Impact of Social Studies Teachers’ Teaching Experience on the Performance of Senior

High School Students in Social Studies in the Central Region of Ghana

ANGBING, Hippolyt Dickson

University of Cape Coast

Department of Basic Education

Cape Coast, Central Region, Ghana

Email: anghip2002@yahoo.com

+233 243214536 & +234 8168292636

Abstract

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The study concerned itself with the influence of Social Studies teachers teaching experience on

the performance of Senior High School students in social studies in the Central Region of Ghana.

The purpose of the study was to find out if social studies teachers’ teaching experience had any

impact on the performance of Senior High School students in social studies in the Central Region

of Ghana.

A descriptive survey design was used which involved 62 social studies teachers and 2,253 Senior

High School 2 students in 25 schools across 13 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies

(MMDA’S) in the Central region of Ghana as the population for the study. Two researcher-

designed instruments Tagged: Questionnaire on Teacher Demographic Data and Variables

(QTDDV) and Students’ Performance Test in Social Studies (SPTISS)) were used in data

collection. Data was analysed with the aid of frequency counts and percentages and Analysis of

Variance (ANOVA) statistical techniques at 0.05 alpha level of significance.

The results showed that students who were taught by very experienced teachers (8 years above

teaching experience) performed significantly better than students whose teachers were

moderately experienced (1-4 years of teaching experience) and experienced (5-8 teaching

experience). It was therefore concluded teacher longetivity in teaching exerted significant impact

on the performance of senior high school students in social studies.

Based on the finding and conclusion, it is therefore suggested for consideration of relevant

stakeholders in education to institute policies that will arrest the factors that take teachers away

from teaching for many years.

Introduction

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 Teacher quality according to Buddin and Zamarro (2009) is a key element to a student's

academic success but few specific teacher characteristics influence classroom outcomes. One of

the few teachers characteristic that appear to influence students’ achievement in schools is

teacher experience. According to Zuzovsky (2009), studies on the effect of teacher experience on

student learning have found a positive relationship between teachers’ effectiveness and their

years of teaching experience, but the experience was not always a significant or a linear one.

Adeyemi (2008) posited that many earlier researchers such as Ogundare (2001) had

highlighted the importance of experienced teachers in schools. According to Adeyemi, these

earlier studies had shown that, teacher experience was associated with students' level of

achievement in school. The evidence currently available suggests that while inexperienced

teachers were less effective as compared to more senior teachers, the benefits of experience

levelled off after a few years of teaching (Rivkin, Hanushek, & Kain, 2005 and Woolfolk, Hoy &

Davis, 2009).

According to Jacob (2012), research findings indicated that as a teacher’s experience

grew it was expected that he/she was more likely to figure out the most appropriate responses to

a variety of classroom situations and problems. Sanders and Rivers (1996) observed that the

single most important factor affecting students' achievement was teachers. They contended

further that, the effect of teachers on students' achievement were both additive and cumulative.

They concluded by saying that lower achieving students were the most likely to benefit from

increased teacher experiences. In other words, students' achievement levels in school were more

likely to have improvement in their performances if experienced teachers taught them. In effect,

what this meant was, teacher experience was an important variable in determining students'

performance in school. In the same way, Peevely, Hedges and Nye (2005) concurred that the

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issue of allocating resources to improve the achievement of students was one of the major

problems educational policymakers faced. According to Okpala (2010) in an era of economic

recession and accountability in the use of educational resources, it was important to conduct a

study that could provide information on the relationship that existed between selected teacher

variables and high school achievement scores by students.

In recruiting teachers in Ghana, experience levels of teachers appear not to be taken into

consideration as teachers are expected to acquire the experiences on the field of teaching (World

Bank, 2004). This apparent lack of a clear policy on the calibre of teachers to teach in particular

classes may be accounting for the fluctuating performance of students in Central Region SHS.

Unfortunately, it not clear as to the number of years one has to teach to be considered

experienced enough to bring about good students' performance in schools, thus the need to

review the available related literature.

Studies have found teachers’ years of teaching to have positive correlation with students’

performance. For instance, Greenwald, Hedges and Laine (1996) in their meta-analysis of data

from 60 studies found that teacher years of teaching experience positively correlated with

students’ achievement. In another development, studies carried out by Betts, Rice and Zau

(2003) suggested that, teachers experience significantly correlated with students’ achievement

especially in mathematics. Studies carried out by other researchers found that experience,

especially during the first couple of years in the classroom was positively associated with student

achievement in mathematics and reading in elementary and middle school levels (Rowan,

Chiang, & Miller 1997 ; Rockoff 2004; Cavalluzzo 2005 and Hanushek, Kain, O’Brien &

Rivkin, 2005).

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 According to Goe and Stickler (2008) however, the relationship between teacher

experience and student achievement had received considerable attention in the empirical

literature with somewhat mixed results.

There appear to be no data in Ghana on the effect or impact of teacher teaching

experience on students’ achievement. Teachers are an integral part of the entire education

enterprise in any country. The characteristics teachers carry into the classroom largely influence

their hiring. As a result, many studies carried out to help schools and school districts on teacher

characteristics have concluded that teachers’ number of years teaching led to greater teaching

proficiency (Wilson, Floden, & Ferrini-Mundy, 2001). Many other researchers showed that

teachers became more skilled with experience in teaching (Hanushek, Kain, O'Brien & Rivkin,

2005; Kane, Rockoff, & Staiger 2006; Harris & Sass 2007 and Aos, Miller, & Pennucci, 2007).

In another development Gordon, Kane and Staiger (2006) confirmed the findings of

earlier studies by Grissmer, Flanagan, Kawata and Williamson (2000) and Hanushek, Kain,

O'Brien and Rivkin (2005) who both reported that there were large gains in teacher effectiveness

between the first and second years of teaching. They also contended that there was much smaller

gain between the second and third years of teaching, and no substantial improvement after the

third year of teaching in the classroom. Grossman, Lankford, Loeb and Wyckoff (2005) and

Hanushek and Rivkin, (2007) found that teacher experience effects were largely concentrated in

the early years of teaching only.

It would therefore appear as though the relevance of a teacher's experience were in the

first few years of teaching. As noted earlier in this study, the idea of the effectiveness of teachers'

first early years of a teacher’s teaching was not unanimous. The results of the researches so far

discussed on the influence of teacher teaching experience on students' achievement appear to

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suggest that many years of teaching did not automatically translate into higher students'

achievement..

Rivers and Sanders (2002) reported that teacher effectiveness increased dramatically each

year during the first ten years of teaching. This was in contrast with other studies that suggested

that the experience a teacher gathered did not affect or appear to influence students' achievement.

It should be added that few notable studies by Hanushek (1997), Martin, Mullis, Gregory and

Shen (2000) and Wenglinsky (2002) revealed that the number of years in teaching by a teacher

appeared not to be associated with students’ achievement. This appeared to be a departure from

earlier findings. The findings suggested an amount of relationship existed between teacher

teaching experience and students’ achievement. Clotfelter, Ladd and Vigdor (2006, 2007a)

however found evidence in their studies of growing teacher effectiveness in teaching up to

twenty or more years in their analysis of North Carolina Teacher Data (NCTD). The study

however, indicated that more of the gains from the teacher effectiveness occurred during the first

few years of teaching. In essence what this latter findings from Clotfelter et al., appeared to have

suggested was that, long years of teaching was associated with teacher effectiveness although the

later years of teaching was associated with minimal effectiveness.

With the mixed findings on the influence of teacher experience on students' performance,

it is of little surprise that the performances of students in schools continue to fluctuate under

moderately experienced (1-4 years of teaching), experienced (5-8 years of teaching) and very

experienced teachers (8 years and above years of teaching) in Senior High Schools (SHS) in the

Central region of Ghana. As stated earlier in the study, the recruitment and posting of teachers

into SHS in Ghana appears not to be influenced by the number of years of teaching as

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moderately experienced, experienced and very experienced teachers have virtually the same

chances of being recruited into the teaching profession in Ghana.

In Ghana, although all teachers of varying teaching experiences have virtually equal

chances of recruitment, the most experienced teachers are found teaching in the cities. This is

attributable to the fact that social amenities and prospects of earning extra income from doing

home teaching, keep many teachers in such schools. In the same way, the most qualified teachers

in terms of academic and professional qualifications are mostly found in the cities. On the other

hand, crops of unqualified and less experienced teachers mostly make up the staff of rural SHS

schools (World Bank, 2004). Conditions in rural SHS schools do not attract experienced teachers

to stay there. The question therefore remains whether students who do not do perform

satisfactorily in rural SHS is a result of less experienced teachers or some other factors account

for this.

The paradox on the contrary, is that mostly unqualified and inexperienced instructors

teach students’ in private SHS in cities and yet some of these schools perform equally well or in

some instances even better than public SHS with experienced and more qualified teachers

(Ghana Education Service, 2007). It may therefore appear as though experience after all, may not

be the major determinant of students’ performance in SHS in Ghana. The analysis of data

collected for the study will confirm or reject the notion that experience in teaching impacts or

does not impact students’ performance in Senior High School in the Central Region of Ghana.

Statement of Problem

The performance of SHS students in social studies in West African Senior Secondary

Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) has become a source of worry to stakeholders particularly

parents in Ghana. Social studies is one of the core subjects taught at the SHS in Ghana meant to

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accelerate the development of skilled human capital for national development. However; the

performance of students over the past couple of years has showed a fluctuating trend. For

instance, according to WAEC (2011), 17% (25,808), 24% (31,568), 39% (53,010), 22% (34,811)

and 17% (26,056) of students in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 respectively obtained grades

outside A1-C6 in social studies. Teachers’ level of teaching experience is said to be one of the

factors accounting for this trend of performance. In spite of the concerns of stakeholders on the

apparent fluctuating performance of students in social studies, no study appears to have been

carried out on the impact of social studies teachers’ teaching experience on students'

performance in SHS Social Studies in the Central Region of Ghana. It is against this background

that, the current study was carried out.

Purpose of Study

The purpose of the study was to find out the impact of social studies teachers’ teaching

experience on Senior High School students’ performance in social studies in the Central Region

of Ghana.

Research Hypothesis

The following hypothesis was postulated in the course of the study.

H0: No significant difference exists between the performance of Senior High School social
studies students taught by moderately experienced, experienced and very experienced teachers in
social studies.

Significance of the Study

The findings of the study could be of relevance to parents / guardians of students in SHS as it

would enlighten them on the impact of teachers teaching experience on the performance of SHS

students in social studies.

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Methodology

A descriptive survey design was used for the study. A descriptive survey enables a researcher to

generalise the findings of a sample to the entire population (Sambo, 2008). The population was

made up of 74,249 Senior High School (SHS) 2 students, 635 Social Studies teachers in the

Central Region of Ghana. Multi-stage sampling technique which involved the use of simple

random sampling, purposive sampling and proportional sampling were used to sample 62 Social

studies teachers, 2,253 SHS 2 students from 13 Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies

(MMDA’S) across the Central Region of Ghana.

Two researcher designed instruments, tagged: “Questionnaire on Teacher Demographic Data and

Variables” (QTDDV) and “Students’ Performance Test in Social Studies” (SPTISS). The

SPTISS was made up of 50 past WAEC objective examinations items in social studies covering

2006-2009. The QTDDV was used to collect teacher demographic data. The SPTISS was used

to test students who were taught by moderately experienced (1-4 years teaching experience),

experienced (5-8 years teaching experience) and very experienced (8 years and above teaching

experience) teachers. The instruments (QTDDV &SPTISS) were pilot tested in the Western

Region through the test-retest method after an interval of three weeks. The results were

correlated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The Correlation yielded a

Reliability Coefficient of 0.73 and 0.78 respectively hence the instruments were considered

reliable enough for use. Social Studies experts were also consulted to determine the content

validity of the SPTISS which were considered valid after the validation process. Analysis of

Variance (ANOVA) and Post-hoc Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) Statistical techniques at

0.05 alpha level of significance were used in analysing the data collected.

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 Data Analysis

The data collected were analysed with the use of ANOVA statistical technique. However, when

there was significant difference noticed in the performance of students based on the ANOVA

analysis, Post-Hoc Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) was carried out to determine where the

difference existed.

H0: No significant difference exists between the performances of Senior High School
students taught by moderately experienced, experienced and very experienced teachers in
social studies.

Tables 1 indicates that there is significant difference in the performance of students based on

teacher years of teaching experience (F= 35.00; p < 0.05).

Table 1: ANOVA Analysis Showing Differences in the Performance of SHS Students’ Based on
Teachers' Teaching Experience in Social Studies.
Teaching SS Df MS Calc. F- Sig (2 Remark
Experience value tailed)

Between Groups 15093.903 2

7546.952
Within Groups 484393.285 2250 35.055 0.000 Rejected
215.286
Total 499487.189 2252

p 0.05
Table 2: Post-Hoc Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT) Showing The Significant Difference in
SHS Students’ Performance Based on Teachers' Years of Teaching Experience in social studies.
Years of Teaching N Subset for alpha = 0.05
1 2
Experience
Less than one- 1477 65.0982
4 years

5-8 years 384 64.6198

Above 8 years 392 71.8112
Sig .601 1.000

Results and Discussion

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 Table 1 indicates that the calculated F-value is 35.055 with p-value of 0.000, which is

less than the alpha level of 0.05. Since the p-value is less than the alpha level, the hypothesis was

rejected and the alternate hypothesis accepted, that, there is a significant difference in the

academic performance of SHS students taught by teachers based on years of teaching experience.

To ascertain where the significant difference existed, Post-hoc DMRT was carried out and the

outcome is displayed in table 2.

The Post-Hoc DMRT in Table 2 shows that the performance of SHS students taught by

teachers with 8 years and above teaching experience was significantly different from the

performance of other students taught by teachers of lesser years of teaching experience in social

studies. This is captured in sub set 2 with a mean score of 71.8112. The rest of the students

taught by teachers in the other two categories (less than one year-4 years and 5-8 years) teaching

experience performed almost the same way. They had mean scores of 64.6198 and 65.0982

respectively and are captured in subset 1.This implied that students taught by teachers with 8

years and above teaching experience performed better when compared with their counterparts in

the other two groups (moderately experienced and experienced social studies teachers). This

finding is in line with Zuzovsky (2009), when he concluded that the effect of teacher experience

on student learning has a positive relationship between teachers’ effectiveness and their years of

teaching experience. In the same way, Rivers and Sanders (2002) reported that teacher

effectiveness increased dramatically each year during the first ten years of teaching and the

findings of this study appeared to support that assertion. The current study also supports Betts,

Rice and Zau (2003) when they suggested that, teachers experience significantly correlated with

students’ achievement.

Conclusion

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Teachers’ years of teaching is related to students' performance in Senior High School social

studies in the Central Region of Ghana.

Recommendation

Based on the findings, discussion and conclusions drawn from the study, the following

recommendation is proposed to relevant educational authorities and other stakeholders in

education:

The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the GES should find ways of encouraging

teachers to remain on the job by arresting those developments that may take them out of teaching

social studies. This could be done by giving higher remuneration to teachers who choose to stay

longer in the teaching service.

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