Development Programme for Enhancing Economics Teachers’ Professional Competency in Secondary Schools in Abia State

Abstract

This study was carried out to examine the development programmes for enhancing Economics teachers’ professional competency in secondary schools in Abia State. The study was guided by three research questions and three corresponding null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was 425 which consist of 221 Economics teachers and 204 school principals in Abia State. The sample of the study was 170 consisting of 88 Economics teachers and 82 school principals in Abia State selected using purposive sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a researcher developed questionnaire validated by three experts. The reliability of the instrument was 0.79 derived using Cronbach Alpha statistic. The data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and the null hypotheses were tested using the t-test statistic at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the data analyses revealed that: to a high extent workshops, seminars and conferences enhance Economics teachers’ professional competency. Based on the findings, it was concluded that; development programmes are very vital tools for the improvement of teachers’ competency towards the effective achievement of Economics instructional objectives and national educational goals. Based on the findings and conclusion, it was recommended that: Abia State Government through the Ministry of Education should collaborate with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria to ensure workshops are organize regularly to teachers as a retraining programme to enhance teachers’ professional competency for effective teaching of Economics.