Abstract: This research focused on School Variables and Students’ Academic Achievement in Economics in Secondary Schools in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated by the researcher. The population for the study comprised of all Senior Secondary one to three (SS1-SS3) students in public secondary school in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area. A sample size of one hundred and twenty (120) senior secondary one to three (SS1-SS3) students was used in the study. The instrument for data collection was a closed ended checked box questionnaire and Economics Performance Test was designed validated and administered.
The data collected were analyzed using independent t-test at 0.05 levels of significance and the findings revealed that there is a significant difference of large class size and small class size on students’ academic achievement in Economic; also, there is a significant difference of teacher qualification on students’ academic achievement in Economics; and that there is a significant mean difference in academic achievement of students in schools with adequate library facilities and those in schools with inadequate school library facilities in Economic in secondary schools in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area. Based on the finding of the study, the following recommendation were made: government should provide more schools as much as possible which will help in de-congesting the overcrowded school and also the united nation’s recommendation a teacher to a maximum of forty students in a class should strictly adhere to.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The interest in raising levels of achievement has led to a focus on identifying the range of variables that shape achievement as well as understanding how these variables operate to limit and enhance the achievement of different groups of students. Such major variables to be considered to Ajayi (2011) is a school’s physical surroundings which includes the classroom, school location, libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teachers quality, school management, teaching methods, peers, buildings and school types. There are variables that affect students’ academic achievement either positively or negatively. Hence the school factors remain an important area that should be studied and well managed to enhance, depends on their location within the school compound. The structure of their classroom, availability of instructional facilities and other accessories influence their academic performance.
It is believed that a well-planned school will gear up expected outcome of student educational, and well facilitated good social, political and economic emancipation effective teaching and learning process and academic performance of the students. Thus for learning to take place and the achievement of students enhanced, the school must be stimulating and encourage. The school environment must be inviting or welcomes conducive and accommodating for adequate and effective learning to take place.
According to Grant (2005), school building should be a suitable building furnished and well equipped for habitation. As dilapidating building, lacking mental stimulating facilities that are characterized with how or no seating arrangement will also be destructive to students’ academic achievement. It has been proved that students that are taught in stimulating environment with laboratory equipment, rich instructional aids, pictures and are allowed to demonstrate using their functional peripheral nerves like eyes, hands and sense of taste performed better than those trained under theoretical and canopy of abstraction.
However, school variable are the school facilities (school equipment and materials used in facilitating the teaching learning process. An effective school facility is responsive to the changing programs of educational delivery and at a minimum should provide a physical environment that is comfortable, safe, secure, accessible well illuminated, well ventilated, and aesthetically pleasing (Bello, 2011). These facilities include well equipped library, a well-equipped laboratory, seats, tables, chalkboard, lighting, chart, maps and computers with internet connection. The facility also includes furnishings materials and supplies equipment and information technology, as well as various aspect of the building grounds, namely, athletic fields, play grounds, area for outdoor learning and vehicular access and parking.
Marden, (2005) reported that safe and orderly classroom environment (aspect of instructional space), school facilities (accessories) were significantly related to students’ academic achievement in school. Poor maintenance and ineffective ventilation systems lead to poor health among students as well as teachers which lead to poor performance and higher absentee rates (Marsden, 2005). These factors can adversely affect student behaviour and lead to higher levels of frustration among teachers, and poor learning attitude among student.
Previous studies have investigated the relationship of poor school environment including problems with student-teacher ratio, school location, school population, classroom, ventilation poor lighting in classrooms and inconsistent temperature in the classroom with student health problems, student behaviour and students’ achievement (Grandell and Smaldino, 2010; Moove, 2002; Stricherz, 2000 and Tanner, 2010). To complement on the school variable, the present research will examine the aforementioned area of school variables and its effect on student academic achievement in economics in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area.
School Variables and Students’ Academic Achievement in Economics in Secondary Schools
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Academic attainment is an important parameter in measuring success in students. Observation and report have shown that success or high academic achievement has become a task to accomplish by students in recent times. Poor academic performance were recorded both at the secondary and tertiary level of education in Nigeria. This poor achievement of students at all level in educational institution in Nigeria has attracted much criticism from all and sundry from time immemorial.
The decline in the academic performance of students in post primary institution and maintained that secondary school system in Nigeria needed restructuring. He went further to say that academic standard had fallen drastically and the quality of secondary school graduates being produced is questionable and subject to re-examination. It becomes necessary to find out the causes of such poor achievement in our secondary school, though the poor achievement have been attributed to a lot of indicators such as students’ factors and the home factors; the school factors and other exogenous variables are thought to have also determine students’ academic success in school.
The interesting this research has been activated by the fact that all the effort made by Akwa Ibom State government to improve the academic achievement of secondary school student has not yield the desired result. It is against the backdrop that this study is conducted to examine whether the following school variables (Class size, teachers qualification) determine academic success of economics students in secondary school in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.
School Variables and Students’ Academic Achievement in Economics in Secondary Schools
1.3 Objective of the Study
The main objective of this study is to examine school variables and students’ academic achievement in economics in secondary schools in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area. Specifically, the study sought to:
(i) examine the influence of teachers’ qualification on academic achievement of students in Economics in secondary school in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area;
(ii) examine the influence of class size on academic performance of students in Economics in secondary school in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area; and
(iii) examine the influence of school library on academic achievement of students in Economic in secondary school in Ibiono Ibom Local Government Area.
