Influence of Instructional Materials on the Academic Performance of Students in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools in Kwara State, Nigeria
Chapter One
Objectives of the Study
The major objective of this study is to determine the influence of instructional materials on the academic performance of students in agricultural science in secondary schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. The specific objectives are to:
- identify the types of instructional materials being used for teaching in order to achieve students’ academic performance in agricultural science;
- determine the characteristics of instructional materials that can be used to influence students academic performance in agricultural science;
- evaluate the importance of using instructional materials to achieve students academic performance in agricultural science.
- examine the factors affecting the use of instructional materials to influence the academic performance of students in agricultural science.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The aim of this chapter is to present already existing views of people in related topic on “Influence of Instructional Materials on the Academic Performance of students in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools in Kwara State, Nigeria.” This chapter is sequentially arranged and discussed under the following sub-headings:
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework of this research hinges on the theory of learning as described by cognitive psychologists. In theory of cognitive development, mental ability is closely related to language ability. As child grows older, vocabulary and word usage becomes the best single indication of his intelligence. Sensory motor ability is the basis of intelligence and other ingredients are ability to perceive situations accurately, to see relations, to remember, to use good judgement and to persist in solving problems. The psychologist posited that in attempt to learn anything a child must pay attention to it. It also involves exploration of the visual field, fixing the eyes successively on different parts rating these parts and anticipating phenomenon that are not yet clearly perceived (Akanbi, 1989).
This study is of the opinion that agricultural science teachers should use the materials that would enable students to easily perceive learning situations in a positive way, especially in the teaching of agricultural science. According to Akanbi, (1989), distinguished four stages in the development of cognition or intelligence. This concept of stage implies that development takes place in unvarying steps like sequence, regardless of the child’s culture or education. According to Akanbi, the child begins rudimentary concept formation at the pre-conceptional thinking stage. Here the child begins to classify things in certain classes because of their similarity. Here he explains that the child’s rather than his logic being either deductive or inductive, it is transductive. This study here is of the opinion that the teacher should be able to present instructional materials that would enable the students to overcome the problems of transductive. The study here is of the fact that inability of the teachers to utilize the appropriate methods and materials to teach certain concepts in agricultural science has contributed to poor students academic performance in the subject (Farrant, 1980).
Types of Instructional Materials
According to Blankenship (1989) Agricultural Science teaching aids can be classified into two classes. They are:
- Visual aids
- Audio-visual aids
The visual aids are those teaching aids that can be clearly seen with our eyes vividly. Examples of visual aids are: chalkboard, agricultural science textbooks, charts, model, specimen, a practical farm or school gardens, survey equipment, simple farm tools, farm machinery and implement, cages for small animals (rabbit and poultry), feeding trough, samples of different soils etc. While audio-visual aids are those that we can hear and see, by producing sound that the sound are expressed in thought. They appeal to our senses of hear and eyes. Audio visual aids include: tapes, video, television, projectors and motion pictures.
Yusuf (1998) said that one can classify learning materials in several ways. For instance, one can distinguish between auditory, visual and reading materials.
However, for the purpose of classification, learning materials for teaching agricultural science can be classified as follows:
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
RESEARCH DESIGN
The researcher used Survey Research Design in this study. He collected primary data on certain characters among the randomly selected sampling from the target population who are located at various points in the study areas. The finding from descriptive survey design was used to generalize the researcher’s results about the target population. The subjects or respondents were given questionnaire as the instruments to collect the data. According to Osuala (2005) Descriptive Survey Design gives the accurate assessment of the characteristics of the whole populations of people. It is also more realistic than the experiment in that it investigates phenomena in their natural setting.
Population for the Study
The total population for the study is two hundred and thirty-five (235) Government and Private secondary schools in the three (3) senatorial districts of the sixteen (16) Local Government Areas in Kwara State. The Agricultural Science Students’ target population is eight thousand, one hundred and forty two (8,142) with the total of four thousand, two hundred and eleven (4,211) male agricultural science students and three thousand nine hundred and thirty one (3,931) female agricultural science students. Also a total of seventy-three (73) agricultural science teachers comprising of forty-one male agricultural science teachers and thirty-two (32) female agricultural science teachers. The table 3.1 represents the population distribution of agricultural science students and agricultural science teachers in each of the selected Government and private secondary schools.
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND DATA ANALYSIS
The research work was on the Influence of Instructional Materials on the Academic Performance of Students in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. This chapter presented the report of the research findings based on the data collected from teachers and students.
The first set of data were presented in tables of frequencies and percentages on demographic variables of the respondents. The research questions were presented in table of frequencies and percentages with relevant items while the last sets of data were the results of tested null hypotheses.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The study was carried out to determine the Influence of Instructional Materials on the Academic Performance of Students in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. In order to achieve this objective, four specific objectives were raised which included: to identify the types of instructional materials available to be used to influence students academic performance in Agricultural science. In line with these objectives, four research questions were formulated and four null hypotheses were posited . The total population for the study is 235 Government and Private Secondary Schools which was made up of 8,142 Agricultural Science students and 73 Agricultural Science Teachers in the 3 senatorial districts of the 16 Local Government Areas in Kwara State. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 236 respondents made up of students and teachers were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies. The four null hypotheses were tested using contingency chi-square statistics at 0.05 level of significance.
Conclusion
Based on the findings in this study, the following conclusions were drawn:
- The failure rate of students will be curtailed if agricultural science teachers were made to utilize appropriate and relevant instructional materials while teaching agricultural science in secondary schools.
- Students will perform better in agricultural science when the instructional materials possess the characteristics of appropriateness, relevancy, visibility, sufficiency, simplicity and attraction, hence improve students academic performance in agricultural science.
- Instructional materials were very important to influence students academic performances in agricultural science as they can simplify and clarify what is complex and difficult to express in words.
- The agricultural science knowledge and subsequent performance of students in both junior and senior secondary schools and agricultural science as a subject becomes more interesting to learn when it was taught by experienced, well committed, dedicated and qualified agricultural science teachers.
Recommendations
The following recommendations were made based on the findings of the study.
- The agricultural science teachers should endeavour to use and try to improvise instructional materials for effective teaching of agricultural science in the secondary schools.
- Government should ensure the adequate employment of dedicated and qualified agricultural science teachers to teach the subject in all secondary schools in the study area and in the state.
- Suitable textbooks on utilization of agricultural science materials should be made available to all secondary schools.
- Government should make available funds and sponsor the teachers’ attendance at conferences, seminars and workshops on utilization of agricultural science instructional materials.
- The government through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST), should make available agricultural science instructional materials for use by teachers to enhance students’ academic performance in agricultural science.
- There is need for a well-equipped laboratory and farms for agricultural science practicals. This will go a long way in ensuring that students are exposed to different aspects of practical learning.
- Parents should not be left out in the drive to provide and encourage the effective utilization of agricultural science instructional materials by their children in secondary schools. Once parents and guardians realize the importance of instructional materials in the education of their children and wards, they will not hesitate to give moral, material and financial support for the use of agricultural science instructional materials.
Limitation of the Study
During the course of the study, researcher encountered some hindrances as constraints which included, accessibility to the areas, like town schools in riverine areas and some roads are not motorable.
Suggestions for Further Studies
The researcher suggests the following areas for further studies.
- A way of ensuring a larger scope for this study could be through the involvement of a larger sample from all the local government areas of Kwara State. Future research work should attempt to use more samples drawn from Kwara State.
- Research should also be carried out on teachers’ attitude towards improvisation of teaching resources for effective teaching of agricultural science.
- This study concentrated on the influence of instructional materials on students’ academic performance in agricultural science, other subjects such as Chemistry, English, and Biology should also be researched into, for a total upliftment of education in Nigeria.
- An assessment of competence teachers in the agricultural science contents should be carried out too. This is to assess the personnel handling the teaching of agricultural science and arrange for their capacity building.
- The researcher also recommends the basic instructional materials for special students (disables).
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