Teachers’ Competence: A Great Index of Students Achievement in Social Studies in Plateau State, Nigeria

Abstract

This paper focused on teachers’ competence as correlate of students’ academic achievement in social studies. The quality of Social Studies Education to students depends upon the competence, dedication and quality of the teacher. This is because the quality of any teaching programme cannot rise above the quality of her teachers. Teaching is a highly individualized activity and the student-teacher interaction is an intense human relationship that encompasses a broad range of personalities. A competent teacher is an efficient, reliable and courteously equipped with professionalism, creative in imagination, bustling ingenuity and depth of experience necessary for optimal performance and the performance of goals. The teacher as a good manager of instruction should be able to utilize appropriate techniques to gain and maintain the attention of students and should display requisite pedagogical insight and professional qualities and utilize same to guide the teaching and learning process to the point of achieving stated educational objectives. Teachers are the most important factor and constitute most essential fabric upon which the success of the school, its administration and the entire education system rest upon In order to achieve these therefore, the paper recommends among other things that government at all levels with a meaningful and purposive collaboration with the organized private sector should periodically provide windows of opportunities like learned workshops, seminars and in-service trainings for Social Studies teachers to equip and improve their knowledge of teaching,  Social studies teachers should look for opportunities to improve themselves because knowledge is dynamic so also the teaching and learning of Social Studies, Faculties, institutes and colleges of education in Nigeria should as a matter of importance familiarize student teachers with relevant components of reflective practice in their teacher education programme, if the purpose of graduating quality teachers that will in turn promote students’ performance is to be realized, Criteria for recruiting new social studies teachers and other subject teachers should henceforth, include possession of adequate pedagogical skills and the ability to enhance students’ performance through reflective practice by the prospective teacher seeking to be employed as social studies teacher, The promotion of teachers and other incentives to be given them should from now on be tied to how well the teacher influences the performances of his students,  There should also be continuous supervision and monitoring of teachers by the inspectorate division of State and Federal ministries of education. This will no doubt, improve the quality of teaching and learning and by extension, students’ achievement.