TEACHER PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES AND QUALITY EDUCATION DELIVERY IN ABIA STATE PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

TEACHER PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCIES AND QUALITY EDUCATION DELIVERY IN ABIA STATE PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract
This study investigated teachers’ professional competencies and quality education delivery for male and female teachers in public secondary schools in Abia State. The population of the study comprised all the 3,568 teachers in the public secondary schools in Abia State. The sample size was 1,784 teachers, comprising 950 males and 834 females. The population was stratified into male and female teachers using proportionately stratified sampling technique and simple random sampling was use to draw the sample. Four research questions and four hypotheses guided the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled (TPCQEDQ) developed by the researcher. The questionnaire was validated by experts, one in measurement and evaluation and two in educational management all from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Igbariam.Campus. The reliability of the instrument was ascertained through test re-test method and reliability coefficient yielded a coefficient of 0.75. The questionnaires were administered to teachers with the help of four briefed research assistants. The mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while t-test was used in testing the hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that teachers’ professional competencies for quality education delivery are moderate for both male and female teachers. It further shows that interpersonal skills, teaching skill and subject knowledge are professional competencies for quality education delivery for both male and female teachers. It also revealed the challenges of these professional competencies for quality education delivery. It was recommended among others that Government should create sufficient funds for teachers to engage in professional development programmes.