INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS' QUALIFICATION AND SUBJECT MASTERY ON BASIC SCIENCE STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC EDUCATION CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN ABUJA MUNICIPALAREA COUNCIL, ABUJA, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated the influence of teachers' qualification and subject mastery on Basic Science students' academic achievement in the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) in Abuja Municipal Area Council. The study was guided by two research questions and two corresponding hypotheses, tested at a 0.05 level of significance. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population comprised 48,921 students who sat for the BECE in the 2023 academic session and 219 Basic Science teachers in AMAC, FCT, Abuja. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 1,657 students and 54 Basic Science teachers who taught the selected students in the junior secondary school section under the Universal Basic Education (UBE) scheme. Data were collected using the Basic Science Teachers' Characteristics Checklist (BSTCC) and the Basic Science BECE Achievement Proforma. The reliability of the BSTCC was established using the Cronbach Alpha formula, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.87. Descriptive statistics, including mean and standard deviation, were used to answer the research questions, while t-test and ANOVA were employed to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that teachers' academic qualification significantly influences students' academic achievement in Basic Science. Similarly, teachers' mastery of the subject matter was found to have a significant impact on students' achievement in the BECE. Based on the study's findings, it was recommended that teachers of Basic Science in AMAC should be encouraged to pursue in-service training and professional development programs. Such programs should emphasize both enhancing teachers' content knowledge and strengthening their pedagogical skills to improve students' learning outcomes and academic performance in Basic Science.