COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND THE TEACHING LEARNING OUTCOME. CASE OF SOME SELECTED SCHOOLS IN YDE VII MUNICIPALITY

Abstract

The study investigated the perception of teachers and students on the relationship between teachers communication skills and learning outcome. It adopted a descriptive design and adminstered 250 questionnaires on 80 teachers and 170 students. The information collected were anlysed using descriptive statistics and hypotheses were tested at 0.05 levels of significance using the chi square and the t-test staitistical tools.The study found out that Hereditory, Mannerisms, Accents and Purpose of information are important determinants of a teachers communication skills. Noise in the classroom could emanate from Students arguement, Teachers method, Management Style, Internal Disturbance. It was also found out that Teachers Method, Management Style, Class Control by teacher and Concentration on the lesson could help minimise noise in the classroom. At 0.05 levels of significance chi-square test revealed that table values for communication skills and students achievement are 15.507 and 16.918 respectively which is less than the calculated values of 79.4 and 64.3 respectively which are significant at 0.000. implying that we reject null hypothesis and accept the alternate that there is a significant relationship between communication skills and students academic performance. The t-test value = -15.268 table value = 1.96 shows that mean difference        1.47000 is significant at 0.000 levelsat degree of freedom of 248. Therefore we posit that there is significant difference in the perception of student and teachers on the relationship between communication skills and students academic performance. It was recomended that steps should be taken to improve teachers communication skills.

Chapter one

Introduction

1.1Background of the study

The issue of poor academic performance of students in Nigeria has been of much concern to all and sundry. The problem is so much that it has led to the widely acclaimed fallen standard of education in Ogun State and Nigeria at large. Several accusing fingers are pointed at teachers for being responsible for the fallen standard of teducation. Some studies suggest that the quality of education depends on the teachers effectiveness exppresed andreflected in the performance of their duties. Overtime pupils’ academic performance in both internal and external examinations had been used to determine excellence in teachers and teaching (Ajao 2001). Critical to teachers effectiveness however is communication skill at his disposal.

Communication is used to describe the process of exchanging of information. Encarta Dictionary (2010) defines communication as the exchange of information between people, by means of speaking, writing, or using a common system of signs or behaviour. Other senses in which communication is described are: message: a spoken or written message; act of communicating: the communicating of information; rapport: a sense of mutual understanding and sympathy and access: a means of access or communication, e.g. a connecting door.

Communication is a very important skill which means the written and oral transmission of common understanding. It is a skill that is critical to success in every field, but it is crucial to teachers who must achieve results through the behavioural changes exhibited by learners. Effective communication involves the most accurate sending and receiving of information, full comprehension of the message by both parties and appropriate action taken upon the completion of the information exchange (Terry and Franklin, 2005).

In the classroom setting, all these meanings are relevant and descriptive of what takes place in the teaching and learning process. For instance, teachers’ thoughts and content are first prepared as a written message in the note of lesson, and presented to the student through verbal and non verbal means. He expects a feed back as he evaluates the students on the learning objectives. This description of the teachers’ job summarises the act, art and process of communication

The act implies the delivered message, art, the skills of presentation and the process, the various stages in communication.

Teachers’ Communication skills have been tipped to have an important influence on students’ academic achievement and at the same time play a crucial role in educational attainment of the students. This is because the teacher is ultimately responsible for translating policy into action and principles based on practice during interaction with the students (Afe 2001). Both teaching and learning depends on teachers and their ability to communicate subject matter without so much confusing of the students: no wonder an effective teacher has been conceptualized as one who produces desired results in the course of his duty as a teacher (Uchefuna2001).

Statement of the problem

Considering governments’ huge investment in public education, its output in terms of quality of students’performance has been observed to be unequal with government expenditure. Consequent upon the observed deterioration in the academic achievement, attitude and values of secondary school students in public secondary schools one wonders if the high failure rates and the poor quality of the students is not a reflection of the instructional quality in the schools, which is essentially a function of teachers communication skill. In other words the ineffectiveness of teachers in classroom interaction with the students could be responsible for the observed poor performance of students and the widely acclaimed fallen standard of education in Nigeria.

This study isdesigned to determine if teachers’ communication skills significantly have influence on the academic performance of students in public secondary schools in some selected schools in yde vii municipality.

1.3   Purpose of the Study

Below are the purposes of the study:

1. The study will determine and describe the relationship between teachers’ communication skills and the academic performance of students.
2. It will also determine whether there is significant difference in the mean perception ofmale and female teachers on the determinant of teachers’communication skills, sources of noise in the classroom setting and how the effect of noise can be mitigated on the integrity of message.
3. Finally useful recommendations will bemade based on the results of the study.

Research Questions

It was aimed at answering the following question:

1. What are the factors influencing teachers’ communication skills?
2. What are the sources of noise in the clasroom communication setting?
3. How can the effect of noise on the intergrity of information in classroom setting be reduced?
4. Do teachers’ Communication skills have significant influenceon student academics performance?

Research Hypotheses

The following research hypotheses were formulated to be tested.

H1. There is no significant relationship between teachers’ communication skills and students’ academic performance.

H2. There is no significant difference in the meanperception of male and female respondents on the determinants of teachers’ communication skills.

H3. There is no significant difference in theperception of rural and urban school respondents on thesources of noise in the classroom setting

H4. There is no significant difference in the perception of students and teachers on how to control theeffect of noise on the intergrity of information in the classroom setting.

Significance of the Study

This study is significant because the results will enable the public, teachers and students to understand the effect of Teachers’ communication skill on Students’ Academic Performance in Public Secondary Schools. The study will also serve as a references to other researcher that will embark on the related topic

Scope of the study

The study investigated the perception of teachers’ on the effect of teachers’ communication skill on students performance in secondary schools in selected schools in yde vii municipality. The study therefore covered discussions on communication for teaching and learning in secondary school and its impact on students’ performance in the study area is selected schools in yde vii municipality.

It is also delimited to the use of descriptive design, random sampling and structured questionnaire to investigate the perception of male and female teachers on the variables identified.

Limitation of the study

Limitations/constraints are inevitable in carrying out a research work of this nature. However, in the course of this research, the following constraints were encountered thus:

1. Non-availability of enough resources (finance): A work of this nature is very tasking financially, money had to be spent at various stages of the research such resources which may aid proper carrying out of the study were not adequately available.
2. Time factor: The time used in carrying out the research work is relatively not enough to bring the best information out of it. However, I hope that the little that is contained in this study will go a long way in solving many greater problems.

Definition of terms

 Academic Performance: The response of students to set objectives in a particular subject. Usually a result of an evaluation or examination based on particular syllabi.

Communication skill: Ability to express data/information. The proficiency with which a person exhibit the passing of information  from one person/medium to another.

Mean Performance: The average score of students in particular excercise.

Classroom setting: An instructional setting with the teacher and student occupying the teacher learnet position.

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