Investigation Of Students Perception Towards Teaching Practice Exercise Among Students Teacher

Project and Seminar Material for Education

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate on students perception towards teaching practice exercise among students teacher in Akwa ibom State University. The study was set to assess the benefits of teaching practice exercise as perceived by the students, assess the problem faced by student teacher during teaching practices as perceived by the students, assess students perception on the relationship between these challenges facing student-teachers and their performance and assess students perception on the measures through which student teachers’ experience can be enhanced and made more favourable. The survey design was adopted and the simple random sampling techniques were employed in this study. The population size comprise of students in the department of education in Akwa ibom State University. In determining the sample size, the researcher conveniently selected 200 respondents and 150 were validated. Self-constructed and validated questionnaire was used for data collection. The collected and validated questionnaires were analyzed using frequency tables. While the hypotheses were tested using Chi-square statistical tool. The result of the findings reveals that the benefits of teaching practice exercise includes: it is a period of grooming, it helps in producing competent teachers, it helps in building teaching skills, it provides the students an opportunity to acquire practical skills.The result of the findings reveals that there is a significant relationship between these challenges facing student-teachers and their performance. Therefore, it is recommended that adequate curriculum guidelines, facilities, reference materials like textbooks e.t.c. should be made available to facilitate effective and efficient teaching and learning. To mention but a few.

Table of Content

Title Page
Certification
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Table of Content
List of Tables
Abstract

Chapter One:

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study
1.2 Statement of the Problem
1.3 Objective of the Study
1.4 Research Questions
1.5 Research Hypothesis
1.6 Significance of the Study
1.7 Scope of the Study
1.8 Limitation of the Study
1.9 Definition of Terms
1.10 Organisations of the Study

Chapter Two:

Review of Literature

2.1 Conceptual Framework
2.2 Theoretical Framework
2.3 Empirical Review

Chapter Three:

Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design
3.2 Population of the Study
3.3 Sample Size Determination
3.4 Sample Size Selection Technique and Procedure
3.5 Research Instrument and Administration
3.6 Method of Data Collection
3.7 Method of Data Analysis
3.8 Validity of the Study
3.9 Reliability of the Study
3.10 Ethical Consideration

Chapter Four:

Data Presentation and Analysis

4.1 Data Presentation
4.2 Analysis of Data
4.3 Answering Research Questions
4.4 Test of Hypotheses
4.5 Discussion of Findings

Chapter Five:

Summary, Conclusion and Recommendation

5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusion
5.3 Recommendation
References
APPENDIX
QUESTIONNAIRE

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background to Study

Ruairc (2013) defines teaching practice as an important component of becoming a teacher. Teaching practice grants student – teachers experience in the actual teaching and learning environment. Teaching practice is known to expose student- teachers to the actual practice of teaching. It is during this period that student- teachers are given the opportunity to try the art of teaching before actually getting into the real world of the teaching profession (Kiggundu and Nayimuli 2009). In view of this, Perry (2012) argues that teaching practice creates a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, excitement and apprehension in the student- teachers as they commence their teaching practice. Thus, this provides student- teachers with the chance to express their personal educational philosophies, theories and understandings. In other words, this creates an opportunity for student- teachers to experiment and test their knowledge and skills in the profession of teaching and learning with an understanding of their personal educational philosophies and theories.

Teaching practice is a very important aspect of any teacher training programme. It is a student-teacher and prospective regular teacher what housemanship is to young medical doctor. Questions may be asked – why does a young lawyer on being called to the Bar choose first to understudy an older and more experienced lawyer? Why do young medical doctors go for housemanship under the more experienced ones? Why do vocational education students go on Industrial Training? Likewise, why do student-teachers or prospective teachers go on Teacher Practice? These questions and their answers are very similar. No human being anywhere would have to face some dangers that could be avoided. There is a popular adage which says that “Prevention is always better than cure” or “a stitch in time, saves nine”. Most of the student-teachers do not seem to be fully aware of this fact, may be because of the small proportion of the entire time allocated to teaching, he needs to go through adequate and appropriate teaching practice experience.

It is needful to note that teaching practice is not a bed of roses for the student- teachers because they experience challenges, which in a way can hamper their ability to derive maximum benefits from the exercise. Important part of a student teacher’s preparation and training, especially in the developing and underdeveloped worlds where teaching can be disrupted by a range of challenges. Some of these challenges are geographical distance, low and uneven levels of teacher expertise, a wide ranging lack of resources as well as a lack of discipline among a cross-section of learners and educators (Marais and Meier 2004). It is important that these challenges be addressed, as they may affect the student teachers’ performance during teaching practice as well as their perception of the teaching profession in subsequent years (Quick and Sieborger 2010).

Teaching practice has been defined by Ndagi (2014) as the teaching which those training for teaching or any education work are engaged in a specified period of time on graduation under a supervisor or supervisor guiding, directing and assessing trainee teacher. In some cases, the student- teachers must master the subject matter before going to classroom, and starts to teach. It is a very important scheme which has been in existence since the introduction of education course in teacher training certificates (T. T. C.), Nigeria Certificate in Education (N. C. E.), These programmes make teaching practice compulsory and no candidate is awarded certificate in Education without teaching practice in the training by medical doctors. Teaching practices is the most important element in the professional training of teachers across the world. The importance of teaching practice in teacher education programme cannot be overemphasized. It is the crucial periods of the translating theory into practice. The student -teachers have been facing a lot of difficulties which they have dealt with for effective teaching and learning to take place. This research work will therefore attempt to investigate and discuss the difficulties the student- teachers undergo during teaching practice and will finally suggest ways for which teaching practice exercise can be improved.

Teaching practice is a period of time during which a student teacher is assigned to a specific institution; primary or secondary school for a supervised teaching as one of the requirements for graduation and effective teaching experience. Okorie in Agusiobo and Udegbe (2010) defined teaching practice as a period that enables student teachers to learn about the actual work of the teacher in the classroom as well as out-of-class experience.

 Teaching practice provides the laboratory where a student practicalizes what he/she had learnt concerning effective teaching. Teaching practice is an important factor in preparing students for future teaching assignments.

According to National Teacher Institution, teaching.

Practice manual (2013), the general objectives of teaching practice are to enable the student teachers;
Gain general experience, both academic professional, social and physical related to teaching profession.
Acquire a wealth of practical experience from all staff they are likely to be in contact with through active participation in the school assigned responsibilities.
Bring the student teachers into direct contact with such significant issues as the functions and responsibilities of various categories of school, staff academic and non-academic.
Develop competence in proper lesson preparation delivery and assessment.

To achieve the above objectives, the student- teacher is usually required to undergo at least twelve weeks teaching practice to enable him/her acquire the expected skills which will position him/her as a competent professional teacher. During this period, the student teacher may be faced with some challenges which include classroom management, attitude of the supervisors towards the student teachers, curriculum development, instruction and environmental challenges. Learning environment according to Maduewesi (2015) include the classroom surroundings, physical facilities in the classroom and teacher- student relationship. Physical environment comprises all those equipment, materials, furniture and learning space that make up the place where learners learn. When all these things are made available to the student teachers, they will be motivated to carry out the task assigned to them and the aim of teaching practice will be achieved.

Supervisor is described as college or university lecturer (trained teacher) who is responsible for coordinating the student teachers while teaching. He is also seen as somebody who guides and coordinates the activities of teachers and other school personnel towards the realization of educational objectives. He mediates between people and school programmes in order to ensure that the processes of teaching and learning are improved (Anambra saju, 2014).

Supervision is an essential activity that exists to help teachers do a better job. Supervision is very important factor in teacher preparation because they help in the improvement of teaching and learning processes. During teaching practice exercise, the attitude of supervisors toward the student teachers can improve the ability and competence in the student teacher or it can mar the objective of the exercise. When the student teacher is not properly supervised the whole exercise will be unproductive. The supervision of students during teaching practice should be regular. The supervisor should be qualified and experienced so that he will be able to render to the student teachers the desired mentoring as will be needed from him/her.

Teaching practice is known to expose student teachers to the actual practice of teaching. It is during this period that student teachers are given the opportunity to try the art of teaching before actually getting into the real world of the teaching profession (Kiggundu and Nayimuli 2010). In view of this, Perry (2016) argues that teaching practice creates a mixture of anticipation, anxiety, excitement and apprehension in the student teachers as they commence their teaching practice. Thus, this provides student teachers with the chance to express their personal educational philosophies, theories and understandings. In other words, this creates an opportunity for student-teachers to experiment and test their knowledge and skills in the profession of teaching and learning with an understanding of their personal educational philosophies and theories.

It is needful to voice out clearly that teaching practice is not completely a bed of roses for the student teachers because they experience challenges, which in a way can hamper their ability to perform well and derive maximum benefit from the exercise, which is an important part of a student teacher’s preparation and training, especially in the developing and underdeveloped worlds where teaching can be disrupted by a range of challenges. Some of these challenges are geographical distance, low and uneven levels of teacher expertise, a wide ranging lack of resources as well as a lack of discipline among a cross-section of learners and educators (Marais and Meier 2004). It is important that these challenges be addressed, as they may affect the student teachers’ performance during teaching practice as well as their perception of the teaching profession in subsequent.

1.2 Statement of Problem

The problem is that some student teachers do not perform well in Home Economics while on teaching practice due to inadequate of instructional materials, master the subject matter good methodology, inability to control classroom during the teaching, over familiarity, lack of accommodation and office facilities for the student teachers, too much of works at time is given to the student- teachers, lack of cooperation from their practicing schools attitude of the pupils towards the student teachers and difficulty on the part of student teacher to manage his class effectively etc. the extent to which these problems are being addressed and recommendation made constitute the problem of study.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this study is the investigation of students perception towards teaching practice exercise among students teacher

The specific purposes of this study include the following:

To assess the benefits of teaching practice exercise as perceived by the students.
To assess the problem faced by student teacher during teaching practices as perceived by the students.
To assess students perception on the relationship between these challenges facing student-teachers and their performance.
To assess students perception on the measures through which student teachers’ experience can be enhanced and made more favourable.

1.4 Research Questions

The study will be guided by the following questions;

What are the benefits of teaching practice exercise?
What are the problem faced by student teacher during teaching practices and their performance?
Is there any significant relationship between these challenges facing student-teachers and their performance?
What are the measures through which student teachers’ experience can be enhanced and made more favourable?

1.5 Research hypotheses

Ho: The problem faced by student teacher during teaching practices has no significant effect on their performance.
Ha: The problem faced by student teacher during teaching practices has a significant effect on their performance.

1.6 Significant of the Study

Students-teachers, lecturers, colleges of education and universities, and future researchers will benefit from this study. The major beneficiaries of this research epistle are student teachers, in the sense that the study will familiarize them with the programme’s challenges and possible solutions to such challenges. This will enable them to be better graduates, more prepared to tackle the challenges of teaching. Through this study, supervisors of teaching practices and cooperating school teachers will become acquainted with the best and most effective ways of assisting student teachers to realize or achieve the objectives of teaching practice. The study will aid colleges and universities in preparing their students for teaching practice by providing them with the fundamentals of teaching. It will also aid in the development of solutions to the difficulties and, as a result, in the modification of the programme. Finally, future researchers will find the study useful as a reference for further research on related topics.

1.7 Scope of the Study

The study will investigate students perception towards teaching practice exercise among students teacher. The study, however, will be specifically focused on identifying the key challenges faced by student-teachers in the course of carrying out their teaching practice. More so, the study will outline the possible means through which these challenges and unpalatable situations can be surmounted. The study will be limited to Akwa ibom State University; hence, the respondents for the study will be obtained from students in the department of education in the university.

1.8 Limitation of the Study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. More so, the findings of this study is limited to the sample population in the study area, hence may not be suitable used in comparison to other schools, local governments, states and other countries of the world.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Teaching:

The act of giving out instruction for the purpose of imparting knowledge from one person to another or a group of people.

Learning:

Learning means to gain knowledge of skill by study.

Teaching Practice:

Teaching practice is the training for teaching or any education work are engaged in a specified period of time on graduation under a supervisor or supervisor guiding, directing and assessing trainee teacher.

Student Teacher:

This is a student still undergoing teachers’ education, which is being sent out to school as part of his or her training in the college.

1.10 Organizations of the Study

The study is categorized into five chapters. The first chapter presents the background of the study, statement of the problem, objective of the study, research questions and hypothesis, the significance of the study, scope/limitations of the study, and definition of terms. The chapter two covers the review of literature with emphasis on conceptual framework, theoretical framework, and empirical review. Likewise, the chapter three which is the research methodology, specifically covers the research design, population of the study, sample size determination, sample size, and selection technique and procedure, research instrument and administration, method of data collection, method of data analysis, validity and reliability of the study, and ethical consideration. The second to last chapter being the chapter four presents the data presentation and analysis, while the last chapter(chapter five) contains the summary, conclusion and recommendation.

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions and Recommendations:

5.1 Introduction

This chapter summarizes the findings on investigation of students perception towards teaching practice exercise among students teacher in Akwa ibom State University. The chapter consists of summary of the study, conclusions, and recommendations.

5.2 Summary of the Study

In this study, our focus was to investigate on students perception towards teaching practice exercise among students teacher in Akwa ibom State University. The study was specifically set toassess the benefits of teaching practice exercise as perceived by the students, assess the problem faced by student teacher during teaching practices as perceived by the students, assess students perception on the relationship between these challenges facing student-teachers and their performance and assess students perception on the measures through which student teachers’ experience can be enhanced and made more favourable.

The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 150 responses were validated from the enrolled participants, where all respondent are students in the department of education in Akwa ibom State University.

5.3 Conclusions

Based on the findings of this study, the researcher made the following conclusion.

The benefits of teaching practice exercise includes: it is a period of grooming, it helps in producing competent teachers, it helps in building teaching skills, it provides the students an opportunity to acquire practical skills.
The problem faced by student teacher during teaching practices and their performance includes: rejection of students for teaching practice exercise by schools where posted, facilities constraint in the practicing schools, lodging/accommodation problem for students on teaching practice and unwillingness of the students to become teachers after graduating from the university.
There is a significant relationship between these challenges facing student-teachers and their performance.
The measures through which student teachers’ experience can be enhanced and made more favourable includes: adequate teacher task orientation, provision of conducive classroom environment, allocation of adequate teaching practice time-frame, provision of adequate instructional materials and provision of adequate teaching facilities.

5.4 Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are proffered.

Adequate curriculum guidelines, facilities, reference materials like textbooks e.t.c. should be made available to facilitate effective and efficient teaching and learning.
There is a need for the government and other relevant authorities to provide good library facilities with updated teaching aids.
Students’ teachers should also be sent to high-quality schools with an enabling learning environment. While the government ensures that the classroom environment of public schools is improved and maintained so as to facilitate effective teaching and learning practices,
Student-teachers should learn how to write lesson notes before going into teaching practice.
The prospects of teaching practices as analyzed in chapter four of this study should be adopted and implemented across every secondary school where students are victims of substandard schools and learning environments.

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