School Types and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools

School Types and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools
School Types and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools

ABSTRACT: This study investigated school types and students’ academic performance in agricultural science in secondary schools. Two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The research design adopted was survey method. One hundred and twenty (120) students were randomly selected from six secondary schools out of thirty five (35) secondary schools in the study Area. Data were collected using Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT). The data were analyzed using independent t-test statistics to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. The result showed that students from private school achieved better academically than those in public school. It was recommended that Government should ensure that enough facilities are provided in public school to enhance effective teaching and learning.

 

School Types and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background to the study

Schools are established for the purpose of teaching and learning. This is because the National Policy of Education (2004) sees education as an instrument “par excellence” for effecting national development. It is important that teachers’ accommodation is explained in the content of the provision of adequate infrastructural facilities (Alimi, 2004).

In the Nigerian, irrespective of ownership, secondary schools are expected to function to achieve the national educational objectives. To this end, students are expected to perform brilliantly in both the internal and external examinations as this determines the quality of output from secondary schools. This means that the better the performance of the students the more effective the system is assumed to be (Phillian and Wanjobe, 2011).

In Nigeria, it is the general opinion of people that there is a serious gap between private and public schools in term of availability of human and physical facilities such as library and sporting equipment and consequently students’ performance. There is this opinion that human and physical facilities and this consequently students’ performance (Alimi, Ehinola and Alabi, 2004). Poor performance is noticeable in rural schools in most subjects such as English and Mathematics (Cynthia and Morgan, 2008).

This disparity in the availability of materials and the consequent effect on the performance of both internal and external examination in major subjects is not in the interest of the students in such rural environment. This is because the Child’s Right Act emphasizes sound education to every Nigerian child irrespective of tribe, location or state of origin (Odey, 1993). It is against this background, that this study was carried out to determine whether school types really influence students’ academic performance in Agricultural Science.

1.2       Statement of the problem 

Parents and stakeholders in education have the high rate of poor academic performance of students in external examination such as WAEC and new is not limited to public school alone, private schools were also involved.

Reasons range from poor and ineffective teaching personnel to inadequate or non-availability of facilities in schools. This study therefore, was assigned to investigate into whether school types (private and public, boarding and day school) influence academic performance of students in Agricultural Science.

 

1.3       Purpose of the Study  

            The objective of this study was to examine the school types on students academic performance in Agricultural Science in secondary schools.

Specifically, this study intended to finds out:

  • the mean difference in the academic performance of students in Agricultural Science in private and public schools.
  • the mean difference in academic performance of students in boarding and day schools.

School Types and Students’ Academic Performance in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools

1.4       Significance of the Study

This study will be of great benefits to parents, government and stakeholders in the education business.

  1. To the parents; this study will open their eyes and carries them to send their children or wards to well equip schools as this is where sound education can be acquired.
  2. To the government; the study will create awareness on the need to avoid lopsided distribution of facilities since no sound learning and teaching can take place in poorly equipped schools.
  3. To the stakeholders, this study will cause them to partner with government in the provision of facilities in the schools in their area since government alone cannot do it.
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Peter Hezekiah Lawson (Sir Pee). The CEO of onlineproject.com.ng. A reputable researcher, Web Developer, ICT Instructor and a publisher of many research works in Education.