CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
These teaching skill needs of teachers are essential for classroom to function effectively. To understand teaching skills properly there is the need for us to understand the concept of teaching. Teaching has been defined and described differently by different authors in the area of education. Kpangbon & Onwuegbu (2004) describe teaching as the process of communicating information to the learner, stimulating relevant learning activities, evaluating the result of these activities and taking remedial action if necessary. Okeke (2006) also perceived teaching as the process of passing on information from a more knowledgeable person (instructor) to a less knowledgeable person. In the process of teaching, the instructor, through order, command or direction, requires the learner to perform certain tasks or operation. The idea of teaching, judging from the view of Okeke, can be explained in terms of “drill”. A command is given and there is compliance implying the stimulus response process of learning. Teaching in the context of this study therefore, is the process of communicating information to the pupils, stimulating relevant learning activities, evaluating the result of these activities and taking remedial action if necessary by teachers in inclusive classroom.
Teaching skills according to Kpangban & Onwuegbu (1992) are patterns adopted by teachers to interact with their subjects. It is the knowledge and ability the teacher uses to communicate with the students. According to Romiszowski (2004) teaching skills is described as the process teachers use to communicate information to the learner, stimulating relevant learning activities and taking remedial action.
Further, teaching skills according to Saylor & Alexander (2004) includes; assessment skills, (that is ability and knowledge of the teacher to assess the learner) communication skills, (that is ability to interact with the learner) management skills, (that is the ability to control human and material resources) motivational skills (that is the ability to arouse the moral of the learner) and evaluation skills (that is the ability to ascertain whether learning has taken place). Assessment skills are knowledge and ability of the teachers to consider and judge students in the classroom (Okeke, 1996). Assessment skill as part of the teaching skills are an attempt to find out the strengths and weaknesses or the effectiveness of a programme (Anagbogu, 2005). Assessment skills are the knowledge and ability of teachers to determine the strengths and weakness of the learners.
In communication skills, teachers ought to pass on veritable lesson objectives to the leaner are yet another teaching skill needs of teachers for inclusive classroom. Smith (2005) explained that communication skills are the ability of the teacher to understand what the learner is trying to express and being able to express him/her self to the learner. Through communication skills the teacher is able to clarify his feeling about the topic being taught. In management skills however, Dececco & Crawford (2004) explained that management skills are the process or act of controlling or organizing lesson which the teacher adopt to enhance learning. The classroom teacher needs the management skill to be able to organize the learners for effective teaching. In Motivation skills (Anagbogu, 2005) sees it as inner drive or compulsion that is not easily noticeable. Motivation has to do with the struggle to achieve a goal. Motivation skills are the inner drive of teachers which enable them to achieve their goal. All these skills according to Dearden (2003) are needed for teaching and learning to be effective. Teaching skills therefore, in this present study is the teaching strategies or plans adopted by teachers to ensure that children reach their potentials.
The teacher according to Maduewesi (1999) needs a sound knowledge of the psychological theories related to learning and human behaviour. The teacher should be familiar with such concepts as, communication skills, reinforcement, motivation, attitude, readiness, peer approval, self-concept, retention of knowledge and many others. The teacher needs a sound knowledge of these terms to enable her understand and interpret the behaviour of children in the classroom. Taking reinforcement as an example, the teacher should understand that when a learner receives even verbal rewards such as ‘excellent’, ‘well done’, ‘good answer’, among others, these serve as reinforcement and encourage the child to try and give some more correct answers in future. The knowledge of these concepts enable the teacher to react appropriately to pupil behaviour.
Another factor to consider in the teaching skills needs of teachers in inclusive classroom is gender. Gender plays an important role in teachers’
teaching outcome. Male teachers have been found to be more skillful than their female counterpart (Nwafor, 2000). Gender is the condition of being masculine or feminine through one’s behaviour (Sinclair, 1996). This means there are behaviour meant for male and there are the ones meant for female. For example, in the traditional Igbo society, males are expected to be strong and assertive while females are expected to be soft and sensitive (Guinand & Lemessa, 2000). Obasi (2004) refers to gender as many social and cultural constructed characteristics, qualities, behaviour and roles which different societies ascribed to male and female. But in the present study gender refers to the manifestation of teaching skills needs by male and female teachers for inclusive classroom. Previous research suggested that male regular teachers and female regular teachers are likely to differ in their type of teaching skills. Female regular teachers are more likely to discriminate than the male regular teachers in their teaching in the classroom (Nwafor, 2002). Hosever, Jacklin & Lacey (1997) perceived that male regular teachers exhibit good organisational and grouping strategies than their counterparts. It is for this points that the study investigated the influence of gender on the teaching skill for inclusive classroom.
However, it has also been confirmed by Aluko (1992) and Anagbogu (2000) that teachers in the cities perform better than their counterparts in the rural areas in terms of techniques and skillful ways of teaching. Aluko asserts that facilities and high expectation in urban locations to perform is
high in teaching and learning. Location refers to the place where a school is sited. It is called the geographic location of the school (Jones, 2002). A location is a place, especially the place where something happens or is situated (Sinclair, 1996). Some secondary schools and primary schools in Imo state are located in urban areas while some are located in the rural areas. Here, urban area means township or metropolitan part of Imo state. Rural areas here mean local areas or an underdeveloped part of Imo state. Teachers in urban areas may perform better than those in rural areas in terms of teaching skills. Based on the forgoing, the study investigated the influences of location on the teaching skills of teachers for inclusive classroom.
In Imo state primary schools, inclusive classroom appears to be relatively new among teachers. It has been observed by researchers like Efobi (1999) that the level of awareness of inclusive classroom in primary schools in Imo state is quite negative and alarming hence denying special needs children equal access to education. Ozoji, (2003), Okeke, (2004), Nwazuoke, (2004) have also pointed to the acute negativity with which Nigerians treat the different categories of special needs children: the hard of hearing, the people with visual impairment, among others. The researchers have also shown that both the society and government have not done much to lessen the burden of these less fortunate members of the society. This shows that they are treated as “burdens” of society with little or no facilities
provided for them to afford them the opportunity of realizing their potentials in inclusive classroom. To ameliorate this ugly situation, teachers need to acquire teaching skills to enable them meet the challenges of inclusive classroom. It is against this background, that the present study investigated the teaching skills needs of teachers for inclusive classroom in Imo state primary schools.
Statement of the Problem
In spite of the general global yearning for high quality education for inclusive classroom, there is an apparent realization by stakeholders that the quality of teaching has declined considerably especially in the primary school classrooms. The quality of training and retraining provided for teachers were not adequate to ensure optimum service delivery as an assurance to nation building and the realization of the vision of inclusive classroom. Similarly, the quality of teaching of teachers in primary school was out of sync with the objective of inclusive classroom. Inclusive classroom, concerned with a system of education which offers every member of the society an equal opportunity to acquire basic education in the regular school environment is not achieving the expected objective as a result of poor teachers’ teaching skills.
The public perception therefore is that public primary school teachers’ teaching skills are low and standard have dropped. Public primary school teachers are presumed to be unable to boost their
teaching skills and as a result, they perform poorly. However, teachers in primary schools were found not to have requisites teaching skills to discharge their duties for effective teaching in inclusive classroom. The causes of failures of the teaching outcomes of primary school teachers have been attributed to diverse factors. Review of empirical works, showed that some works have been carried out in some related areas to the study at hand, for instance many studies associated with inclusive classroom and special needs children have been done. However, none of the works available to the researcher seem to have focused on the teaching skill needs of teachers and special need educators for inclusive classroom. As a result of this, all educators need to have the knowledge of these teaching skills for effective teaching in inclusive classroom. It is against this backdrop that the problem of this study was posed into question form narrowed to: what are the teaching skill needs of teachers and special educators for inclusive classroom in Ebony State primary schools?.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the teaching skill needs of teachers for inclusive classroom in Imo state primary schools.
Specifically, the study:-
- Determined the teaching assessment skill needs of teachers and special educators for inclusive
- Determined the teaching communication skill needs of teachers and special educators for inclusive
- Ascertain the teaching management skill needs of teachers and special educators for inclusive
- The motivational teaching skill needs of teachers for inclusive classroom.
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will be of great significance both theoretically and practically to policy makers, curriculum planners, teacher and school management board.
Theoretically, in the area of special education, the findings of the study will provide data that may be useful for clear understanding of the existing theories of teaching and behaviour modification. The study will provide data which will provide the functionality or otherwise of human relation theory and theory of human motivation and social learning theory. The study is therefore anchored on all the theories because of their relevance to the study.
Practically, the finding of this study were of immense benefit to policy makers, curriculum planners and teachers. The findings of this study provided empirical data for policy makers on teaching skills needs by teachers for inclusive classroom. This could enable them make policy
statement relevant to teachers’ possession of the needed skills before employment to teach in inclusive classroom.
If the curriculum planners are informed of the findings of the study, it would enable them modify existing curriculum coverage for teachers’ preparation for inclusive classroom. This could as well make the modification to take care of areas of challenges as identified.
Equally, the findings of the study will benefit teachers as these would help them to be informed of the teaching skills needed to be able to teach children with special needs in their classroom. Special Educators can begin to explore these teaching skill needs on their own prior to organized preparation program for their acquisition. Sensitization workshop would be organized for teachers to update their knowledge on the teaching skills required of them to accommodate children with special needs in regular classroom.
Finally, the findings of this study when documented and published will add to the stock of existing knowledge in the area of inclusive education and the teaching skill needs of regular teachers which will be disseminated through workshops, learned journals, conferences and internet postings.
Scope of the Study
The present study focused on the teaching skill needs of teachers for inclusive classroom in Imo state primary schools. In addition, gender and location as variables in this study were explored to establish their influence on teaching skills. The independent variables are the teaching skill needs of teachers while the dependent variable is the teachers outcome of teaching skills on pupils in inclusive classroom. So, the researcher focused on the teaching skill needs of teachers for successful inclusive classroom in Imo state primary schools.
Research Questions
The following four research questions guided the study:
- What are the teaching assessment skill needs of teachers and special educators for inclusive classroom?
- What are the communication teaching skill needs of teachers for inclusive classroom?
- What are the management teaching skill needs of teachers for inclusive classroom?
- What are the motivational teaching skill needs of teachers for inclusive classroom?
Hypotheses
The under listed hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance.
H01: There is no significant difference between the mean scores of male and female teachers on the teaching skill needs for inclusive classroom.
H02: There is no significant difference between the mean scores of regular teachers and special educators on the teaching skill needs for inclusive classroom in urban and rural areas.
H03: There is no significant difference between the mean scores of regular teachers and special educators on the teaching skill needs for inclusive classroom.
Do you need help? Talk to us right now: (+234) 08060082010, 08107932631 (Call/WhatsApp). Email: [email protected].IF YOU CAN'T FIND YOUR TOPIC, CLICK HERE TO HIRE A WRITER»
