Influence of teachers’ professionalism on academic performance of students in senior high schools in Pru East district of the Bono East Region

Abstract

Several authors have researched teacher professionalism. They have made various findings which are part of literature. However, these studies have failed to address teacher professionalism from a broad range of factors, including pedagogical and classroom management skills of teachers, and their engagement in teacher professional development activities and the related challenges. Thus, the study seeks to investigate how these factors influence teacher professionalism and its impact on the academic performance of students. The study used questionnaire and interview schedules to collect data from the respondents. The respondents consisted of teachers and heads of senior high schools in the Pru East District of the Bono East region of Ghana. They were selected using the simple random and purposive sampling methods. Data collected was analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency and percentages. The Spearman Correlation Coefficient was used to check the the effect of the variables on the academic performance of students. The study revealed that the pedagogical skills of the teachers did not have any positive impact on the academic performance of the students. Also, it showed that there was no significant correlation between classroom management skills of teachers and academic performance of students. Further, it established that the professional development activities of teachers did not have any significant relationship with the academic performance of students. Finally, it showed that some barriers to the teacher’s participation in continuous professional development included substance abuse by teachers, lack of commitment and training programmes for teachers, stress caused by heavy workloads and financial constraints. The researcher recommends among others that teachers should explore several mechanisms such as collaboration with their colleagues to enhance their pedagogical skills.