Abstract

Employing ex-post-facto research design, this study examined the effect of in-service teachers on the academic performances of integrated science student in Kwande L.G.A, Benue state, Nigeria. Six research questions and three hypotheses guided the investigation. Interview and questionnaire were the instruments for data collection from 48 teachers of two private schools used for the study. Findings emerging from data analysis using percentages and mean, indicates that teachers who participated in in-service training perceived the programme as useful and beneficial in many ways. The training which the teachers received positively affected their teaching effectiveness. Male and female teachers experienced improved teaching effectiveness after exposure to in-service training workshops. Hypothesis testing through Pearson Product Moment correlation shows that there is significant relationship between in-service training and teachers’ teaching effectiveness. Additionally, there is significant relationship between in-service training of teachers and students’ academic performance. The study recommends that government of Nigeria should establish a policy of continuous long-term in-service training of teachers, while other private schools should be compelled to borrow a leaf from the two schools used in this study and infuse in-service training of teachers in their yearly exercise for improved students’ learning.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background to the study

In-service Teachers refers to teacher involves schooling and working at the same time. An in-service program is a professional training or staff development effort, where professionals are trained and discuss their work with others in their peer group. It is a key component of continuing medical education for physicians, pharmacists, and other medical professionals. It is also common among public servants including educators and public safety officials.

In-service program also refers to some programs offered to enlisted members of the military while they are in service. In-service programs also refers to educators, where they discuss methods and cases and workloads. The effect of in-service education to the teacher cannot be over emphasized; this is more so when one considers the need to grapple with new trends in raiding techniques and the dynamic nature of knowledge as it affect the subject matter to be taught to learners.

There are various ways by which in-service could organize education for teacher’s instructional effectiveness. These include organizing refresher courses and school plant level. The importance of teachers cannot be over stressed. This is because teachers play a number of roles. Specifically, teachers has been referred to by Oyedeji (2004) as an agent of innovation. For meaningful innovations, teachers’ academic qualification is very important. This is because teacher education is a very complex enterprise. The complexity arises as a result of several factors which include determination of what effective teachers are, teachers are expected to fulfil a variety of roles, some common to all teachers, others uniquely related to certain kinds of environments of students or subject matter. Added to this, is the fact that teacher education involves the training of professionals who will educate students in future. Despite the complexity in the field of teacher education, one cannot over-emphasize the importance of academic training of teachers of all categories. This is because the efficiency of any institution depends on the academic competence of the teaching staff since no educational system can rise above the quality of its teachers (FGN, 2001, p. 38).

Integrated science is teaching of science in a way to present scientific ideas as a unified whole (Ajao, 1996). It is a subject that comprises of biology, chemistry, physics and partly any other science related subject while computer science is a subject that has more relationship with Integrated Science than any other subject. Integrated science is an amalgamated course designed to show unity, wholeness and interrelationship of the distinct that make up science (Daudu, 2005). Integrated science syllabus is simply a collection of topic from single science (Abba, 2003). The expectation is that students combining physics with integrated science should be able to do better than those combining with computer since some of the things learnt in integrated science are in physics. However, this study aims at examining the effect of in-service teachers on the academic performances of integrated science student.

1.2   Statement of the problem

In-service teachers was set up as a result of government pronouncement that by the year (2000) the least qualification of teacher in primary school will be (NCE) Nigeria certificate in education. It was because of this that every teacher want to obtain this certificate and in order to get it, many teachers are attending in-service teaching. Due to some problems, not all teachers can go in for regular courses; consequently, there is need for them to merge courses in the in-service teachers programme.

Several studies have been conducted in developed countries on the impact of staff development on their productivities. In Nigeria only few studies have been carried out on teacher’s in-service training. For example a study conducted by Peretomode and Chukwuma (2007) covered institutions of higher learning and the result showed that a significant relationship existed between manpower development and lecturers’ productivity. Udofia and Ikpe (2012) study on in-service training and teachers’ attitude to work covered private schools in Cross Rivers State of Nigeria. In Benue state, Kwande local government area in particular, there is limited study on teachers’ in-service training. This study attempted to fill this gap by examining the relationship between in-service training, teachers’ teaching effectiveness and academic performance of students.

1.3   Purpose of the Study

This study focused on teachers’ in-service training and their teaching effectiveness and academic performance of students. Specifically, the study intend to:

1. Determine the usefulness of the in-service training programmes provided the teachers
2. Determine the benefits of teachers’ participation in in-service training on their teaching effectiveness
3. Establish if there is any difference in mean scores of teachers’ teaching effectiveness before and after in-service training.
4. Find out if there is any difference in mean scores of teaching effectiveness of male and female teachers who participated in in-service training programme.
5. Establish if there is any significant relationship between in-service training and teaching effectiveness of teachers.
6. Establish if there is any significant relationship between teachers’ in-service training and student academic performance

1.4   Research Questions

The study is guided by five research questions

1. How do teachers perceive the usefulness of the topics covered during in-service training workshops they participated in?
2. What are the perceived benefits of teachers’ participation in in-service training workshops on their teaching effectiveness?
3. What is the difference in mean scores of teachers’ teaching effectiveness before and after inservice training workshops?
4. What is the difference in mean scores of teaching effectiveness of male and female teachers after in-service training workshops?
5. What is the rate of percentage scores of students’ performance in the four subjects before and after their teachers’ in-service training?

1.5   Hypotheses

Three hypotheses are formulated and tested in this study:

1. There is no significant difference between the teaching effectiveness of teachers before participating in in-service training workshops and after participating in in-service training workshops.
2. There is no significant relationship between in-service training and teachers’ teaching effectiveness.
3. There is no significant relationship between teachers’ in-service training and academic performance of students.

1.6   Significance of the study

The research work is vital in the following ways

• The study will investigate the effect of in-service teacher’s education on the academic performance of primary school pupils.
• The project work will also serve as a reference material to other researchers that may intend to undertake a similar work on effect of in-service education on academic performance of primary school pupils.

1.7   Scope of the study

This study is carried out on the effect of in-service teachers on the academic performances of integrated science student. This study was carried out using two private schools (Command Secondary School and King’s Solomon College) in Kwande local government area, Benue state.

1.8   Organization of the study

The study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one deals with the study’s introduction and gives a background to the study. Chapter two reviews related and relevant literature. The chapter three gives the research methodology while the chapter four gives the study’s analysis and interpretation of data. The study concludes with chapter five which deals on the summary, conclusion and recommendation.