INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL STUDIES TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL TRAINING ON JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA
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Background to the Study
Education is an important instrument for achieving national development. It is through the process of education that mastery is generated for the transformation and advancement of both the individual and the society at large. It is thus the building block for social, economic and industrial development of any nation. The level of sophistication attained by various countries as regards poverty reduction, self-reliance, scientific, economic and technological development cannot be deprived from gigantic strives made in the educational system and indeed the level of competency and effectiveness of the teachers who are the main implementers and the translators of the educational policies(Obadara, 2011). Every educational system at all levelsdepends heavily on teachers‟ competence for the execution of government educational programmes. Teachers are highly essential for successful operation of the educational system and also important tool for educational development. Without competent teachers employed to work in a school, educational facilities will be too difficult to be utilized. Undoubtedly, the success and quality of any educational system depends on the quality and quantity of teachers input into the system. Since there is no educational system that can improve better than it‟s teachers, the commitment of teachers to the system is a vital issue. The teachers interpret the aims and goals of education through what they teach and educate the students as well as in accordance with educational policies. Darling-Hammond (2000), asserts that, the nationinterested in improving students‟ performance should have to look into the preparation and qualification of teachers as some of the forces that makes the teacher competent. 2 For education to continue to rise, it is imperative that teachers at various levels of education be committed to their jobs so as to put in their best in the attainment of school goals. Darling-Hamman (2000), stated that, the single biggest factor affecting academic growth of any population of youngsters is the effectiveness of the individual classroom teacher. The teachers‟ effects on academic growth carry more weight than any other factor. The teacher is one of thechief determinants of educational achievement, whose academic qualification, relevant professional training, work experience among others are most significant determinants of students‟ performance. Similarly, teachers at all levels of education play an important role of pivoting the growth and direction of education. It is an acceptable fact that teachers are the most important elements in education and that teachers are highly instrumental to the success of any government programmes. This is because apart from being at the implementation levels of any educational policy, the realization of these programmes also depends greatly on teachers‟ dedication, competency and commitment to their jobs(Adeyemi, 2007). In any educational system, the social studies teacher performs the significant function of perpetuating society‟s heritage and energizing human resources towards social progress. This shows that the teacher isan important variable in the teaching and learning process. Hathie (2003), observed that the teacher accounts for about thirty percent of variance in students‟ achievement. His mastery, skills and attitude are instrumental in creating the conditions for learning. Indhumathi (2011), identified the teacher as the initiator of the learning process, the facilitator of learning skills, the coordinator of learning sequence and indeed the pivoted element in the entire education development. This makes the social studies teacher the most formidable determinant of quality learning. 3 Some characteristics that make the social studies teachers competent have been discussed in several studies. For example,Leigh and Mead (2005), noted that the teacher characteristics include attributes such as teachers‟ mastery base, sense of responsibility, communication skills, his experience, in-service training and inquisitiveness. Social studies teachers must possess vital skills such as personality characteristics and behaviours that students perceive to impact their motivation to learn, since it is a teachers‟ job to connect with each student to foster the passion and excitement to learn (Littkey, 2004). A resourceful instruction needs to give all students the opportunity to grasp the content taught at a time. Parker (2000), notes that the social studies teacher has a responsibility to include controversial issues and current events in the curriculum. He believes that students need to study issues on which there are some disagreements so as to practice analyzing problems; gathering and organizing facts; discriminating between facts and opinions; discussing differing viewpoints and drawing tentative conclusions. Exposing students to controversial issues in their studies enable them to develop the capacity for ethical and moral reasoning so that they become critically reflective thinkers. The social studies classroom should therefore focus on using instructional materials which will help mold students‟ character (Dube, 2009). Lack of use of appropriate instructional materials for the intellectual level of students denies students‟ active participation in their learning. Jotia (2008), has observed that “lack of students‟ involvement in the teaching process makes teachers the subjects of the learning process while students are dissolved to the level of objects that are just receiving deposits and their critical awareness is compromised.” Teachers should bear in mind that the effective teaching of social studies which can help them achieve the goals is learnt 4 through effective use of instructional materials, participation in teaching and learning, doing and experiencing. Instructional materials are the devices developed or acquired to assist or facilitate teachers in transmitting, organizedmastery, skills and attitude to learners within an instructional situation. Teachers use different instructional materials to motivate learning. Teachers often make use of textbooks, charts, models, graphics, realia as well as improvised materials. The success in skill and mastery acquisition in an instructional situation depends on the suitability of the instructional material, adequacy and effective utilization of the available materials.Experience is an important indicator of professionalism, thus experience teachers have a richer background to draw and contribute insight and ideas of the course of teaching and learning are open to correction and are less dictatorial in the classroom.Anita (2013), stated that, students taught by more experienced teachers achieve at a higher level, because their teachers have mastered the content and acquired classroom management skills to deal with different types of classroom problems. Furthermore, more experienced teachers are considered to be more able to concentrate on the most appropriate way to teach particularly students who differ in their abilities, prior mastery and background. Well professionally qualified teacher is one who was fully certified and held the equivalent of a major in the field being taught. Huang and Moon (2009), documents that the professional qualification accounted for approximately 40 to 60 percent of the variance in average of students‟ achievement in assessment. The good performance of students was attributed to the excellent instructions given by professionally qualified teachers in addition to other inputs. Teachers have been shown to have an important influence on students‟ academic performance and they also play a crucial role in educational attainment because the 5 teacher is ultimately responsible for translating policy into actions and principles based on practice during interaction with students. Both teaching and learning depends on professionally trained teachers (Uchefina, 2001). Professionally trained teachers need an understanding of the subject matter so that they will not only understand core ideas, but know how to structure those ideas and understand how those ideas relate to each other. Pedagogical content mastery: so that teachers can make ideas accessible to others and recognize how others‟ understanding of ideas depends upon their prior experience and the context. Teachers also need mastery of development that can formulate productive learning experiences by understanding children‟s/adolescents‟ thinking behaviour, interest and current mastery , as well as understanding the troubles they might experience within particular domains at particular ages in particular contexts. Teachers must be able to understand how to support further growth in a number of domains-social, physical and emotional as well as cognitive. Teachers need an understanding of differences so that they can truly connect with their students, understanding “difference that may arise from culture, language, family, community, gender, prior schooling, or other factors that shape peoples experiences, as well as differences that may arise from developed intelligences, preferred approaches to learning or specific learning difficulties.” Teachers can structure tasks and feedback so as to encourage extensive efforts, without either relinquishing the press for understanding when the going gets tough or discouraging students so that they give up altogether. Generally, there is need for social studies teachers to be professional educators who should by aptitude, education, training, compartment and social status, be able to display expertise, mastery and skills on their teaching to assist students in their performance, acquisition of skills, altitudes and 6 mastery through the use of choices and a variety of teaching methods and media, access information and achieve versatility in mastery and deliver the education effectively. Other attributes of teachers that have great influence on students‟ performance include adequate teacher training in any of the teacher training institutions, mastery and mastery of the subject matter, physically fit for the job, interest in the job, good sense of humour, emotional stability, ability to communicate effectively, open mindedness, good human relationship, experience and use of relevant instructional materials (Udo, 2006). During instructional periods, students are expected to acquire mastery and certain cognitive and behavioural skills. To do this, they work on content that is presented in various ways with the help of various media, ranging from very concrete to symbolic and highly abstract forms. They are also required to carry out activities, which can be purely physical and behavioural, effective or cognitive in nature. The teacher chooses the mastery and the required skills to transmit or impart to the learner. He also decides on the appropriate methodological approaches to facilitate meaningful learning and develop extra-curricular activities that enrich learning. The teacher is a facilitator of learning and therefore must be resourceful and improvisional. Teachers as much as possible should be qualified, suitable and interested in the teaching profession. They should cultivate the right attitude, be dedicated to duty and professionally qualified. This will help teachers to teach students successfully. Teachers have to be academically qualified as well as professionally competent to be able to perform in their post. 1.2 Statement of the Problem
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