Assessment of the Competence of Student-Teachers in Government Owned Universities in Osun and Ekiti States, Nigeria

Abstract

Within government-owned universities in Osun and Ekiti States, the study examined student-teachers' levels of teaching proficiency and school connectivity. It also determined the influence of school connectedness and demographic (sex and mode of entry) on the teaching competence of the student-teachers. A descriptive survey research design was used in this study. A total of 7,838 faculty of education students from government-owned universities in Osun and Ekiti State participated in the study as of 2020–2021 academic year. The sample size comprised 120 student-teachers from the Faculty of Education who were students enrolled in teaching practicum in their penultimate and final year using multistage sampling procedures. Two instruments, namely the Teacher Competence Assessment Scale (TCAS) and the School Connectedness Scale (SCS), were used to collect data for the study. The result showed a moderate level of teaching competence (73.3%) and school connectedness (67.5%) among undergraduate student-teachers. It showed a significant influence of school connectedness on the teaching competence of undergraduate student-teachers (R =.186, R2 =.035, F = 4.237, p< 0.05).it also reviewed that sex and mode of entry has no significant influence on the teaching competence of the student-teacher. It was concluded that school connectedness can help influence the teaching competence of undergraduate student-teachers in Government Owned universities in Osun and Ekiti State, Nigeria.