INVESTIGATING TEACHER QUALIFICATIONS, TRAINING, AND PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY IN ENGLISH AND HAUSA LANGUAGE-TEACHING

Abstract

This study examined the level of professionalism of language teachers in secondary schools in Nasarawa State. Two schools were randomly selected from each Local Government Area of the State: private and public. Two languages (English and Hausa) were in focus. A survey design was adopted using a questionnaire that was administered to research participants by trained enumerators through Kobo collect toolbox. Focus Group Discussion (FGD), interviews, and direct observations were deployed to triangulate quantitative data. The research sample comprised 274 teachers. Teachers’ educational qualifications, level of training received, experience, exposure to the language taught or used, language teaching methods and strategies, and the level of collaboration among the teachers were used to measure teachers’ overall competence. The study revealed that more than 80% of the language teachers had educational qualifications and teaching experience of over 5 years. They, however had limited knowledge and application of language teaching methods/strategies. The study concludes that continuous professional development for language teachers, adequate motivation in resource mobilisation, and making language teachers part of curriculum development/reviews would align with global educational standards and would significantly contribute to improved students’ performance and overall quality of education in the State.