Teachers Competence and Academic Performance of Social Studies Students in Secondary Schools in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State

The study explored teacher’s competence and academic performance of social studies students in secondary schools in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State. To guide the study, four research questions and four research hypotheses were used for the study. The design used for the study is cross sectional research design. The sample size of the study is two hundred respondents from selected secondary schools in Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State was decided. The questionnaire was used as the only instrument of data collection. The simple percentage and t-test statistical tools were used to analyses the data generated from field work. After analysis, it was discovered that; there is a significant relationship between effective teacher-students communication and academic performance of social studies education students, there is a significant relationship between classroom management and academic performance of social studies education students, there is a significant relationship between teacher’s knowledge of subject content and academic performance of social studies education students as well as there is a significant relationship between teacher’s use of instructional materials and academic performance of social studies education students. From the findings ascertained for this study, the researcher recommended that; to foster improved academic performance of secondary school social students, government should give priority to the employment of professional and qualified teachers and ensure that such teachers are retained to enable them acquire experience on the job, there is the need for government to motivate social studies teachers to boost their productivity by providing them with necessary incentives such as adequate salaries, excellent work environment and other fringe benefits that compare favorably with what their counterparts in other professions receives among others.