ABSTRACT: This study examined Effects of Instructional Strategies on Academic Performance Secondary School Students. Two research questions and their corresponding hypothesis guided the study. A survey research design was adopted in carrying out the study. Two thousand eight hundred and ninety-seven, (2,897) Basic Technology students formed the population of the study. A simple random sampling technique was used in the selection of 200 students used in the study. Evaluation Questionnaire and Basic Technology Achievement Tests (EQBTAT) that validated by experts were used for gathering data for the study. The reliability co-efficient of the instrument established with test-retest reliability technique was 0.85.
The data generated from the instrument were analyzed using simple percentage and independent t-test statistics. The results showed that there is a significant difference in academic performance of students taught using field trip strategy and those taught using discussion strategy. It also revealed that there is a significant difference in academic performance of students taught Basic Technology using demonstration strategy and those taught using lecture strategy. It was therefore, recommended among others that state government should provide more Basic Technology equipment in secondary school, to help replace the old ones for effective teaching and learning.
Effects of Instructional Strategies on Academic Performance Secondary School Students
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
The selection and usage of proper instructional strategy ensures the achievement of any instructional objective. Effective instructional strategies are used in the presentation of lesson to help the students learn by ensuring the smooth delivery of the instructional phase or an entire course is delivered. The various teaching strategies used by the Basic Technology teachers have a major rule in class, particularly in the dissemination of information to students. Robert (2014) pointed out that teaching strategy comprises the principles and method used for instruction. The choice of teaching strategy or strategies to be used depends largely on the information of skill that is being taught and it may also be influenced by the style, aptitude, skills and enthusiasm of the students.
Basic Technology is one of the pre-vocational subject which provides students with a process of orientation in production and consumption through experiences in planning (Uwaneige, 2004). Basic Technology is also an integrated subject comprising woodwork, building technology, automobile technology electrical/electronic, metal technology and technical drawing at their basic level.
The subjects is offered at junior secondary school level, it was first introduced into Nigeria education system (6-3-3-4) in 1982, then a Basic technology as a result of the newly defined National policy on education that came into being after the national curriculum conference in September, 1996. Udoh (2003) reported a consistent significant relationship between instructional strategies and teachers performance. Based on the above Farrant (2005) pointed out that teachers method of teaching contribute much to the failure or success of the students and that most of the teachers, were found not motivating students by making the subject real and interesting which results in student mass failure, most often in public examination.
According to Essien (2012) teaching strategy is the method used to help students learn the desire course contents and be able to develop achievable goals in the future. Teaching strategies identify the different available learning methods to enable them develop the right strategies to deal with the target group. Therefore, instructional strategy is the way an instructor chooses to convey information and facilitate learning. This as Unwaneiye (2004) explained, implies that instructional strategy comprises the principles and method used for instruction. The choice of using instruction strategy depends largely on the information or skills that is being taught and it may also be influenced by the learning style, aptitude, skills ability and enthusiasm of the students.
Albert (2005) added that the fundamental importance of teaching strategies is to make it easier to implement a variety of teaching methods and techniques. Then, Tebabal (2011) put it that the primary purposes of learning at any level of education is to bring a fundamental change in the learners. He added that to facilitate the process of knowledge transmission, teachers should apply appropriate teaching strategies that best suit specific objective and learning outcomes. In the traditional epoch, many teaching practitioners, widely applied teacher-centered methods to impart knowledge to learner comparatively students-centered methods, uptil date ensure that the effectiveness of teaching method or students learning have consistently raised considerable interest in the field of education research. (Udoh, 2003). Moreover, research on teaching and learning constantly endeavour to examined the extent to which different teaching strategies enhance growth in students learning.
Quite remarkably, regular poor academic performance by the majority of students is fundamentally linked to application or ineffective teaching strategies by the instructors to impart knowledge to learner. Substantial research on the effectiveness of teaching strategies is often reflected by the achievement to learners.
According to Ayeni (2011), teaching is therefore a process that involves bringing about desirable changes in a learners so as to achieve specific outcomes on the basis of this, the instructional strategy used for teaching to be effective; Adunola (2013) maintain that teachers need to be conversant with numerous teaching strategy hat take recognition of the magnitude of complexity of the concepts to be covered since good teaching among others factors play significant roles in enhancing performance, this study therefore attempted to find out which methods of instruction better facilitate academic performance of secondary school students is Basic Technology.
Effects of Instructional Strategies on Academic Performance Secondary School Students
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Instruction in Basic Technology lack proper approaches in most cases when the students cannot easily follow the instruction, the lesson become boring and engender negative attitude and low interest to the students towards the topic being taught. This eventually results in low academic performance by the students. It was noted that difference in the performance of student has been attributed to teachers’ method or techniques of lesson presentation (Udom, 2008). Onyejiaku (1994) observed that whenever any individual is determined to success and is properly guided using effective strategy; the student in most cases performs excellently. Against the background of inappropriate instructional strategies being used in teaching Basic Technology which results in low achievement by the students. The question is, what instructional strategies need be employed to improve learning outcomes in Basic Technology among secondary schools students in Etinan Local Government Area.