Full Project – LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AS A CORRELATE TO PUPILS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Environmental influence before now have not been considered as one of the factors that affect academic performance in primary schools hence it has little or no attention in educational discourse and consideration. But over the past decade remarkable studies have indicated a correlation between the environment and academic performance of pupils.

Environment plays major role in the life of every individual whether a pupils, teachers, employer or employee. Though some people are yet to believe that environment brings about better performance. Echezona (1991) in his article “The Environmental Health Problems in Nigeria Schools”, Identified some unhealthy practices in our schools. These include sitting of schools, inadequate facilities, poor ventilation etc. Most of our schools have no light, insufficient facilities, sick buildings and no ventilation. Under these conditions the health of pupils and teachers according to Ebigbo (1988) may be adversely affected, which will in turn reflect on pupils performance. Therefore, for the pupils to carry his learning effectively and efficiently, it is necessary that learning takes place in conducive environment. Hence it is pertinent to critically look at the environmental factors that influences academic performance of pupils, measures that can help improve them and make some recommendation because at the very heart of our educational mission is the goal of improving academic performance. Studies have shown that environmental factors to a large extent affect both the physical and psychological potentials of individuals. This has led to the contention that many pupils fail to develop their potentials due to inadequate environmental stimulation. However, there are some environmental factors which have contributed to this poor performance of pupils which are home background, inadequate school facilities, misuse of technology such as internet and school climate such as teacher-pupil relationship etc (Allen, 2011).

Although primarily established for white settlers, the new settlements known as urban areas or township also served as a refuge for appreciable number of Africans who had in some substantial degree emancipated themselves from the constraints of traditional society. Among them were professional men, clerks and shop keepers with at least Secondary education, growing numbers of wage-earners and large number of farmers receiving cash income from growing crops for world market (Fage, 1978).

The environment is characterized by models that cherish aggression act-rich syndrome, substance level ambition and disregard of Education.

It is also necessary to note that the surrounding or environment of a pupil influences their performance. Learning and reading begins in school but the first foundation of the child begins at home (Binkley 2008).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The poor academic performance of pupils in schools in Lagos educational environment has recently become a cause for serious concern. It has been observed by the researcher that some primary school pupils cannot write or read a letter. Others attend as many as three schools within their Primary school career due to constant failures in a bid to avoid the shame of repeating a class. It has also been observed by the researcher that in Lagos and some other parts of Nigeria private school proprietors tend to boost the population of their schools by admitting pupils without a testimonial or statement of result and award fictitious results to ensure the promotion of such pupils to the next class.

This ugly development has been attributed to many factors such as teachers’ poor attitude to work; poor infrastructure, examination malpractice; lack of qualified teachers; truancy; poor motivation; Non-payment of salaries and the neglect of instructional media by teachers etc. The Primary school features the highest number of impressionable learners and consumes a greater percentage of the government budgetary allocation to education, hence the need to investigate the influence of environment on the academic performance of pupils in Lagos L.G.A.

1.3 Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated to guide the research.

1.) Does noise pollution hinder the development of memorization skills by

pupils?

2.) Does the presence of rich but illiterate businessmen discourage excellent

academic performance or behaviour in class?

3.) Do Pupils who indulge in so much domestic chores have poor academic

performance than pupils who do not?

1.4 Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this study is to investigate the influence of environment on the academic performance of Primary school pupils. The following specific objectives are to guide the study:

To determine the extent to which a noisy environment hinders the development of memorization skills by Primary school pupils.
To find outhow the presence of illiterate but rich businessmen affect the behaviour of Primary school pupils towards learning.
To ascertain the ways in which the home environment affects the performance of Primary school pupils at school.

1.5 Study Hypotheses

The following are hypotheses raised for this research:

Pupils who study without text books are more likely to be indifferent than those studying with textbooks.
Pupils with monetized value system are indifferent in classroom work than pupils who are not.
Pupils who indulge in so much domestic chores have poor academic performance than pupils who do not.

1.5 Significance of the Study

This study on the influence of environment on the academic performance of pupils in Primary school will facilitate learning by enriching the knowledge of parents on the adverse effect of child labour and hawking on learning. It will create awareness on the importance of interaction and co-operation between parents and teachers for the success of pupils in learning activities. It will improve the attitude of pupils towards academic work through internal and external

motivation of teachers and parents. It will contribute to the volume of existing literature on the role of environment factors on pupils learning. It also will sharpen teachers understanding of the root causes of some academic problems in the Primary school. The insight derived from that will help to prefer better solution to the problem. It will promote the development of the spirit of hard work, self-reliance and self-control among Primary schools pupils.

The result gotten from this study will challenge the ministry of education to live up to her duty by making the infrastructure available for the creation of better learning environment. This study will highlight the importance of community participation through the P.T.A. in school affairs to check deviant behaviour resulting from the environment. Finally, it also will highlight the danger of monetized value system with its attendant; ‘corruption’ because money is only useful and valuable in the hands of an informed person.

1.6 Scope of the Study

The study examines Learning environment as a correlate to pupils’ academic performance in Kosofe Area of Lagos State. The study was limited to the Primary 6 of Kosofe L.G.A. Lagos State.

1.6 Definition of Concepts

The following concepts were defined:

Influence: According to the Sun Mobile Dictionary, the term influence is the “power to affect another”. The Oxford Advanced learner’s dictionary defines influence as “the effect that somebody or something has on the way a person thinks or behaves or on the way that something works or develops”. The concept influence, as related directly to this study, refers to the power the environment has on the academic performance of pupils,more especially, in Lagos Local government area of Lagos State.

Environment: The Sun Mobile Dictionary defines Environment as “surrounding, things, conditions, etc.” The Oxford Advanced learner’s dictionary defines it as “the conditions that affects the behaviour and development of somebody or something; the physical conditions that somebody or something exists in”. In essence, the concept environment refers to the surrounding of Primary schools in Kosofe Lagos LGA. It can also be defined as the conditions that affect the behavior and development of pupils especially in Primary schools.

Academy: The Sun mobile dictionary refers to the concept academy as a “school”. A school on the other hand is a place of learning. A school is a place where children are thought (Oxford mini School Dictionary: 2007). A Primary school can therefore be called an Academy.

Performance: The Oxford advanced learner’s dictionary defines the term performance as “How well or badly you do something”. Performance as directly related to this study can also be defined as how well or badly pupils of Primary schools do in there academic work.

Academic Performance: This can be define as the score a child or individual obtain in test or examination based on his or her learning experiences.

Socio status: This is the total state of an individual based on inequality in terms of occupation, level of education and other societal issues defined by the environment.

Socio- culturalbackground: This is the social and cultural makeup of an individual in relationship with his or her environment.

Education: This is a formal instruction or training given to a child in school. According to the 6^th edition of the Oxford dictionary, it is a process of teaching, training and learning, especially in schools or colleges to improve knowledge and develop skills.

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