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Students’ Perception of Teachers’ Subject Mastery, Classroom Management and Students’ Academic Performance in Chemistry in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria
Melvina N. Amalu
Department of Educational Foundations University of Calabar, Calabar E-mail: [email protected]
Maria Enemeba Ngwu
Department of Guidance and Counselling University of Calabar, Calabar
Lucy Obil Arop
Department of Guidance and Counselling University of Calabar, Calabar
Imo Martin Obot
Department of Educational Foundations University of Calabar, Calabar E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The paper investigated the influence of students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery and classroom management on students’ academic performance in chemistry in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria. The design of the study was descriptive survey while the population consist of all Senior Secondary two (SS11) students in the area of study. The sample was 200 SS2 students who were composed through simple and stratified random sampling technique from the population. Relevant data for answering the two hypotheses were collected from the sample through the administration of Students’
Perception of Teachers’ Attitude to Work Questionnaire (SPTAWQ) on them. The Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of sections B and C of the instrument were .73 and .84 respectively. Two hypotheses were tested with One-way Analysis of Variance statistics and the result showed significant positive influence of students’ perception of subject mastery, classroom management on students’ academic performance. These results were discussed and some recommendations were also made. One of the recommendations is that students should have positive perception of their teacher and the subject as well, as this will help motivate interest and enhance academic performance.
Keywords: Perception, subject mastery, classroom, management, performance.
Academic Performance in Chemistry in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria 254
1. Introduction
Education has over the years remained a veritable tool used for the development of any nation. It is vital for equipping individuals with the right quality of knowledge, skill, competencies, values and attitude to enable them function competitively in emerging e-driven society. The accomplishment of the objective of education has been dumped on the laps of the teachers. Teachers have been identified as indispensable human resources in the educational system and also are regarded as key figures that translates the philosophy and objectives into knowledge and skills to ensure that the children are educated in accordance with them since quality output depends on effective teachers (Asuquo, 2018).These essential knowledge and skills are usually acquired through learning and academic performance.
Academic performance is a key feature in education. It is considered to be the centre around which the education system revolves and determines the success or failure of any academic institution (Amalu and Ndifon, 2017). Arhad, Zaidi and Mahmood, (2015) defined academic performance as a measurable and observable behaviour of a student within a specific period. According to Amalu (2015), it is the child’s achievement score within the class and his performance on standardized tests in school It measures the extent to which an educational institution, teachers and students have achieved their educational goals and also consists of scores obtained by a student in assessment such as class exercise, class test, examination (Yusuf, Onifade Bello, 2016). Academic performance according to Amalu and Nanjwan(2019) is influenced by academic and non-academic factors such as general intelligence, interest, achievement .motivation, locus of control, motivation, perception, teaching styles, attitude, availability of teaching and learning materials etc.
Classroom teaching as pointed out by Esu(2001) requires demonstration of repertoire of necessary skills which enable students to learn effectively. Such skills or competencies offer practical strategies, practices and rules to guide teachers in ways to improve instruction that improves student performance and the quality of the work experience. Subject mastery and classroom management are among the four groupings of the competencies needed for effective teaching in our school system. The mastery of subject matter is the foundation upon which the education of a teacher is based. It is an essential skill that a teacher requires to be endowed with in the teaching and learning process as it has direct impact on teaching and learning process in the school. Teachers are required to know what they are teaching because understanding of subject matter by a teacher implies that the teacher is able to grasp the main points and teach them to the learners and to correct any misconception of knowledge.
Mastery of the subject matter by the teachers helps them to impart knowledge effectively and confidently. It is through the mastery of subject matter that the teachers are able to impart right skills of communication, collaboration, critical thinking and creativity that are based on the three learning domain of cognitive, affective and psychomotor (Kamamia, Ngugi and Thinguri 2014). Subject mastery influences the learners understanding of the subject they learn, performance and the eventual attainment of national goal.
Classroom management on other hand is the method and strategies an educator uses to maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to student success and learning. It is a process that allows teachers to control the learning and direction of their classroom. Teachers use classroom management to keep students focused on learning while preventing disruption from slowing the learning process (Jayden, 2020). Therefore, both subject mastery and classroom management are in the heart of teaching and play significant role in students’ academic achievement. This is because no matter how dedicated a teacher is and how passionate he is about his students and subject, poor classroom management is detrimental to students’ achievement and development.
Of great importance to this study was the influence of students’ perception of subject mastery and classroom management on students’ academic performance in chemistry. Heggart(2016) conducted a study on how important subject matter knowledge is for teacher using 12000 students in nearly 900 randomly sampled primary schools in Peru. The finding showed that significant effect of teacher subject matter knowledge on student achievement in mathematics and English language.
Olasehinde-William, Yahaya &Owolabi (2018) in their study on teachers’ knowledge indices as predictors of secondary school students’ academic achievement in kwara State. Participant comprised seventy-eight (78) English and mathematics teachers from thirty-two (32) randomly selected secondary schools in kwara State and the intact SS2 students taught by the teachers. Result indicated that pedagogical and subject knowledge of teachers and significant predictors of students’ academic achievement. Asuquo(2018) carried out a related study on perception of teachers’ attitude to work and academic performance in chemistry among secondary school students n Calabar Municipality, Cross River State using 251 SS11 chemistry students randomly selected from 10 public secondary schools in Calabar Municipality Senior . The result revealed that the higher the students’ perception of teachers’
attitude to work in terms of subject mastery and classroom management, the better their academic performance. The research of Ntibi, Neji and Agube(2020) to examine the influence of students perception of teachers’ knowledge of subject matter/ lesson presentation and academic achievement in physics in Calabar municipality, Cross River State using fifty(50) physics students randomly selected.
The result obtained indicated a significant influence of teachers’ knowledge of subject matter and lesson presentation on students’ achievement.
George, Sakirudeen and Adams (2017) researched on effective classroom management and students’ performance in secondary school in Uyo, Uyo local government area, Akwa Ibom State. The sample comprised 200 out 2400 SS1 students selected from 5 public secondary schools in four clans within the study area revealed that effective management significantly influence students’ academic performance. Mwaniki(2012) in his research on influence of classroom management on students academic performance in history and government in public secondary school in Embu, East district Kenya, used 228 students randomly selected. The result indicated strong negative correlation between classroom management and academic performance. He concluded that an increase in disruptive behaviour n class leads to a decrease in academic performance among students. In another development, Sifi, Salamat and Iftikhar (2018) conducted a study that focused on impact of classroom management on achievement at University level. The sample comprised 1800 students randomly selected from three universities. Result showed that classroom management promotes students’
academic achievement. The research by Omenka and Otor(2015) to investigate the influence of classroom management on students’ academic achievement in science and mathematics in Oju local Government Area of Benue State indicated that classroom management(classroom discipline and motivation0 significantly influence students’ academic achievement in science and mathematics.
Above all in his philosophical cum empirical study on teachers’ mastery of subject matter by Obot (2014), it was confirmed that teachers’ mastery of subject matter influences students’ interest in Studying Social Study Education. Can this be true also of chemistry students?
The above discussion was aimed at investigating whether or not students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery/classroom management significantly influence the academic performance of secondary school students in Calabar municipality. This present study would prompt the teachers to improve in their attitude towards teaching profession for effective and efficient or maximum academic performance.
2. Statement of the Problem
The high rate of students’ poor academic performance in senior secondary school certificate examination (SSCE/WSSCE) in chemistry has become issue of worry to all stakeholders in Nigerian Educational system. A survey study by the researchers revealed that there has been a consistent failure in senior secondary school examination chemistry in Calabar municipality from2014 to 2018. The figure below show a high decline in performance in chemistry in 2014 less than 35% and A1-C6 in 2015 less than30% got between A1-C6. In 2016 only 23 had between A1-C6, 2017 was not different, only 25% pass the subject scoring between A1-C6 and in2018, only 29% of student credited with grade ranging from A1-C6. This shows that there is massive failure in chemistry examination, which could be as a result of teachers’ subject mastery and classroom management as perceived by the students.
Academic Performance in Chemistry in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria 256
In spite of the efforts made by the government and non-governmental organization to improve academic performance by training and re-training of science teachers, provision of instructional materials and building of new and modern laboratories, prompt payment of teachers’ salaries and science allowances, promotion and employment of science teachers(Ntamu and Amalu 2017 ),the situation still persist in secondary schools in Calabar Municipality and this motivated this study perception of teachers’ subject mastery, classroom management and academic performance of secondary school students in Calabar Municipality.
3. Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to determine whether students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery and classroom management can influence academic performance among secondary school students in chemistry in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria.
Specifically, the study examines:
1. Students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery and academic performance in chemistry.
2. Students’ perception of teachers’ classroom management and academic performance in chemistry.
4. Statement of hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study
1. Students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery does not significantly influence their academic performance in chemistry.
2. Students’ perception of teachers’ classroom management does not significantly influence their academic performance.
5. Methodology
The study adopted descriptive research design, because it is an efficient means of collecting data from a large member of respondents, representing the entire population. The population of the study consist of Senior Secondary School two (SS11) chemistry students. Ten schools and two hundred and fifty- one (251) students were selected through simple and stratified random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was titled” Student Perception of teachers’ Attitude to Work Questionnaire (SPTAWQ) which was divided into two parts, one part comprised the respondents’
personal data such as name of school, location and class of students, while the part two contained items that measure the independent variables in the study which sought information on perception of teachers’ subject mastery and classroom management. The questionnaire had 10 items each with options spanning from Strongly Agree (SA), Agree(A), Disagree(DA) and Strongly Disagree(SD). The second instrument was Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) with 30 items. Each correct option in the CAT was scored 1 while wrong option was scored 0. The instrument was validated by two experts in educational psychology. The instrument had .73 and .84 reliability respectively using Cronbach Alpha reliability method. The instrument was administered by the researchers with the permission of the school authorities and was assisted by subject teachers in those schools. Data was analyzed using One- way Analysis of Variance statistics.
6. Result Hypothesis One
Students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery does not significantly influence their academic performance in chemistry. The independent variable is students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery while the dependent variable is academic performance of students in chemistry. Students perception of teachers’ subject mastery was measured with five items on a four-point Likert type, subjects that scored 5-9 were classified as low in their perception of teachers’ mastery while those that scored from 10-15 and 16-20 were classified as moderate and high respectively. The hypothesis was analyzed using one-way Analysis Variance in comparing academic performance of students in chemistry across their levels of perception of teachers’ subject mastery which was tested at .05 level of significance. The result of the analysis is presented in Table 1.
Table 1: One-Way Analysis of Variance for perception of teachers’ subject mastery and academic performance of students in chemistry
Perception of teachers’
Subject Mastery N Mean SD
High 85 17.05 2.38
Moderate 102 14.51 1.89
Low 64 11.51 2.97
Total 251 14.58 3.19
Source of variance sum of squares df Mean square F-ratio p-level
Between groups 1156.164 2 578.082 102.924* .000
Within groups 1392.911 248 5.617
Total 2549.076 250
*Significance at .05 alpha level; p<.05
The result further revealed that the calculated F-ratio obtained was 102.924 with a p-value of .000 at .05 level of significance with 2 and 248 degrees of freedom. With the obtained result, the F- ratio was statically significant and the hypothesis which stated that students’ perception of teachers’
subject mastery does not significantly influence their academic performance in Chemistry was rejected.
Since academic performance of students in Chemistry was significantly influenced by their perception of teachers’ subject mastery, the source of the difference was determine using Fisher Least Significant Difference(LSD) Post Hoc Test multiple comparison analysis. The result is presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Fisher LSD Post Hoc Test for perception of teachers’ subject mastery and academic performance of students in Chemistry
Perception of teachers’
Subject mastery N Mean Mean difference p-level
High 85 17.05 2.54* .000
Moderate 102 14.51
High 85 17.05 5.63* .000
Low 64 11.42
Moderate 102 14.51 3.09* .000
Low 64 11.42
*Significant at .05 level; p<.05.
The result of the Fisher LSD Hoc Test analysis presented in Table 2 revealed that the mean score obtained by the students who were high in their perception of teachers’ subject mastery differ significantly when compared with the mean score of those who were moderate in their perception of teachers’ subject mastery (MD=2.54; p<05) and when compared with the mean score of those who
Academic Performance in Chemistry in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria 258
were low in their perception of teachers’ subject mastery (MD= 5.63; p<.05). The result finally revealed that the mean score obtained by the students who were moderate in their perception of teachers’ subject mastery differ significantly when compared with the mean score of those who were low in their perception of teachers’ subject mastery (MD=3.09; p<.05). Based on these, the source of the difference was basically from all the various categories of students’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery.
Hypothesis Two
Students’ perception of teachers’ classroom management does not significantly influence their academic performance in chemistry. The independent variable is students’ perception of teachers’
classroom management, while the dependent variable is academic performance of students in chemistry. Students’ perception of teachers’ classroom management was measured with five items on a four-point Likert type scale. Subjects that scored from 5-9 were classified as low in their perception of teachers’ classroom management while those that scored from 10-15 and 16-20 were classified as moderate and high respectively. The hypothesis was analyzed using one-way analysis of variance in comparing academic performance of students in chemistry across their level of perception teachers’
classroom management which was tested at .05 level of significance. The result of the analysis is presented in Table 3
Table 3: One-Way Analysis for perception of teachers’ classroom management and academic performance of students in chemistry
Perception of teachers’
Classroom management N Mean SD
High 57 16.58 2.52
Moderate 138 14.74 2.72
Low 56 12.16 3.36
Total 251 14.48 3.19
Source of variance sum of squares df Mean squares F-ratio p-level
Between groups 559.019 2 279.509 34.832* .000.
Within groups 1990.057 248 8.024
Total 2549.076 250
*Significant at .05 alpha level; p<.05
The result in Table 3 revealed that the mean score in academic performance in chemistry obtained by the 57 students who were high in their perception of teachers’ classroom management was 16.58 which is greater than the mean score of 14.74 obtained by the 138 students who were moderate in their perception of teachers’ classroom management and this is also greater than the mean score of 12.16 obtained by the 56 students who were low in their perception of teachers’ classroom management. This implies that the higher the students perception of classroom management the better their academic performance in chemistry.
The result further revealed that the calculated F- ratio obtained was 34.832 with a p-value of .000 at .05 level of significance with 2 and 248 degrees of freedom. With the obtained result, F-ratio was statistically significant and the hypothesis which stated that students’ perception of teachers’
classroom management does not significantly influence their academic performance was rejected.
Since academic performance of students in chemistry was significantly influenced by their perception of classroom management, the source of the difference was determined using Fisher Least Significant Difference (LSD) Post Hoc Test multiple comparison analysis. The result is presented in Table 4.
The result of the Fisher LSD Post Hoc Test analysis as presented in Table 4 revealed that the mean score obtained by the students who were high in their perception of teachers’ classroom
management differ significantly when compared with the mean score of those who were moderate in their perception of teachers’ classroom management (MD = 1.84; p<.05), and when compared with the mean score of those who were low in their perception of teachers’ classroom management (MD = 4.42;
p<.05). The result finally revealed that the mean score obtained by the students who were moderate in their perception of teachers’ classroom management differ significantly when compared with the mean score of those who were low in their perception of teachers’ classroom management(MD= 2.58; p<.05.
Based on these the source of the difference was basically from all the various categories of students’
perception of teachers’ classroom management.
Table 4: Fisher LSD Post Hoc Test for perception of teachers’ classroom management and academic performance
Perception of teachers’
Classroom Management N Mean Mean difference p-level
High 57 16.58 1.84* .000
Moderate 138 14.74
High 57 16.58 4.42* .000
Low 56 12.16
Moderate 138 14.74 2.58* .000
Low 56 12.16
*Significant at .05 level; p< 05
7. Discussion
The result of hypothesis revealed that students perception of teachers’ perception of teachers’ subject mastery had significant positive influence on their academic performance in chemistry.. The finding agreed with the finding of Heggart, 2016; Olasehinde-William, Yahaya & Owolabi2018 who confirmed that the teachers subject mastery are significant predictors of students’ academic achievement. This finding is surprising because good knowledge of subject mastery by the teacher helps the teacher to teach the learners correctly which in turn leads to the achievement of the set objectives and consequent interest of the learners to continue in the learning. In other words, mastery of subject matter is a component that determines the extent of students’ learning and achievement. Any teacher with good mastery of the subject area is characterized to have good class management, use adequate learning material, maintain clarity of thought, bold, confident of what he want to teach effectively and efficiently.
The result also revealed that students’ perception of teachers’ classroom management had significant positive influence on their academic performance in chemistry. The result is not surprising because effective classroom management sets the stage for teaching and learning. It sets a tone in the classroom that captures students’ attention as a necessity for effective teaching and learning of chemistry. Effective classroom management increases engagement, reduces inappropriate and disruptive behaviour, promotes students responsibility to class work and improves academic performance of students. No matter how dedicated a teacher is and how passionate he is about his student and subject, poor classroom management is detrimental to students’ achievement and development. This finding is in line with the findings of Gordon et al (2015); Simic (2019) who stated that classroom management create an overall positive learning environment for students that allow them learn without distraction and also enhances students’ success.
According to Obot(2015) in his study on Philosophy of education, the role of the teacher in learners’ education processes cannot be over emphasized. The teacher then needs to be at home with the necessary cognitive, psychomotor and attitudinal capabilities to be imparted into the learners.
Being that motivation plays a great role in the learning process, learners study better when the teacher from his high level of capabilities has the ability to motivate the learners (Obot, Essien, &Akpan, 2014). The importance of impactful teacher education cannot be over emphasized. From the realists
Academic Performance in Chemistry in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, Nigeria 260
and empiricists points of view, the learners’ experiences in the learning condition influences significantly the learners’ capacity to learn. One of the things the learners use from the learning environment is their perception of teachers’ competence in relation to his mastery of the subject matter (Obot, 2014).
8. Conclusion
Academic performance is important for the successful development of students in the society. Students who do well in school are better able to make the transition into adulthood and to achieve occupational and economic success. Therefore, a concerted effort should be made by the teachers to be committed in their professional duties so as to enhance students’ perception and academic performance.
9. Recommendations
Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made:
1. Students should develop positive perception toward their teachers and subject as well, as this will help to motivate interest and enhance academic achievement.
2. Chemistry teachers should be innovative, creative, caring and committed to their noble profession and should see themselves as models.
3. Government should make adequate provision to encourage training and re-training of science teachers from time to time in order to acquaint them with new development in the field of chemistry.
4. Chemistry teachers should have good content knowledge of the subject and be ready to learn different strategies in teaching of chemistry.
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