TEACHERS' COMPETENCES AS A CORRELATE OF TASK PERFORMANCE OF TEACHERS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined teachers' competencesas a correlate of task performanceof teachers in public secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria.Four specific purposes, four research questions and four hypothesesguided the study.Correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all the 7,248 teachers, from the two hundred and sixty seven (267) public secondary schools in the six education zones inAnambra State.Proportionate stratified sampling technique was used to draw 725 research participants for the study. Teachers’Competences Questionnaire (TCQ) andTeachers’ Task Performance Questionnaire (TTPQ) structured by the researcher were used for data collection. The instruments were face-validated by three experts in Faculty of Education whileconstruct validity was ascertained by the use of factor analysis with split-sample estimation involving the Promax Rotation. Internal consistencies co-efficient of 0.92, 0.89, 0.87, and 0.90; and 0.91 were obtained for TCQ and TTPQ respectively using Cronbach Alpha statistical method. The researcher administered the instrument to the respondents with five research assistants using direct method. Data were analyzed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient and simple linear regression statistics. The p-value was used to determine the significance of relationship at 0.05 significant levels for all hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed there is positive and significant relationship between staff teachers’ competences (teachers’ pedagogy, knowledge of subject-matter, teaching methods, and professional development activities) and teachers’ task performance in public secondary schools in Anambra State, Nigeria. From the result of hypotheses, significant relationship was established in all the variables of the study.The study however concluded that teachers' competences are critical determinants of task performance of teachers in Anambra, State, Nigeria.Based on the findings, the study recommended, among others that policy makers should formulate and enforce policies that ensure continuous professional development programs aimed at enhancing teachers' competencies. Secondary school principals should focus on evaluating and improving teachers' competencies through consistent training sessions and mentorship initiatives.