TEACHERS’ PERCEPTION OF THE CAUSES OF POOR ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN WEST AFRICAN SENIOR SCHOOL CERTIFICATE EXAMINATIONS

Abstract

This paper focused on teachers’ perception of the causes of poor academic performance of students in West African Senior School Certificate Examinations. The study was premised on descriptive research design of survey type. Two thousand two hundred and forty-two teachers in 36 public secondary schools and 1,882 in 42 private secondary schools in Ilorin South Local Government Area formed the study population. Eighteen public and 21 private schools were selected proportionately. From each school, 10 teachers were randomly selected, totaling 390 respondents. Teachers’ Perception on the Causes of Poor Academic Performance of Students in West African Senior School Certificate Examinations Questionnaire (TPCPAPSWASSCE) was used to collect data for the study. The instrument was validated, subjected to a reliability test and found a coefficient of 0.78. T-tests and percentages were utilized for data analysis. As revealed by the findings, poor seriousness of students to learning, poor commitment of teachers to teaching, and inadequate teacher motivation, among other things were the causes of poor academic performance of students in WASSCE while school type and family size were not. It was recommended that the government and proprietors of private secondary schools make the teaching profession more attractive by adequately motivating teachers through financial and non-financial means and always providing adequate instructional resources for schools, to facilitate effective teaching and learning that would enhance students’ performance in WASSCE.