Assessing Teacher Factor and Second Year Home Economics Students Performance in Biology Practicals in Two Districts of Oti Region, Ghana

The purpose of this paper is to assess the level of performance of Home Economics Second Year students in Biology practicals and also explore teacher factors that contributed to this level of performance ascertained. Four schools from two districts within Oti region were selected for the study. The selection of schools for this study was mainly based on the performance of Home Economics students in WASSCE biology within the years 2015-2018 and the schools availability for the study. In all, 76 Home Economics students were sampled randomly whereas 4 teachers who teach them were sampled purposively. The research design employed was descriptive survey. A 30-item Home Economics Students Performance Test (HESPBPT) with reliability estimated value of 0.84 by Cronbachs alpha method in SPSS version 16 was administered on the students to generate data for analysis. Also, Biology Teachers Questionnaire (BTQ) and Practical Observation Checklist (BPOC) were administered on teachers to generate relevant data for analysis. The study revealed that there is a statistically significant difference in the performance level of Home Economics Second Year students selected randomly from the four schools. Again, the study established that the practical performance levels of these students are poor and teacher characteristics such as Practical Content Knowledge and Practical Pedagogical Knowledge which affects teacher practical content coverage, practical content exposure and practical content emphasis are the main factors that negatively contributed to it.