TEACHER - CHARACTERISTICS AS DETERMINANTS OF STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE IN BASIC SCIENCE IN SOUTH- WEST, NIGERIA

This study investigated teacher- characteristics as determinants of students' performance in Basic Science in South- West Nigeria. The study was a descriptive survey type. Participants were 2089 students and 324 teachers teaching Basic Science in Junior Secondary School which were randomly selected across the four States in South- west Nigeria. Two instruments titled “Basic Science Teachers' Characteristics Questionnaire” (BSTCQ) and “Basic Science' performance Test Questionnaire” (BSPT) were used to collect data for the study. .The reliability of BSTCQ and BSPT were determined through test and retest method and this yielded a correlation co- efficient of 0.87 and 0.92, respectively at 0.05 level of significance. Multiple Regression analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings revealed that, teacher - characteristics such as teachers experience, attitude and qualification significantly influence students' performance in learning of Basic Science. It was recommended that adequate measure should be taken by the teachers to ensure that students develop positive attitude towards learning Basic Science by using various teaching styles which could influence students' attitude.