Influence Of Teachers’ Characteristics On Students’ Academic Performance In Biology
[SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ILORIN METROPOLIS]

In the same way, Akpofure and N'dipu (2000) reported the need for schools to maintain a manageable carrying capacity in utilization of classrooms, libraries and laboratories for effective teaching and learning. To them, this will pave the way for quality assurance in schools. Amoo (2002) reported that there were wide gaps between the demand and supply of qualified teachers in Osun state. Shortage of qualified teachers as revealed by the findings of his Teachers and Students’ Academic Performance study was expressed as 44% in the 1978/80 sessions, 56% in the 1980/81 sessions and 51% in the1981/82 session. He recommended that the state government ensure the funding of the State Colleges of Education so that they could train well-qualified teachers and address the problem of teacher shortage. As the literature described here suggests, teachers are a vital pre–requisite for student attainment of educational goals and objectives. These studies serve as a springboard for this study that investigated whether there is a relationship between teachers’ characteristics and students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Ilorin.
Teachers’ Gender and Students’ Academic Performance
Several studies concerned with teacher gender and student achievement were completed. Ye (2000) reported that males with male teachers had significantly lower scores in psychological effeminacy, significantly higher scores on all the school-related self-concept factors, and that they surpassed males with female teachers in mathematical and scientific problem-solving. No difference was found on the two peer-related self-concept factors, in mathematical computation, or in science achievement. In a study of gender differences, Hacker (2001) found that female students were more likely to initiate classroom discourse in classrooms with male science teachers, button gender disparity in science achievement in favor of males resulted from differential treatment during science lessons.In a study of the understanding of six-seventh grade California and Ohio teachers of the role and importance of fellowship, Mertler, Steyer, and Peterson (2007) concluded that both male and female teachers scored high on independent thinking in their work. Female teachers reported higher levels of active engagement in the role of follower than did male teachers.
Van Oostendorp (2001) indicated that female teachers were more likely to be chosen as effective disciplinarians by female students, and male teachers were more likely to be chosen by male students. The number of female teachers chosen as effective disciplinarians increased at each grade level. MacGregor (2004) found that slight differences included the greater use of sketchbooks or journals as an assessment tool by female teachers compared to male teachers. Warwick and Jatoi (2004) interviewed 1,000teachers in Pakistan, and found that rural students of male teachers had higher math and science achievement scores than those of female teachers, but they did not explain whether the difference arose from teacher, student, school, or cultural factors.
Appraisal of the Literature Reviewed
This chapter has been able to consult and review some scholarly works as they relate to the present topic of discussion. At the outset, the study attempted to distinguish some seemingly difficult concepts as they affect our understanding of the term performance. While Academic achievement was defined as excellence in all academic disciplines, in class as well as co- curricular activities; including excellence in sporting behaviour, confidence, communication skills, punctuality, arts, culture and the like which can be achieved only when an individual is well adjusted (Singer, 2001), Kentucky Adult Education (2015) defined academic performance as the percent of enrolled students completing educational levels usually calculated as the total number of students completing educational levels divided by total number of students enrolled. The implication is that these concepts as well as others such as outcome may look similar, differ in meaning especially in their applications. For instance, Lawrence (2008) distinguished achievement from performance when he stated that academic is a long-term (end) while academic performance is measurable at any point in time (continual). In other words, achievement can be measured as stagnating, falling or improving over a long period. Lawrence (2008) further classified activities that occur in performance as academic performance index. According to him, satisfactory academic achievement award is given to recipient who maintains satisfactory academic performance and progress towards, the attainment of a degree or certificate in line with the United States Department of Education regulations. This is to suggest that academic achievement is cumulative and progressive. It means that academic achievement cannot be attained within a short period or at a slot. The implication is that academic performance culminates and influences academic achievement.