School Effectiveness in the Implementation of English Language Curriculum

Background to the Study

Language education is indispensable for the acquisition of proficiency in language skills such as writing, speaking, reading and listening. It is the transmission of local dialect, official language (Lingua Franca) and second language of the immediate society from one generation to the other. English language is one of the language subject offered in Nigerian Schools at all levels of education (basic, secondary and tertiary institutions). It is the official language and a prerequisite for every profession and careers. It is compulsory for every students at all levels to pass the subject for certification and promotion. In addition, a credit pass is required for students both in the junior and senior secondary schools. Teacher and students often perceived English language as difficult to teach and learn perhaps due to second language to learners’ immediate environment. In addition, the prevalence of varieties in English language forms which is expressive in their writing, reading, speaking and listening make the subject worrisome and often demanding. Teachers shy away from the awareness of existence of different form of English language usage.

However, the researcher observed poor performance in students’ academic performance in Nigeria and Osun State in particular in standardized examination such as WASSCE and NECCOSSCE. The poor and inconsistent academic performance of students in English Language in the study area, state and nation as a whole might be ascribed to the school effectiveness, where the teacher occupies a prominent or central role in the translation of the curriculum content to classroom realities. As rightly said in the national policy of education (NPE, 2014), no nation can rise beyond the quality of her teachers who implement the school curriculum. Teachers’ quality and characteristics, effective use of appropriate instructional strategies and availability of instructional resources are all inevitable to school effectiveness in implementing curriculum content.

The school as an institution is primarily concerned with the business of teaching and learning as sole responsibility of integrating learners into the norms, ethics and culture of the immediate environment in which the school is established. The philosophy of the school must be in accordance with the dictate of the society which the school is established to serve. The school rely on both the planned and unplanned curriculum in disseminating the roles and responsibilities assigned as stipulated in the National Policy on Education. The school is the only organized and carefully structured agent of socialization which build on the principles, policies and conducts established by the immediate family of the learners. The proper arrangement of both human and material resources to actualize the responsibilities and objectives of the school is often termed school effectiveness.

School effectiveness in term of implementation of planned and unplanned curriculum, characteristics of the teaching and non-teaching personnel, availabilities of facilities, structures and resources, conducive learning environment, school location, principal administrative effectiveness, staff productivity, school policies, motivational factors, school members reinforcement and rewards among others would go a long way in enabling English language teacher in discharging his/her duties in the school setting. Adequate motivation and reinforcement of English language teacher can enable him/her in establishing a cordial rapport with his/her learners and addressing their individual differences and learning difficulties. Constant and adequate recruitment of qualified, seasoned and experienced English teacher with adequate mastery of the subject matter might help in addressing constant weakness highlight by external examinations such as WAEC, NECO among others chief examiners in their yearly published report. Also, the aforementioned will encourage the use of innovative strategies by teachers and The location of school in a conducive, noise-free and serene environment might improve English language students language skills acquisition such as listening, speaking, reading and writing thereby enabling the realization of the objectives of teaching English language in senior secondary schools. Constant and periodic reinforcement of trying and outstanding learners might increase self-esteem and lessen inferiority complex among English language students. Regular engagement of English language students in classroom and instructional activities might increase their knowledge, understanding and retention of learnt concepts.

In this recent time across the world, studies have been extensively conducted on the influence of Covid 19 pandemic on educational programs in which school curriculum is not left out. Extant literature show that this global pandemic crises has great influence on almost every sector of human endeavours. The continuous inflation of resources, reduction in government revenue and exponential increase in educational needs might have drastic influence on school effectiveness in ensuring the realization of educational goals and intended objectives. Government recruitment have been greatly reduced due to low Gross National Product and Budget Deficits. This form the gap to be filled by the researcher. It is however important for the researcher to embark on the present study so as to assess the school effectiveness in the successful implementation of English language curriculum especially in the global pandemic area. Hence, the need for the study.