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Chapter I

THE RESEARCH PROBLEM

Background of the Study

Education is an instrument for national development. Education, just like anything

in the world, is dynamic and is constantly changing and improving to meet the needs

and demands of the society. The Philippines, being one of the developing countries, is

struggling to cope up with the boom of technology and the changes happening in the

educational system. With this, the Philippine government continues to give its best

efforts to improve and continually give quality education to various subjects especially in

Science, Mathematics, and English in order to produce globally competent individuals.

In accordance with this there are schools who are offering these three major subjects

supporting the goals of the government.

With the advancement of technology, different tools for education were also

developed and enhanced to improve education. These technologies are integrated in

different subjects to support the teaching and learning process. According to studies,

technology is not the only factor that affects the students’ performance in school.

Student’s interest towards education, the teacher’s attitude towards teaching, the

availability of tools and equipment in schools, and the parent’s support toward their

children are significant factors that affect the holistic performance of students in school.

Laboratory schools supporting science education cater Science, Mathematics, and

English as priority subjects that need to be emphasized in the teaching and learning

process but not leaving behind the other subjects like Filipino, Araling Panlipunan, etc.
 2

Selected students, those who can pass the admission test, are the ones with the

privilege to study in laboratory schools. The LNU-ILS and the EVSU-SLS are just

examples of the laboratory schools having Elementary and Secondary levels of

education. Students who study in laboratory schools are said to be advanced in the

three subject areas aforementioned. With this, they are expected to perform better

academically and is predicted to be more competent than those students studying in

public schools.

Laboratory schools teach advanced English, Mathematics, and Science that help

their schools, teachers, and students be recognized in different interschool

competitions. The students are the ones who benefit the most since they can also use

their knowledge inside and outside the school. According to Tyler (2002), the knowledge

and experiences gained by the students in these three subjects can either assist or

interfere their learning in science. English is an important tool in learning science.

Bustos, A. and Espiritu (1996) state that psychologists and teachers agree that students

who cannot communicate cannot learn since the transfer of information will be

ineffective. Mathematics is also an integral part of science (Lee and Avalos 2002). It

plays a basic role in subjects like physics, chemistry, biology, and others.

Teachers play an important role in the learning of the students. They serve as

facilitators in the learning process and are there to provide quality education for

students. Teachers give feedback to students for them to know their adequacies and/or

inadequacies on a specific subject or course.

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The reasons why the researchers came up with this proposal study are the

following: a. Since laboratory schools are advanced in the three major subjects: English,

Mathematics, and Science, this study wants to know the factors correlating the

academic performance of the students in this three major subjects in the said laboratory

schools; b. As future educators, the researchers want to know if the age, sex, grades in

Mathematics and English, attitudes toward science, and parental involvement affect the

academic performance of the tenth grade students in the laboratory schools, and lastly,

c. The group wants to know if the teacher’s major or specialization, highest educational

qualification, relevant in-service trainings attended, personality and teaching

competence affect the academic performance of the tenth grade students of the two

laboratory schools.

Framework of the Study

This study is focused on the factors that affects the academic performance in

science of the 10th grade students namely; student factors ( sex, age, grade in English,

grade in mathematics, attitude towards science, and parental involvement) and teacher

factors (i.e., specialization).

This study is anchored on the Theory of Constructivism. This is where learners

construct knowledge and meaning from their experiences. According to Nodding (1990)

learners construct their knowledge through purposive activities that induces

transformation of existing structure. The learners’ construction of knowledge is like a

puzzle. With the guide of the teachers, students will recall their prior experiences and
 4

fits it with the new experiences thus making a new knowledge. Furthermore, Matthews

stresses learning as a process of constructing knowledge that greatly influences the

learners’ experiences and understanding.

Learning is not merely repetition, rote memorization and proposed a method of

directed living. According to John Dewey (1998) education should be grounded in real

experience. Thus, learners should learn firsthand. Student would engage in real-world,

practical workshop in which they would demonstrate their knowledge through creativity

and collaboration. Students should be provided with opportunities to think from

themselves and articulate their thoughts.

In constructing knowledge, teachers have a big role. According to Bruner (1990),

different processes were used by learners in problem solving that these vary from

person to person and that social interaction lay at the root of good learning. Learning

must therefore be a process of discovery where learners build their own knowledge,

with the active dialogue of teachers, building on their existing knowledge.

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Student Factors:
1.1 Age;
1.2 Sex;
1.3 Grade in English
1.4 Grade in
Mathematics
1.5 Attitude towards
Science
1.6 Parental Involvement
Academic
Performance of
Students
Teachers Factor:

2.1 Major-specialization
2.2 Highest educational
qualification
2.3 Relevant in-service
trainings attended
2.4 Personality
2.5 Teaching
competence

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of the Study

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Statement of the Problem

This study attempts to find out the correlates academic performances in science of

tenth grade students in two laboratory high schools of the Leyte Normal University and

the Eastern Visayas State University. Specially, this study sought to answer the

following questions:

1. What are the profile characteristics of the tenth grade students in the two

laboratory schools in terms of:

1.1 Age;

1.2 Sex;

1.3 Grade in English

1.4 Grade in Mathematics

1.5 Attitude towards Science; and

1.6 Parental Involvement?

2. What are the profile characteristics of the teachers teaching science in the two

laboratory schools in terms of:

2.1 Major-specialization;

2.2 Highest educational qualification;

2.3 Relevant in-service trainings attended;

2.4 Personality; and

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2.5 Teaching competence?

3. What is the academic performance in science of the tenth grade students?

4. Are there significant relationships between the students’ academic performance in

science and their age, sex, grade in English and mathematics?

5. Are there significant relationships between the students’ academic performance in

science and the Teachers’ major-specialization, highest educational qualification,

relevant in-service training attended, personality and teaching competence?

6. Which of the aforementioned factors relate highest to the students’ academic

performance in science?

Research Hypotheses

On the basis of the stated problems the following hypotheses were formulated:

1. There are significant relationships between the students’ achievement in Science

and each of the following student factors:

1.1 age

1.2 sex

1.3 grade in English

1.4 grade in mathematics

1.5 attitude towards Science

1.6 parental involvement

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2. There are significant relationships between the student’s academic performance

in science and each of the teacher factors:

2.1 major/specialization

2.2 highest educational qualification

2.3 relevant in-service training attended

2.4 personality

2.5 teaching competence

Significance of the Study

The outcome of this study is expected to be part of a great benefit to the

following:

To the Students. The result of the study will bring about the improvement of the

students’ academic performance in science. This can pin point the necessary needs in

improving science education to students in laboratory schools.

To the Teachers. The study will serve as a guide to select what is appropriate to use in

teaching science in terms of their strategies, methodologies and techniques to be

implemented to tenth grade students in two laboratory schools. The results of the study

will contribute to the improvement of teacher’s competence in creating a scientific

environment where students can interact with each other.

To the School Administrators. The findings of the study will help the administrators

improve the existing practices or methods that are used by the teachers and will help

them identify the needs of the school like laboratory rooms and the availability of
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science equipment and can therefore address these needs immediately for the benefit

of the learners.

To the Parents. The results of the study will help parents identify the needed inputs in

learning in order to encourage their child to perform better in schools. This will also

inspire them to cooperate with teachers and school administrators’ in improving

academic performance of students.

To the Future Researchers. The data are significant inputs that will serve as reference

to future researchers who wish to study other factors that correlates to the academic

performance of students.

Scope and Delimitation

The study aims to determine the correlates of Academic Performance in Science

of Tenth Grade Students of Two Laboratory Schools.

This study will focus on one section for each of the two laboratory schools

consisting of thirty (30) students per section with a total of 60 students.

The study will be limited to the survey of student’s age, sex, grades in English

and Mathematics, attitude towards science and parental involvement and teacher’s

major or specialization, highest educational qualification, relevant in-service training

attended, personality and teaching competence.

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Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined operationally.

Age. Refers to the maturity of the students.

Attitude towards science. Pertains to the behavior of students toward science or the

way they respond towards learning science subject.

Grade in English. Refers to the students’ academic performance in English.

Grade in Mathematics. Refers to the academic performance of the students in

Mathematics.

Highest educational qualification. Refers to the teacher’s highest accomplishment or

degree in his/her career.

Major/Specialization. Refers to the subject that the teacher has mastered in his/her

tertiary education.

Parental involvement. Refers to the concern of the parents to their children in terms of

their academic performance.

Personality. Refers to the enthusiasm of the teacher towards teaching Science.

Relevant in-service training attended. Refers to the seminar, workshops and trainings

that the teacher had attended to enhance his/her knowledge and competence.

Sex. Refers whether the participant is a male or a female.

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Teaching competence. Refers to the teaching experiences of the teacher and how

these experiences shape the teacher on the aspect of being efficient and effective in

teaching Science.
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Chapter II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

The following sections cite related literature drawn from various authorities on

management and educational administration which have bearing on the present study.

There are two factors discussed here: the student related factors namely the age, sex,

grade in English, grade in Mathematics and parental involvement; and the teacher

related factors which include his or her major or specialization, highest educational

qualification, relevant in-service training attended, personality and teaching

competence. The aforementioned factors are said to have effects on the academic

performance of students in Science.

Student Related Factors

Without students, schools will be nothing. It’s as if it exists for no purpose.

Students are considered as the most integral factor in the teaching and learning

process. Their performance (academic performance) plays a significant role in

producing the best quality of graduates who will become globally competitive, a great

leader and manpower for a country hence, responsible for a country’s economic

development. The academic performance of students had received a considerable

attention in a lot of researches, its challenging aspects and science student

performance. Thus, these factors strongly influence the student academic performance

yet these factors vary from person to person.

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Age
Crosser (1991), Kinard & Reinherz (1986), and La Paro & Pianta (2000)

presented evidence that older children fare better academically than their younger, age

appropriate peers. On the other hand, Uphoff & Gilmore (1985) used research evidence

about the relationship between age and achievement as well as other evidence to argue

that the older and/or more mature students in a class fare better than younger

classmates. In contrast DeMeis & Stearns (1992) and Dietz & Wilson (1985) found no

significant relationship between age and achievement. Langer, Kalk, & Searls (1984)

found significantly higher achievement of the oldest as compared to the youngest

students at age nine but this difference disappeared by age seventeen.

In line with this, Hoskins et al. (1997) report that mature-aged students tend to be

concentrated in the areas of humanities and the social sciences. Bourner and Hamed

(1987) support this, suggesting that mature-age students make up less of the total

student enrolled in the sciences. It appears that little effort has been put into examining

the effect of age and background on students in the sciences.

Moreover, Woodley (1984) reports that studies in the sciences in those mature-

aged students have no academic advantage over their younger peers and in some

cases perform more poorly. However, Cullen et al. (1996) found within cohort of

students taking two Biology topics in Australia that younger students were more likely to

fail or withdraw from topics than older students.

With these, age is really a determinant in student’s academic performance.

Considering the development of the brain depends upon the age of the student.
 14

However, there are also certain factors that we need to consider since some students,

no matter how young, they have already been exposed to some various activities that

would enhance their mental ability. This is evident on students with a family that could

support and send them to such institution that caters their learning. In turn, some

students, even though they are more mature or older than their classmates, still younger

ones would outperform them (in some cases) hence, a lot of factors still need to be

looked upon.

Sex

The relationship between gender and the academic achievement of students has

been discussed for decades (Eitle, 2005). A gap between the achievement of boys and

girls has been found, with girls showing better performance than boys in certain

instances (Chambers & Schreiber, 2004).

Badekale (1997) states that, conclusive empirical evidence as to the superiority

of male over female in science is still lacking. However, studies have found that girls

hold lower confidence in their ability than did boys. It was noted that teachers seem to

pay more attention to students who are sure of themselves than those who are less

sure. It was therefore recommended that teachers should pay equal attention to

students having low confidence, as they would do with students having high confident

levels. Moreover, he suggested that teachers should perceive girls as having same

source of intellect like boys. Efforts should be made to stimulate girls into learning

science, most importantly Biology.

T.O. Iroegbu (1997) also found no significant main effects of gender on students’

achievement in energy concepts in physics, but reported interaction effects of treatment

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and gender as well as gender and numerical ability on student’s achievement in energy

concepts in physics. The result of the studies of T.A. Ige (1998) and T.O. Iroegbu

(1997) revealed one interesting fact that gender seems not to be as important in

students’ achievement as their innate ability. Market’s (1996) in an article on Gender

related to success in Science and Technology examined the status of women in

science, technology, engineering and mathematics, argued that women do not choose

careers in these fields, simply because of gender xenophobia. She concluded that

strategies such as early exposure and role model information should be employed to

enhance technological literacy, as a way to decrease gender xenophobia.

T.O. Abe (2005) identified sex-bias in the schooling process, including the

instructional materials for the subjects. She noted a definite bias in the illustration and

written textbooks on all criteria. According to her, references to females were few and

even when the sex of the person was immaterial, references to females in scientific

activities were virtually non-existent and there were a few references to role models for

girls. Thus, this greatly affects the performance of females.

Another meta-analysis was also conducted by Weinburgh (1995) to explore the

achievement-attitude relationship. Six hundred and seventy five studies were

performed. The results showed that the mean relationship among attitude and

achievement was .55 for the young female students and for young male students, it was

.50. The relationship was found higher in young ladies than for young men in the

subjects of physics and biology. The correlation of attitude in the direction of science

with achievement score in science was explored by Freedman (1997). Twenty physical

science classes were used to collect data and the results revealed a positive
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relationship of attitude with achievement score. It was found that achievement in

science was influenced by means of attitude in the direction of science.

To determine the gender differences in relation of attitude to science with

achievement score, a study was conducted by Mattern and Schau (2002) on 1,238

students of seventh and eighth grades. Eight separate schools were selected as

sample. Three instruments were used for data collection for measuring students’

attitude and two instruments were used for achievement score. The results showed that

there was no critical impact of achievement in science on attitude amongst the females

and the outcomes were diverse among males. Rana (2002) conducted a research on

attitude and achievement score by administering Test of Science-Related Attitude

(TOSRA) on students of higher secondary and intermediate level. It was concluded that

the relationship between attitudes and their achievement score in science subjects was

positive at higher secondary level.

Gender orientation issues regarding attitude and achievement was also analyzed

by Ferreira (2003). Attitude and achievement score were found to be positive and strong

association with each other. Among center schools in South Florida, the connection

among attitude and achievement score was investigated by Eccles (2007). To measure

the attitude towards science, Test of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA) by Fraser

(1981) was used. The attitude of the students in the direction of science subjects was

positively significant and their achievement scores were higher. Another research study

was conducted by Ali (2012) in Pakistan on 10th grade science students. A sample of

1,885 students was used for the purpose of data collection and Urdu translation of

TOSRA was used for the purpose of measurement of students’ attitude towards science
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subjects. It was concluded that male students had less positive attitude than female

students. Similarly, students from urban areas had positive attitude than that of students

in rural areas.

Moreover, many studies have shown that girls perform better in school than boys

in all major subjects (Epstein et al., 1998; Wong et al., 2002) and that they graduate

from high school with higher grade point averages (GPAs) than their male peers

(Perkins, Kleiner, Roey, &Brown, 2004). Fergusson and Horwood (1997), Hillman and

Rothman (2003) Praat (1999), Thiessen and Nickerson (1999) and Weaver-Hightower

(2003) showed evidence of a growing gender gap in educational achievement in a

number of developed countries. Educational statistics have indicated that females are

outperforming males at all levels of the school system, attaining more school and post-

school qualifications, and attending university in higher numbers (Alton-Lee & Praat

2001; Mullis et al., 2003).

Obviously, results of studies vary from one another. Some says males perform

better than females whereas some states that females outperform males. There are

male students who tend to be more diligent and more intelligent than females and vice

versa. Considering the factor on the side of the mother and father of a student, it really

depends because in Science and Psychology, we believe that the intelligence of a child

is inherited or taken from the mother. Thus, if it happens that the mother is more

intelligent than the father, then there will be a great possibility that the child will inherit it.

Here comes now the gender. With these, it is believed the excellence of males and

females depends upon certain factors.

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Grade in English

The most significant factor with the positive outcome on the performance of the

students is competence of students in English. Students having good communication

skills expand the students’ performance (Abdullah, 2011). William & Burden (1997)

found that language classrooms inculcate confidence among students to use the new

language to communicate, to discuss, to try new ways of conveying meanings and to be

trained from failures and successes. Robert and Sampson (2011) investigated that the

students who effectively participate in the learning procedure are seen to have a higher

CGPA (cumulative grade point average).

In addition to this, one’s performance in English sought to affect his or her

performance in Science. This is due to the fact that Science subjects require English as

the medium of instruction to be used hence, when one is said to perform well in English,

his or her confidence towards participating in Science activities will boost up which then

leads to better results in terms of grades.

Grade in Mathematics

Students’ perceived difficulty of doing mathematics. From the Trends in

International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 1995, there is evidence that the

majority of 8th graders around the world liked mathematics, thought it was important for

them to do well in this subject, thought it was not boring, and did not find it easy (Kifer,

2002). In South Africa, according to Howie (2002), students with higher self-concepts

(i.e., who thought that doing well in mathematics), were more likely than their peers with
 19

low self-concepts to attain higher mathematics performance and same though with

other subjects.

With these, we can deduce that the grade in Mathematics really affects the

performance of the students toward other subjects especially science since some areas

such as biology, physics and chemistry require knowledge about the math subject.

Attitude toward Science

To study the connection between attitude and achievement score, a research

was conducted by Hough and Piper (1982). Five hundred and eighty three intermediate

students were approached to gather data by using pre and posttests. The results

demonstrated that there was a critical affirmative connection between attitudes of

understudies and achievement (r = 0.45). The students who have positive attitude

toward science secured higher achievement score. Contrary to this, students having

negative attitude toward science received low achievement score. A meta-analysis was

performed by Willson (1983) to explore the relationships between attitude and

achievement. ANOVA was used. The results revealed that attitude and achievement

had significant and positive relationship. It was shown that the association between

attitude and achievement score was high from grades 7 to 11 and small at elementary

level. The same type of study was conducted in North California by Oliver and Simpson

(1984) to investigate the impact of attitudes on achievement in science. During the

years 1980-1981, about 5000 students participated from 6-10 classes for data

collection. The results found a positive impact of science related attitude on

achievement scores of students. An alternative longitudinal study was conducted by

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Simpson and Oliver (1990) and 178 science classes were selected for data collection.

More than 4000 students from classes 6-10 participated in the study. This longitudinal

study demonstrated that boys’ achievement was additional inspirational attitude and

their success in science was higher than girls. The outcomes concluded from grades 6-

10, the attitude towards science was less affirmative.

Therefore, if a student is more inclined to science, he or she will perform well.

This is true to all since if you like a particular subject, it will serve as the drive for you to

perform beyond the standards thus, achieving better grade. In contrary to this, students

who do not like or have an inclination to science, no matter how good the teacher is, no

matter how interesting the lesson is, he/she will not perform well ( in some cases). In

addition, given the projects in science to work on, students with no leaning or habitude

towards the said subject won’t do these projects with utmost effort (in some cases).

Parental Involvement

The parental involvement also affects the academic performance of the students.

It includes the support in terms of financial and school activities. Intermittent contact

with teachers and direct involvement with their child outside of the school setting also

serves as a monitoring function that allows parents to receive feedback about their

child’s academic performance and self-regulatory skills (Coleman, 1990; Hara, 1998;

Jeynes, 2003). Parents may also establish relationships with school administrators

through involvement in parent–school organizations to influence school policy and

monitor the performance of their child, teachers, and administrators. Through such

participation, parents demonstrate the importance they attach to schooling and

academic achievement.
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Parental involvement may thereby become a powerful influence on school and

academic policies that may have a direct influence on their child’s in-school activities

and academic success. They ought to send clear and decisive messages about their

thoughts and feelings on the importance of schooling. Thus, according to the literature,

parental involvement should positively influence student achievement.

Teacher Related Factors

Teachers, being the major implementers of the curriculum play a great role in the

academic performance of the students. Considered as the other major factor in the

teaching and learning process, they contribute a lot to students learning. They bring with

them their educational backgrounds, pleasing personalities, talents, knowledge and

skills necessary for the students to learn.

Major/ Specialization

Okuruwa (1999) reported that, teacher’s characteristics such as certification

status and degree in areas of specialization are very significant and positively correlated

with students learning outcomes in science and mathematics.

True enough since if Science is the field of specialization of the teacher, then he

can teach it or deliver its concepts at ease, with confidence and can be easily

understood. Furthermore, he can design activities that would be of great help towards

conveying the lesson. Not only that, he could also provide numerous examples for the

students to understand and could incorporate varied teaching techniques, approaches,

strategies and methods. Therefore, teaching a subject that seems to be your forte is

very ideal. Having bigger grasp on the subject makes the teacher more efficient and

could answer students ‘questions thus, effective.

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Highest Educational Qualification

Academically qualified teachers refer to those who have academic training as a

result of enrolment into educational institutions to obtain qualifications.

Okuruwa (1999) found that, policy investment on quality of teachers is related to

improvement in students’ performance. Specifically, the measurement of teacher’s

preparation and certification are correlates of students’ achievement in science and

mathematics.

In line with this, Abe and Adu (2013) and Wiki (2013) opined that, a teaching

qualification or teacher qualification is one of a number of academic and professional

degrees that enable a person to become a registered teacher in primary or secondary

school.

On the other hand, there are studies that have found no significant relationship

between teacher educational qualification and students’ academic achievement. For

instance, Igwe (1990) investigated the influence of teacher’s qualification on academic

performance of students in science subjects in Kano State. The researcher found no

significant relationship between teacher’s qualification and students’ performance. While

Adeniji (1999), Osokoya (1999) and Oladele (1999) found out that teachers’ qualification

contributed minimally to the variance with students’ cognitive achievement.

In view of this, a teacher is someone who has been exposed to a good measure

of training in a teaching subject area as well as in professional education: such

professionally qualified teachers may, according to the Federal Ministry of Education

(2004) fall into a number of academic categories. Mkpa (1987) regarded the trained

teacher as someone who underwent and completed his education in a formal teacher
 23

training institution or in a planned program of training. Among such areas of training

may include principles and practice of education as well as being exposed to an

observed period of internship either after or as part of the period of training. People who

fall within this category should under normal circumstances be able to fulfill the various

functions expected of teachers within and outside the four walls of the classroom.

Highest educational qualification therefore pertains to the degree of which a

teacher becomes highly qualified for a job which then leads to becoming an efficient and

effective teacher hence, giving the students various learning opportunities to explore.

Relevant In-Service Trainings Attended

Training is activities involved in raising skills, knowledge and behavioral change

(Baharudin, 1996). In-service training program is the process for continuous updating of

teacher’s knowledge, skills and interests in chosen field (Nakpodia, 2008). Nakpodia

highlighted the benefits of in-service training of teachers as:

􀁸 To guide teachers obtain academic and professional qualifications in

order to improve their positions in the school system;

􀁸 To help teachers acquire more conceptual and technical knowledge, skills

and competencies in their teaching subjects and pedagogy in order to improve their

efficiency in the classroom;

􀁸 To enable the teacher to be adequately equipped to meet up with the

challenges of the 21st century.

From another perspective, in-service training of teachers has been linked with

the development of job commitment (Akinbode, 1996). His findings indicated that

teachers who had low commitment to the teaching profession prior to training
 24

became highly committed after they were given opportunity to participate in in-

service training. Teacher’s in-service training can thus be described as a catalyst

capable of propelling positive changes in behavior, boosting their morale and their job

commitment.

The National Policy on Education (NPE, 2008:54) stated that “Teachers

education shall continue to be given major emphasis in all educational planning and

development”. Moreover, the policy stipulated the purpose of teacher education is to

produce highly motivated, conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels

of our educational system. It is in the light of this that Okolie (1991) stated that the

seven cardinal goals of education are intellectual, emotional, physical, moral, aesthetic,

vocational and social development. He also opined that some philosophers have

classified these variables into three major areas: development of the head, the heart,

and the hands- “The three Hs”. The key to the attainment of these goals has been

entrusted to some people, here-in-after called “Teachers”.

Uche (1981) stressed that to facilitate and maximize the use of discovered new

skills of teaching, teachers should undergo in-service training. According to him, this will

enable teachers to acquire mastery of new skills and to be abreast with new knowledge.

In consonance with such an idea, the Cross River State Government (1979) reports, “In-

service training of any kind is designed to expose officers to modern and contemporary

approved techniques, knowledge and skills for the purpose of enhancing the efficiency,

effectiveness and improved performance of public officers”. For Social Studies teachers

to be competent in their area of specialization, there must be adequate provision for

their in-service training. Nkpa (1991) conducted a study on innovative programme for
 25

the retraining of science teachers for effective integrated science teaching in Nigerian

Secondary Schools. The subjects for the research were 126 N.C.E teachers, who

enrolled for the integrated science sandwich degree program at the University of Ilorin,

Institute of Education. The instrument for the evaluation of the study was the prior

qualification of teachers selected for the training and their performance in their different

subject components of the integrated science core content. The result showed that

teachers with prior qualifications in the science subjects performed better. It also

revealed the need for retraining of science teachers, if they must be effective in carrying

out their duty. Sacco and Marvin (1979) investigated into the effect of in-service training

on teaching effectiveness in Maryland, Lagos. The sample consisted of 20 teachers

drawn from different elementary schools. Ten (10) teachers receive in-service training

and the other ten (10) did not receive in-service training. At the end of the in-service

training, which consisted of 16 two-hour sessions, they were given an effectiveness

questionnaire to fill. At a 0.05 level of significance, the Kruskal Wallis non-parametric

one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed a significantly different response from

the teachers in the two groups. The groups that passed through in-service training

performed better than those that did not receive in-service training. This result

supported Uche’s assertion in (1981) and Cross River State Government Reports

(1979).

In their conclusions, Sacco and Marvin (1976) they opined that education should

stimulate curiosity, raise questions, develop functional intellectual, interpersonal skills

and confirm in each individual a concept of self worth, self esteem and self confidence.

This will be greatly enhanced if in-service training is made part of the school routine
 26

plan. The National Policy on Education (NPE, 2008) emphasizes teacher education as a

continuous process. This is in consonance with the Indian National Education Policy on

Education (1986) as cited by Edunoh (2002:56) which stressed that pre-service and in-

service component are inseparable from each other. The policy emphasized that

however effective the program on pre-service education of teachers may be, in-service

education is very important to help teachers discharge their functions effectively. Okon

and Anderson (1982:89) opined that in-service trainings for teachers help to foster

continued professional growth. They further stated that through teachers’ meetings,

seminars, workshops, training sessions and academic study circles, opportunities can

be provided for teachers to keep abreast of new development in their field.

It is in the in-service trainings that a teacher could accept the philosophy, method

and objective of a new curriculum thus giving them the opportunity to better reach out to

students’ needs and provide them better learning.

Personality

The teacher is a vital part of the classroom, and it is suggested that teachers are

the most important factor influencing a student's achievement (Sanders & Horn, 1998).

Revisiting the Palardy and Rumberger (2008) study, the researchers found that the

choice of classroom teacher has a greater effect on students' reading and math score

gains than the choice of which school the child attends. Choice of classroom teacher

accounted for 21% variance in the study, while choice of school accounted for only 14%

of the variance in the study. In a similar research project, it was discovered that, with

regard to students' academic achievement, to which teacher a student is assigned is

 27

more important than to which school the student happens to attend (Nye,

Konstantopoulus, & Hedges, 2004).

In a study exploring the transference of teachers' autonomous motivation for

teaching to students' autonomous motivation for learning, data showed that teachers'

who had higher levels of autonomous motivation (motivated independently or

intrinsically) fostered more academic enthusiasm in their students, who were in turn

more able to deeply process the material being taught (Roth, Assor, Kanat-Maymon, &

Kaplan, 2007).

In general, the personality of a teacher plays a great role in the learning of the

students. Moreover, the way in which a teacher delivers his lesson mirrors his

personality. Thus, according to one of the researchers’ professor, an ideal teacher is not

one who can speak fluently in English yet leave his students scanning their dictionaries

trying to find out the meaning of the words he is saying which results to them, not

learning. In turn, an ideal teacher knows how to simplify a difficult lesson and make

learning fun rather than boring.

Teaching Competence

One common indicator of teacher competence is teaching experience. However,

according to Wayne and Youngs (2003), the findings regarding experience are difficult

to interpret for several reasons. First, experience captures the effect of whether

teachers were hired during a shortage or a surplus. Cohorts will have experienced

similar competition, and selection effects are likely to confound effects of experience.

Secondly, experience measures capture differences in teacher motivation resulting from

time constraints on parents during years when their own children require more attention.
 28

Finally, if there are differences in effectiveness between those who leave the

profession and those who stay, experience measures would capture those as well.

Such differences are probably dynamic, changing with labor markets and cultural

trends.

Several studies have found a positive relationship between teacher experience

and student achievement (e.g., Murnane & Philips, 1981; Klitgaard & Hall, 1974). This

relationship is not simple and linear however. According to Darling-Hammond (1999),

teachers with less than three years of experience are less efficient than their colleagues

with more experience. After five years the additional contribution weakens. Andrew and

Schwab (1995) noted that inexperienced teachers from lengthy teacher education

programs can be as efficient as experienced teachers. Teachers' age may also be of

importance for effectiveness but this variable is of course highly correlated with

experience.

Another study looked at the transference of teacher competency or self-efficacy

to students' self-confidence about school. Teachers with a higher level of competency or

professional capability fostered the same traits in their students, who subsequently

showed an increase in academic achievement (Goldman, Botkin, Tokunuga, &

Kuklinski, 1997).

Therefore, teaching competence is really important. Not only that it affects the

way teachers teach but also the manner in which the students learn.
 29

Chapter III

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents research design, research participants, research locale,

research instruments, data collection procedure and treatment of data.

Research Design

This study will be using descriptive-correlational research method to identify the

correlates of academic performance of the students. It involves the collection of data

through the use of survey questionnaires to collect data on student related factors such

as: age, sex, grade in English, grade in Mathematics, attitude towards Science and

parental involvement and the teacher related factors which include his or her major or

specialization, highest educational qualification, relevant in-service trainings attended,

personality and teaching competence.

Research Locale

This study will be conducted in two participating laboratory high schools, the

LNU-Integrated Laboratory School located at P. Paterno St. Tacloban City and the

EVSU-Secondary Laboratory School located at the EVSU main campus at Salazar St.

Tacloban City.
 30

Respondents of the Study

This research involves two participating Laboratory Schools, the LNU-Integrated

Laboratory School and EVSU- Secondary Laboratory School. The respondents of the

study will be the Grade 10 students, one section from LNU-ILS and one section from

EVSU-SLS. The maximum number of participating students will be 60 and two science

teachers. They will all be taken in complete enumeration considering their limited

number.

Research Instrument

The data-yielding tools that this study will be using come in two sets. Set I

addresses the student variables composed of three parts. Part I deals on students’

personal data, which includes their age, sex, grade in Math and English, Part II is the

students’ attitude towards science questionnaire, and Part III pertains to parents’

involvement.

Regarding the teacher factors, all these will be considered in Set II, with the

following parts: Part I contains the items on the teachers’ identifying information

enumerating their major/specialization, highest educational background and relevant

trainings attended, Part II is the instrument to determine the teachers’ personality, and

Part III measures teaching competence.

Parts II and III of the student and the teacher instruments are adapted

from completed researches and based from reviews made, the instruments were found

without questions on weaknesses. So the group agrees not to made any revision or
 31

modification. Every instrument will be used as is. However, the first parts are all self-

constructed dealing solely on the variables involved.

Data Collection Procedure

Before the conduct of the study commences, permission will be sought from the

directors of the two laboratory high schools. The grant of this permission will give the

researchers the access to meet the identified respondents for the administration of the

questionnaires. Prior to its administration, a brief orientation will be done to acquaint the

respondents the purpose of this study. Then, the questionnaires will be distributed to the

respondents giving them enough time, about an hour, to accomplish all the items

contained therein. The retrieval of the accomplished questionnaires will follow,

inspecting each of them for completeness of responses. All those that are incompletely

answered will be administered again to the concerned respondents, as items left blank

cannot be analyzed.

After the collection of all the questionnaires, the tabulation of the data will follow

preparatory for data analysis with all the analyzed data at hand, the writing of the

research report follow guided by the mechanics of good writing. The last phase will be

the reporting of the study to the intended panel of the examiners.

Statistical Analysis of Data

The following null hypotheses are tested at 0.05 level of significance:

1. There are no significant relationships between the students’ academic performance

in science and each of the following factors:

 32

1.1 Age

1.2 Sex

1.3 Grade in English

1.4 Grade in Mathematics

1.5 Attitude towards Science

1.6 Parental involvement

2. There are no significant relationships between the students’ academic performance in

science and each of the following teacher factors:

2.1 Major-specialization

2.2 Highest educational qualification

2.3 Relevant in-service trainings attended

2.4 Personality

2.5 Teaching competence

 33

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