CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Education is widely considered to be an investment to achieve both human and economic growth. Unfortunately in Nigeria, the term is seriously losing its meaning. The education system of Nigeria is not given the adequate attention that it deserves. This is evident in the educational budget of Nigeria as there has been considerable drop in the budget for education by the federal government on a yearly basis. The literacy rate in Nigeria is recorded as about 62% in 2018. Nigeria has been struggling for promotion of literacy for decades, but is consistently swamped by the population growth, poverty and socio-cultural practices. Nigeria has a population of nearly 200 million people, of whom roughly one-fourth, or 52 million, is between the ages of 5 and 16. Nigeria’s Constitution guarantees all of these children a free and compulsory education. Until Nigeria increases the literacy rate that education system will remain poor.
Nigeria is challenged by material constraints such as well-constructed and well-furnished school buildings and classrooms (the case of building collapse that recently occurred in Lagos Island where scores of students and teachers were wound and several died in the ugly incident in February this year) resources, well-designed curriculum, teachers' experience and a manageable class size. The main issue that is faced by the children in government school is unqualified teachers. Qualified teachers play a crucial role in making schools effective. The personal and professional attainment of teachers has a significant impact on students’ achievement. However, the quality of teacher training is scarce and obsolete rendering it ineffective for classroom teaching. In government schools teachers are very old but course change every year. No proper trainings are conducted to update the knowledge of the teacher, still having low qualification and use the typical style to teach the students. Most times, teachers hardy know about the new concepts included in the new curriculum. Teachers were dominant in classrooms but they used to read out a chapter from a textbook and students simply listened to them.
Teachers are considered as the important foundation of our educational system in Nigeria. The personal and professional development of teachers puts direct impact on student achievement. In government schools teachers are very old but academic course change every year. No proper trainings are conducted to update the knowledge of the teacher, still having low qualification and use the typical style to teach the students. Most times, teachers hardy know about the new concepts included in the new curriculum. Teachers were dominant in classrooms but they used to read out a chapter from a textbook and students simply listened to them. Under qualified teachers are appointed who cannot effectively manage the process of teaching and learning in schools effectively which reflects in poor performances of students and dissatisfaction among parents regarding the performance of government schools. This is especially worrying because poor instruction and ineffective teaching reduces the demand for education which in turn reduces the pool of qualified teachers. This then create a picture of how teachers are viewed by students and the general public. Therefore, this study shall assess factors responsible for poor image of a teacher by using selected secondary schools in Ikeja, Lagos State, as a case study.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Teachers are considered very important pillar in nation building. Qualified teachers play very important role not only in their profession but also in the grooming of students. Unfortunately in Nigeria there is lack of qualified teachers in some government schools. Although schools are upgraded and syllabus is English medium but schools do not have well educated teachers. Teachers have minimum knowledge about their subjects and lack of teacher training affect the education standards. There are many reasons for the lack of qualified teaches in schools such as; one of the major challenges to increasing the educational standards in Nigeria is lack of trained professional teaching trainees.
Although a broad range of advance teaching methodologies implemented in the classroom, researches have shown that teachers play the important role in the success of a school. Even though, principals find it difficult to firing teachers due to resistance from teachers unions. The negative effects of teaching can ruin several generations in the school and destroy the strong foundation of education that helps in future profession. Mostly secondary school teachers are most often hired into the classroom. Regardless of their educational background, those teachers do not work on personality grooming of the students. Researchers said students who have at least four good teachers in a row will excel. Students who have two bad teachers in a row will never recover. Schools that need good teachers the mostly in rural areas, often have the worst teachers. Students who struggle in government schools also work hard in college or never manage to get into college.
Some unqualified teachers incompetently teach students, so that they could not get the grades needed to pass a class. This leads to some students dropping out of high school and some unqualified teachers pass students too easily, causing the students to pass out with high school diplomas but insufficient skills. This whole situation causes the teachers to be viewed with biased mind. Schools that fire unqualified teachers often see increases in academic excellence in the classroom and how the school is generally regarded in its locality. A few teachers might have a reputation for quality teaching because their classes frequently have high standardized test scores, but the teacher only produces successful test takers by teaching the test. Students do not necessarily develop a greater comprehension of the course content that they can take with them beyond the classroom. Therefore, how students turn out to be both socially and academically will determine how their teachers will be view as in the picture image of the teachers. Therefore, this study will assess factors responsible for poor image of a teacher by using selected secondary schools in Ikeja, Lagos State, as a case study.
1.3 Research Objectives
The main objective of this study is to assess factors responsible for poor image of a teacher by using selected secondary schools in Ikeja, Lagos State, as a case study. Specifically, the objectives are:
i) To understand the reasons why teachers are viewed in a poor image.
ii) To examine the problems for teachers that are responsible for their poor image.
iii) To study the qualities of effective teachers.
1.4 Research Questions
The following are some of the questions which this study intends to answer:
i) What are the reasons why teachers are viewed in a poor image?
ii) What are the problems for teachers that are responsible for their poor image?
iii) What are the qualities of effective teachers?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The followings are the research hypotheses to be tested in this study:
i) There is a significant influence of the poor image of teachers and students’ academic achievement.
ii) There is a significant relationship between poor image of and teachers’ performance.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study informs educational stakeholders such as parents, government, curriculum developers, and school administrators on factors responsible for poor image of a teachers, the extent of how this affects their effective and teaching and consequently, the academic achievement of students. If, as Eccles (1987) has argued, ‘task value’ beliefs are central to explaining the nature of students and teachers’ attitudes teaching and learning particular subjects, then this study helps in identifying those tasks which are viewed negatively, such balancing a wide range of student needs, overemphasis on standardized testing and so on. This study therefore documents findings on the factors responsible for poor image of a teacher by using selected secondary schools in Ikeja, Lagos State, as a case study.
1.7 Scope of the Study
This study was limited to the factors that are responsible for poor image of a teacher in selected secondary schools in Ikeja, Lagos State. Therefore, five senior secondary schools in Ikeja Local Government Area of Lagos shall be selected for this study.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
There are two main limitations to this study. First, the sample was limited to junior secondary school teachers and students. This limits the generalization of the research findings to other populations. Second, the survey information is self-reported data. Therefore, the results might be affected by the teachers’ social desirability to provide desired information rather than accurate information.
