JONAED

The global world is increasingly becoming more competitive, placing greater demands for dynamism and effectiveness on education system – the ultimate key to national development. In Nigeria, therefore, where poor students’ learning outcomes now question the effectiveness of the education system and consequently, threaten the overall national development, investigating the barriers to positive educational outcomes is of utmost importance. Given the critical role of the teacher in Education system, there is need to find out the relationship between teachers’ practices and students’ learning outcomes. This study sought to investigate the correlation of dimensions of teachers’ expertise and student’s learning outcomes in Enugu state. A sample of 1378 senior secondary school students and their teachers from secondary schools in Enugu state was used for the study. The study was guided by four null hypotheses. Three instruments (Teachers’ Expertise Survey Scale-TESS; Students’ Achievement Record Sheet- SARS and Students’ Competency Scale-SCS) were developed, validated and used for the study. The TESS and SCS were subjected to field trial. Using the Chrombach alpha method, the reliability test yielded 0.79 and 0.88 for TESS and SCS respectively. Linear regression was used for data analysis. Results showed that all subscales of teachers’ expertise (Pedagogical-content knowledge (PCK); Professional development; compliance to ethical values) positively predicted students’ outcomes as measured by academic achievement (B = 0 .61, β = 0.22, t = 4.34, p < 0.00) and different aspects of students’ competencies such as motivation to learn (B=1.41, β = 0.68, t= 4.33, p < 0.00), self-efficacy (B= 1.65, β = 0.44, t =3.19, p < 0.00), social awareness/perspective taking (B= 0.78, β = 0.35, t= 5.26, p < 0.01) and self-management (B = 0.98, β = 0.31, t = 5.93, p < 0.00). It was recommended, among others, that Government should make provision for in-service teachers’ professional development; Teacher training institutions should enrich their prospective teachers with research and evidence-based teaching strategies. Surveillances should be put in place in form of monitoring teachers’ ethical practices so as to unearth examination malpractices (which could lead to certification without qualification of their products), poor classroom management, and poor teaching strategies.