TEACHERS COMPETENCE AND ECONOMICS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

In recent times, there seem to be a continuous drop in the academic achievement of senior secondary school students in Economics, which has become a significant issue for educational stakeholders, especially in Oyo State. Reports from various examining bodies including the West African Examinations Council, consistently show low pass rates, with students struggling to grasp and apply core economic concepts. Evidence from field observations and prior studies links this underperformance inadequate teacher competence in content knowledge and pedagogy. Despite this, few empirical studies have examined teachers’ competence on Economics achievement in Oyo State. This study therefore investigated teachers’ competence as determinants of senior secondary school students’ academic achievement in Economics in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive research design. Two research questions were posed, and one hypothesis was formulated. The population comprised 66,601 senior secondary school 2 students enrolled in Economics, and 1,891 Economics teachers across the three senatorial districts in Oyo State. Using Taro Yamane formula and simple random sampling technique, a total of 410 schools, 1,176 students and 729 teachers were selected. Data was collected using a standardized achievement test and self-developed instrument namely the "Economics Achievement Test (EAT), "Teachers' Questionnaire on Teachers' Competence (TQCMTC) (α = 0.817). Findings indicated that students’ achievement in Economics was generally low with majority of the students scoring between 26-49 marks. Level of teachers’ competence in senior secondary schools in Oyo State was rated low (x̄ = 2.46); the hypothesis revealed that gender differences in senior secondary school students’ academic achievement in Economics in Oyo State, Nigeria. Enhancing teachers’ competence are critical for raising students’ academic achievement in Economics in senior secondary schools in Oyo State. It recommended that Schools should introduce targeted academic support programmes such as remedial classes, peer tutoring, and enrichment activities to help students strengthen their understanding of core Economics concepts and improve overall achievement levels.