ANALYSIS OF PROBLEMS OF STUDENT TEACHERS DURING TEACHING PRACTICE IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study analyzed the problem of student teacher during teaching practice exercise.

            Three (3) null hypotheses where formulated to guide the study.

            The population of the study comprised of the student in the faculty of education in Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma.

            The sample of the study was draw from the faculty of education, Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma. The year one student of the various departments under the institute of education Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma made up the sample for this study.

            The design of he study was the survey design.

The instrument used for the study was the questionnaire. The questionnaire was meant to be completed by education students.

            The data collected was analyzed using the percentage. The researcher administered a total of one hundred questionnaires.

(1)               About 75% of the respondents agreed that many students teachers are unable to differentiate between the weeds of the individual child rather they teat each alike.

(2)               About 69% of respondents agreed on this problem of improper control and wrong disciplinary measure on the student teacher resulting to the tumbling of the student teacher in the classroom.

(3)               Financial problem is another area about 88% of the respondents agreed on this as a major problem.   

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

        Teaching as a profession like any other profession has prescribed services it renders to any human society. It is therefore; absolutely necessary for many individuals who went to become a teacher to acquire skills and demands.

Students teaching practice is one of such relevant factors in teacher’s education programme.

        Teaching practice is an “integral part” of teacher education which occupies a phase of its own, during the phase, there will be teacher sent out by his training institution (of lower level). For the purpose of putting into practice the skills he has learnt under the supervision of an experienced teacher.

        Every student teacher should be made to realize that only teacher who has passed both theory paper and compulsory practical training examination are considered trained and certified. No student teacher is considered fit the award of a pass grade in teaching unless he or she successfully fulfills the prescribed practice regarded as a core course of teacher education programmes, which affords student teachers the opportunity to face the realities of their professional career. The exercise enables the student teacher to adjust and overcome some of the practical problems of teaching often encountered in the classroom.

        The student teacher who is able to examine a problem from a variety of perspective has the advantage of being in a position to use different approaches.

Furthermore, he is also likely to perceive him self as a factor in the problem under consideration.

        The importance of teaching practice in teacher education programmed cannot be over emphasized. It is the crucial period the teacher put into practical, the student teacher encountered a lot of difficulties (problems) which they have to grapple with for effective teaching learning to place.

        In Ambrose Alli University, teaching practice is important to the student’s teacher’s understanding the appreciation of the principles of child growth and action to the teaching learning process. Presently, there has been a lot of concern about teaching practice in Ambrose Alli University, it’s especially on it effectiveness and purpose. The concern have been variously expressed by educationist in the Faculty of Education in Ambrose Alli University, student themselves and the general public thought of book written by some of the journal and mass media.

        Accepting the assumption that not every body can teach effectively and teachers are made, not born. It therefore follows that in Ambrose Alli University, teachers can be aided to acquire practice knowledge, skill and attitude to good teaching.

Statement of the Problem

        Teaching has it own problem which professional teachers try to overcome by teaching practice. Because the student is still practicing teaching he/she is confronted by peculiar problems.

        Among the problems faced by the student teacher are:

1)          Planning the lesson.

2)          Poor class management and control.

3)          Lack of facilities in practicing school.

4)          Poor method of teaching.

5)          Ineffective usage of teaching aids.

6)          Inability to differentiate between the needs of the individual child and

7)          Supervision

Research Question

1.          Is there any relationship between the attitude or practicing school and student teacher performance during teaching practice?

2.          Is there any relationship between self-confidence of the student teacher and his performance during teaching practice?

3.          Is there any relationship between availability of teaching aids and student teacher’s performance during teaching practice?

Hypotheses

Hypotheses 1: There is no significant relationship between the attitude of practicing school and student teacher’s performance during teaching practice.

Hypotheses 2: There is no significant relationship between self-confidence of the student teacher and his performance during teaching practice.

Hypotheses 3: There is no significant relationship between availability of teaching aids and student teacher’s performance during teaching practice.

Purpose of the Study

        The purpose of the study is to highlight the problems most student teachers in Ambrose Alli University as well as other institution encounter during teaching practice. How those constitute problems and consequences on students teachers and teaching in general.

        The student also tried to find the major threat that attempt to weaken this pragramme

Significance of the Study

        The benefit that could be derived from the outcome of this research work are as follows-:

(a)         It could provide the student teachers with useful information on likely problems they are going to face during teaching practice and to make them prepared to overcome these problems.

(b)        It could make the student teacher to be, and are of what the teaching profession demands and what it takes to be a good teacher and function properly in a school environment.

(c)         It enables the supervision and teaching organizers to know the various problems student teachers face during teaching practice.

(d)        The State and Federal Ministries of Education would be aware of the problems student teachers encounter whenever they are out on teaching practice and this would enable then to provide lasting solution to those problems.

(e)         Finally all outcome of this would increase the volume of literature for student teacher in Ambrose Alli University as well as other institution, during teaching practice.

Scope of the Study

       This study is restricted to the analysis of the problems of student teachers during teaching practice exercise. Teaching practice, as an exercise is included in the education programme of all teachers producing institutions.

        It therefore means that what obtain in one case in applicable in another case as far as problems of teaching practice is concerned. However, in obtaining the necessary data that aided the researcher final analysis and condition, the study was restricted to Ambrose Alli University alone, both full time and part time student, where the researcher was able to tap information from students who have at one time or the other done teaching practice.

Limitation of the Study:

There is no doubt that during the course of writing this project many limitations were faced some of them includes the following-:

1.       Time factor: the time was a big constraints compared to the volume and quality of the work to be done.

2.       Data collection: this process passed a lot of limitation to this work due to source of data mentioned may not be enough over the ones collected, were collected in a rigorous form.

3.       Finance: this is also another limitation as a result of the fact that every stage of this work needed finance beginning from the first stage to the last stage.

4.       Respondents: these are also limitation due to the preservation attitude of some people in releasing vital information

Definition of Terms

The concepts are defined as they have been used in this work.

Teaching Practice: It is an integral part of teaching education which occupies a phase or its own.

Student Teacher: A college student in a Teacher Training Institute, who went through required courses in the teacher education programme before being assigned to a co-operating school for professional laboratory experience.

Backward Children: They are those that are below average in their subject but they may be good in one or two subject their intelligence quotient is much more below 100

Extrovert: They are the noisy, pushful type of children their nurse grievances, they have no patience for work that needs thinking; they prefer activities that involve action.

Introvert: They are the quiet types who really don’t speak out their minds for people to know what they are thinking.

Individual Different: Individual in variable differ from one another in the extent of their growth and their development progress tends not to be informed in all area within the individual e.g. physical growth may progress at a different rate then intelligence growth.