IMPACT OF GENDER AND QUALIFICATION ON TEACHERS’ EFFECTIVENESS IN TEACHING BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN PRIMARY SCHOOL IN FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA

Abstract

The study assessed the impact of gender and qualification on teachers’ effectiveness in teaching Basic Science and Technology in primary schools in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted expo -facto research design. The population of the study 9,193 Basic Science and Technology (BST) primary school teachers in FCT. A sample size of 1120 BST primary school teachers was drawn for the study using dual-stage sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was an observation schedule titled: “Observational Schedule for Assessing Primary School Teachers’ Acquisition of Required Skills for Effective Teaching of   Basic Science and Technology (OSAP-TARSETBST)” developed by the researcher. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while the hypotheses were tested using t-test statistic and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. The study among others revealed that both gender; and teachers’ qualifications were statistically significant factors on the extent to which BST primary school teachers possess required skills for teaching Basic Science and Technology. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher concluded that primary school teachers exhibited the required skills for teaching BST to a great extent. However, they lack required skills such as ability to carry out experiments, interpret result of the experiment, improvisation by constructing things, grouping pupils to accomplish a given task and consideration for individual difference among pupils. It was therefore recommended among others that:  In-service educational training, workshop and seminars should be develop to facilitate the acquisition these required skills they are lacking.