Dec. 2014. Vol. 4, No.

ISSN 2307-227X

International Journal of Research In Social Sciences

2013-2014 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss

EFFECTS OF PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS OF FINANCIAL

ACCOUNTING TEACHERS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF
FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STUDENTS IN TAMALE METROPOLIS OF
GHANA
1

KATE YEBOAH-APPIAGYEI; 2 OSEI TUTU JOSEPH; 3DARKWA BERNARD FENTIM

1, 2
Department of Education, Valley view University, Ghana
3
Department of Arts & Social Sciences Education, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
Email: Kyeboah-appiagyei@vvu.edu.gh, otkwam@gmail.com, bernardarkwa@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper was to examine the effects of professional qualifications of financial accounting teachers
on academic performance of SHS financial accounting students in the Tamale Metropolis of Ghana. Twenty nine
(29) teachers from the seven (7) senior high schools in the metropolis were selected for the study. It was a
descriptive study where questionnaire was used to collect the data. The study revealed that financial accounting
students perform academically better in financial accounting when they are taught by professional financial
accounting teachers. This implies that teachers who possess sound professional training and qualification are wellequipped with the requisite competencies that enable them to promote effective teaching and learning. The study
also recommended that, the government through the Ministry of Education should consider reinstating retired
financial accounting teachers who are still energetic. As it is often said, experience is the best teacher, reengaging the service of retired financial accounting teachers would help to harness their rich experience on the
teaching of the subject.
Keywords: Professional Qualifications, Academic Performance, Financial Accounting.

1.

academic committees, professional research groups,

among others. ToP is useful for examining the level
of performance of every organization. Elger
indicates that performance is a journey not a
destination and that the level of performance is a
location in the journey. He proposed three axioms
that undergird the production of valued results and
hence, effective performance improvement. These
axioms comprise a performers mind-set, immersion
in an enriching environment, and engagement in
reflective practice.

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Theory of Performance (ToP)

Students achievements in every discipline manifest
in different test scores as they progress from one
grade level to another in the school context. The
index of this achievement is not measured by test
scores alone. Achievement might also manifest in the
form of students creative abilities, speech and other
forms of verbal expressions. According to Elger (n.
d.), human beings are capable of accomplishing
different and extraordinary achievements in the
learning endeavours.
As a consequence, Elger propounded a theory known
as the Theory of Performance (ToP) which tends to
inform learning in classrooms, workshops, and other
venues that are traditionally associated with learning
as well as other non-traditional learning
environments. Some of these non-traditional learning
contexts comprise academic advising, departments,

1.2 Performers Mindset

Performers mind-set, according to Elger (n. d.),
refers to actions that engage students in positive
emotions. Examples of such actions include setting
challenging goals, perceiving failure as a natural part
of attaining high performance as well as providing
conditions in which the performer feels a right
amount of safety.\

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ISSN 2307-227X

International Journal of Research In Social Sciences

2013-2014 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
www.ijsk.org/ijrss

The teacher has been identified by psychologists as a

principal character that can make or mar any
successful learning within the formal system of
education. According to Buddin and Zamarro (2009),
teacher quality is a key element of student academic
success. Obasi (2010) also asserts that the
professional and academic training and qualification
of the teacher can raise the prospects of a students
academic performance and attainments. This
validates the truism that the quality of our schools
cannot be better that the quality of the teachers we
have.

1.3 Immersion
This involves creating quality learning environments
that can foster students learning. When individuals
get immersed in a physical, social, and intellectual
environment, it can elevate his/her performance and
stimulate personal as well as professional
development. Other elements fostering quality
learning environment include social interactions,
disciplinary knowledge, active learning, and
emotions (both positive and negative) as well as
spiritual alignment (Elger, n. d.).
1.4 Reflective Practice
According to Elger (n. d.), engagement in reflective
practice involves actions that help people pay
attention to and learn from experiences. Some
examples of cultivating reflective practices include
observing the present level of performance, noting
accomplishments, analysing strengths and areas for
improvements, analysing and develop identity and
improving levels of knowledge.

However, researchers have raised several questions

about the relationship between teacher qualification
and the academic success of students. The calibre of
teacher trainees admitted into the colleges of
education has influence on their grades. This implies
that unprofessional teacher trainees can affect the
teaching and learning process since education
depends on the quality and mental health of the
people who are recruited to teach (Fullan &
Stiegelbauer, 2000).

1.5 Professional Qualifications of Teachers

The problem of lack of qualified teachers is eminent
in many schools where teachers are neither
academically nor professionally qualified or both.
Some teachers of financial accounting may have
adequate education in Accounting but have not
attended a training school to be professionally
trained. This problem is encountered in the Senior
High Schools (SHS) in Ghana. In the field of
financial accounting in particular, it appears most
teachers taking the course have adequate knowledge
in the subject matter but are unable to impart the
knowledge into the students.

Jekayinfa (n.d) conducted a study to find out whether

or not there is a significant difference in the mean
scores on the history test of students in schools with
adequate supply of qualified history teachers and the
scores of students in schools with inadequate
professional teachers. The results revealed that there
is a significant difference between the two groups on
history achievement scores. Based on the results, it
was concluded that there was a significant difference
in the achievement scores, on the test of history, of
students in schools with adequate teacher quality and
the scores of students in schools with inadequate
teacher quality in history.

According to Adentwi (2005), a subject specialist or

professionally trained teacher is one who has pursued
detailed formal and systematic study of a particular
subject. The role of such a subject specialist is to act
as storehouse of essential and well processed
information leading his students to gain deep insights
into the various subjects to be taught. According to
Buddi and Zamarro (2009), teacher quality is a key
element of student academic success. Obasi (2010)
also asserts that the professional and academic
training and qualification of the teacher can raise the
prospects of a students academic performance and
attainments. This validates the truism that the quality
of our schools cannot be better than the quality of the
teachers we have.
Teacher Qualification
Academic Performance

1.6

and

Rowan, Correnti and Miller (2002) report differing

findings relative to the academic performance of
students taught by teachers having advanced degrees.
They found that neither teachers mathematics
certification nor teachers who possessed postgraduate degrees in mathematics could increase the
academic achievement of their students who were in
the upper grades of schools. These authors argue that
advanced academic training in mathematics was
attained at the expense of professional pedagogical
training. And this somewhat interfered with effective
classroom teaching, either because academic
restricted the time spent on professional pedagogical
training or because it produced teachers who, to some
extent, could not simplify and clarify their advanced
understanding of mathematics for their students to

Students

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ISSN 2307-227X

International Journal of Research In Social Sciences

2013-2014 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
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and students mathematics achievement but no such

relationship was found between teacher qualification
and students achievement in science. Monk (cited in
Zuzovsky, 2009), however, found that while having a
major in mathematics had no effect on student
achievement in mathematics, having a substantial
amount of under- or post-graduate coursework had a
significant positive effect on students achievement
in physics but not in a subject like life sciences.

also understand. This will invariably not lead to

superior performance in the subject.
Koedel and Betts (2007) used a value-added gains
model to look at student achievement of elementary
students in San Diego. They found that specific
teacher qualification (experience, quality of
undergraduate college, education level, and college
major) had little effect on student achievement. In
support of Koedel and Betts findings, Buddin and
Zamarro (2009) also found that teacher experience
was weakly related to student achievement, and the
level of education attained by teachers has no effect
on student achievement in their learning endeavours.
Buddin and Zamarro (2009), further argue that
experienced or better educated or more skilled
teachers (as measured by licensure exams) may
inherently be better able to teach, but they may not
consistently deliver their best performance in the
classroom.

As indicated in Table 1, in the year 2006, out of the

total number of Senior High School Students of
25,767 who sat for the Financial Accounting
Examination, only 10,270 (39.9%) passed the
WASSCE. In 2007, out of the total number of
students of 29,548 who wrote the examination,
16,554 (56.0%) passed. This represents 16.1%
increase upon the previous performance. In 2008, the
percentage of the total number of students who
passed the examination decreased from 56.0% in
2007 to 54.8% in 2008, representing 1.2% decrease
in performance compared to the previous years own.
In 2009, the performance increased from 54.8% to
63.8%, representing 9% increase. Looking at the
trend of performance of Financial Accounting
students over the past years under review, the trend
fluctuates as it increases at a point in time and
decreases at a point. However, the average pass rate
for these years under review is 53.6%. This means
that for every 2 students who sat for the examination
in Financial Accounting, 1 out of the 2 is likely to fail
the examination. This rate of performance is very
devastating.

Khurshid (2008) conducted a study to determine the

relationship between the professional qualifications
of teachers and the academic performance of their
students at secondary school level in Multan,
Pakistan. It was found that the performance of the
students taught by the untrained teachers with B.A. /
B.Sc qualifications was better than the students
taught by trained teachers with professional
qualifications like B.Ed and M.Ed.
However, Zuzovsky (2009) conducted a study in
Israel to re-examine the extent to which advanced
academic degrees, majoring in the field of teaching,
years of teaching experience, and intensive
participation in professional development activities
(all assumed to be cardinal teacher qualifications). It
was found that these components of teacher
qualification were indeed positively associated with
student achievement in mathematics and science.
Several studies have found a significant relationship
between teachers qualification and specialized
knowledge in mathematics and students achievement
in mathematics (Martin, Mullis, Gregory, Hoyle &
Shen, 2000; Hill, Rowan & Ball, 2005; Mogari,
Kriek, Stols & Iheanachor, 2009).

Table 1: Statistics of Students Performance in Financial

Accounting in WASSCE, Ghana

Year
No. Sat
2006
25767
2007
29548
2008
30601
2009
35126
(WAEC 2006-2010)

No. Passed
10270
16554
16770
22412

% passed
39.9
56.0
54.8
63.8

Table 2: Actual Education Expenditure as a Percentage

of GDP

Year
There are conflicting reports on the relationship
between teacher qualification and students
achievements in various subject areas. For instance,
Zuzovsky (2009) reviewed literature on studies
conducted by other researchers. He revealed that
Goldhaber and Brewer (2000) in their study found a
positive relationship between teacher qualification

2003

85

GDP

Expenditure
as a % of
GDP

GHC (000)

Actual
Education
expenditure
GHC (000)

6,526,200

407,424.3

6.2%

Dec. 2014. Vol. 4, No.8

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International Journal of Research In Social Sciences

2013-2014 IJRSS & K.A.J. All rights reserved
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2004

7,762,000

568,920

7.3%

9,701,800

727,533.7

7.5%

11,490,320

939,024.2

8.2%

13,974,584

1,273,539.5

9.1%

17,211,700

1,743,571.7

10.1%

21,630,000

1,949,768.4

9.0%

2005

Granted the fact that education is one of the most

important tools for national development, hence, the
attention and efforts of the government of Ghana to
promote sound and quality education, there are still a
lot of factors affecting the realization of the nations
goal of providing quality education for its citizenry.
Analysis of the performance of financial accounting
students in the West Africa Senior Schools
Certificate Examination (WASSCE) between the
periods of 2006 to 2009, with average pass rate of
53.6% is not encouraging, in spite of the effort put in
by curriculum designers and government to ensure
good performance. Out of the total number of
Financial Accounting students who sat for the
Financial Accounting examination within that period
about 46.4% failed as depicted in Table 1.
Teachers play very important role in teaching and
learning process. Although students, school
authorities, and educational planners are expected to
contribute their quota effectively to education, the
students cannot be of much help to themselves
without the teachers being very effective and
efficient. Financial accounting teachers just like all
teachers should use appropriate instructional methods
to help students learn. It appears there is no one
generally accepted method of teaching financial
accounting and therefore accounting teachers use
various methods in the teaching of financial
accounting.

2006

2007
2008

2009
(MOE, 2010, p.75)
2.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Government of Ghana has shown serious

commitment towards the education of this nation.
This is reflected in the various reforms, innovations
and enrichments that have taken place in the
Ghanaian education system; all aimed at improving
the quality of education in the country. Also, the
education budgetary allocation as in the proportion of
the nations Gross Domestic Product (GDP) that is
invested in education is a clear indication of how the
governments of Ghana is committed to promote
education within the country. The acceptable range
for the overall level of investment in education as a
percentage of gross domestic products (GDP) is
between 4 and 6 percent (MOE 2010). The
suggestion by UNESCO and the African Unions is
that actual education expenditure should be
approximately 6% of GDP (MOE 2010). However,
in Ghana, the actual educational expenditure increase
from 6.2% in 2003 to 10.1 % in 2008 which reduced
to 9.0% in 2009 shows a tremendous performance,
which is above the international standards. This
proportion of the countrys investment in education
out of the GDP as indicated by Table 2 is evident to
the eminence given to education in the country by
governments of this nation.

Mitchell (2000) observed that professional teachers

work better than non- professional teachers since
professional teachers go through a lot of academic
and professional training before they are given
certificates as teachers. His finding confirms Creepy,
(1999) who was of the view that, teachers should not
only be interested in how to impart knowledge to
learners but should also be able to select the
appropriate instructional pedagogy to make teaching
and learning enjoyable. Moon, Mayes and
Hutchinson (2004) indicated that there are three main
factors within teachers control that significantly
influence pupil achievement. These factors according
to them are professional characteristics, teaching
skills and classroom climate.
Teacher professional development has been given
little or no attention all over the country in recent
times and Tamale Metropolis of the Northern region
of Ghana is no exception to this phenomenon. It is
against this background that this study is geared
towards investigating the effect of professional
qualifications of financial accounting teachers on
students academic performance
in the Tamale
Metropolis.

Amidst all these efforts by the leaders of this country

towards education, the performance of students,
particularly Financial Accounting students of
averagely 53.6% has remained unacceptably low.
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3.

1.

2.

The census survey was employed to collect the 29

Financial Accounting teachers for the study. Data
collected for the study were analysed with the aid of
Statistical Package for Service Solutions (SPSS)
computer application software. The data on research
hypothesis one were analyzed by using Spearman
Rank correlation, means and standard deviations.
Finally, the independent samples t-test was employed
to investigate whether there was a significant
difference in academic performance between students
taught by professional Financial Accounting teachers
and students taught by unprofessional Financial
Accounting teachers.

RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The study was guided by the following hypotheses:

H0: There is no significant relationship between
Financial
Accounting
students
academic
performance and teachers professional experience.
H1: There is a significant relationship between
Financial
Accounting
students
academic
performance and teachers professional experience.
H0: There is no significant difference in academic
performance between students taught by professional
Financial Accounting teachers and students taught by
unprofessional Financial Accounting teachers.
H1: There is a significant difference in academic
performance between students taught by professional
Financial Accounting teachers and students taught by
unprofessional Financial Accounting teachers.
4.

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.
Research Hypothesis 1: There is no significant
relationship between Financial Accounting students
performance and teachers professional experience
The purpose of this hypothesis was to establish
whether there was any significant relationship
between students academic performance in Financial
Accounting and the teachers professional
experience. Items 17-23 of the questionnaire for the
Financial Accounting teachers were aimed at
collecting the data to help establish that relationship,
if any, between Financial Accounting teachers
experience and their students academic performance
in financial accounting. Spearman Rank correlation
method of analysis was employed to find the
relationship between academic performance and
teachers experience. This statistical tool was found
appropriate because both variables could be ranked.
The results that were generated from the analysis are
shown in Table 4.

METHODOLOGY

The descriptive survey design was used to conduct

the study. The descriptive research deals with the
relationships among non-manipulative variables,
since the events or conditions have already occurred
(Best & Kahn 1993). McMillan (1996) also
contended that a descriptive survey research
essentially describes existing phenomena without
changing some conditions to affect subjects
responses. This design was selected because it
enabled data to be collected in order to test the
hypotheses or answer questions concerning the
current status of a phenomenon. The population for
the study covered Financial Accounting teachers of
public senior high schools in the Tamale Metropolis
of Ghana. The area of the study was the Tamale
Metropolis within the Northern Region of Ghana.

Table 4: Relationship between Teachers Experience and

Students Performance

Spearman
rank
correlation

Table 3: Population for the Study

Name of school
Financial Accounting
Teachers
Northern Business
7
SHS
Business SHS
6
Ghana SHS

Tamale SHS

Tamale Girls SHS

Kalpohine SHS

Total

29

Performa Teaching
nce
Experience

Performance Correlation
1.000
Coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed)
.
N
29
Teaching
Correlation
.762
Experience Coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed)
.026*
N
29
*Correlation is significant at .05 (2-tailed)

87

.762
.026*
29
1.000
.
29

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The Spearman rank correlation test in Table 4 depicts

that there is strong statistically significant positive
relationship between teaching experience and
students academic performance in Financial
Accounting
(r = .762, p < .026, 2-tailed). This implies that as
Financial Accounting teachers teach for longer
periods of years, they gain more practical experience
and knowledge of the accounting curriculum. This in
turn increases their knowledge base as well as
exposes them to the appropriate teaching strategies
that are supposed to be used to teach the various
topics in the syllabus. As a consequence, more
experienced teachers tend to be more effective and
this impacts positively on students learning and
achievement in the subject. Thus, students perform
better when taught by more experienced teachers.

More
experienced
Financial
Accounting teachers facilitate
student learning better than novice 3.33
.49
Financial Accounting teachers
NB: 1.0-1.4= Strongly Disagree; 1.5-2.4= Disagree;
2.5-3.4= Agree; 3.5-4.0= Strongly Agree; Mean of
Means = 3.30; Mean of Standard deviation = .7
The Mean of means of 3.30 and standard deviation of
.71 indicate that the Financial Accounting teachers
variedly agreed that teaching experience helped them
to improve upon their teaching skills (M =3.40, SD =
.83). Also, the teachers were in support of the
statement that more years of teaching experience
contributed to more students achievement (M = 3.46,
SD = .64) and that more experienced Financial
Accounting teachers could facilitate student learning
better than novice Financial Accounting teachers (M
= 3.33, SD =.49). These findings imply that the more
the number of years a teacher stays in the teaching
profession, the more experience and knowledge
he/she becomes with the subject matter and
methodologies of teaching Financial Accounting.
This will invariably enhance the academic
performance of the students. This corroborates the
previous finding of Hanushek et al. (2005) that
increase in teaching experience results to
corresponding increase in classroom effectiveness
and students achievement in their learning pursuit.

The results of this present study confirm the earlier

findings of researchers (Ferguson, 1991; Clotfelter et
al., 2003; Hanushek et al., 2005) that increase in
teaching experience corresponds with an increase in
classroom effectiveness of teachers and this result to
improvement in students academic performance.
These researchers argued that beginning teachers
might face several challenges that they are not
familiar with but as years go by, they gain more
experience which allow them to surmount those
challenges and teach effectively. Furthermore, the
views of the Financial Accounting teachers were
sought regarding the influence of teaching experience
on the teaching-learning process. Means and standard
deviations were used to analyze the data that were
collected. Table 15 shows the results.

Research Hypothesis 2: There is no significant

difference in academic performance between students
taught by professional Financial Accounting teachers
and students taught by unprofessional Financial
Accounting teachers

Table 5: Financial Accounting Teachers Views

Previous studies have provided contradictory findings

regarding the relationship between the level of
teacher qualification and the academic achievement
of students. Therefore, the thrust of this aspect of the
study was to investigate whether there was any
significant difference in academic performance
between Financial Accounting students who were
taught by professional Financial Accounting teachers
and Financial Accounting students taught by
unprofessional Financial Accounting teachers. In
connection with this, the academic performance of
two independent samples of students (students taught
by professional Financial Accounting teachers and
students taught by unprofessional Financial
Accounting teachers) in Financial Accounting was
measured. And items 3-12 of the questionnaire for
Financial Accounting teachers were also employed.

Concerning the Influence of Teaching Experience on

Teaching-Learning Process

Statement
My teaching experience helps me
to improve my teaching skills
More years of teaching experience
contribute to more students
achievement
Students of experienced teachers
achieve better than those taught by
novice teachers
New
Financial
Accounting
teachers have limited practical
experience to teach the subject.
The effectiveness of Financial
Accounting teachers increase as a
result of on-the-job learning

Mean

SD

3.40

.83

3.46

.64

3.26

.70

2.93

.96

3.40

.63

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An independent samples t-test was employed to find

out the differences in academic performance between
the groups of Financial Accounting students. The
Levenes test for equality of variance was conducted
to investigate whether the variances between the two
groups of Financial Accounting students was
significant. The Levenes test indicated that the
variance for the two groups was not significant (p >
.05) and hence, this study was undergirded by equal
variances assumed. The results that were generated
are presented in Table 6.

This
positive
relationship
between
teacher
qualification and students performance in Financial
Accounting might be attributed to the fact that the
professional teachers are able to effectively explain
and interpret the content of the curriculum to the
understanding of the students. Also, the teachers, by
virtue of the sound professional qualification, know
the appropriate methodology that should be employed
to effectively implement the curriculum. This finding
of the study confirms the earlier findings of other
researchers (Khurshid, 2008; Zuzovsky, 2009; Martin
et al., 2000; Hill et al., 2005; Mogari et al., 2009) that
professional teachers, as compared with their
unprofessionally counterparts, are able to contribute to
higher students academic performance. Further
attempt was made to find out how the professional and
academic qualifications of the Financial Accounting
teachers affect the teaching of the subject at the Senior
High School Level. Hence, the views of the teachers
were sought and descriptive statistics (means and
standard deviations) were used to analyze the data.
The results are presented in Table 7.

Table 6: Results of Academic Performance between two

Samples of Students

Academic
Performan
ce
Students
of
profession
al teachers
Students
of
unprofessi
onal
teachers

SD

tcal

Df

Sig.

16

23.6

34.1

.67

27

.002*

13

19.4

20.5

Table 7: Teachers Views concerning the Impact of their

Level of Qualification on the Teaching and Learning
Process

*Significant at .05 (2-tailed)

Statement
Mean SD
Financial Accounting teachers with a
major in the subject are able to teach 3.33 .82
better than teachers without a major in
it.
Students achievement in Financial
Accounting is directly related to their
3.40 .83
teachers competence in teaching.
Students taught by trained Financial
Accounting teachers have higher
understanding than those taught by 3.00 .85
untrained
Financial
Accounting
teachers.
My qualification makes me understand
Financial Accounting concepts well 3.47 .64
enough to be effective in teaching the
subject.
My academic
and
professional
qualification helps me to effectively 3.47 .52
teach all aspects of Financial
Accounting
NB: 1.0-1.4= Strongly Disagree; 1.5-2.4= Disagree;
2.5-3.4= Agree; 3.5-4.0= Strongly Agree; Mean of
Means = 3.33; Mean of Standard deviation = .73

It is obvious from the results in Table 6 that Financial

Accounting students who were taught by professional
Financial Accounting teachers had a higher mean
score (M = 23.6, SD = 34.1) while Financial
Accounting students who were taught by
unprofessional Financial Accounting teachers had a
lower mean score (M= 19.4, SD = 20.5). The
independent sample t-test results showed that there
was a statistically significant difference in academic
performance between Financial Accounting students
taught by professional Financial Accounting teachers
and students taught by unprofessional Financial
Accounting teachers (t = .67, df = 27, p < .05, 2tailed). This result indicates that Financial
Accounting students perform academically better in
Financial Accounting when they are taught by
professional Financial Accounting teachers. This
implies that teachers who possess sound professional
training and qualification are well-equipped with the
requisite competencies that enable them to promote
effective teaching and learning. Consequently,
recruiting professional teaching staff into the
teaching profession and resourcing them with the
relevant teaching-learning materials will enhance
students academic achievement in the discipline.
89

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The overall mean (M= 3.33, SD = .73) as depicted in

Table 7 indicates that teachers agreed with all the
statements concerning the influence of their
professional qualification on various aspects of the
teaching-learning process. The respondents agreed
(M = 3.33, SD = .82) with the statement that
Financial Accounting teachers with a major in the
subject are able to teach better than teachers without
a major in it. This means that, with the needed
material, psychological and human support, teachers
who have a major in Financial Accounting will be
able to promote effective teaching and learning and
enhance better students achievement in the subject.
It is also clear from Table 7 that the teachers were in
support of the view that their academic and
professional qualification helps them to effectively
teach all aspects of Financial Accounting (M = 3.47,
SD = .52). The views that were espoused by the
Financial Accounting teachers are consistent with
Fullans and Stiegelbauers (2000) assertion that the
quality of education depends on the quality and
mental health of the people who are recruited to
teach.
5.

Ministry of Education should consider reinstating

retired Financial Accounting teachers who are still
energetic. As it is often said, experience is the best
teacher, re-engaging the service of retired Financial
Accounting teachers would help to harness their rich
experience on the teaching of the subject.
Finally, the government and its parastatal bodies
should help to upgrade the knowledge and skills of
all Financial Accounting teachers, particularly those
who do not possess the minimum academic and
professional requirements. This would enable such
teachers to become competent and professional
Financial Accounting teachers. The universities
should make more allowance to train and retrain
unprofessional teachers who are teaching the subject
at the Senior High School Level. Similarly, seminars,
workshops, short refresher courses and other
professional development opportunities should be
made readily available so that all Financial
Accounting teachers will have the chance to sharpen
their academic and professional competence. This
would in turn lead to improvement in the academic
performance of students in Financial Accounting at
the Senior High School Level.

CONCLUSION AND
RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the results of the study, the following

conclusions can be made:The level of teaching
experience attained by Financial Accounting teachers
can affect the academic performance of students in
the subject. With increasing years of teaching
experience, Financial Accounting teachers tend to
hone their pedagogical content knowledge as well as
knowledge of individual learner needs. Thus, more
experienced Financial Accounting teachers can make
more significant contributions to students academic
performance than novice Financial Accounting
teachers can do. Again, it can also be concluded that
there is a significant positive relationship between
teacher qualification and students performance in
Financial Accounting at Senior High School Level.
Thus, the academic prowess of the Financial
Accounting teachers directly relates to the academic
performance of the students. Teachers who possess
high academic qualification in Financial Accounting
are well endowed to effectively teach the subject and
this will invariably lead to improved student
performance in the subject.

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