Evaluating the influence of teacher-related factors on academic performance of secondary school students in mathematics at U.C.E level
Abstract
The objective of the study was to evaluate the influence of teacher-related factors on the performance of students in mathematics in secondary schools at the UCE level. The assessment was made by the teacher’s gender, qualification level, and teaching experience. The study used primary data with a sample of 96 respondents who were secondary school mathematic teachers in the Rubaga division. A cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from respondents by use of questionnaires and the response rate was 93.75. The analysis was done using frequency distribution, ANOVA, and multiple linear regression.
According to the study, the majority of the mathematics teachers were males and had a bachelor’s degree and only 16.67% of the teachers had teaching experience of fewer than 2 years. The factors that were significantly associated with students’ scores were the level of qualification of teachers and teaching experience. The gender of the teacher was not a significant predictor of student scores. The model had a p-value of 0.0093 which indicated that it was well specified and a good fit.
In the light of findings, the study presents five recommendations for improving student scores by secondary school teachers. First, the government to organize in-service training for teachers at the secondary level so that they remain updated about the content to teach and the most appropriate methods of delivering the content. Secondly, the Quality Assurance Standard Director (QASD) inspectorate division of the ministry of education should make proper follow-ups on the teaching methods used by teachers in secondary schools. Thirdly, the study also recommends that head teachers should provide on the job training for newly recruited teachers for improved performance. Also, Sub County Quality Assurance and standard office (SCQASO) should be created at every district to ensure frequent visits to schools to monitor and give guidance on the teaching as per the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Sports and the curriculum Centre. Lastly, the Ministry of Education and sports should improve on its efforts in encouraging female students to study science courses because the number of female mathematics teachers is still very low compared to males.