Influence of Teacher’s Qualifications on the Performance of Secondary School Students in Physics in Osun East Senatorial Zone, Osun State

Abstract

The study investigated the difference in the performance of secondary school Physics students taught by teachers with high qualification and those taught by teachers with low qualification in Osun East Senatorial Zone, Osun State. It examined the difference in the performance of secondary school Physics students between those taught by skilled teachers and those taught by unskilled teachers; and between those taught with long year of experience and those taught without least year of experience. These were with a view to improving students’ academic performance in Physics in Osun State. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. The sample for the study consisted of 120 senior secondary school physics students in Osun State and 80 teachers that taught physics in the school selected. Three hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 significant level. The data collected were analysed using inferential statistics (t-test statistics). The result of the study showed that students taught by teachers with higher qualification performed better than those taught by teachers with lower qualification (t-cal = 11.86, t-crit = 1.96, df – 96). However, the experience of the teacher was significant at influencing the student’s academic performance in physics (t-cal = 8.47, t-cal = 1.96, df = 96). The study concluded that teacher’s qualification is not enough to positively influence academic performance of secondary school students, experience of the teachers cannot be overlooked when considering teacher’s effectiveness. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that long time experience teacher with higher qualification should teach physics at the certificate level.