ABSTRACT

This study was designed to assess the practical competency improvement needs of physics teachers in public and private secondary schools in Abia State, Nigeria. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The instrument for the study is the researcher-developed Practical Competency Improvement Needs Questionnaire – PCINQ (Cronbach Alpha Coefficient = 0.92). The PCINQ was administered to a sample of 64 Physics Teachers drawn from the Public and Private Secondary Schools in Abia State. Four research questions guided the study and four hypotheses were tested.  Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions while t-test was used in testing the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.  In-depth analysis of data obtained in the study revealed that there is a need for improvement in the competency required in planning practical (cluster mean attitude score = 2.85), organizing practical (cluster mean attitude score = 2.87) laboratory management (cluster mean attitude score = 2.92) and evaluation of practical (cluster mean attitude score = 2.87) of physics teachers in public and private secondary schools in Abia State. The t-test analysis of practical competency improvement need index established no statistically significant difference between the competency required in planning, organizing, laboratory management and evaluation of practical between public and private secondary schools in Abia State. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that physics teachers should seek for higher learning and qualifications by continuously leveraging on several teachers re-training programs to improve their competencies in teaching. Stakeholders in education should ensure that only qualified teachers are employed to teach in our secondary schools.