ASSESSMENT OF THE INSTRUCTIONAL COMPETENCIES OF TEACHERS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL CHEMISTRY CURRICULUM IN NNEWI SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

Abstract

The study was conducted to assess the instructional competencies of teachers for the implementation of secondary school chemistry curriculum in Nnewi South Local Government Area. The study was guided by three research questions and descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. The population of the study was 35 which include 15 principals and 20 chemistry teachers. There was no sampling as the entire population was used since it was manageable by the researcher. The data collection was carried out using 31 item structured questionnaire developed by the researcher titled: Assessment of the Instructional Competencies of Teachers for the Implementation of chemistry Curriculum Questionnaire (AICTICCQ). The instrument was validated by two lecturers from the Department of Science Education, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The lecturers corrections and suggestions were used to produce the final copy of instrument. The instrument was tested for reliability using 20 copies on principals and teachers in Nnewi North which is not part of the population under study. The reliability coefficient of 0.76 was obtained using Cronbach Alpha method. Two research assistants were used in the administration of the questionnaire through direct delivery and retrieval method and the entire 35 copies administered were retrieved completely filled and used for data analyses, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the three research questions. Hence, the result of the data analyses indicated that all the 31 identified were the competencies possessed by teachers in instructional planning, knowledge of subject matter and classroom management. It was suggested that since effective implementation of secondary school chemistry curriculum depends partly on teachers competencies there is need to strengthen the competencies of chemistry teachers in secondary school through in-service teachers training, seminar and conferences.