AN ASSESSMENT ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ ATTITUDE AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN BUSINESS STUDIES

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY: A teacher is a significant figure in the school environment where he works and so his attitude to work tends to have significant implications, which cannot be dismissed with a wave of hand if academic excellence is to be achieved in our educational institutions where as the teacher is the key player in the educational field, the child is at the centre. In order to achieve academic excellence in the 21stcentury and beyond, the role of the teacher as portrayed through the teacher’s attitude, cannot be over emphasized. The school environment has been described as “the second most important social environment for the child after family” (Bettencourt, et al; 2003) has demonstrated that teachers’ attitude may be translated into behavior that can have problematic results for students learning. Teaching is an art and devotion of the teacher towards the subject of knowledge. The quality of any teaching programme cannot rise above the quality of its teacher.

Teachers have an important role in classroom communication, classroom behaviour management, and the achievement of teaching aims. The settings in which effective and successful classroom management is conducted are bound to make a contribution to students' success. A lot of research has dealt with classroom management and teaching skills to determine the characteristics of teachers and students. This research aims at exposing the relationship between teachers' attitude toward students on students' academic performance Because the influence of teacher attitudes inside and outside the class on students' academic performance was determined freely through student observation and student opinions, a qualitative approach was employed in the research. Findings reveal that students perceive teachers' way of classroom management, in-class and out-of-class attitudes, and teaching methods and strategies had positive or negative impacts on their academic success and participation in lessons.

Attitude as a concept is concerned with an individual way of thinking, acting and behaving. It has very serious implications for the learner, the teacher, the immediate social group with which the individual learner relates and the entire school system. Attitudes are formed as a result of some kind of learning experiences. They may also be learned simply by following the example or opinion of parent, teacher or friend. This is mimicry or imitation, which also has a part to play in the teaching and learning situation. In this respect, the learner draws from his teachers’ disposition to form his own attitude, which may likely affect his learning outcomes.

Attitude as a concept is concerned with an individual way of thinking, acting and behaving. It has very serious implications for the learner, the teacher, the immediate social group with which the individual learner relates and the entire school system. Attitudes are formed as a result of some kind of learning experiences. They may also be learned simply by following the example or opinion of parent, teacher or friend. This is mimicry or imitation, which also has a part to play in the teaching and learning situation. In this respect, the learner draws from his teachers’ disposition to form his own attitude, which may likely affect his learning outcomes.

In his observational theory, Bandura (1971) demonstrated that attitude is acquired by watching another (the model, teacher, parent, mentor, and friend) that performs the behavior. The model displays it and the learner observes and tries to imitate it. Teachers are, invariably, role models whose

attitude are easily copied by students. What teachers like or dislike, appreciate and how they feel about their learning or studies could have a significant effect on their students. Unfortunately, however, many teachers seldom realize that how they teach, how they behave and how they interact with students can be more paramount than what they teach. In a nutshell, teachers’ attitudes directly affect students’ attitudes. Teachers’ attitudes are in turn, influenced by their culture and belief system.