Effect of Teacher’s Qualification on the Performance of Senior Secondary School Physics Students: Implication on Technology in Nigeria

The study examined the effect of teacher’s qualification on the performance of Senior Secondary School students in Physics. The purpose was to determine whether the status of the teacher has any impact on the performance of the students in Physics. The survey type of descriptive research design was adopted. The sample for the study consisted of 100 Senior Secondary Schools Physics students in Ekiti State and the teachers that prepared and presented the students in each school for 2009/2010 West African School Certificate Examination. The year’s result summary for each school was collated with the bio-data of their respective Physics teachers. Four hypotheses were postulated and tested at 0.05 significance level. The data collated were analysed using inferential statistics. The results revealed that students taught by teachers with higher qualifications performed better than those taught by teachers with lower qualifications. It was also showed that students performed better in physics when taught by professional teachers. The result also showed that teacher’s gender has no effect on their ability to impact knowledge on the students, much as he/she is a skilled teacher in that field of study. However, the experience of the teacher is significant at impacting the students’ academic performance in Physics. Based on the findings, it was recommended that experienced teachers with professional qualifications in higher level should teach Physics at the certificate class.