Full Project – THE FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST TEACHING AND LEARNING IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

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ABSTRACT

The study examined The factors militating against teaching and learning in Senior Secondary SchoolAba South Local Government Area, Abia State”. The study objectives are to: Insufficient numbers of qualified teachers affects students’ performance in School Subject ; Unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of School Subject affects students’ performance in School Subject ; The previous socio-economic backgrounds of the students affect them in studying School Subject ; and the attitude and interest of students towards the nature of School Subject contribute deeply to their performance in SSCE. The study employed the descriptive survey design. The nature of the problem was duly considered in the study. The research design used for this study is the survey design. The reason why this design was adopted was because the researcher would make use of the primary data obtained through the questionnaire. The area of the study covers students of five selected secondary schools located within Aba South Local Government Area, Abia, Abia. The target population consists of public secondary school students in Aba South Local Government Area, Abia. Simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The researcher useD a total of one hundred (100) students from five (5) selected public secondary schools in Aba South Local Government Area, Abia. The research instrument used was questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using simple percentage while hypotheses were tested using Chi-Square Statistics. The study recommended that Government both at the federal and state levels should employ more qualified teachers for secondary schools to ensure efficiency and optimal performance in School Subject . The study also recommended that Teachers should develop positive relationship with students and stress classroom activities, that will involve active teaching-learning process and students participation in the class. The study concludes that insufficient numbers of qualified Subject teachers and instructional materials for teaching affects School Subject.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Education as the key to development has the capacity to upgrade teaching effectiveness as well as learning efficiency among learners. Efforts by have being made by school administrators to improve the performance of Public secondary school students. The school environment, which include the classrooms, libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teachers’ quality, school management, teaching methods, peers, etc are variables that affect students’ academic achievement (Ajayi, 2001 and Oluchukwu, 2000). Hence, the school environment remains an important area that has to studied and well managed to enhance students’ academic performance.

According to Jam (2009) academic performance is the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate your knowledge verbally or on paper. In other words, academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers. Academic performance generally refers to how well a student is accomplishing his or her tasks or studies. There are quite a number of factors that determine the level and quality of students’ academic performance. (Scottk, 2002).

According to Hussain (2006) secondary school students in public schools often come from economically poor and average income families. These families face various problems causing emotional disturbance among their children. This singular factor has caused serious damage to the achievement status to secondary school students.

Achievement is generally a pedagogical terminology used while determining learners’ success in formal education and which is measured through reports examinations, researches, and ratings with numerous factors of variables exerting influence. Essentially, the National Policy on education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004) has identified school achievement contents according to school subjects which are classified as core or elective subjects.

Although studies abound on the causative and predictive nature of factors of study habit on students academic achievement. all factors or variables tend to focus on poor study habit while the effects are yet to be fully accessed on the nations educational development.

The issue of poor academic performance of students in Nigeria has been of much concern to the government, parents, teachers and even student themselves. The quality of education not only depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties, but also in the effective coordination of the school environment (Ajao 2001). The issue of poor academic performance of students in Nigeria has been of much concern to all and sundry. The problem is so much that it has led to the widely acclaimed fallen standard of education in Delta State and Nigeria at large. The quality of education depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties. Over time pupils’ academic performance in both internal and external examinations had been used to determine excellence in teachers and teaching (Ajao 2001). Teachers have been shown to have an important influence on students’ academic achievement and they also play a crucial role in educational attainment because the teacher is ultimately responsible for translating policy into action and principles based on practice during interaction with the students (Afe 2001). Both teaching and learning depends on teachers: no wonder an effective teacher has been conceptualized as one who produces desired results in the course of his duty as a teacher (Uchefuna 2001). Considering governments’ huge investment in public education, its output in terms of quality of students have been observed to be unequal with government expenditure.

In Nigeria, there are so many factors influencing the ability of students to cultivate effective and efficient study habit. Ozmert (2005) emphasized the importance of environmental influence as a major factor in the development of students studying habit. In the same vein, Adetunji and Oladeji (2007) submit that the environment of most children is not conducive for studying; it is in the light of this that made some parents to prefer their children to go to boarding school for proper discipline and to inculcate better reading habit.

According to the ministry of education and statistics (2004) private schools perform better than government aided schools because teachers in private schools are adequately remunerated. UNESCO (2006) Poor performance in schools has been documented to be the result of poor teacher remuneration. Teacher commitment can be used to measure performance Absenteeism: Robbins (2003) observed that employees who are unsatisfied with their jobs had many absenteeism rates than those with job satisfaction and with many attendance levels. He concluded that employee satisfaction and performance are connected with absenteeism District routinely issue report cards highlighting test score outcomes and other key indicators of educational performance. These have become center pieces of attention among not only educators but many other stakeholders.

Notwithstanding, it has been observed that there are many problems affecting the performance of School subject in Post primary schools as enumerated by many writers on problem of School subject in Nigeria. They attributed the high level of failures in School subject to lack of students concentration in the classroom, their view steamed from observed students performance in School subject.

Thus, observed failure could be as a result of inability of the students to understand academic terms, lack of finance to buy relevant textbooks, inadequate teachers, inability of the students’ to interpret School subject table and graph, inappropriate and ineffective method of teaching, lack of control over the attitudes of students and teachers and others which have contributed to low level of teaching School Subject in secondary schools.

Okorie (1979: 152) suggested that for the effective teaching to take place, the skillful teacher needs to use the many effective method and techniques effectively because in them his success and failure depends. He further emphasized that the success in the use of methods depends on the intelligent analysis of educational purposes, pupil in the class and the curriculum content of the moment.

A few moment reflection is sufficient to reveal that every society faces crucial issues and problem in education which have very serious economic angles that cannot be overlooked easily for instance, the production of education as well as the acquisition of education both require the use of large qualities of scare resources (Production of education requires conducive classrooms, administrative blocks, personnel, librarians, laboratories while the acquisition of education requires expenditures on tuition fees, book, travels, uniform, lodging etc. and students time.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

The increasing nature of poor academic performance of public secondary school students especially in external examinations like WAEC or JAMB, tend to shift the blame on the teaching methodology adopted by the teachers and lack of fund from the government to provide quality textbooks. However, these might not be the main reasons why students perform poorly in examinations. It is clear from all indications that most secondary school students have poor study habit which might lead to poor academic performance.

It is yet to gather adequate research evidence to prove that it is a key factor on why students fail. Emphasizing the importance of school environment to students academic performance, Oluchukwu, (2000) asserted school environment is an essential aspect of educational planning. The scholar went further to explain that unless schools are well suited, buildings adequately constructed and equipment adequately utilized and maintained, much teaching and learning may not take place.

The high levels of students’ academic performance may not be guaranteed where instructional space such as classrooms, libraries, technical workshops and laboratories are structurally defective. However, little is known on the impact of school environment on students’ academic performance in an urban city like Rivers State. It was agreed that inadequate provision of equipment in public secondary school. It is based on the above stated problems that the study on assessment of factors responsible for students academic performance in public secondary schools became necessary for investigation.

Poor performance in Secondary School Certificate Examination (WAEC) is caused by many factors such as; students ineffective study techniques, quality of teachers and method of teaching, the parents inability to provide useful materials like textbooks, exercise books and school fees and problem of inadequate instructional materials for teaching and learning of School subject in schools.

However, the pivoting problems of School subject is complex and can minimally be solved if the teachers and students change their attitude towards teaching and learning in schools generally and to School subject in particular.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

Study has been undertaken with a view to identify the factors militating against teaching and learning in Senior Secondary Schooland Aba South Local Government Area and factors responsible for these problems. Specifically, the study sought to find out if:-

Insufficient numbers of qualified teachers affects students’ performance in School Subject .
Unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of School Subject affects students’ performance in School Subject ,

iii. The previous socio-economic backgrounds of the students affect them in studying School Subject .

The attitude and interest of students towards the nature of School Subject contribute deeply to their performance in SSCE.

Research Questions

In assessing the purpose of the study, this research project will answer the following questions:

Does insufficient numbers of qualified Subject teachers affects students’ performance in School Subject ?
Does unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of School Subject affects students’ performance in School Subject ?

iii. Does previous socio-economic background of the students affect them in studying School Subject ?

How would interest of students towards the nature of School Subject contribute deeply to their performance in SSCE?

Research Hypotheses

In carrying out this research work the following theoretical statements are buttressed to serve as a direction on which the work will be premised:

H₀: Insufficient numbers of qualified Subject teachers does not affects students’ performance of students in School Subject

H₁: Insufficient numbers of qualified Subject teachers and instructional materials teaching affects School Subject .

H₀: There is no significant relationship between availability of instructional materials for teaching of School Subject and students’ performance in School Subject .

H₁: There is significant relationship between availability of instructional materials for teaching of School Subject and students’ performance in School Subject .

1.6 Scope of the Study

The research work seeks to examine the factors militating against teaching and learning in Senior Secondary School. The study will be limited to five selected schools in Aba South Local Government Area, Abia.

1.7 Significance of the Study

There is need to apply knowledge from School subject to many area of our life in other to benefit the society. The achievements of the objective necessitates an understanding of the basic teaching of School subject. We cannot attain national objectives in the light of poor or average performances in examinations and lack of application of School subject to life students.

Without doubt, improved teaching and learning of School subject will spur us into greater heights. This study will help to make our educational administrators to see the need to have qualified Subject teachers to handle the subject effectively for the benefit of the students and society at large.

This study will help to sensitize the educational administrators to appreciate the need to make available the necessary materials, example, chalkboard, graphs, audio-visual materials etc. that will enhance effective learning of School subject if they are not available.

This study will if need be direct the Subject teachers’ attention to the need for them to adopt more appropriate teaching method in order to bring about the above mentioned desirable experience in the learners. This study will have a great significance because it is going to provide information to Subject teachers for formation and evaluation of their plans.

It will be useful to learners for through this, they will be able to identify the factors militating against the proper teaching and learning of School subject. This study will help to produce sound School subject students that will function very well in the economy such as:

(a) Knowing how to use scarce productive resources with alternative uses to meet prescribed ends and be able to apply the principles of School subject.

(b) The product of School subject that should be able to pick employment within a limited employment opportunity in any economy.

This work will serve as a source of encouragement to students and teachers that will come across it. It is hoped that the findings of this study would also form the basis for further research work by future researchers on this issue.

1.8 Definition of Terms

Instructional Materials: These are materials that are used to aid in the transference of information from one student to another in Education arena.

Teaching: the act or profession of a person who teaches.

Job Performance: This is the work related activities expected of an employee and how well those activities were executed.

Remuneration: Reward for employment in the form of pay, salary, or wage, including allowances, benefits (such as medical plan, pension plan), bonuses, cash incentives, and monetary value of the noncash incentives.

Condition of Work: Regulations governing on-the-job standards and conditions of work such as those affecting health and safety of workers.

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