Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Abstract

The study examines the influence of teachers’ classroom management techniques and students’ academic performance in Government in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area. The population size comprises of five hundred and twenty (520) secondary school students. The sample size consisted of two hundred (200) SS2 students from the randomly selected four (4) secondary schools out of seven (7) public secondary schools in the area.

A survey questionnaire containing 15 items was developed and used for data collection. The data were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The analysis of the data revealed that teachers’ classroom management techniques such as class size and classroom discipline has great significant on students academic performance.

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background to the Study

Classroom management is a significant part of effective teaching and learning process. Due to an effective classroom management, students thrive in a positive class climate and a compassionate environment. From a student perspective, effective classroom management provides them the opportunities to socialize themselves while learning from a teacher’s perspective, effective classroom management involves precautionary discipline and fruitful teaching. Okoli (2011) concluded that physical environment of the classroom and seating arrangement is interrelated and managed along side. For the classroom to serve its purpose, the teacher must be able to establish order.

This requires him/her to have the knowledge, attitude and skills necessary. He/she must be able to establish rapport with the students and their parents, involve students in the processes of establishing ground rules for behavior, and being accountable for their actions, manage transitions during instructions and motivate students to maximize time on task, supervise students in their learning activities and lastly deal with students misbehavior effectively.

However, the phenomenon of over-crowded classroom as well as poor quality and inadequate furniture in the classroom due to unlimited expansion has taken its fool on the educational system. Thus only few people will deny that the quality of teaching and learning is on the decline at all level of the educational system (Trow, 2010).

 In the same vein, Ajayi (2010) postulates that the poor result of the senior secondary school examination (SSCE) in almost all subjects on recent years is one potent indicator of poor classroom management. The increase in examination malpractices cannot be divorced from poor seating arrangement in classroom.

Furthermore, classroom management is the process of organizing and conducting the business of the classroom, many perceive it as the preservation or order through teacher control. Classroom management is much more than that, the also involves the establishment and maintenance of the classroom environment so that educational goals can be accomplished (Savage and Savage 2010).

Effective classroom managers create orderly safe environment where students feel valued and comfortable. Thus, setting the stage for teaching and learning to achieve classroom space to support a variety of independence for small and large group activitieies (Jones, 2011). Secondary school teachers also designate a large area of floor space where students can gathered for reading aloud, demonstrations and class meeting. Hence, in all classrooms, there should be no “blind” area in the room where students can be out of view. To allow “traffic flow” and minimize disruption, teachers separate high traffic area such as group work areas, learning centres, students desk’s and teachers desk.

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Supporting this view, Adeyinka (2013) stressed that effective classroom managers provide a structure, caring environment that meets students personal and academic needs. Such teachers are perceived as authority figures in the classroom. They share high behavioural guidelines, because effective teachers respect students as individual with right values and feelings. They carefully choose their wards and actions to protect students dignity. They actively engage students in meaningful, challenging educational experiences and provide plentiful positive feedback. In short, they set their students and themselves up for success.

However, in-effective teachers are poor planners. They do not start class on time, become side traced easily, use limited, low interest teaching strategies and create a disorganized expectation (Adeyemi, 2012). Furthermore, they avoid, their responsibility in helping students to make good behavioural choices by trying to be the students’ friends instead of their teacher when that approach generates misbehaviours. Ineffective teachers use ridicules, sarcasm and put down to put students in their place. Students disrespect for these teachers is evidence through increasingly frequently classroom disruptions and exceeding poor behavioural choices.

1.2   Statement of Problem

Classroom management is that heart of any educational system. No curriculum planning is complete without implementation and evolution both of which are mainly carried out in the classroom. Most of the class activities take place while students are seated. The seating arrangement is therefore too important to suffer the kind of neglect being experienced by many secondary school students in the country today. As rightly observed by Cohen and Marriron (2011).

A careful attention of seating arrangement contributes effectively to classroom management and control of overall success of the classroom. Observation reveals that recent times, there has been astronomical rise due to increase in environment of students in public secondary schools.

Some schools have as many as eighty (80), hundred (100) or above per class as against the teacher students ratio of 1:25 recommended by the National Policy on Education (FGN, 2004) which can affect students’ academic performance if classroom is not properly managed by the class management. This situation has multiple negative effects on teaching and learning as well as students academic outcome. This is evidence in the failure rates recorded by students in external examinations like WAEC in core subjects like Government.

Apart from this, students no longer have confidence in writing examinations on their own without examination dishonesty (Mgbikem 2012). However, this research tends to take a look at how classroom management techniques has affected the students academic performance in Government in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

1.3   Purpose of the Study

The study sought to find out the influence of teachers’ classroom management technique and students academic performance in Government in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom state. Specifically, the study will:

(i)     Find out the influence of class size on students academic  performance in Government in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

(ii)    Find out the influence of teachers’ classroom discipline on students academic  performance in Government in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.

 1.4   Significance of the Study

This study exposes the teacher to the concept, principle and theories they can apply in classroom to effect change in learners. Teachers need every bit of knowledge on how to control the classroom and to handle learners in the classroom setting. As such, the findings of this research will be significant in the following respects:

1. It will help teachers to learn the different managerial strategies for effective management of classroom in order to increase academic performance of the learners.
2. It will stimulate a rethinking in teachers and other educators about teacher education and improvement of teaching and learning process in schools.
3. It will provide more insight to both teachers and educators on the required performance on teachers. PTA, curriculum planners, parents etc.

1.5   Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the study. Thus:

(i)     To what extent does class size influence students academic performance in Government?

(ii)    To what extent does teacher classroom discipline influence student’s academic performance in Government?

1.6   Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study:

(i)  There is no significant relationship between academic performance of students taught Government in small class and those taught Government in over-crowded class size.

(ii) There is no significant relationship between academic performance of students taught with classroom discipline and those taught without classroom discipline in Government.

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

1.7   Delimitation of the Study

This study is delimited to only four (4) secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area and a size of two hundred (200) respondents down from the four randomly selected schools.

 1.8   Limitation of the Study

The study is constrained by limited frame for it execution and completion, finance, logistic problem and for the purpose of arriving at accurate analytical data. These circumstances made the study highly limited as it findings may differ from what may be obtained in other states of Nigeria, so the generalization made here limited the researcher in it generalizations.

1.9   Definition of terms

To show a clear perception of the study, the following terms are defined:

Classroom management: This has to do with the smooth and effective handling of the class through process of controlling, supervising planning, mobilizing of various resources.

Class size: The total number of students in a class at the given time under the supervision of a single teacher.

Techniques: This is the teaching device or strategy adopted by a teacher to teach a lesson.

Academic performance: This is the varying ability in which students perform at schools.

Classroom: This refers to a room of place where lessons are conducted.

Teaching: This refers to the act of impacting knowledge, skills and attitudes especially by a trained teacher.

Government: This refers to a subject taught in schools which deals with the principles governing the organization of government and the state.

Teacher: This refers to a person who has undergone training and is certified to input knowledge.

Students: this refers to a child undergoing studies in a secondary schools.

School: This refers to a place where people go to acquire or learn a particular subjects, course or skills.

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The chapter is aimed at reviewing the work done by seasoned researchers and academics that have direct relevance to the area under this research. This review will be done under the following headings as listed below:

1. Theoretical Framework
2. Teachers’ classroom management technique effectiveness and students academic performance in Government
3. Guidelines for an effective classroom management and planning
4. Teachers classroom discipline and students academic performance in Government
5. Methods of classroom management
6. Influence of class size and students academic performance in Government.
7. Summary of literature reviews

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools

Teachers Classroom Management Technique and Students Academic Performance in Government in Secondary Schools