Abstract

The aim of this research project is to investigate “The Effects of Teacher Characteristics on Students’ Academic Performance in Some Secondary Schools in the Buea Municipality”. The study was guided by the following specific objectives. To find out if teaching experience is related to academic performance.

To examine the relationship between teachers’ classroom effectiveness and students’ academic performance. To investigate how inadequate professional records can influence student academy performance. To find out if the teachers gives direct satisfaction to students’ academic performance. The study made use of an exploratory survey research design with a sample size of 110 students from summerset and bilingual Grammar school.

The questionnaire was used to collect data for the statistics was used to analyze the data collected from respondents with the use of simple percentages, tables, and figures. The findings of this study revealed that teachers’ characteristic affects student academic performance negatively and positively in secondary schools in the Buea Municipality.

Based on these findings, the following recommendations were made; teachers should do their best to make sure that they go close to their students’ in order to have a one on one relationship with them, and by doing so, it will improve the academic performance of the student as much as possible, the student should appreciate the efforts made by the teacher to get to know them and they should be careful not to take this effort for granted. Suggestions for further research were equally made.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

This chapter focuses on the background of the study, statement of the problem, objectives of the study, research question, significance of the study, operational definition of terms, and summary of the chapter. Teachers’ characteristics can be defined as being able to engage students with humour, creative lessons, and managing his/her classroom effectively. While academic performance is the extent to which a student teacher or an institution has attained their short or long term goal.

The effect of teacher’s characteristics on students’ academic performance in some secondary school in the Buea Municipality can either be seen negatively or positively. Teacher’s characteristic is a mixture of both technical and pedagogical characteristics.

Background of the study

Conceptually, teachers’ characteristics found to be dominant in cross country studies are related to qualification experience, attitude, and personality. Akinsolu (2010) asserts that the availability of qualified teachers determines the performance of students in school. Teachers’ characteristics on student academic performance discuss the gap between the academic performance and the student’s expected performance and the student’s expected performance occurs which becomes referred to as a diverging performance.

Historically, teachers have a direct responsibility to shape a student’s academic performance and is the most important school based factor in their education (Rockoff 2004;Rivkin, Hanushekkain 2005: Aaronson, Barrow and Sander, 2007). Some indicators of teachers’ characteristics include: their students remain a top priority, they maintain the balance between lecturing and listening, and they led their passions to show through their lessons.

This is why it is important to examine which teacher characteristics may be related to student academic performances. Considering which teacher characteristics produce the best student academic performance at the secondary school level can help the school in identifying unique ways to increase student performance with the teacher resources available to them.

Excellences in academic life demands a high level of intelligence; but in addition to intelligence, recent studies have indicated that there are other factors that can be useful predictors of academic performance (Busato, Prins, Elshoat, and Hamaka 1999, 2000; Chamorro Premuzic and Feinham, 2003) one of the factors is teachers’ characteristic. Teachers cannot be undermined in the discussion of knowledge transfer or education in every way. Teachers are very instrumental to the transfer of knowledge.

Ali (2009) observes that there is a statistical relationship between teachers’ characteristics and student’s academic performance. Borich (2000) suggests that effective teachers are those who use meaningful verbal praises to get and keep students’ activities participating in their learning process. Teachers must show interest in the student, as this promotes bonding Irvine (2001) suggest that students defined teachers who set limits provides structure, held high expectations, and pushed them to achieve as their favorite teachers. Generally, this behavior affects student learning.

Performance as a variable is linked to the teachers’ experience, resulting from the ideas generated in the course in learning, training, acquired classroom management skills. Teachers’ experience has a significant effect on student performance in the sense that students taught by more experienced teachers achieve at a higher level because their teachers have mastered the content and gained classroom management skills to deal with different types of classroom problems (Gibbson, 1997); therefore, the academic performance of students is dependent on the characteristics that a teacher portrays.

Parents are keen on seeing their children enroll and graduate from prestigious educational institutions as most competitive to offer their best educational programs and be at the forefront of academics. Classroom teachers are primarily responsible for student academic achievement as a school’s primary preparation of students.

Contextually, a teacher by their very definition is that which guides and impacts knowledge to students’ pupils and to the community as well his/her communicate the knowledge through their professional skills. These skills can only be successfully trained. Today in the Cameroon context teachers do face a lot of difficulties trying to pass across this knowledge to students which has an effect on student performances specifically in Buea municipality. Which is as our case study some difficulties teachers faced include inadequate finance?

Theoretically, in line to support these works, the various theories will be examined and they include the formal theory of teaching by John Dewey (1916), the Descriptive theory of teaching Cordon and Bruner (2007 and the Normative theory of teaching by Fred Siebert, Theodore, and Wilbur Schamm).

Statement of the problem

Teachers’ characteristics have an impact on student academic performance in some secondary schools in the Buea municipality both negatively and positively. Teachers are like role models to their students. Therefore, the kind of characteristics that teachers manifest will positively or negatively affect students’ performance. This study set out

Objectives of the study

The main objective is;

To investigate on some of these teachers’ characteristics and the impact on students’ academic performance.

The specific objectives are;

1. To find out if teaching experience is related to the academic performance of students.
2. To examine the relationship between teacher’s classroom effectiveness and students’ academic performance.
3. To investigate how inadequate professional records can influence student academic performance.
4. To examine the inadequate use of some teaching skills that can influence students’ academic performance.
5. To find out if the teachers give direct satisfaction to students’ academic performance.