SCHOOL VARIABLES AND EFFECTIVE TEACHING OF BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
SCHOOL VARIABLES AND EFFECTIVE TEACHING OF BIOLOGY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The nation’s overall development is inextricably tied to its educational system since education is a light that shows mankind the right direction to surge as well as an engine for the growth and progress of any society. It not only imparts knowledge, skills and inculcates but is also responsible for building human capital which breeds, drives and sets technological innovation and economic growth (Osakinle, 2010). Education in its broadest meaning is any process by which an individual gains knowledge and insight or develops attitudes and skills. It is an experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual and in its technical sense, these experiences possibly can be transferred from one generation to another.
According to Ugwuanyi, (2013), education is the process by which a society is established to assist the young to learn and understand the heritage of the past, participate productively in the society and contribute meaningfully for the development of the society.
Emeka (2012) citing Kneller (2010), sees education as a process by which any society through schools, colleges, universities and other institutions deliberately transmits knowledge, values and skills from one person to another. As a result of deregulation in Nigerian education, the system of education has two main interest groups public education and private education.
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The functions of education are both social and individual. Its social function is to help each individual become a more effective member of the society by passing along to him the collective experiences of the past and the present while its individual function is to enable him to lead a more satisfying and productive life by preparing him to handle new experiences gotten successfully (Sadler, 2000). This can only be achieved when the environment of the school is encouraging. Students are individuals who accumulate knowledge with the help of the teachers in motivating and encouraging the school environment.
In an educational system, the teacher is the enabler and motivator; hence, the teaching effectiveness of teachers is a characteristic component of teacher personality after their attitude which is the framework that affects how a person thinks and acts about the world. The teachers’ attitudes towards education influence their performance as educators positively or negatively. The quality of teaching is a function of the love, dedication and devotion of the teacher towards the subject and learners.
The quality of any teaching programe cannot rise above the quality of its teachers (Bhalla et al, 2008). Many factors can encourage or inhibit effective teaching, one is attitude, and parental involvement in an attitude towards education can have a large impact on teaching as well the learning process (Joshua, 2013). However, education scholar (Garcia, 2009) believed that a teacher’s attitude has the largest impact on a student’s success in school.
BEHJAJOOH (1992), maintains that girls described situations in which the personality traits of their teachers were more powerful and influential than course content or instructional strategies with respect to the opinions of their experiences. If a teacher appears not to like or care about a particular subject or learner, then, such a teacher will be unable to foster a supportive learning environment.
In addition, a teacher with a negative attitude may not be as approachable as teachers with positive attitudes. It is true that there are teachers whose attitudes are positive towards the promotion of good teaching and vice versa. The quest to improve the attitudes of teachers for effective teaching has been an age long enterprise which necessitated the application of quality system management standards in the educational sector. Unlike being a great scholar, being a great teacher requires a passion for one’s field of study and for the students.
After all, teaching is not just about ideas, it’s about engaging hearts and minds in the process of learning, reflective practices are considered as the brick and motor for effective teaching. If we learn about the teacher, we’re likely to come closer to understanding how effective teachers are to be made (Kagan, 1990). It’s not the buildings themselves that are critical for effective teaching and learning but the quality of the processes that take place within the buildings (Butts, 2010). It will only have an impact if they prevent work from being done.
The question now is what are the qualities that combine to create an excellent and memorable teacher? Why do some teachers inspire students to work harder than normal while others inspire them to skip class? Why do some teachers’ attitudes scare away students from attending classes? Why do students learn more from some teachers than others? The above questions are pertinent to those who aspire to become better teachers. Etokebe (2006) stated that school variables such as school location, school type, school facilities, class size, teachers’ attitudes, school ownership, etc. are factors that affect teachers’ effective teaching and also students’ academic performance as it appears to be the major criterion by which the effectiveness and success of any educational institution can be judged. Bakare (2016) observed that poor academic performance at the secondary school level of education is a product of the teacher, school, home and environment.
It is also observed that school location is one of the major variables that can hinder the teachers’ ability to impart knowledge to the learners effectively. Okeke (2011) intimates that space has the power to organize and promote pleasant relationships between people of different ages; to provide changes; to promote choices and activities and for its potential for sparking different types of social and effective learning. Location according to Bassey (2010) is either rural or urban; he further explained that schools in the rural areas are short of quality teachers since many choose to go to urban schools than rural schools.
It is pertinent to note that the performance of such schools will be low because teachers sent to rural schools are most times outnumbered by the students and this will lead to the teachers not being able to monitor the performance of the students.
School ownership is also seen as one of the variables that may contribute to teachers’ effective teaching which finally leads to students’ academic performance being improved positively or negatively. Most brilliant students often emerge from private schools in the modern academic dispensation (Bassey, 2010). School ownership shows that most government owned secondary schools are characterized by dilapidated buildings, inadequate facilities and the schools suffer negligence from the government, whereas, private schools which are owned by individuals or cooperate bodies tend to invest in their schools’ academic excellence.
They tend to bring in competent hands that prepare the students appropriately for major competitions and also improve their level of academic performance through the effective teaching of teaches and their positive attitudes towards teaching.
Since the effects of school variables as mentioned above on effective teaching of Biology in secondary schools cannot be over-emphasized, it is with this view that the researcher has thought it wise that there is need to introduce quality into the system by creating sound and conducive environment for teaching and learning process.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
One of the hindrances (problems) confronting Nigeria’s educational system is the inability of the teachers to teach effectively for the better understanding of the learners. Since schools are established with the aim of imparting knowledge and skills to those who go through them and behind all these is the idea of enhancing good academic performance, therefore, its variables should be greatly considered. Various factors that help in shaping the effectiveness of teaching by the teacher in Biology are outlined here to include: the attitude of teachers, school location and school ownership. This study sought to add existing knowledge by investigating how these factors contribute to influence the effectiveness of the concerned teachers.
Also Read: SCHOOL ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN GOVERNMENT IN SECONDARY SCHOOL
The study of Biology is faced with serious drift during the process of teaching and learning situation. The phenomena of school variables have adversely affected the teachers in an unprecedented dimension and their effectiveness in teaching the students thereby leading to poor learning, lack of seriousness mostly among the students, inadequate instructional materials, lack of conducive learning atmosphere and teachers’ attitude to teaching resulting in poor academic performance of students in Biology. Although, the effectiveness of teaching among teachers in Biology has been linked to lack of learning resources during teaching, lack of commitment to their work and other situations, most students now exhibit unacceptable tendencies like, aggressiveness, truancy and examination malpractices among others These tendencies exhibited by the students affect their academic performance during the learning of Biology in secondary schools in Etinan Local Government Area.
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