the effect of motivation on pupils’ academic performance of primary school pupils

THE EFFECT OF MOTIVATION ON PUPILS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPILS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1     Background of the Study

Societies all over the world have used education as an instrument for the achievement of their national interests and objectives. Education is an instrument par excellence for effective national development. It fosters the worth and development of the individual, for the individuals sake and for the general development of the society (National Policy on Education, 2004). All these call for functional education for the promotion of a progressive and united country. Therefore, school programs need to be relevant, practical and comprehensive, while interest and ability should determine the individual direction in education. It is only when these 2 factors come together that we can achieve the nations objectives.

The Effect Of Motivation On Pupils’ Academic Performance Of Primary School Pupils

In Nigeria, for example, in order to achieve the goals and objectives of education, the government set up 3 levels of education: primary education, secondary education and tertiary education (National Potlicy on Education, 2004).

Primary education is the first level of education in Nigeria. According to National Policy on Education (2004), primary education is the education children receive after nursery education and before the secondary stage. The goals of primary education are to prepare the individual for:

• Useful living within the society.
• Higher education.

Motivation plays a major role in pupils’ academic work and in their achievement. It reflects in pupils’ choices of learning tasks, in the time and effort they devote to them, in their persistence on learning tasks, in their coping with the obstacles they encounter in the learning process. Okoye, (2005) noted that because of poor motivation due to inadequate remuneration, poor teaching environment as a result of lack of basic teaching materials, listless and unmotivated learners in the classroom, among others, the teachers have become the endangered species in their own profession.

They no long teach and the pupils in turn no longer learn. He suggested that pupils should be academically motivated as this will go a long way to solving most of the problems faced in education system and also increase pupils academic performance. He further remarked that motivating pupils will help them to be more responsible and have more interest in studies. He also holds that motivation of pupils will reduce, if not completely eliminate, high school dropout rates, low enrolment rates, truancy, etc. In the view of Wentzel, (2008), every educator needs to be concerned about motivation. It is a quality that pupils, teachers, parents, school administrators and other members of the community must have if our educational system is to prepare young people adequately for the challenges and demands of the coming century.

Of course, the way these various groups of individuals generate and use motivation differs greatly. Pupils need motivation to learn, parents need it to track the educational progress of their sons and daughters, teachers need it to become better teachers and school administrators need it to ensure that every facet of the schools they manage continues to improve.

It is against backdrop that this study is carried out to determine whether motivation influence pupils’ academic performance in primary schools in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.

1.2     Statement of the Problem

Motivation guide people‘s actions and behaviours toward achievement of some goals Gesinde, (2000). In work and other contexts therefore, motivation is often described as being ―intrinsic‖ or ―extrinsic‖ in nature (Clallahan, & Clark 2000). Intrinsic motivation, deriving from within the person or from the activity itself, positively affects behavior, performance, and well being. Extrinsic motivation on the other hand, results from the attainment of externally administered rewards, including pay, material possessions, prestige, and positive evaluations among others.

Therefore, this study would direct attention to whether intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation influence academic performance of pupils in primary schools.

The Effect Of Motivation On Pupils’ Academic Performance Of Primary School Pupils

1.3     Purpose of the Study

The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of motivation on pupils’ academic performance of primary school pupils in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area. Specifically, the study would achieve the following objectives:

1. Find out whether motivation has any significant effect on pupils academic performance in primary schools in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.
2. Find out whether intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation perform differently in primary schools pupils in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.
3. Find out whether teachers’ motivation has any significant effect on the pupils’ performance in primary schools in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area.

1.4     Significance of the Study

This study will be of benefit to teachers, parents, government and stakeholder in the education business.

1. To the teacher, this study will enable them to be motivated in teaching the pupils and also enable their pupils to be motivated themselves.
2. To the parents, this study will open their eyes and cause them to send their children or wards to a well equipped schools as this is where sound education can be acquired.
3. To the government, the study will create awareness on the need to provide motivated facilities since no sound learning and teaching can take place without teachers and pupils’ motivation.
4. To the stakeholders, this study will cause them to partner with government in the provision of motivation in schools in their area since government alone cannot do that.

1.5     Hypotheses of the Study

The following hypotheses were formulated to guide this study:

1. There is no significant influence in the academic performance of pupils’ intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in primary schools.
2. There is no significant influence in the academic performance of teachers’ motivation in primary schools.

1.6     Limitation of the Study

The limitation of this study includes the following:

1. The researcher was also confronted with lack of adequate empirical studies to give this work the requires forces
2. The time given for the computation of this study was inadequate to make a research like this have a wide scope.
3. The researcher was confronted with lack of enough financial resource to help expand the study to cover the entire state.

 1.7     Delimitation

This research work is delimited to motivation and academic performance of pupils in primary schools in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

1.8     Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined as they are used in the study:

Motivation: According to Okumbe (1998) motivation is defined as a physiological or psychological deficiency or need that activates behaviour or a drive that is arrived at a goal or incentive. According to Balunywa (2003), motivation is the inducement of a desired behavior with in subordinates. It is the inducement of a desired behaviour within subordinates. Hornby (2000) on the other hand defines motivation as an incentive to act or move. Webster‘s dictionary (2002) defines the concept motivation as the act or process of moving or drive, or an incentive. In this study, the variable motivation involved both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.

Academic performance of pupils: This is the result of pupils in primary schools due to the teaching and learning.

Intrinsic motivation: deriving from within the person or from the activity itself, positively affects behavior, performance, and well being.

Extrinsic motivation: results from the attainment of externally administered rewards, including pay, material possessions, prestige, and positive evaluations among others.

Pupils: usually young children in primary school who is learning under the close supervision of a teacher at school, a private tutor, or the like; pupil.

Stakeholders: groups or organizations that has interest or concern in education or schools. They can affect or be affected by the schools’ actions, objectives and policies.

Originally posted on May 27, 2021 @ 11:20 pm