The effect of teachers' quality variables on nursery school pupils' performance in English language in Gombe Metropolis

Abstract

Education is a veritable tool for national development; the key facilitators of this development are teachers. The foundation of education starts at nursery school since it is a crucial stage for achild's development. This  causal-comparative research investigated the effect of teacher quality variables such as age, professional qualification, years of teaching experience, and workshop attendance on nursery school pupils' academic performance in  English language in Gombe metropolis. Four teachers and 137 pupils were sampled. Data were collected using two researcher designed instruments: Nursery School Teachers' Quality Variables Questionnaire (NSTQVQ) and Nursery School Pupils' English Achievement Test (NSPEAT). The results revealed that younger teachers have more positive effect on nursery school pupils' performance in English than older teachers. Other variables had no significant effect on pupils' performance in English. Hence, it was recommended that other studies should replicate this study using the same methods, but with a larger sample size.

Keywords: Education, Teacher quality variables, Nursery school pupils' performance