
ABSTRACT: This study examined the impact of teaching and learning resources on academic performance of agricultural science in secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area. Three null hypotheses were formulated in line with specific objectives to guide the study. The survey research study adopted experimental design. The population of the study comprised 364 SS1 students offering Agricultural Science in the study area: A sample size of 120 SS1 students was used for the study. The major instrument for data collection was “Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT)”. The data collected were analyzed using Independent t-test. The results showed that students taught using realia performed significantly better than those taught without realia in Agricultural Science. It was also found that student taught using instructional charts performed significantly better than those taught without charts in Agricultural Science.
The Impact of Teaching and Learning Resources on Academic Performance of Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools
It was concluded that utilization of teaching and learning resources impact significantly teaching of agricultural science and improves student’s academic performance in the subject. It was recommended among other that agricultural science teachers should adopt the use of teaching and learning resources to enhance their teaching and facilitates student’s understanding of concepts taught.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The success of teaching and learning has been linked to availability of resources and that to support poorly performing schools, educational authorities must increase student levels and competencies by use of these resources for students to be ready for National Assessments (UNESCO, 2015). This can be done through instructional material development and allocation of resources. Resources ranging from textbooks to library books to websites, a variety of resources are available to help teachers meet the needs and pique the interest of their learners
Furthermore, the teaching-learning process depends to a greater existence on not just the availability of teaching-learning resources but their effective utilization in the teaching-learning process. Accordingly, it is indisputable that the realization of the objective of any teaching-learning process will be an illusion in the absence of teaching and learning resources.
Teaching and learning resources are the devices developed or acquired to assist or facilitate teachers in transmitting organized knowledge, skills and attitudes to the learners within an instructional situation (Nwachukwu, 2016).
Teachers use different teaching resources to motivate learning, teachers often make use of textbooks, charts, models, graphics realia as well as improvised materials to motivate learners. Teaching and learning resources are therefore materials that aid the teacher to teach effectively. An effective teaching is one where the objectives of the lesson have been achieved. That is, when students have learnt. There are times teachers teach but no learning takes place. This is because something was missing that made the students not to understand and which constitute a wasted time and energy. The application of teaching and learning resources as supportive information to verbal presentations have gained ground in educational practices and its role in enhancing students academic performance cannot be over-emphasized.
Agriculture as a science and vocational subject cannot be taught effectively without the use of teaching and learning resources if better academic performance is to be achieved. It is evident that most agricultural science teachers are still teaching the subject verbally without using teaching and learning resources in boosting students performance in virtually all subjects, the rate of utilization of available teaching and learning resources by teachers has been very low (Ishaya,2017).
Accordingly, Ogwazor (2018), stated that students at the secondary school level have had their imagination stretched too far due to the teachers excessive use of words to convey meanings instead of instructional materials. Students at this level need a rich store of concrete sensory experiences to facilitate understanding of what they learned and their learning experiences. The development of modern technology and the richness of teacher training programmes in modern society have placed within the reach of the teacher, a vast array of teaching aids thus providing an escape from verbalization to concretized learning.
Provision of teaching and learning resources has been identified as a key factor in the implementation of agriculture in secondary school curriculum. The initial level of these resource provision in the first schools to teach agriculture included; a laboratory, agriculture workshop equipped with metal and woodworking tools, gas and electric welders, power generators, fuel storage tank, tractors, cultivators, combined harvester, science laboratory facilities, the school farm, a departmental vehicle and funds for running the department (Konyango and Asienyo, 2015).
Teaching and learning resources provide a base upon which teachers can guide students in the learning process. However, an analysis on how the resources were supplied and put into use reveals that the level at which the vocational agriculture project was started was beyond sustainability in a secondary school in terms of costs and level of competence of teachers. Wide range of resources such as machinery and laboratory equipment went into disuse because the teachers could neither service nor repair (Konyango and Asienyo, 2015).
The aim of linking the resources and facilities to the curriculum and syllabus was in a way a move to implement the teaching of agriculture in a practical manner. Developing rural economy to reduce poverty levels and create job opportunities for rural youth, the provision of the resources was a direct injection of investment in agriculture, hence an investment for rural development and transformation. Appropriate tools and resources would facilitate innovations in agriculture. This would multiply employment opportunities; equally, the financial support to agriculture school programme would promote additional value on agricultural products besides stimulating physical output.
A teacher selects, develops and reorganizes teaching – learning resources for effective teaching. A teacher is therefore the most important teaching – learning resource. UNESCO (1999) observed that lack of financial resources hindered the expansion of facilities that led to specific problems in vocational subjects like agriculture. Lack of funds prevents schools from developing their farms. It is upon this background that that study aimed at finding out the challenges facing teaching and learning of agriculture in secondary schools. Classroom curriculum and laboratory exercises provide students with fundamental knowledge in agricultural practices, preparing them for careers in food, fiber and natural resource industries. Kabugi (2013) found that school farm, agricultural tools and agriculture classes were inadequate. The study further found that livestock units/tools and agricultural laboratories were not available in most of the schools. From the findings of the study, it can be said that inadequacy of teaching and learning resources in secondary schools in Kakuyuni division poses a challenge to teaching and learning of agriculture. The findings are in line with the findings of a study done by Temu and Kitalyi (2012) who found that teachers are poorly equipped to deal with some of the challenges that the system poses such as the reality of large class size, unavailability of didactic materials and gender disparities.
Kabugi (2013) further found that inadequacy of resources such as school farms, agricultural tools and agriculture classrooms posed challenges to teaching and learning of agriculture. Some topics such as agriculture economic, farm power and machineries seemed very difficult to the learners. The government, parent teacher association (PTA) and other stakeholders should help in providing the needed resources such as school garden, animal farm, demonstration plots, well equipped laboratories among others to facilitate the teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in the schools. The agriculture science subject involves a lot of practical activities. Therefore, lack of funds to acquire the needed teaching and learning resources for practical work will impede the effective teaching and learning of the subject. According to Konyango (2010), lack of textbooks, poor management, and poor funding are among the factors that impede the teaching and learning of agricultural science. Similarly, Ssekamwa (2019) posits that lack of funds and inadequate funds to run practical education have reduced the effectiveness of undertaking practical education in subjects like agriculture. Owino et al. (2015) posit that the availability of teaching-learning resources enhances the effectiveness of schools as these are the basic things that can bring about good academic performance in students.
According to Cheplogoi (2011), the level of availability of agricultural science teaching and learning resources in the schools has significant influence on students’ performance in the subject. Mutai (2016) asserts that learning is strengthened when there are enough reference materials such as text books, exercise books, teaching aids and classrooms. Lack of required resources as observed in the Senior High could have a great toll on the students‟ overall performance in agricultural science. Again, according to Amuah (2019) the common challenges bedeviling the agricultural practical lessons in developing country include: inadequate facilities, low professional and efficiency levels of teachers, poor attitudes of teachers, poor funding, poor attitude of school administrators and parents towards agricultural education, and political lapses. Kidane and Worth (2013) postulated that, the teaching and learning of Agricultural Science is greatly impeded by lack of fields for practical experience, laboratories, and libraries to facilitate learning. The availability and utilization of teaching and learning resources during agricultural science lessons positively influenced the students’ attitudes as well as performance in the subject.
Muchena (2013) observes that agriculture subject involves a variety of tools which are categorized as livestock tools, workshop tools farm tools and farm machinery. From the list mentioned by the students, most schools are able to provide simple farm tools which are a small fraction of agriculture resources. The researcher also observed that the teaching aids in the schools are partially available and not enough. All schools had few agricultural charts and teachers drawings on the blackboard. The students also used the drawings in the textbooks as illustrations.
Hence teachers should make sure that the available teaching and learning resources are effectively utilized in the teaching-learning process and where standard materials are not readily available teachers should therefore improvise to facilitate understanding of what is taught among students thereby bringing the much desired improvement in their academic performance.
The Impact of Teaching and Learning Resources on Academic Performance of Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The major problem that has necessitated this research is the continuous decline in academic performance of students in Agricultural Science. It has been observed with dismay that students in secondary schools have been performing poorly in Agricultural Science especially in public examinations.
However, there is no gain saying that most Agricultural science teachers are still teaching the subject without the requisite teaching and learning resources to facilitate students understanding of instruction. This does not augur well for the realization of set instructional objectives. It is against this background therefore, that this study “the impact of teaching and learning resources on academic performance of agricultural science in secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area” becomes imperative.