ABSTRACT: The study investigated the School Variables and Students Academic Performance in Physics in Secondary Schools. All Physics students in all the public secondary schools were the population for the study. One hundred and sixty students were used as the sample size. School Variables Questionnaire (SVQ) and Physics Achievement Test (PAT) were the instruments for data collection and independent t-test was used in analyzing the data. Findings showed that there is a significant difference between the academic performance of students in urban areas and those in rural area; there is a significant difference in academic performance of students in small class size and those in large class size and that there is a significant difference between the academic performances of students taught with laboratory facilities those taught without laboratory facilities in physics.
Based on the findings, it was recommended that the community and other philanthropists should be encouraged to support the development of schools to improve the facilities in the laboratory and the government should carryout effective supervision of schools to ensure adequate utilization of available materials for effective teaching of physics.
School Variables and Students Academic Performance in Physics in Secondary Schools
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
For many years educationist and researcher have debated which school variable influences students’ achievement. As policy makers become more involved in school reform, this question takes on new importance since their many initiatives rely on presumed relationship between various education, related tractors and learning outcomes. Some researchers suggested that “schools bring little influence to bear upon a child’s achievement that is dependent of his/her background and general social content (Coleman, 2000).
Other evidence suggest that factors like class size, location of school, school laboratory environment, school size, teachers variable and other school variable may play an important role in what students learn.(Glass and Smith, (2000). Despite conventional wisdom that school input makes little difference in students learning, a group of body of researchers suggests that school can make difference and s substantial portion of that difference is attributable to others factors.
There is no disagreement today, nor will there be in the future on the importance physics to both the scientists, engineers, specialist in their everyday life. The scope which physics has in advancing the life of a country, particularly a country such as Nigeria which is fast developing in the field of science and technology, depends mainly upon the recognition of its importance to the country’s economy.
As opined by Bernadette (2002) no nations ever hope to be self reliant and build a dynamic economy when their people are wallowing in ignorance, superstition and o0bject poverty. The teaching learning process involves on array of interventional processes at the center of which are the school and teachers, whose role remains pivotal to the success of educational programmed (Ekanem, 2006). Moreso, intelligent is not the only determinant of academic achievement of students as some intelligent students still perform academically poor due to their environmental conditions also due to the teachers which taught them in the school.
Academic achievement of students is always associated with the many components of learning environment. According to Bosque and Dore (2004), learning and teaching environment ought to implement six functions of inform, communicate, collaborate, produce, scaffold and manage. They added that conceptually speaking, the learning environment refers to and the whole range of component and activities within which learning happens.
Furthermore, Sandlery (2001) added that the definition of a functional learning environment can be quoted as “teacher components, which role is to provide something between guidance and direct instruction; instructional materials availability like some text books provided which provides information from the syllabus to task level; school facilities which aid in the teaching learning process; as well as the location of the school which may be urban, rural or sub-urban”. It can be seen that school variable is predictable variables of students’ performance in physics is secondary schools. This then formed the background to this study on school variables and students’ academic performance in Physics in secondary schools in Ikono Local Government Area.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
No two schools are alike just like people within them have different characteristics. The issue of poor academic performance of students in physics has been much that it has led to widely talk about standard of education in Ikono Local Government Area particular and Akwa Ibom State at large. Learning physics and other science subjects can occur through school differences. School differences include the location of school, class size, school laboratory environment, teachers, libraries, school management and teaching method.
Also, the researcher observes that there has been mass failure in physics among secondary school students over years. This leads to low enrolment in physics related courses such as physiology etc in our universities, polytechnics and college of education. It is therefore base on these conditions that the researcher seeks to find out whether school variables such as the school location, class-size and school laboratory environment could be responsible for these poor outing among physics students in secondary schools with a view to making recommendation base on researchers findings.
School Variables and Students Academic Performance in Physics in Secondary Schools
1.3 Purpose of the Study
1.4 Significant of the Study
The study shall be useful in a numbers of ways;
- The study will be significant in that it will enlighten parents and guardians of students on which schools (schools in the urban area or school in rural area) would be effective to ensure excellent performance of students.
- It will help government and related bodies to class size in secondary schools.
- It will further help government particularly education administrators and science provider when making policies on the supply of laboratory facilities to secondary schools.
- Finally, this is hoped to serve as related literature for those embarking on a future related study.
