Assessment of Student Teachers’ Attitude Toward Teaching Profession in Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria: Implications for Counselling

The study sought to assess student teachers’ attitude toward teaching profession in Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. The objectives of the study were to investigate attitude of student teachers toward teaching profession and differences in terms of gender, course and level of study in the attitude of student teachers toward teaching profession in Ramat Polytechnic, Maiduguri. Based on these objectives, one research question is answered and three null hypotheses are tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey design is adopted in this study. The population for the study comprised of all National Certificate of Education (NCE) students in Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. The population was three hundred and four students; however, all the 304 NCE students were selected as sample for this study. Student Teachers Attitude toward Teaching Profession Scale (STATTPS) was used for data collection. The STATTPS’s reliability coefficient of .89 was obtained. The data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test of Independent Sample and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). The findings of the study revealed that student teachers have positive attitude toward teaching profession in Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri. The study also found that there were no significant differences in the attitude of student teachers toward teaching profession in Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri by gender and course of study. Furthermore, significant difference was found in the attitude of student teachers toward teaching profession in Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri by level of study. Therefore, it was concluded that the student teachers in Ramat Polytechnic Maiduguri were intrinsically motivated to pursue career in their chosen profession. It was therefore recommended that counselors should explore different counseling therapies to sustain the favorable attitude of student teachers toward teaching profession.