CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Since the middle of the twentieth century, the competence of teachers has become a hot topic of discussion around the globe. In a research, Rivkin, S., Hanushek, E., & Kain, J. (2005) found that the impact of instructors' quality on students' success is several times bigger than any other generally seen variable such as home background, suitable classroom climate, and so on. The standard of teachers is a high-priority subject. Teacher quality varies greatly across countries and states. While highlighting the value of instructor quality in curriculum delivery, the National Policy on Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, Revised 2004) stated that no nation's educational system would surpass the quality of its teachers. Teachers are at the heart of any discussion about schools, and the bulk of educational policy focuses on their function, either directly or indirectly. Furthermore, in compared to other determinants of academic achievement, parents, teachers, and administrators frequently underline the critical role that instructors play. In addition to other determinants of student success, teachers play an important role. Instructors are critical in every educational system since the quality of the system's teachers influences the system's overall quality to a large degree. Educators and scholars have argued for years whether school factors impact student progress. When policymakers get increasingly interested in school reform, this issue becomes more important when their policies are based on the assumption of a partnership between different educational variables such as class size, instructor quality, school size, and so on. “Quality is the essential indispensable function of a thing,” Peter (1997) said. The traits of high-quality scientific instructors, for example, are those that improve a teacher's fitness and efficiency while executing the tasks involved with scientific education. Policymakers, educational leaders, teacher education institutions, and people interested in (enhancing public education are all concerned about teacher quality. “Quality of the instructor is the secret to better student success regardless of the status of the classrooms, the affluence of the pupil, the disposition of the population, or any other factor in the lives or educational climate of school children,” according to the American Council on Education (1999). Instructors who employ a range of educational techniques, experiences, assignments, and resources to guarantee that pupils achieve a range of cognitive goals are considered good teachers. If we are to guarantee that our pupils meet the high standards required to live full lives and become productive students, we need well-prepared, highly educated instructors. Ingersoll (1996) described teacher quality as a measure of a teacher's qualification, teaching activities, credential, experience, and teaching preparations. Content experience, pedagogical knowledge, teaching credentials, and linguistic skill are all components of teacher certification. Academic subject, knowledge of teaching tactics, knowledge of student characteristics and cultural background, knowledge of curriculum materials and programs, knowledge of teaching environment, topic specific knowledge of teaching tactics, and understanding of the aims and objectives of teaching are the seven (7) categories of professional knowledge outlined by Shulman (1987). According to Salvin (2003), a good teacher must be highly knowledgeable about his or her subject matter and know how to encourage youngsters. He must also know how to properly employ class time and adapt to individual variances. Teachers are considered to have a significant impact on students' academic performance, and they often have a critical role in educational attainment since the instructor is largely responsible for putting educational strategies and values into reality through interactions with students (Afe, 2001). Teachers are essential to both teaching and learning, therefore it's no surprise that an effective teacher is defined as one who achieves desired outcomes while doing his or her duties as a teacher (Uchefuna 2001). Despite governments' massive investments in public education, the output in terms of student quality has been shown to be unequal to government spending. Following the documented decline in secondary school students' academic performance, attitude, and values in public secondary schools, one can ask whether the high failure rates and failure of students, particularly in external tests, are not a reflection of the schools' instructional quality. As a result, instructors' ineffectiveness lack classroom contact with students might be to blame for students' low performance and Nigeria's generally acknowledged falling educational quality.

1.2       Statement of the problem

According to what I've read and seen, the nation is experiencing a critical shortage of trained teachers. As a result, several jurisdictions have been required to hire individuals who do not follow the qualifications of a trained instructor, i.e., they have not shown subject matter competency. They have no structured instructor instruction, and many have no previous teaching experience. Many secondary schools have a relatively higher teacher vacancies rate, however more teachers are leaving to pursue other careers. I had a physics teacher in senior secondary school three (SS3) who had just graduated from university as a chemical engineer two( 2) years before he was hired at my school. This was the physics teacher's first time training, according to him. My observations as a student revealed that the physics instructor lacked topic understanding and that his teaching technique was inadequate. When the WAEC (West African Examination Council) results were released, this reflected on the performance of the senior secondary three (SS3) students in physics. It was a bad performance. In light of this, the researcher wishes to explore the effects of teacher quality on secondary school students' academic achievement.

1.3       OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

I.         To determine the influence of a teacher's quality on secondary school pupils' academic achievement.

II.      To see if there is a link between the academic performance of secondary school students and the performance of qualified and non-qualified teachers.

III.   To find out if the consistency of a teacher has an impact on students academics success.

1.4       RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

i.          The influence of a teacher has little impact on high school students' academic achievement.

ii.        A teacher's qualifications have no effect on a student's academic success.

iii.      The consistency of a teacher has an impact on school students academic success.

1.5       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research would add light on the effect of teacher quality on high school students' academic success. Students, instructors, the Ministry of Education, and the general public will benefit from the research. The research will provide insight to the ministry of education, in particular, on how to restructure the educational system. The work will also act as a resource for future scholars interested in this subject.

1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of the study covers the impact of teacher’s quality on the academic performance of secondary school students.and the study was carried out in Enugu state, Nigeria.

1.7       LIMITATION OF STUDY

The research material accessible to the researcher is inadequate, restricting the study; the time frame provided to the study does not promote broader coverage because the researcher must combine other academic activities and exams with the study; and the time frame provided to the study does not promote broader coverage because the researcher must combine other academic activities and exams with the study. It was challenging to get all of the essential and essential information on the activities due to limited access to the chosen private schools.

1.8       DEFINITION OF TERMS

Experienced teachers: Trained teachers who have worked in the profession for at least five (5) years following graduation.

Qualified Teacher: A person who has earned a bachelor's degree in education or a Nigeria certificate of education in integrated science, physics, chemistry, or biology and has shown professional competence as a teacher at any university or college of education.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: Academic success, also known as (academic) performance, refers to how well a pupil, instructor, or organization has met their short and long-term educational objectives. Academic success is measured by cumulative GPA and the attainment of educational degrees such as high school and bachelor's degrees.

REFERENCES:

Afe, J. O. ( 2001). Reflections on becoming a teacher and the challenges of teacher education. Inaugural Lecture Series 64. Benin City: University of Benin,

American Council of Education, (1999). To touch the future: Transforming the way teachers are taught. An action agenda for college and university presidents. Washington, DC: American Council on Education.

Federal Republic of Nigeria (2006). National Policy on Education. NERDC, Abuja. Federal

Ingersoll, J. (2003). Why great teachers stay. Educational Leadership, 60(8), 71-74.

Peter, J.L.(1997). Teacher reports of opportunity to learn analyses of the 1993 California learning assessment system. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 17 (3), 355 -370.

Rivkin, S., Hanushek, E., & Kain, J. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica, 73(2), 417–458.

Shulman, L. S. (1986). Paradigms and research program in the study of teaching: A contemporary perspective. In M.C. Wittrock (Ed.), Third handbook of research on teaching (pp. 395-451). New York: MacMillan.

Slavin, R. (1994). Quality, appropriateness, incentive, and time: A model of instructional effectiveness. International Journal of Education Research, 21(2), 141-157.

uche I.O. (2007). Higher Education for Self Reliance: An imperative for the Nigerian Economy. In J.B. Babalola; G.O. Akpan, A.O.Ayeni and S.O. Adedeji; Access Equity and Quality

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