Management of Agricultural Education Teachers as a Correlate for Students’ Learning Outcome in Ekiti State Secondary Schools

Abstract

This study examined the management of agricultural education teachers as a correlate for students’ learning outcome in Ekiti State secondary schools. The study specifically investigated Teachers’ Management Characteristics and Agricultural Science students’ learning outcome in Ekiti State secondary schools. The study also examined the relationship between Agricultural Science teachers’ management characteristics and students’ learning outcome in secondary schools in Ekiti State. It equally investigated students’ interest in studying Agricultural Science in Ekiti State secondary schools and determined the relationship between the secondary school location and students’ learning outcome. The study adopted the descriptive research design of the survey type. The population of the study comprised all the 607 teachers of agricultural science and 41,478 senior secondary school students of Agricultural Science in the 203 public secondary schools in Ekiti State. The sample for this study was 576 respondents, comprising Ninety-Six (96) Agricultural Science teachers and Four Hundred and Eighty (480) Agricultural Science students from twenty-four (24) secondary schools in Ekiti State. Multi stage procedure which involved purposive, simple random and stratified sampling techniques was used to select the sample for the study. Two set of instruments tagged “Teachers’ Management Characteristics Questionnaire (TMCQ)” and “Proforma on Students’ Learning Outcome (PSLO)” were used for the study. The three instruments were validated by experts. TMCQ had a reliability coefficient of 0.85. The data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The descriptive statistics of Frequency Counts, Percentages, Mean and Standard Deviation were used to answer the research questions while the inferential statistics involving Pearson Product Moment were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that the predominant management characteristics of Agricultural Science teachers in Ekiti State secondary schools were qualifications, teaching experience, teaching methods, gender, marital status and age. The study showed that the level of students’ learning outcome in Agricultural Science as well as students’ interest in studying Agricultural Science in Ekiti State secondary schools were moderate. Also, it was found that there was significant relationship between Agricultural Science teachers’ management characteristics and students’ learning outcome in Ekiti State secondary schools. Based on the findings of this study, it was concluded that management characteristics of Agricultural Science teachers were important factors that influenced students’ learning outcome in Agricultural Science in Ekiti State secondary schools. Teachers’ qualifications were the best predictor of students’ learning outcome in Agricultural Science in Ekiti State secondary schools among others. Qualified and experienced teachers should be employed to teach Agricultural Science at both junior and senior secondary schools levels. The veteran and experienced teachers should serve as mentor for the beginning teachers so as to ensure expected students’ learning outcome is achieved.