ABSTRACT: The study examined Environmental Variables and Students’ Academic Performance in Physical and Health Education in Secondary Schools. Two research hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The total population of the study comprises of all senior secondary two students from all the public secondary schools in Obot Akara Local Government Area. One hundred and twenty students was the sample size from six selected public secondary schools in Obot Akara Local Government Area. The instrument used in this study was past result of the promotional examination in Physical and Health Education in the 2015/2016 academic session. Findings showed that there is a significant difference in academic performance of students in schools with well equipped laboratory in Physical and Health Education and also that there is a significant difference in academic performance of students in urban and those in rural schools in Physical and Health Education in Obot Akara Local Government Area.
Environmental Variables and Students’ Academic Performance in Physical and Health Education in Secondary Schools
From the findings it was recommended that the ministry of education especially the State Secondary Education Board should organize symposia and seminars regularly on ways of implementing quality supervision in public secondary schools. Also, teachers of Physical and Health Education should provide practical-oriented activities to develop the students’ competencies in solving problems.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
There is a growing assertion that environmental variables have strong relationship with students’ academic performance in schools. This is predicated on observation that a group of children with nearly the same intelligent quotient (IQ) may show a glaring disparity when exposed to the same instructional materials. The cause of such disparities puzzles even the teacher who is supposed to provide ready made answer to such disparities. What the child learns in his environment prepares him for his formal education. Thus, the role of environment as it applies to academic orientation of the child is highly indispensable. This has been identified by many scholars and educationists such as Mege (2014), Lyons (2001) and Chuma (2012).
According to Umoh (2006), nature only provides the raw materials in forms of potentials to the child but it is the environment that determines the extent of development of the child. In furtherance to the menace of low academic performance which had been on the high strain in Nigeria academic system and cannot be overemphasized as it had eaten deep into the quality of students and eventual leaders produced into the Nigeria economy. Bloom and Offiong (2002) in trying to justify this, claim that environment exerts a powerful effect in the growth and development of a child.
In assessing the cause effect of the environment on the level of students’ academic performance, researchers consider some variables of the environment as school location, availability of instructional materials amongst other that could tailor the level of students’ academic performance. The environmental variables which include the school size, school type, school structure, school location, parental education and occupation is deem fit to affect students’ academic performance. Hence environmental variable remain an important area that should be studied and well managed to enhance students’ academic performance.
Bandele (2003) noted that the importance of environmental variables in the school cannot be neglected. He added that at any educational level, the quality of education depends upon several factors such as school location, availability and utilization of instructional materials, teachers’ qualification and motivation amongst other.
Similarly, Okumbe (2011) asserted that some environment variables that affect the academic performance of students include the home environment, peer group, classroom environments and the field/laboratory environment. This becomes a concern to the researcher and it forms the background for the study of environmental variables and students’ academic performance in physical and Health Education in Secondary schools in Obot Akara Local Government Area.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Promotion of vocational skills in academic endeavour for national growth and development is the priority of nations. The schools, educators, industrialists and researchers are now very concerned with the relevance and contributions of learning environments to the students’ cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills to the world of work (Nsa, Offiong, Udo and Ikot; 2014).
However, parents and stakeholders in education have complained on the poor academic performance of students in internal and external examinations as announced by the Head of National Office WAEC that only 38.68% of the candidates had five credits and above, including mathematics and English in the 2015/2016 May/June result. According to the head of National office (HNO) of WAEC, he further said that 118, 101 results representing 7.41% were withheld due to examination malpractice (Fapohunda, 2015).
Environmental Variables and Students’ Academic Performance in Physical and Health Education in Secondary Schools
Reasons range from poor and ineffective teaching personnel to inadequate or non-availability of facilities in schools, location of the schools, family variables, school type amongst others as asserted by Umoh (2015) and Amos (2016). This therefore, raised the question: could the environmental factors such as school location, and school laboratory influence the academic performance of students in physical and Health Education in Secondary Schools? To provide answer to this question, the researcher investigated into environmental variables such as school location and school laboratory on students’ academic performance in physical and Health Education in Secondary Schools.
