Teachers’ Academic Qualification, Gender and Teaching Experience as Correlate of Students’ Academic Performance in Biology in Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Many studies have pointed out different variables as factors determining the student achievement in biology. Such factors include parental, students, teachers and school factors. Previous studies show that these factors prevent students to actively involve in the teaching and learning process. Teachers’ qualification, teaching experience and teachers’ gender have been established to facilitate the teaching and learning process. This study therefore examined the influence of teacher’s academic qualifications, gender and teaching experience on students’ academic performance of Senior Secondary school Students in Biology. The area of the study was Ido LGA. A case study of ten secondary schools formed the research design. Sample consisted of 20 teachers and 200 SSS II Biology students. Random sampling technique was used to select ten schools from the study area. Teacher’s academic qualifications, gender, teaching experience and the SSS II student’s first term result formed the data which was analysed using simple percentage, ANOVA tested at 0.05 level of significance and multiple regression. Four null hypotheses were tested in this study. The findings of the research shows that there was a great significant influence of the teacher’s academic qualifications [F = 0.216, p=.049], gender [F = 0.298, p=.027] and teaching experience [F = 0.012, p=.042] on student’s academic performance. The result also revealed a great significant joint influence of qualification, teachers’ gender and teaching experience on students’ academic performance. These results were further subjected to Scheffe`s post hoc Tests and the results were highly significant. Since teachers professional qualification, gender and teaching experience influence students’ academic performance in Biology, the government and all stakeholders in education sector should endeavour to implement its policy on basic education for all, retain experience teachers through better conditions of service, fund education through provision of teaching aids and thus, create an enlightened society in which every Biology teacher would be educated, experienced and competent enough to have a positive influence on their Biology students for better performance in the subject Keywords: Teachers’ Qualification, Gender, Teaching Experience, Biology, Students’ Academic Performance DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/11-9-03 Publication date: May 31 st 2021