Evaluating Primary School Teachers’ Competence in Using Phonics Approach to Reading to Alleviate Poverty Crisis in Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated primary school teachers’ competence in using a phonics approach to alleviate the reading poverty crisis in the Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. A cross-sectional survey research design was adopted for the study. One research question guided the study. The target population was all the English Language teachers in all 156 public primary schools in Gwer-East Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. The study sample was 136 English Language teachers randomly selected from public primary schools. The instruments for data collection were a researcher-made questionnaire for teacher son teachers’ competence in phonics teaching and on-the-spot observation. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation to answer research questions. Results indicated that most of the primary school English Language teachers within the study area lack the needed competence to effectively and efficiently teach phonics. The study recommends that primary school teachers be trained to improve their competence in phonics teaching so as to improve primary school pupils’ reading ability.