Improving Teachers’ Commitment to Professional Practice in Ogun State, Nigeria: Teacher qualification and Teaching Experience as Catalysts

The teacher is an important input in any educational system and his/her commitment is an essential element for successful teaching and learning, because the nature of the teacher who is responsible for directing the affairs in a learning situation can either help to make or mar a well-developed curriculum. Thus this study investigated the extent to which teachers’ qualification and experience relate to teachers’ commitment to professional practices in Ogun state. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The study covered thirty (30) public junior and senior secondary schools randomly sampled from three (3) local government areas in Ogun State. In each of the schools, a total number of twenty (20) teachers were purposively selected to participate in the study making a total of six hundred (600) teachers in all. The instrument for the study is Teachers’ Commitment to Professional Practices (r=0.68) Questionnaire. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics (mean, percentage, standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Multiple regression). The result revealed that most teachers’ were professionally qualified; The findings also indicated that there is a significant influence of teachers’ qualification on teachers commitment to professional practice (F (7,590)=2.745;p<0.05), and that Teachers’ years of teaching experience has a significant influence on teachers’ commitment to professional practice (F (4,593) =3.957;p<0.05). In conclusion, the findings of this study established that teachers teaching qualification and teachers years of teaching experience significantly influenced teachers’ commitment to professional practice. Based on the findings of this study it is recommended that all non- professional teachers should be encouraged to acquire relevant diplomas and degrees in education to make them eligible for registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN). Better physical facilities and equipment should be made available to teachers so that their work environment can be conducive to teaching and learning.