ABSTRACT
This research study was designed to
examine the effect of non-availability of teachers in teaching of
Christian Religious Studies in Junior Secondary Schools in Shomolu LGA.
The data used in this study "were obtained through the use of
questionnaires and school results for the served as a basis for
necessary and relevant information. Two hypotheses were formulated and
tested. The first hypotheses which state that unavailability of teachers
in CRS do not contribute to the performances of students was rejected.
Similarly the second hypothesis which states that the availability of
teacher's and experience on the job has effect on the student's
performance was accepted. At the end of the research study, the result
obtained revealed that student's performance in CRS is affected by the
availability of CRS teachers and experience on the job. Government
should improve the quality of the teachers by way of seminars, workshop
and better remuneration.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
Title pages i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of Contents vi
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 5
1.3 Purpose of the Study 7
1.4 Research Questions 7
1.5 Research Hypotheses 8
1.8 Definition of Terms 8
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction 9
2.2 Purpose of Christian Religious Studies 12
2.3 The Inadequate Supply of Qualified and Experienced Teachers 16
2.4 Role of the Christian Religious Studies Teacher 19
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 21
3.1 Design of the Study 21
3.2 Selection of Population 21
3.3 Sample of the Study 21
3.4 Research Instrument 22
3.5 Administration of Questionnaires 22
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESULT
4.0 Introduction 23
4.1 Socio Demographic Information of Respondents 23
4.2 Answer to Research Questions 26
4.3 Test of Hypotheses 30
4.4 Discussion of Findings 31
CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of Findings 33
5.2 Conclusion 33
5.3 Recommendations 33
References 36
Appendix 45
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Christian Religious Studies (CRS) forms
part of the basic national curriculum for Junior Secondary Schools this
may be a surprising fact but it has come up to be the truth and nothing
but the truth. Some individuals have linked religious with social
habituation and they have also gone a long way to argue that it has no
consign in either a working environment or a schools. At the same time,
others believe CRS have to be about fostering students within a
meticulous religious faith system.
Over the years, CRS has actively been
known to be a strong promoter of the values of genuineness fairness,
honesty, deference for all and care of the environment CR S consign
specific emphasis on children appreciating themselves and others, it
teaches us the real responsibility of family and the community in
religious principle and action, the contentment of diversity in society
through of acknowledgment of their similarities and differences, and
individual custodianship on earth. CRS is also acquainted with shilling
environment of the general public, including transformations in
religious practice and appearance and the authority of religion in the
neighborhood, homes, state and in the universal society.
The importance of teachers in teaching
CRS cannot be overstressed. This is because teachers play a number of
roles. Specifically, teachers have been referred to by Oyedeji (1998) as
agents of innovation. For meaningful innovations, adequate availability
of teachers' is very important. The complexity arises as a result of
several factors which include determination of what effective teachers
are: Teachers are expected to fulfill a variety of roles, some common to
all teachers, others uniquely related to certain kinds of environment
of students or subject matter. Added to this, is the fact that teacher
education involves the training of professionals who will educate
students in the future despite the complexity in the field of teacher
education. One cannot overemphasize the importance of academic training
of teachers of all categories. This is because the efficiency of any
institution depends on the academic competence of the teaching staff
since no educational system can- ri se above the quality of its teacher
(FGN, 1981 P.38). Teachers are important in any educational system. This
is because the quality of teachers in any educational system determines
to a great extent the quality of the system itself. Professional
teachers in particular are crucial to the formulation and successful
implementation to education policies in any country. This has explained
why our National Policy on Education N.P.E. (2004) stressed the need to
accord teacher education a prominent place in educational planning. The
policy further maintained that among other things, the goal of
teacher-education should be:
To produce highly motivated conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels of our educational system.
To provide teachers with the intellectual and professional background adequate for their assignment (N.P.E; 20O4).
To Peters (1977), quality is the basic
and indispensable feature of a thing, which differentiates it from other
things. The presence of that characteristic feature to a high degree
marks it out as a "thing of high quality" on the other hand, the absence
or the thing to a low quality status. For example, the characteristic
of a high quality teacher relates to those attributes that enhance the
fitness and efficiency of that teacher in performing the duties that are
associated with teaching CRS. That is, a high quality CRS teacher is
one who can competently achieve the objectives of teaching CRS in our
schools. At this point it will be pertinent to state that a professional
CRS teacher is a professionally prepared CRS teacher in contents and
methods of teaching Christian Religious Studies, thereby acquiring a
professional degree in education with special reference to any of the
CRS subject. For example, a professional university degree teacher is
expected to have B.Sc. (Rons) with a Post-Graduate Diploma in Religious
Studies Any other teacher with qualifications outside the above one can
be categorized as a non-professional CRS teacher.
There is greater demand for highly
creative and innovative teachers in Nigeria today who can lead students
onto paths of meaningful learning. An effective and efficient teacher is
also one of the necessary factors to effective instruction in all
subjects including Christian religious studies. Adequate supply of
effective and efficient teachers to teach on senior and junior secondary
has been one of the major reoccurring problems in the Nigerian
educational sector. Other problems include the outdated nature of the
curriculum, controversial nature of the subjects and poor methods of
instruction. Religious studies lay emphasis on factual examination
oriented approach and religious dogmas. According to WesterHoff (1978),
though the name Religious Studies has been used most frequently, there
is no complete or consistent agreement on what the word mean or what it
refers to. Today, there is less concurrence than ever before. Scott
(1980) says that no consensus exists today on the nature, scope and role
of Religious Studies. The above named scholar believe that current
search to identify revolves around different usage of key terms like
Religious Education, Religious Knowledge, Religious and Moral
Instruction. Other problem is that since Religion deals with values,
judgments and feelings, everyone in the society will agree with it. The
implications of the above is that the controversial nature of the
subject, lack of consistent linguistic discourse and the unstable
pattern of conversation currently going on in the field have contributed
to making the subject difficult and technical.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
It has been observed that the effect of
non-availability of qualified teachers in the teaching of Christian
Religious Studies in Schools has been of positive or negative impact to
the teaching and learning process. Some problems has been identified to
be the possible cause.
It was revealed that there had been a
serious reduction in the enrolment of students in the subject at
secondary schools level and tertiary institution of learning due to the
fact that some teachers acquired their certificate through various
means. In most educational institutions, teachers that are not trained
to teach subjects such as CRS are made to do so thereby not giving the
students the required training and knowledge about that particular
subject.
Sofowora (2002) also states that not all
media materials that are available are technically suitable for use in
teaching. He emphasized the need for training teachers in the art and
craft of design selection production and use of appropriate needs. The
required skills in the area mentioned above can only be acquired through
Educational Technology. One of the major concerns of Educational
Technology is the quest for effective instruction which is reflected in
its definition.
The achievement of effective and
efficient teaching and learning in schools has been one of the perennial
problems in education. However, the problems facing the quality and
adequacy of the availability of manpower for the effective teaching of
Christian Religious Studies has generated a lot of concern among
scholars such as Alaba (2008); and Adeyemi and Aviomoh (2003). In
Nigeria, the shortage of qualified teachers has been reported (Adeyemi
and Aviomoh, 2003). These shortages have been attributed to the low
salaries and social prestige given to teachers (Aghenta, 2001). Also,
the free education policy of the Lagos State government tends to have
compounded the problems in secondary schools perhaps as a result of
insufficient funds to employ adequate teachers and to run the schools.
This problem is believed to have effect on students' performance in the
subject. For instance, in spite of the acknowledgement of the importance
of Christian Religious Studies to the society and laying of solid
foundation for students, the performance of students in subject shows
that this has not been properly achieved.
Based on the highlighted problems, this
study will focus on the effect of non-availability of qualified teachers
in the teaching anti learning of Christian religious studies in junior
secondary schools in Shomolu Local Government.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
This research work specifically seeks to achieve some objectives which include:
1. Identify the rate of non
-availability of junior secondary teachers to teach Christian religious
studies in Shomolu Local Government Area of Lagos state.
2. Identify the effect of the
non-availability of Christian religious teachers in junior secondary
school on the academic performance of students on the subject.
3. Identify and measure any other
effect the non-availability of junior secondary school teachers in
Christian religious studies in having on the students.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following assumptions stand as research questions of the study:
(1) What is the rate or extent of
shortage of. qualified Christian religious teachers in junior secondary
schools in Shomolu Local Government Area?
(2) To what extent does this shortage of
Christian religious teachers affect junior secondary school student's
performance in the subject?
(3) To what further extent are junior
secondary students in Shomolu Local Government affected by the shortage
of Christian religious teachers?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The following null hypotheses were formulated and tested in this study.
H01: Inadequacy of
qualified Christian Religious Studies teachers will not affect effective
teaching of the subject in Lagos State. It limited to the effect of
shortage of qualified Christian religious teachers in junior secondary
schools.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
NON-AVAILABILITY: The state of not being available, free, or able to be used.
QUALIFIED: Officially recognized as being trained to perform a particular job; certified.
TEACHER: A person who teaches, especially in a school.
TEACHING: The occupation, profession, or work of a teacher.
LEARNING: The acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught.
CHRISTIAN: Relating to or professing Christianity or its teachings. RELIGIOUS: Relating to or believing in a religion.
STUDIES: The devotion of time and attention to gaining knowledge of an academic subject, especially by means of books.