Comparative Analysis Between the Performance of Public and Private Schools Students
Chapter One
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to compare the academic performance of private and public secondary schools in the Ikeja local government area, Lagos state. Specifically, the study intends to:
- Find out the level of student failure in both public and private secondary school
- Find out the factors that influence the performance of secondary school students in public and private school
- Find out if there is any significant relationship between the school environment and the academic performance of both private and public school students.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
INTRODUCTION
Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literature that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
Academic Performance
In educational institutions, success is measured by academic performance, or how well a student meets standards set out by local government and the institution itself. Academic performance according to the Cambridge Dictionary of English (1995) refers to how well a school, college, university, an individual or a group is able to perform when given a learning task, activity or one’s achievement in standardized tests in academic pursuit. Academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teacher. Academic performance is related to content and intellect, meaning that academic performance depends on the learner’s competence. Cary, Roseth, David and Roger (2008) define academic achievement/success as: Performance on task with measures including comprehension, quality and accuracy of answers of tests, quality and accuracy of problem solving, frequency and quantity of desired outcome, time or rate to solution, time on task, level reasoning and critical thinking, creativity, recall and retention, and transfer of tasks. (p. 29).
Academic achievement refers to a successful accomplishment or performance in a particular subject area and is indicated by grades, marks and scores of descriptive commentaries. Academic performance also refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers in a fixed time or academic year (Dimbisso, 2009). (Ferla, Martin and Yonghong 2009) use the notion of academic self-concept referring to individuals’ knowledge and perceptions about themselves in academic achievements, and convictions that they can successfully perform a given academic tasks at designated levels.
They further stated that academic self-concept represents a more past-oriented, aggregated and relatively stable judgment about one’s self-perceived ability in a particular academic domain; while academic self-efficacy represents a context specific and relatively future oriented judgment about one’s confidence for successfully performing an upcoming subject-specific academic task. Good (1973) as cited in Dimbisso (2009) stated that achievement encompasses actual accomplishment of the students‟ of potential ability. Kobaland and Musek (2001, p. 9) stated that: there are two broad groups of definitions of academic achievement. The first one could be considered more objective, because it refers to numerical scores of a student’s knowledge, which measure the degree of a student’s adaptation to school work and to the educational system. The second group is a more subjective one, as its determination of academic success is reliant upon the student’s attitudes towards his academic achievement and himself, as well as by the attitudes of significant others towards his/her success and him/herself.
The concept of low academic performance varies in its definition. Diaz (2003) considers low academic performance or academic failure as the situation in which the subject does not attain the expected achievement according to his or her abilities, resulting in an altered personality which affects all other aspects of life. Similarly, Tapia (2002) as cited in Diaz (2003) notes that while the current educational system perceives that the student fails if he or she does not pass, more appropriate for determining academic failure is whether the student performs below his or her potential. Aremu (2000) defines poor academic performance as performance that is adjudged by the examinee / testee and some other significance as falling below an expected standard.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e. mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION SAMPLING SIZE
The population for the study will consist of executives and their subordinates in the organization which is charged with the application of management by objectives to attain organizational goals in the organization.
This study was carried out on a comparative analysis of the academic performance of private and public secondary school students using Ikeja local government area, Lagos state as case study. Hence, the population of this study comprises of students of selected 5 secondary schools in Ikeja local government area, Lagos state.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of two hundred and twenty-nine (229) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which two hundred and fifteen (215) were returned while two hundred and ten (210) were validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 210 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
Introduction
This chapter summarizes the findings on the comparative analysis of the academic performance of private and public secondary school students using Ikeja local government area, Lagos state as case study, conclusions, and recommendations.
Summary of the Study
In this study, our focus was on the comparative analysis of the academic performance of private and public secondary school students using Ikeja local government area, Lagos state as case study. The study is was specifically carried out to find out the level of students failure in both public and private secondary school, find out the factors that influence the performance of secondary school students in public and private school, and find out if there is any significant relationship between school environment and the academic performance of both private and public schools student.
The study adopted the survey research design and randomly enrolled participants in the study. A total of 210 responses were validated from the enrolled participants where all respondent are students of the five(5) selected secondary schools in Ikeja local government area, Lagos state.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of this study, the researcher concluded that;
- There is high level of student’s failure in public secondary schools than private secondary school.
- The factors that influence the performance of secondary school students in public and private school include; poor’ learning skills, parental background, peer influence, lack of qualified teacher’, and poor availability of learning infrastructure.
- There is a significant relationship between school environment and the academic performance of both private and public schools student.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are proffered.
- The state government should provide teachers opportunities to attend seminars, service courses and workshops to avail them the opportunity of keeping abreast with effective and current methods of teaching to facilitate teaching in schools.
- Qualified teachers with NCE, BSc (ed) must be employed to teach in schools.
- The salary of teachers should be enhanced and allowances paid promptly to encourage and motivate them to work hard.
- The use of internet and information communication technology (ICT) is strongly recommended for the teaching in Schools.
- Governments, private organizations and individuals concerned with the business of education should endeavor to address the obstacles hindering effective academic performance of students. This can be done by developing achievement motivation in students through achievement motivation training.
REFERENCE
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- Akinfolarin, C. A. (2008). Resource utilization in Vocational and Technical Education in Colleges of Education in South-West Nigeria.UnpublishedPh.DThesis.University of Ado-Ekiti, Ado Ekiti.
- Alimi, O. S. (2004). Appraisal of the Adequacy of Available School Plant for Primary Education InAyedaade Local Government Area of Osun State. Educational Thought, 4(1) 64-69
- Alimi, O. S. (2007). Physical Plant Maintenance Practices in the Public Secondary Schools in Akoko Zonal Education Area of Ondo State. Ife Journal of Educational Studies, 13(1):73-78
- Ayodele, J. B. (2000). School Size, Class Size and Teacher’s Quality as Correlation of Internal Efficiency in Primary School in Ondo State, Nigeria; Unpublished PhD Thesis, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
