THE IMPACT OF QUALIFICATION OF HOME ECONOMICS TEACHERS ON THE PERFORMANCE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

 
ABSTRACT
Teachers’ qualification in their areas of specialization has a very big impact on the academic performance of their students. It also has impact on the way they teach and impart knowledge in their students. This study therefore examinesthe impact of the qualification of Home economics teachers on the performance of secondary school students in West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations using some selected schools in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria as a case study. The study has three research questions and objectives and has the following: there is a significant relationship between the qualification of Home economics teachers and the performance of students in WASSCE, there is no significant difference between the perception of students towards the Home economics teachers and their performance in WASSCE and there is a significant correlation between the attitudes of the Home economics teachers and students’ performance in WASSCE, as its hypotheses.
 
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1      Background to the Study
The fundamental basis for economic and social well-being of a country lies in the understanding by its people the basic home and technological knowledge.  There are number of different forces that have led to strong concern about the low quality of home economics knowledge, skills, values and performance among students over the years. Secondary school education is regarded as the foundation towards higher knowledge in tertiary institutions. It is an investment as well as an instrument used for achieving economic, social, political technological and scientific development in the country.However, people at times blame the students on their negative performance in secondary school their low retention, parental factors and poor attitudes toward learning. Aremu&Oluwole(2001) believed that the falling level of academic achievement is attributable to teacher own use at verbal reinforcement strategy. Others found out that the attitude of some teachers to their job has a significant impact in their poor attendance to lessons and lateness to school which can negatively affect the students’ performance.
The differential scholastic achievement of students in Nigeria has been and is still a source of concern and research interest to educators, government and parents. This is as a result of the great values that education has on the development of such country. It is crystal clear to everyone in the country that the standard of our educational system has considerably fallen. Parents are of the opinion that their huge investment on the education of their children is not producing the desired result. Teachers as wellare concerned about the fall in their students’ academic performances at both internal and external examinations. The annual releases of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination results (SSCE) conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) justified the problematic nature and generalization of poor secondary school students’ performance in different school subjects. 
Poor academic performance has been observed in school subjects especially in Home economics among secondary school students. Academic failure is not is a concern for both the students and the parents, because it directly or indirectly affects our economic and political growth in one way or the other.This is due to the fact it is viewed as an investment as well as an instrument used in achievingan economic, social, political, technological, scientific and cultural development in the country. The National Policy on Education (2004) stipulated that secondary education is an instrument for national development that fosters the worth and development of the individual for further education and development of the society in general and also the equality of educational opportunities to all Nigerian children, irrespective of any real or marginal disabilities. The role of secondary education is to lay the foundation for further education and if a good foundation is laid at this level, there are likely to be no problem at subsequent levels. 
1.2      Statement of the Problem
One of the factors responsible for poor performance of Nigerian students of schools in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria, in Home economics is the high standards maintained by WAEC with unqualified Home economics teachers teaching the subject. Thisis because the WAEC which is of international standards will never lower their standard because Nigeria has not enough hands or qualified teachers to train its students.
Another one is that the numbers of teachers arenot equal to that of the students’population effective teaching then becomes a problem. The decline in the numbers of candidates ready to pursue the studies in home economics in secondary schools has become a matter of considerable societal concern not only in Calabar, Cross River State but in Nigeria as a whole. Consequently, the promotion of favourable attitudes towards science and learning of Home economics is extremely critical and important. However, the concept of poor performance in Home economics is not well defined, often poorly expressed and not well understood. This study examines the impact of the qualification of Home economics teachers on the performance of secondary school students in West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations using some selected schools in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria as a case study.
1.3   Research Questions
These are some of the questions the study is designed to answer:
i)  What are the impacts of the qualification of Home economics teachers on the performance of secondary school students in WASSCE examination?
ii)  What is the perception of students towards the qualification of their Home economics teachers on their academic performance in WASSCE?
iii)  What are the attitudes of the Home economics teachers on students’ academic performance in WASSCE?
1.4   Objectives of the Study
The objective of the study is to investigate impact of the qualification of Home economics teachers on the performance of secondary school students in West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations using some selected schools in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria as a case study and the specific objective are to:
i)  assess out the impacts of the qualification of Home economics teachers on the performance of secondary school students in WASSCE examination
ii)  establish the perception of students towards the qualification of their Home economics teachers on their academic performance in WASSCE
iii)  investigate the attitudes of the Home economics teachers on students’ academic performance in WASSCE
1.5   Research Hypotheses
The research hypotheses to be tested include:
i)  There is no significant relationship between the qualification of Home economics teachers and the performance of students in WASSCE
ii)  There is no significant difference between the perception of students towards the Home economics teachers and their performance in WASSCE
iii)  There is no significant correlation between the attitudes of the Home economics teachers and students’ performance in WASSCE.
1.6   Significance of the Study
This study will benefit the government in guiding and guarding them at all levels and ministries of education, in recruiting good and qualified teachers in their areas of specialization to teach effectively and impart knowledge needed by students to excel in their studies. It is hoped that this study will help in improving the whole system in such a way as to induce better performance in Home economics examination at the secondary school level.
1.7   Scope of the Study
The study investigates the impact of the qualification of Home economics teachers on the performance of secondary school students in West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations using some selected schools in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria as a case study. It therefore covers four selected secondary school students in the city of Calabar.
1.8   Limitation of the study
The researcher was faced with time constraint as there researcher was involved in other academic works as at the time this study was carried out. 
1.9   Definitions of Terms
The following terms were used in the course of this study:
Academic Performance: Scores attained in form one end of year examination.
Home economics: Field of study that deals with the economics and management of the home and community.It deals with the relationship between individuals, families, communities, and the environment in which they live.
NECO: National Examination Council
Secondary school: Is the next step up from primary school. Secondary schools are often called high schools in the United States. In Britain, secondary schools may be public schools, grammar schools or comprehensive schools.
Teachers: Persons who help others to acquire knowledge, competences or values. Informally the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone
WAEC: West African Examination Council
WASSCE: West African Secondary School Certificate Examination.
 
REFERENCES
Aremu, A.O. &Oluwole, D.A. (2001).Gender and birth order as predictors of normal pupil’s anxiety pattern in examination. Ibadan Journal of Educational Studies, 1, (1), 1-7.
Prof. Stephen Onah, (2017) Unqualified teachers bane of poor students’ performance in WAEC, NECO. Retrieved from https://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/04/unqualified-teachers-bane-poor-students-performance-waec-neco-don/ Accessed on the 9th of September, 2017.