Influence of School Environment on Student Academic Performance and Self-esteem A Case Study of Secondary School Students in Ikenne Local Government Area
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives of the Study
The following are the objectives of the study:
- determine the impact of classroom building on the performance of students in junior secondary schools in Ikenne Local government Area.
- determine the impact of adequate class furniture on the performance of students in junior secondary schools in Ikenne Local government Area.
- ascertain the impact of small class population on the performance of students in junior secondary schools in Taraba Stata.
- ascertain the impact of the use of instructional materials on the performance of students in junior secondary schools in Ikenne Local government Area.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
This chapter brought into focus what scholars and authorities have said or written in respect of the different aspects of the study at hand. It included theoretical framework, concept of School Environment, relevance of School Environment, component of School Environment, concept of academic performance, how to evaluate academic performance, empirical studies and summary.
Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for this study is based on the theory of Stimulus -Response as propounded by Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936) and John Watson (1878-1958). Papalia, Feldman and Olds (2007) asserted that Stimulus- Response is a type of learning which is based on the association of stimulus that does not ordinarily elicit a particular response with another stimulus that does not elicit a response. While studying the functioning of the digestive system, Ivan Pavlov encountered an unforeseen problem. The dogs in his experiment salivated not only upon actually eating but also when they saw the food, noticed the man who usually brought it or even heard his footsteps. Pavlov began to study this phenomenon, which he called „conditioning.‟‟ Since the type of conditioning emphasized was a classical one quite different from the conditioning emphasized by other psychologists at the later stage, it has been renamed classical conditioning.
In one of his experiments, Pavlov kept a dog hungry for a few days and then tied it to the experimental table which was fitted with certain mechanically controlled devices. The dog was made comfortable and distractions were excluded as far as it was possible to do so. The observer himself remained hidden from the dog but was able to view the experiment by means of a set of mirrors. Arrangement was made to give food to the dog through an automatic mechanism. He also arranged for a bell to ring every time food was presented to the dog. When the food was put before the dog and the bell was rung, there was automatic secretion of saliva from the mouth of the dog. The activity of presenting the food accompanied with the ringing of the bell was repeated several times and the amount of saliva secured was measured.
After the several trials the dog was given no food but the bell rung. In this case also, the amount of saliva secreted was recorded and measured, it was found that even in the absence of food (the natural stimulus), the ringing of the bell (an artificial stimulus) caused the dog to secret the saliva (natural response).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter focused on the research design employed in carrying out the study, population, sample and sampling techniques, research instrument, validity, reliability, procedure for data collection and methods of data analysis.
Research Design
A quasi-experimental research design, involving a pre-test, post-test and non-equivalent research design groups was used for the study. This type of research design is appropriate for studying how the peculiarities of a School Environment would affect the performance of different students groups at the secondary school level. In other words, the research design is appropriate to the type of research conducted which is largely an evaluation. The purpose of using this design agreed with Kolo (2003) who says that “experimental is to investigate possible cause and effect as well as relationship between two or more variables by the application of treatment which cannot be resolved by observation or description”.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS
Introduction
This chapter presented the results of the descriptive and inferential analysis in such a way that the research questions were answered and the hypotheses were tested, thereby providing way for decision-making. Finally, summary of major findings, discussion of findings and recommendations based on findings for the study were presented.
Analysis
In data analysis, descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation were employed to explain the research questions, while inferential statistic such as t- test was used in testing the hypotheses.
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
This study has shown a positive and significant relationship between the physical characteristics of the school such as classroom buildings, furniture, instructional facilities and students‟ academic performance in junior secondary schools in Ikenne Local government Area. This is an indication that these facilities in secondary schools should be a prime concern of the education stakeholders in the state and the nation in general. However, the extent to which students‟ learning could be enhanced depends on the structure of their classroom, availability of the classrooms, instructional facilities and accessories. It is believed that conducive School Environment with available school facilities will gear up expected outcomes of education that will facilitate good social, political and economic emancipation, effective teaching and learning process as well as academic achievements of students.
Hence it has been established that facilities are potent to greater academic achievement of students. Therefore, it requires prompt attention on the part of the education stakeholders in Ikenne Local government Area and the nation in order to improve the poor condition of School Environment and academic situation of secondary schools from its present state. Moreover, there are some facilities that can be improvised by the teachers in order to facilitate teaching and learning, hence such facilities should be improvised by the teachers.
Recommendations
Based on the conclusion drawn, the following recommendations were made:
- Government and other education stakeholders should make concerted efforts to provide adequate classroom building and renovate the existing dilapidated structures in public secondary schools. This would help to reduce the problem of school overcrowding and it would go a long way to create enabling teaching and School Environment.
- Education stakeholders should endeavour to provide adequate class furniture (chairs and lockers or desk) in public secondary schools and students should be oriented on how to maintain these facilities because most a time‟s students destroy these facilities by themselves.
- Small class population should be maintained in public secondary schools and the population of students admitted into public schools should depend on the available space and facilities. Because, there is need to make the number of students to be taught in the class to be moderate, so that the teacher would be able to manage the class effectively and give individual attention to students where necessary.
- Adequate instructional materials should be made available in public secondary schools and teachers should be encouraged to be using instructional materials in the course of presenting their lessons and they should be made to update their knowledge and skills in improvisation of instructional materials through seminars, workshops and conferences organized by government and professional bodies.
REFERENCES
- Abdulraheem, M. (2001). Effect of Cooperative Instructional Strategy on Junior Secondary Students‟ Performance in Social Studies, A Journal of Reviews, 1(1), 22-26.
- Abdulkadir, S. (1991). Essentials of Educational Management. Makurdi: Jalim Press Ltd.
- Academic Performance Index (API), (2010). Academic Performance Index. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/issues/ca/api.html. on 12 – 4 – 2012
- Adewuyi, D. A. (2002). Comparison between School Effectiveness, Characteristics and development Classroom Instruction Strategies in the United States and Nigeria. Journal for African, 27 (1 and 2), 263-287. On 11
- – 4 – 2012
- Adeyemi,T. O. (2008). Predicting Students‟ Performance in Senior Secondary Certificate Examination from Performance in Junior Secondary Certificate Examination In Ondo State, Nigeria. Humanity and Social science journal, (1): 26-36.
- Ajayi, I.A. (2007). Issues in Management. Lagos: Bola Bay Publication.
- Akhtar, M. S. (2010). Technology Based School Environment and Students‟ Academic Achievement in English as Foreign Language in Pakistan. Journal of World Academic of Science, Engineering and Technology, 61, 129- 133.
- Bali, V.A. & Alverez, R.M. (2004). The Race Gap in Student Achievement Score: Longitudinal Evidence from a Racially Diverse School District. Policy studies Journal 32 (3), 393-416.
- Bandele, S. O. (2002). Administration of Continuous Assessment in Tertiary Institution in Nigeria.Journal of Educational Foundation and Management, 1 (1): 289-296.
- Bandura, A. (1991). Social Cognitive Theory: An Agentic Perspective. In Annual Review Psychology 52 (2001).
- Bello, H. Y. (2011). Effect of Teacher-made Instructional Material on the Performance of Student‟s in Islamic Studies in Senior Secondary Schools. M.ED Thesis Submitted to the Department of Educational Foundation and Curriculum, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
- Bickel, R. (2007). Multilevel Analysis for Applied Research: It‟s Just Regression.
- New York: Guilford.
- Bob, K. (2012) Education Information for New and Future Teachers. Retrieved fromhttp://www.amazon.com/edu/education-information-for-new-and-future- teachers/hml
