Influence of Subject Specialization on Students’ Achievement in Kwara State, Nigeria

Abstract

Most schools in Nigeria do not have enough teachers and the available ones are required to teach across different disciplines. Deployment of teachers in their areas of subject specialization can enhance students’ achievement. This study therefore examines the influence of subject specialization on students’ achievement in Kwara State. A descriptive survey method was employed. The target population for this study comprised all the counsellors within Kwara State. A total number of 240 respondents were selected. At stage one, the state capital was purposively selected because there were relatively many schools with professional counsellors within the capital. At stage two, purposive sampling technique was used in selecting the main four Local Government Areas within the state capital and these are Ilorin East, Ilorin South, Ilorin West and Asa.  At stage three, simple random sampling technique was used in selecting 10 public schools and 5 private schools that had full time counsellors. In each of the public and private schools, four respondents were purposively selected (2 from the junior and 2 from the senior sections). The measuring instrument used for the study was a questionnaire tagged ‘Influence of Subject Specialization on students’ achievement (ISSSAQ)’. Data were analysed using percentages, mean, frequency, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and t-test statistical tools. The null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level. The findings of the study revealed that there was no significant difference in the respondents’ perception on the influence of subject specialization on students’ achievement on the basis of gender. However, a significant difference was found based in their religious affiliation and years of counselling experience. It was therefore recommended that the government should emphasize and encourage subject specialization among teachers. This will help to produce quality students and give the teacher a sense of professionalism.