INFLUENCE OF TEACHER QUALITY AND CHANGES IN MINIMUM STANDARDS ON PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY EDUCATION EDUCATORS IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION, NIGERIA
ABSTRACT
This study focused on influence of teacher quality and changes in minimum standards on performance of Primary Education educators in Colleges of Education, Nigeria. It focused on issues which influence PED educators implementing curriculum changes. In this study, nine objectives were formulated which covered different variables which include: the extent of influence of the educational levels of PED educators and increase in course content on the implementation of changed PED minimum standards in Nigerian Colleges of Education. Nine
- null hypotheses and nine (9) research questions were formulated based on the objectives of the study. The theoretical framework of the study hinged on models of curricular dissemination by adopting Context, Input, Process and Product Evaluation (CIPP) and Integrated Curriculum Evaluation Model (ICEM. This study adopted expost facto research design; The targeted population covered the eighty-three colleges of education in Nigeria with total of seventy-seven thousand, three hundred and eighty six (77,386) made up of seventy six thousand, five hundred and twelve (76,512) PES students and Eight Hundred and Forty-Two (842) PES educators. A purposive sampling technique was adopted in selecting the sample for the study. Three geopolitical zones, namely, North West, South West and South South were selected for the study. The study also adopted 20% of the colleges as sample size. A total of thirteen colleges made up of four (4) federal and nine (9) state colleges of education were sampled. An interview was conducted on NCCE officers, while questionnaires were administered to PES educators, NCE II and NCE III PES students, including PES products teaching in staff schools and their head teachers. The research questions were subjected to simple percentages while the hypotheses were tested using chi-square at P value of P<0.05 level of significance for acceptance or rejection and all the tested hypotheses were rejected. The findings among others revealed that
PES educators’ area of specialization has significant influence on the implementation of the changed PES minimum standards in Nigerian colleges of education. Based on the above findings, it was recommended amongst others that effort should be made to ensure that only specialized professionally trained PES educators be assigned to implement the changed minimum standard curriculum in colleges of education. Also, the changes of minimum standards should not be done too often, the act that mandated every five years of changes should be strictly adhered to by the NCCE.
| TABLE OF CONTENTS | ||||||||||||
| Title Page | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -i | |
| Declaration | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -iii | |
| Certification | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -iv | |
| Dedication | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -v | |
| Acknowledgement | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -vi | ||
| Abstract | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -viii | |
| Table of Contents | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -vix | ||
| List of Figures – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -xiii | ||
| List of Tables | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -xiv | |
| List of Abbreviations | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -xvii | ||
| Operational Definition of Terms | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -xix | ||||
| CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION | ||||||||||||
| 1.1 | Background to the Study | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -1 | |||
| 1.2 | Statement of the Problem | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -13 | |||
| 1.3 | Objectives of the Study | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -14 | |||
| 1.4 | Research Questions | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -15 | ||
| 1.5 | Research Hypotheses | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -16 | |||
| 1.6 | Basic Assumptions | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -17 | ||
| 1.7 | Significance of the Study | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -17 | |||
| 1.8 | Scope of the Study | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -19 | ||
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| CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE | ||||||||||
| 2.1 | Introduction – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -20 |
| 2.2 | Theoretical Framework | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -20 | |
| 2.2.1 | The Key Actors in the Process of Changing Minimum Standard | – | – | -27 | ||||||
| 2.2.2 | Types of Curriculum Change – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -27 | ||
| 2.2.3 | Process of Curriculum Change – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -29 | ||
| 2.3 | Concept of Teacher Quality | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -30 | |
| 2.3.1 | Teacher Quality and Job Performance | – | – | – | – | – | -32 | |||
| 2.3.1.1 | Degree Level Influence on Students Performance | – | – | – | – | -34 | ||||
| 2.3.1.2 | Years of Teaching Experience Influence of Students Performance | – | -34 | |||||||
| 2.3.1.3 | Certification Status | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -36 | |
| 2.3.1.4 | Knowledge of Teaching and Learning | – | – | – | – | – | -38 | |||
| 2.3.2 | Factors that Determine Teacher Quality in School – | – | – | – | -40 | |||||
| 2.3.3 | Training as a Good Determinant of Teacher Quality – | – | – | – | -43 | |||||
| 2.4 | Teacher Training Institutions – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -47 | ||
| 2.4.1 | Teacher Education that meets Teacher and Students Needs | – | – | – | -50 | |||||
| 2.5 | Problems of PES Teacher Training Programme – | – | – | – | -54 | |||||
| 2.6 | National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) and NCE | |||||||||
| PES Minimum Standard – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -54 | ||
| 2.7 | Changes in NCE PES Minimum Standards | – | – | – | – | – | -59 | |||
| 2.8 | Empirical Studies | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -64 |
| 2.9 | Summary and Implications | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -74 | |
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| CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY | |||||||||||
| 3.1 | Introduction | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -76 |
| 3.2 | Research Design | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -76 | |
| 3.3 | Population – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -77 |
| 3.4 | Sample and Sampling Technique | – | – | – | – | – | – | -78 | |||
| 3.5 | Instrumentation – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -80 | |
| 3.5.1 | Validation of Instrument | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -81 | ||
| 3.5.2 | Pilot Testing | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -82 |
| 3.5.3 | Reliability of the Instrument – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -82 | |||
| 3.6 | Method of Scoring | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -82 | |
| 3.7 | Procedures for Data Collection | – | – | – | – | – | – | -83 | |||
| 3.8 | Methods of Data Analysis | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -84 | ||
| CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS | |||||||||||
| 4.1 | Introduction | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -85 |
| 4.2 | Demographic Characteristics of the Respondents | – | – | – | – | -86 | |||||
| 4.3 | Responses to Research Questions | – | – | – | – | – | – | -92 | |||
| 4.4 | Test of Hypotheses | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -124 | |
| 4.5 | Summary of Major Findings | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -139 | ||
| 4.6 | Discussion of Findings | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -140 | ||
| CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS | |||||||||||
| 5.1 | Summary | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -149 |
| 5.2 | Conclusion | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -153 |
| 5.3 | Recommendations | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -155 | |
xi
| 5.4Suggestions for Further Studies | – | – | – | – | – | – | –156 | |||
| References | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -158 |
| Appendices | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -169 |
| APPENDIX A: Questionnaire for PES Students and Lecturers (LSQTR) | – | – | -176 | |||||||
| APPENDIX B: Observation Schedule | – | – | – | – | – | – | -178 | |||
| APPENDIX C: Interview(NCCE) | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | -180 | ||
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Education is the vital instrument for social and economic mobility at the personal level and an instrument for transformation of society at the national level. The maxim that no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers clearly demonstrates the roles of teachers in national development (FGN, 2004). This realization enforces each country to make vigorous efforts to produce qualified persons to take up the teaching of her citizens as teaching is a versatile field that requires at all times, the correct identification of indices of development(s) in the society. Its versatility makes it imperative that teachers be an embodiment of constant search for updated knowledge, latest information, skills and breakthroughs, in various fields of life (Adeorun, Oni, Oladipo, Onuoha and Yakasai, (2009).
In Nigeria as in many other developing countries such as South Africa, Ghana, education has usually been considered to be the cornerstone and pillow of economic growth and developments. Oredein and David (2007) believed that to survive in the competitive world of economy, quality education is the key variable. Grounded in this belief, education reforms have taken place that are directed towards improving the quality of education. These reforms are demanding greater performance and commitment from teachers, holding teachers responsible for the performance of students mostly right from primary schools.
Primary school pupils have the right to be taught by competent teachers who give a clear understanding of how pupils imbibe instructions and such teachers must acquire appropriate skills and knowledge in terms of educational background and area of specialization to carry out their assignment. Primary education serves as the foundation level of all other educational levels
by providing the children with a good preparatory ground for further education. In realization of the important role and the place of primary education in National development and globalization, there has been agitation for more functional, qualified and competent teachers to handle the teaching of basic education pupils across the nation. This agitation and concern for quality primary education is reflected in the compulsory introduction of Primary Education Studies (PES) in all colleges of education in Nigeria. It is also reflected in the inauguration of education for all (EFA) in Jomtien (Thailand) in 1995 and Dakar in 2000 (Sofowora, 2010). This was followed by a meeting called by the 56th General Assembly of the United Nations to discuss the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
According to Sofowora (2010), the effort at ensuring quality primary education was not left to government alone but to such societies as Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE), Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) and the Information society, also sponsored and organized international conferences and workshops aimed at ensuring quality access to primary education were considered. However, at the global level, the United Nations came up with a target that all member states should seek to achieve the following goals on Basic education:
- Ensuring that by the year 2015, all children particularly girls, children in difficult circumstances and those belonging to ethnic minorities should have access to a
complete, free, compulsory and good quality primary education.
- Ensure that the learning needs of all young people are in line with the MDGs.
- Eradicate extreme illiteracy, poverty and hunger.
- Achieve universal primary education by 2015. (Sofowora 2010, p. 13)
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Teacher Quality (TQ) is very important in the education process. However, there are many discrepancies in the teacher qualities and their use in the classroom. Still, there is little research about the role of TQ and their achievements in the educational process in Nigerian colleges of education. This situation needs to be examined in the perspective of Basic Education success or failures in this regard. (Oyenike, Adesoji, Adebayo, Onucha and Yakassai, 2009).
It is one thing to have a good plan on paper; it is another to see to the successful implementation of the plan. One becomes worried to see that curriculum plans take this shape. There is often disparity between policy pronouncements and policy implementations in Nigeria. The crux of the problem of basic education in Nigeria is the quality of teachers to implement the policy because innovations in education often take a lot of inputs and preparations before implementation. Adeshina (2004) pointed out that many innovations in education relied a lot on the preparedness of the teachers who are termed the curriculum implementers.
Also, Goldhaber and Brewer (1996) were of the view that it is common to see a wide gap between a revised curriculum and resources needed for the success of its implementation. The popular expectation is for the revised curriculum to have carefully considered the required resources in its implementation but the reverse is the case and this has constituted a problem in Nigeria education system. It has been observed that many lecturers in PES often securing employment on the basis that they will proceed on further training on their chosen discipline but as soon as they are employed, that is the end. Instead of having qualified and specialized PES teaching staff, the reverse is the case. It is not a hear say that absence and inadequate instructional materials have constituted a problem out of the numerous problems affecting the successful implementation of the minimum standards of Nigerian colleges of education particularly in PES departments now a school. Also, the issue of unrealistic plans of action such as teacher-students ratio, unconducive classroom setting and infrastructure in the revised curriculum is another problem which is very obvious.
Change is inevitable for the growth and development of any establishment, family or society, such is the call for continuous changes in PES curriculum depicted by the minimum standard. Hence, this study shall analyse and evaluate on the changes in PES minimum standard between year 2009-2012 in terms of content, instructional materials, teaching facilities, teaching personnel, infrastructure, teacher student ratio, admission requirement and mode of teaching. It also examined the issue of teacher quality in the area of educational levels, professional training, year of teaching experience and year of graduation and how these have influenced their performances.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
This study thereby sought to:
- examine the extent of influence of the educational levels of PES educators on the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in Nigerian Colleges of Education (NCOE).
- ascertain the extent to which PES educators professional training affects their performance in implementing changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
- establish the influence of PES educators years of teaching experience on the implementation of the changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
- examine the degree of influence of PES educators’ area of specialization on the implementation of the changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
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- determine the extent to which increase in course contents influence PES educators in the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
- ascertain the extent to which changes in minimum standards course contents have affected PES educators’ job satisfaction in NCOE.
- determine if changes in mode of teaching as mandated in the minimum standard have any influence on PES educators’ job performance in NCOE.
- find out if admission requirements have influence on PES educators’ implementation of the changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
- ascertain the adequacy and utilization of PES facilities needed to enhance the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
1.4 Research Questions
This dissertation attempts to provide answers to the following questions:
- Do the educational levels of PES educators have influence on the implementation of the changed PES minimum standards in NCOE?
- To what extent do PES educators’ professional training influence their job performance in the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE?
- What is the influence of PES educators’ years of teaching experience on the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE?
- What is the influence of PES Educators’ area of specialization on the implementation of the changed PES minimum standards in NCOE?
- To what extent does increase in course contents influence PES Educators in the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE?
- To what extent do changes in PES course contents influence PES educators’ job satisfaction in NCOE?
- To what extent do changes in mode of teaching influence PES educators’ job performance in NCOE?
- Does PES students’ admission requirement have any influence on PES educators’ implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE?
- Are there adequate and effective utilization of PES facilities needed for the implementation of changed PES course content in NCOE?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were tested in the course of this study.
Ho1: Educational levels of PES educators have no significant influence on the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
Ho2: PES educators’ professional training has no significant influence on their performance in the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
Ho3: PES educators’ years of teaching experience have no significant influence on the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
Ho4: PES educators’ area of specialization has no significant influence on the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
Ho5: Increase in course contents has no significant influence on PES educators’ implementation of changed minimum standards in NCOE.
Ho6: Changes in PES course content have no significant influence on PES educators’ job satisfaction in NCCE.
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Ho7: Changes PES mode of teaching have no significant influence on job performance of PES educators in NCOE.
Ho8: PES students’ admission requirements have no significant influence on PES educator’s implementation of changed minimum standards in NCOE.
Ho9: Adequate and effective utilization of PES facilities needed have no significant influence on the implementation of changed PES minimum standards in NCOE.
1.6 Basic Assumptions
This study was conducted with the assumption that:
- It is not every PES educator that is qualified to teach in PES department.
- Basic Education especially lower (primary) will improve tremendously if it will be handled by teachers specially trained to do that.
- Teacher Quality (TQ) has a strong influence on academic achievement of students.
- There are no adequate facilities and infrastructures to implement the changed minimum standards.
- PES teaching staff job satisfaction and instructional delivery has been affected by the continuous changes in minimum standards.
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