CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 THE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

At the centre of any meaningful education system stands a teacher. Teachers serves as the nerve of education. They serve not only as the conveyor of knowledge but also as the passage through which knowledge passes to learners. Following from this, Taylor (2004) says that the role of teachers in the society lies at the heart of intellectual and social life’s. it is through teachers that each generation comes to the term with its heritage, produces new knowledge and learns to deal with change. This is true because For Tropps (2002) education is concerned with knowledge, with skills, with persons, with relationships between persons, and with values. Simultaneously, teachers are involved in these different facets of education all their working lives and everyday. Supporting this view. Castle (1999) says that it is in the person of the teacher rather than in the curriculum or organization of the school that all these aspects of education is harmonized. Adding to this, Alaezi (1999) describes teachers as those involved in the act of changing human behavior and transformation of society for better. Thus, teachers bring out into reality the potent or hidden knowledge in man. This makes Okon and Anderson (2000) to see a teacher as a dispenser of knowledge and facilitator of learning and model. As a dispenser of knowledge, this makes Kay (1998) to perceive a teacher as one who forms in every young man and woman, so far as he can, an ethical sensitiveness and a teacher from economic point of view, Wilson (2000) says that a teacher is a manager, director or salesman of indeterminate commodity. From mechanical model, he sees a teacher as a graduate greaser whose task is simply to keep the machinery of administration moving with education occurring as an incidental by production. All these made Ejunjiobi (2007) to say that, the teacher in the course of his teaching helps students to acquire, retain and be able to use knowledge, understand, analyze, synthesize and evaluate skill, establish habits and develop attitudes.

The above explanations and definitions which outlined the roles of a teacher show that the works of a teacher are enormous and challenging. The challenging and arduous tasks of teaching require that a science teacher should be hardworking, careful, attentive, strict and severe in carrying out his duties and dealing with students. However, there are still some teachers who show laxity and indolence in their duties.

Exposing these types of teachers, Basslier (2001) says that the failing standard of education in Nigeria is to a large extent caused by non commitment of some teachers to their duties. For him, some teachers do not attend classes even when they are in the school due to laziness. Some teachers exhibit lackadaisical attitude and laxity toward their primary duties as teachers. The laxity and indolence of science teachers in secondary schools have great implications to educational growth in general and academic performances of science students in particular.