IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF STUDENT-TEACHERS CLASSROOM BEHAVIOUR AND COMPETENCIES IN ABIA STATE

This study investigated the extent of students' perception of student-teachers' classroom behaviour and competencies during the teaching practice exercise in Abia State. The study identified four classroom behaviours which were lesson presentation, classroom management, use of teaching aids, and student-teachers' personality. Based on these behaviours, four research questions and their corresponding null hypotheses were used to guide the study. The descriptive survey research design was used while a sample of 304 students drawn through purposive sampling technique was used for the study. A research-developed instrument composed of 20-items was used for data collection, which was accessed for validity by experts. Cronbach Alpha reliability yielded a value of 0.87 which showed that the instrument possessed a suitable level of reliability for use. Data collected was analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while independent samples t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Result revealed that student-teachers exhibited poor lesson presentation and use of teaching aid, while they exhibited a commendable level of classroom management and positive personality traits. Based on the result obtained, it was recommended that students’ assessment should be integrated into the grading of student-teachers during the teaching practice exercise. INTRODUCTION Beyond the attaining of knowledge, education is a veritable tool that has been considered important for the pursuit of sustainable development of individuals, societies and nations. While various definitions exist, education has generally been seen as the process of impacting and attaining new forms of knowledge, skills and attitudes to aid an individual or group of individuals towards becoming productive members of the society (Abdul-Kareem, 2001). It is therefore from this background that every modern society has made massive human and capital investment into the educational development of its citizen. One area in which investment in education has become most pressing is the aspect of teacher education. This is because the educational development of any society rests squarely on teachers. As Okoli (2011) asserted, no society can grow beyond the quality of its teachers. Commenting further, Ukeje (1988) opined that it is the teacher who will ultimately be responsible for translating policy into action, principles into practice and curriculum into learning. Recognizing that no nation can grow beyond the quality and commitment of its teachers, it has become necessary that teacher education is given adequate attention, effectively monitored and sufficiently financed. SJIF Impact Factor: 7.001| ISI I.F. Value:1.241| Journal DOI: 10.36713/epra2016 ISSN: 2455-7838(Online) EPRA International Journal of Research and Development (IJRD) Volume: 5 | Issue: 7 | July 2020 Peer Reviewed Journal 2020 EPRA IJRD | Journal DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra2016 | www.eprajournals. com |317 | The realization that teachers are foundationally essential for the development of education and society in general, it has become pertinent that there are timely and available training and retraining programmes for teachers (Afe, 1992). Teacher education programmes must be seen as not only a national duty but a sacred obligation that must be given financial and policy priority. While various teacher development programmes have been proposed and implemented, one approach that has enjoyed both historical and universal acceptance is the utilization of teaching practice programmes for pre-service teachers, as this provides becoming teachers the opportunity to translate educational learning principles and policy into classroom learning for students. Teaching practice exercise occupies a central position in the teacher preparation process. Both globally and in Nigeria, it is generally acknowledged that going into the teaching profession without undergoing teaching practice is a recipe for professional disaster and educational failure, not only for the teacher but also for the student they interact with. It was therefore against this background that the Federal Government of Nigeria (2007) through the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Commission for Colleges of Education stipulates that all students in faculties of education at the university level and those in colleges of education must undergo, at least, a compulsory teaching practice exercise. This has remained a statutory requirement for students to be graduated. Furthermore, performance in teaching provides a basis for predicting the future success of teachers, and thus Oluwatayo and Adebule (2012) posited that teaching practice is an indispensable aspect of teacher education process. While conceptualized differently and operationalized based on local preference, teaching practice is common in all modern societies. According to Ogunyinka, Okeke and Adedoyin (2015), teacher education refers to the professional education of teachers towards the attainment of attitudes, skills and knowledge considered desirable to make them efficient and effective in their work, in accordance with the need of a given society at any point in time. It generally includes training, evaluation and programmes that occurs before the commencement or entrance into the teaching profession Teaching practice programme provide prospective teachers with the opportunity to translate content knowledge, lesson presentation skills, use of teaching aids, classroom management competencies and learners behaviour into actual practice. During teaching practice, student-teachers are expected to plan and deliver their lessons appropriately using a mixture of pedagogical theories and classroom principles. Good lesson planning recognizes flexibility while also providing prospective teachers with structure and substance (Pollard, 2006). Planning involves the formulation of concise and feasible learning objectives, appropriate organization of content areas and effective use of subject matter terminologies. A central goal of lesson planning involves the formulation of learning objectives linked to specific activities which determine learners’ progress and is used to assess the extent of learning. To effectively attain the lesson objectives, it is fundamental that teachers make use of teaching aids. Teaching aids help in reinforcing the skills, knowledge, facts or ideas presented in the classroom. According to Creneti (2012), it is acknowledged that effective use of relevant and quality teaching aids by student-teachers provides arousal of students’ interests, relieving students’ anxiety and creates enthusiasm for the subject matter. Specifically, the current generation of students prefers the use of teaching and learning aids such as charts, models, scientific equipment, video and audio cassettes, radio, television, projectors, multimedia information and communication technology (ICT) according to Riegel and Mete (2018). Thus the need for student-teachers to embrace the use of such media for enriching, broadening and deepening the learning experiences for those they may teach. It is therefore incumbent on student-teachers to identify and utilize the most appropriate teaching aids to illustrate and clarify the intents of the lesson so that the learners can understand the importance of each concept. Another aspect of teaching practice that student-teachers must develop is the effective management of pupils. According to Seweje (2000), teachers, including student-teachers need to understand that the classroom is all about helping the students learn rather than making the teacher the centre of attraction. As such, the teachers must have the ability and authority to control the behaviour of students as well as ensure orderliness. Furthermore, teachers must use a variety of instructional techniques to draw and sustain the attention of students and encourage active participation. All these are made possible through the personality of the student-teacher. A teacher with a warm, amiable and friendly personality is more likely to promote interest among students. On the other hand, the teacher whom students consider harsh, critical and unfriendly is likely to create resistance and instil anxiety among students. SJIF Impact Factor: 7.001| ISI I.F. Value:1.241| Journal DOI: 10.36713/epra2016 ISSN: 2455-7838(Online) EPRA International Journal of Research and Development (IJRD) Volume: 5 | Issue: 7 | July 2020 Peer Reviewed Journal 2020 EPRA IJRD | Journal DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra2016 | www.eprajournals. com |318 | The importance of the above skills and competencies for student-teachers such as lesson preparation and presentation, classroom management, use of teaching aids, and teachers’ personality can only be observed and improved upon through the ample provision of opportunities to practice. Therefore, according to Nakpodia (2011, p. 34), the aim of practice teaching is to give student-teachers the opportunity of learning at first hand the actual work of a teacher is typical classroom situations. It provides the student-teacher with the opportunity to meet learners as they are and to practicalize the theories acquired in preservice training. To further identify if the aim of teaching practice has been effectively executed, student-teachers must be evaluated. Normally, student-teachers are assigned to schools for a specific timeframe for them to undertake their teaching practice. During this period, studentteachers are visited by their lecturers to observe the students on different criteria of teaching such as lesson preparation and presentation, classroom management, use of teaching aids and personality of the traineeteachers. A major goal of these visitations is to assess the extent to which learning theories and classroom principles earlier learnt by the student-teacher can be used in designing and deploying learnin