachers. The laxity and indolence of science teachers in secondary schools have great implications to educational growth in general and academic performances of science students in particular.

Agwu (2001) blames the ugly incidents of laxity and indolence of secondary school science teachers on the following factors: lack of knowledge of the subject matters of the science subjects by science teachers, lack of proper supervision and inspection of the science teachers by the principal and ministry of education inspectorate unit, poor and inadequate motivation of the science teachers by the school management and the government; students’ poor attitude towards the science teachers and science subjects; lack of science equipments; and infrastructures in the schools and poor attitude to more by some science teachers.

Lending support to this, Nwankwo (2004) says that a well qualified staff is the first to train manpower, but in our schools today, many science teachers lack good knowledge of the subject matters of their subjects and relevant information to affect teaching, science teacher’s laxity of relevant information can be blamed on inadequate training and laxity, as well as, indolence of the teachers to acquire adequate knowledge when they were in the schools. Due to these deficiencies some science teachers cannot impart the contents of their subjects to the students. They cannot use facts relevantly to satisfy the nature and objectives of their subjects. This leads them to be dodging classes in order to conceal their ignorance of the content of the subject matters of their subjects.

Lack of proper supervising and inspecting of science teachers’ records, like; their daily attendance, to school, lesson notes, dines etc, create avenues for the laxity and indolence of the teachers. This Lacuna can lead to the truancy of the teachers is the school.

Fafunwa (1998) says also that laxity and indolence of the science teachers can be as a result of lack of motivation by the schools and different tiers of government. He says that inadequate motivations being given to teachers, such as poor salaries, poor allowances delayed promotions, and other incentives make teachers to grumble while they do their work. This ugly situation has led many teachers to engage in other works, like Okada riding, and trading, during the school period. All these are to make ends to meet. He concludes that working on earth and waiting for their rewards in heaven leads to the laxity and indolence of the science teachers.

Another discouraging factor that can lead science teachers to laxity and indolence in secondary schools is lack of science equipments and teaching aids for science subjects. These facilities are needed in school because according Dewey (2006), thinking arises but of practical needs and it is only through action that knowledge is acquired and progress mad possible. Rusk (1999) also opines that effective and integral thinking is possible only where experimental method in some form is used. In fact, it is quite discouraging to teach science subjects without science equipments. This can make teachers to be tried and lack interest to teach always.

Student’s poor attitude to the teachers of science and to the science subjects can be discouraging and lead some science teachers to laxity and indolence. Udeijofor (2006) point out that some science students have short attention span or lack of concentration, and in ability to manage abstract ideas and symbols. These lead to their inability to easily absorb and retain knowledge. These sets of students sometimes become stumbling blocks to the science subjects classes. This can make the science teacher to develop the spirit of laxity and indolence in their work. Some teachers are naturally lazy and cannot efficiently cope with their daily activities, in spite of any threat or punishment. Their indolence an laxity is natural and their nothing to do than to tolerate them.   

Laxity and indolence of science teachers have great implications on the academic performances of the students in secondary schools. Ukeje (1998) itemized some of these implications as non-coverage of contents in scheme of work, non giving and marking of assignments, non – organization of practical lesions, non – giving of extra – lessons, non  assignment of learning outcome regularly and non taking of students but of filed experience. These lapses make students to have limited knowledge of the contents of the subjects that constitute science subjects. Consequently, this lends the students to poor performance in both their internal and external examination. Students are also sacred away by the poor handling of the science subjects as “hand subjects” Ezeadi (2007) further added that students and loose interest on the poorly handled science subjects and prefer playing truancy to school. The laxity and indolence of some science teachers kills the interest of many students and this has great consequences to the nation building at large.

If students confines to run away from science subjects, the technological advancement of this nation can be impeded. Science according to Rose house (2008) is the effort to discover and increase human understanding of how the physical world works. Otiji (2008) also pin-points the essence of science in the society as to produce useful models of reality and that is a systematized body of knowledge which consist of  facts and principles, which explains main’s environment. These definitions show that science is too important subject to study by the secondary school students. This fact makes it imperative for science subject teachers to be dedicated to their teachings. This is necessary  because according to Ozofor (2004), when the process of making knowledge ceases, science subsides into static or recessive  tradition. The static or excessiveness of the students in particular and society in general. The benefits of the study of science subjects are enormous and as such the study of the cause and implications of laxity and indolence of science teachers on the secondary school students performances is necessary.   

1.2          STATEMENT OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEMS

Science as a dynamic human activity is concerned with understanding of the working of the world, needs to be given much attention in both the teaching and learning of the content of its subject matters. This fact calls for adequate knowledge of the science teachers in the content of the subject matters. The problem here remains that some science teachers who laxity adequate knowledge of the content of their subject matters manifest laxity and indolence in their duties. These types of teachers cannot enthusiastically attend their classes and teacher effectively to their students in order to lead them to the full knowledge of the content of the science subjects. Again, a poorly paid teacher cannot be active in attendance to school and serious with his teaching. Definitely can leads to laxity and indolence of science teachers.  

The gross lack of infrastructures, like science laboratory and science equipments in some schools as well as, lack of interests of the students in the science subjects lead science teachers in these type of schools to laxity and indolence. This is true because the teachers cannot work with empty hand.

Science subjects are vast and need constant research, experimentation, giving of assignments and marking and general commitment of the science teachers. There is great possibility that a science teacher who show laxity and indolence can never meet up with the coverage of the contents in the scheme of work and the required practical lessons. This will consequently lead to students. Poor knowledge of the contents of the subject matter of the science subjects and failure to achieve this leads also to poor academic performance of the students in both internal and external examinations. Moreover, the laxity and indolence of the science teachers can also lead students to play truancy in their attendance to classes and school. All these are great problems to be resolved.

Lack of commitment to the teaching and learning of science subjects can retard the technological growth of the nation. If this happens, it becomes a great problem, because it will impede the development of the country and living standard of the populace.   

1.3          PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is to find out principals perception of causes and implications of laxity and indolence among science teachers in the academic of secondary school students in Enugu Educational zone.

The specific objectives of the study are to find out the level to which these factors affect teaching and learning.

i.      Lack of knowledge of the contents of the subject matters of science subjects and lack of proper supervision and inspection leads to laxity and indolence.

ii.     Lack of motivation, poor attitude of science facilities and equipments lead science to laxity and indolence.

iii.  The laxity and indolence of science teachers make students to have poor and limited knowledge of science subjects.

iv.  The laxity and indolence of the science teachers lead to poor academic performance of the students and their lack of interest on the subjects.

v.    The bad examples on the attitude to work set by laxity and indolence of science teachers make students to be playing truancy to their class attendance and school in general.

vi.  The laxity and indolence of science teachers lead to their non-coverage of the scheme of works and to find solutions among science teachers and poor academic performance of the students.  

1.4          SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the finding of the causes of laxity and indolence among science teachers and their implications on the academic performance of secondary school students in Enugu educational zone. The scope will also covers possible solutions to the science teachers’ laxity and indolence and poor academic performance of students in secondary schools in the area of study.

1.5          SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study will be of immense benefit to the school administrators, science teachers, researchers in the related filed and the researchers themselves.

The study will be of immense help to the school administrators because it points out to them the causes of laxity and indolence, and their implications. The knowledge will help them to know how to manage their schools especially the teachers. The findings and solutions proffered by the study will be of immense help to them to curb the laxity and indolence of their teachers. The study pointed out the applications of laxity and indolence of science teachers. These findings show the serious implication of laxity and indolence of science teachers in the academic performance of the students. These findings will ginger the school administrators and state ministry of education and post

The study will be of immense help to other researcher in the field or elated fields. This is true because the findings of this study provide sound foundation to any new research on the related topics. The information provided by this study will be of great to the authors of this research.

The findings of the study will also be of great relevance to t he authors of the study. This is because in the process of conduction this research they have acquired an inept knowledge on the causes and application of laxity and indolence among science tenders. As students – in – training, this will help them on time to know the need of imbibing all necessary teaching methodologies and to acquire the right contents of their subjects this will help them to be effective, creative and sourceful in their teachings. The findings of the study will help them to correct themselves on good time and make sure that they do not become lazy and carefree in discharging their duties.  

1.6          RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The researchers formulated the following research questions to aid them in the research.

1)             Do lack of knowledge of the content of the subject matter in science subjects, lack of adequate supervision and inspection lead science teachers in secondary schools in Enugu education zone to laxity and indolent?

2)             Do lack of motivation of science teachers by the school management and government and poor attitude of science students to class lead science teachers to laxity and indolence?

3)             Do lack of adequate science infrastructures and science equipments in secondary schools in Enugu Educational zone discourage science teachers and lead them to laxity and indolence?

4)             To what extent do laxity and indolence of the science teachers generally affect the teaching and learning of science subjects in the secondary schools in Enugu Educational zone?

5)             Do you think that laxity and indolence of science teachers lead students in secondary schools in Enugu Educational zone to have poor and limited knowledge of the content in science topics and to perform poorly in their examinations.

6)             Do laxity and indolence of science teachers teach students in secondary schools in Enugu Educational zone bad example on attitude to academic work and encourages the students to play truancy in their schools?

7)             What are the possible solutions to the science teachers laxity and indolence and their implications to students’ academic performance in the secondary schools in Enugu Educational zone?

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