Teacher influence on students’ academic performance in secondary school Biology in Wakiso District, Uganda.

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of teacher qualification, teacher's experience and teacher-student ratio on the academic achievement of learners in O Level Biology in Wakiso district. The study was motivated by the poor performance of students in the subject and a teacher is a crucial factor as regards to the academic performance of students. The study employed an expost-facto design using a cross sectional survey that involved collection of data on more than one case at a single point in order to collect both qualitative and quantitative data in connection with the study. The researchers targeted Biology teachers in the schools within the study area. The sample comprised of 60 respondents from 15 schools. Five schools were selected from Busiro County, five more schools from Entebbe municipality and the other five from Kyadondo county, as the three counties that make up Wakiso District. Random sampling was used to select the schools and four Biology teachers from each school. Records of the Biology performance for years 2018 and 2017 were collected from schools. The results show that students performance was best in schools with teachers of 5 years teaching experience and worst performance was observed with teachers of teaching experience 11 years and above. The study found out that there is no difference in performance of students in classes above 40 students. It was also observed that majority of the teachers are Bachelor degree holders, with diploma holders having upgraded. No difference in academic achievement was observed in students taught by the two categories of teachers. We recommend refresher training courses for teachers who have spent long in the profession and smaller classes of below 40 students.