Teachers’ Characteristics as Correlates of Upper Basic School Students’ Performance in Social Studies in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of the study examined teachers’ characteristics as correlates of upper basic school students’ performance in social studies in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The correlational research type was adopted for the study. The instruments used were a 36–item Questionnaire on Teachers’ Characteristics (QTC) and a 100-item Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT). 727 students randomly selected from 34 Basic Junior Secondary School Three (JSS. III), in Yenagoa metropolis, Bayelsa State participated in the study. One research question was answered using the Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation (PPMC) while one null hypothesis was tested with the use of Multiple Regression Analysis. Based on the results obtained, it was revealed that both teachers’ use of instructional materials, teachers’ dispositions, teachers’ pedagogical skills and teachers’ reflective practice were found to have a significant relationship with upper basic school students’ performance in social studies respectively. The predictor variables were also significant in their relative and composite contribution to the prediction of the criterion variable. Thus, it was recommended among others that, faculties, institutes and colleges of education in Nigeria should as a matter of importance familiarize trainee teachers with relevant components of reflective practice and integrates same in their teacher education programmes.

Keywords

• Teachers’ Characteristics
• Reflective Practice
• Disposition
• Pedagogical Skills
• Students’ Performance
• Upper Basic School

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