Operational Definition: Lecturers’ Competences in Relation to Students’ Academic Performance

Lecturers’ Competences in Relation to Students’ Academic Performance

Operational Definition

Relative to this study, definition to the following terms are provided in order to clarify each in the context of the topic:

Academic achievement- student performance on state assessments Cunningham (2003). However the propose study; overall will be measure of academic achievement used. This tern is used interchangeably with student achievement.

Student achievement- the act of achieving or in another word the accomplishments as a result gained by great effort. In the context of academic it basically based on the quantity and quality of students’ work. More than that, it is one form of acquirement by a person or students with relates to a skill of mind or body usually resulting from continued endeavour. (Merriam Webster)

When students feel safe, engaged, and respected, they can focus on their academic goals. Effective character educators ensure that these needs are met. Character education is the foundation upon which students can reach academic achievement. It’s not just about teaching kids to be good. It’s teaching them to be their best.

Lecturer experience- Sometimes experience means accumulated knowledge and sometimes it refers to a single spectacular event. Learning by experience is a method of acquiring knowledge by doing and not by reading.

The knowledge or skill acquired by a period of practical experience of something, especially which gained in a particular profession. With relates to the academic lecturer experience can be illustrates through an educational talk to an audience, especially one of students in a university in each course there are supporting lectures and tutorials. Lecturers’ experience also can be defined as the ways lecturers handle their students and through this phenomenon they can gain more experience.

Lecturer subject matter expertise- A Subject Matter Expert is an individual who understands a business process or area well enough to answer questions from people in other groups who are trying to help. It is most commonly used to describe the people who explain the current process to IT and then answer their questions as they try to build a technology system to automate or streamline the process.( F. John Reh. ). With regard to the academic field lecturer need to have a major understanding in subject that they are going to teach onward. This is really important because without optimal knowledge on subject that they are going to give lecture to their student, they are unable to carry out smooth teaching and learning processes.

Lecturer qualification-Capacity, knowledge, or skill that matches or suits an occasion, or makes someone eligible for a duty, office, position, privilege, or status. Qualification denotes fitness for purpose through fulfilment of necessary conditions such as attainment of a certain age, taking of an oath, completion of required schooling or training, or acquisition of a degree or diploma. Qualification does not necessarily imply competence. Precise limitation (from general to particular) of language, scope, or terms that would otherwise be interpreted broadly or differently. Teacher’s professional qualification is tied to his/her competence in instruction and management of students and materials in the classroom. First, Nigeria educational system requires that all teachers in all educational institution nationwide should be professionally trained. This is with the view of enhancing teacher’s commitment to the teaching profession. Hence, the national policy on education stipulated that the minimum qualification for entry into the teaching profession shall be the Nigerian Certificate of Education (NCE); it is therefore on the recognition of this fact that government setup the Teacher’s Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) under Act 31 of 1993 to control and regulate the practice of the profession. Federal Republic of Nigeria, National Policy on Education, Lagos: NERDC (2004)

Lecturer attitude-An attitude is an expression of favour or disfavour toward a person, place, thing, or event (the attitude object). Prominent psychologist Gordon Allport once described attitudes as "the most distinctive and indispensable concept in contemporary social psychology." In a lay man’s language, attitude may refer to the distinct concept of mood, or be especially synonymous with teenage rebellion. An attitude can be defined as a positive or negative evaluation of people, objects, event, activities, ideas, or just about anything in your environment, but there is debate about precise definitions. Eagly and Chaiken, for example, define an attitude "a psychological tendency that is expressed by evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favour or disfavour." Though it is sometimes common to define an attitude as affect toward an object, affect (i.e., discrete emotions or overall arousal) is generally understood to be distinct from attitude as a measure of favourability. A good lecturer is expected to be committed to his work, would have the ability to take the initiative. A lecturer’s personality in the attitudinal sense is a significant factor in lecturer’s attitude and it has great impact on student’s achievement. The lecturers or teachers as professional must know the art of communication, understanding others and ability to learn from the experiences. They should be able to facilitate learning effectively. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of lecturer’s attitude towards student’s performance on the academic achievement of students in purchasing Management and the study is also designed to sort out the relationship between teacher’s attitude and academic achievement and performance of students with a particular reference to purchasing management.

Teaching method -The principles and methods of instruction can also be defined as the pedagogic. Mostly it related to the profession of a teacher or lecturer and been used in education, instruction, teaching, didactics, educational activity. Pedagogy is recognized as an important profession for teacher to teach and give instruction during teaching and learning processed. In addition, teaching method is the activities of educating or instructing activities that impart knowledge or skills to students or learners.