SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT FACTORS AND INSTRUCTIONAL

MATERIALS AS PREDATORS OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ECONOMICS

IN ALIMOSHO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, LAGOS

TEMITOPE ASEFON

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF POST GRADUATE

DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION OF THE NATIONAL TEACHERS’

INSTITUTE, KADUNA.

2022

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 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background Of The Study

Education is the bedrock for all future development. This statement implies that

education is an essential tool for ensuring the continued growth of any nation.

Asiedu-Akrofi (1978) agrees in his view that “what the citizens of a country

become are dependent upon the kind of education offered them” (p. 1).

Lockheed and Vespoor (1991) are of the opinion that the future development of

the world and individual nations depends greatly on the capacity of individuals

and nations to acquire, adapt and advance knowledge. This capacity to a large

extent depends on whether the citizens have attained the required skills and

knowledge needed to develop and make desired improvement.

According to Taba (1962), education is the process of imparting to the younger

generation, knowledge, values, skills and attitudes that will enable them to play

various active roles in the society in which yhey find themselves. The

knowledge, values, skills and attitudes required of the younger generation are

stated in the philosophy of education or the goal of education of the country.

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These goals or philosophy of education are transformed into practical use

through a medium known as curriculum (Abosi & Brookman-Amissah, 1992).

A school is referred to as an institution designed to provide learning spaces and

learning environment for the teaching of pupils under the teacher’s directions.

According to Ajao (2011), a school with adequate learning environment

contributes to stir up expected outcomes of learning that will facilitate good

academic performance by encouraging effective teaching and learning. The

school environment are factors within the school that influence the teaching and

learning process. School environment comprises both material and non material

resources. The school environment factors includes classrooms, library,

technical workshops, teachers’ quality, teaching methods, peers and so on

(Ajayi p. 14 2 2001). A healthy and attractive school environment paves way

for conducive learning and promotes students’ pride in their schools and their

interest ro stay in school (Mgbodile, 2014). Belanger (2006) states that learning

is more than education provision and that the community in which learners live

have a great impact on their aspiration to learn, their curiosity and their desire to

develop their own competencies. To Nwizu (2013), the environment in which

the learner acquires knowledge has a remarkable influence on the cognitive

achievement of the learner. It has also been generally agreed that the quality of

learning is greatly influenced by environmental and organizational factors.

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According to Adediwura and Tayo (2007), academic performance refers to how

well a student is accomplishing his or her tasks and studies. But, there are quite

a number of factors that determines the level and quality of students’ academic

performance. Nicholas (2004) opines that most current information on

improving academic performance reveals that there are three environmental

factors connected to levels of academic performance among students. Pruett

(2010), shows that academic performance is how students deal with their studies

and responsibilities given to them by their teachers. Louis (2012) believes that

academic performance is the ability of students to obtain high grades and

standard test scopes in school courses, particularly courses that are part of the

core academic curriculum.

The influence of school environment on the academic achievement of the

students of public secondary schools has been the concern of many

educationists. According to Bello (2008), school environment are known to

influence students’ learning through quality of teachers, class size and

availability of infrastructure. The choice and location of school site has been an

important aspect of effective school planning. The reason is, where a school is

situated can influence the kind of school to be built, the quality as well as the

quantity of the buildings. The environment where a child lives whether rural or

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urban has its own influence on the intellectual development of such a child.

Okonkwo (2007) indicates that schools in the rural arrears are likely to face the

problem of poor academic achievement due to the inequality in provision of

human and material resources required for positive educational achievement.

This will result to inequality of access to education provision of adequate

number and quality of teachers, contents and methods of teaching.

A child from the urban area has an edge over the one from rural area in terms of

“life chances” such as better education and the socialization pattern. There exits

three social classes namely: higher, middle and lower social classes ( Ajeh,

2009). The urban higher and middle social classes are exposed to better

environment with access to libraries, adequate space, continuation classes and

mass media through an improved “life chances”. Those in the rural area are

hardly exposed to these facilities because they are mainly from the lower social

class. Consequently, children from this background have low academic

achievement. Okeke (2013) argued that in terms of facilities and structures,

urban schools are worse in terms of high enrolment figures. In urban schools,

the facilities are highly inadequate making it necessary to run a kind of shift

system especially in the primary schools. This has been strongly condemned

because it does not give room for effective teaching and learning. Ajeh (2009)

notes that due to the lack of social amenities in the rural area, teachers sent there

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do not like to stay even if they agree to work. They prefer to live in towns and

shuttle to such areas. Ezema (2006) points out that teachers are one of the most

essential factors in the child’s environment that influence his academic

performance. Some experts have agreed that secondary schools in the rural area

are poorly staffed, with few professionally qualified teaching personnel.

Instructional materials sometimes referred to as teaching aids are essential and

significant tools required for teaching and learning of school subjects to

promote teachers efficacy and improve students’ performance. Instructional

materials make learning more interesting, practicable, realistic and appealing.

Also, they enhance teacher - students’ active and effective participation during

lesson sessions. They give room for skilled knowledge acquisition and

development of self confidence as well as self actualization in educational

pursuit. According to Ibeneme (2000), teaching aids are defined as those

materials used for practical demonstration in the classroom situation by students

and teachers. Ikerionwu (2000) sees instructional materials as objects or devices

that assist the teacher to present a lesson to the learners in a logical manner.

According to Fadeiye (2005), instructional materials are visual and audio-visual

aids, concrete or non-concrete used by teachers to improve the quality of

teaching and learning activities. Agina-Obu (2005) submits that instructional

materials of all kinds appeal to the sense organs during teaching and learning.

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Isola (2010) describes instructional materials objects or devices that assist the

teachers to present their lessons in a logical and sequential manner to the

learners. Oluwagbohunmi and AbduRaheem (2014) admit that instructional

materials we such used by teachers to aid explanations and make learning of

subject matter understandable to students during teaching and learning process.

According to Abdu-Raheem (2011), non availability and inadequate provision

of instructional materials are the major causes of teaching ineffectiveness in

schools. Ahmed (2003) asserts that in most secondary schools in Nigeria,

teaching and learning take place under a most un-conducive environment

without access to essential learning materials. Eniayewu (2005) posits that it is

very important to use instructional materials for effective teaching and

instructional delivery to make students understand concepts and acquire more

knowledge for promotion of academic standards in all subjects in schools.

Olumorin, Yusuf, Ajidagba, and Jekayinla (2010) observe that instructional

materials help teachers to teach conveniently and the learners to learn more

easily without any problem of understanding. They affirmed that instructional

materials would have direct contact with all the sense organs if used. Kochhar

(2012) is of the view that instructional materials are very significant learning

and teaching tools. He suggested that teachers should find necessary materials

for instruction to supplement what textbooks provide in order to broaden

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concepts and aroused students’ interest in the subject. According to Abolade

(2009), the advantages of instructional materials are that they are cheaper to

produce, useful in teaching large number of students at a time, encourage

learners to pay proper attention and enhance their interest.

In Farombi (1998)’s view, instructional materials include books, audio-visual,

software and hardware technology. He is of the opinion that the availability,

adequacy and relevance of instructional materials in classrooms are capable of

influencing quality teaching, which can have positive effect on students’

learning and academic performance. He conducted a research on resource

concentration, utilization and management as correlates with students learning

outcomes in Oyo State and discovered that instructional facilities in some

schools were very poor. He cited an example of schools without chalkboard,

ceiling, some roofing sheets not in place, windows and door removed among

others, a situation which researchers referred to as hazardous to healthy living

for learners.

In spite of the fact that instructional materials are essential tools that can make

teaching more practicable and knowledge acquisition much easier than

anticipated, they are not readily available in Nigerian secondary schools. The

result of which is the low level of performance of students in both internal and

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external examinations (Abdu-Raheem, 2014). He went further to encourage

teachers to always provide teaching aids during their teaching because they

would enhance learners’ full participation in the lesson, provide room for

enquiry based learning, problem solving, discussion and clarification of issues

and ideas among students and the teacher. Afolabi and Adeleke (2010)

identified non-availability, inadequate and non-utilization of learning materials

to teach as a result of teachers’ poor skilled knowledge which is also

responsible for the use of lecture method in economics. They recommended that

students, teachers, parents, parents/teachers association, government and all

stakeholders should pay more emphasis to the provision of instructional

materials for the teaching and learning of economics.

Inadequate availability of quality instructional materials I not peculiar to

Nigeria, this is a global phenomenon. For example, in the United States of

America especially in schools where the majority of the learners are poor and

minority are less funded and lack essential quality instructional materials.

Moreover, policies associated with school funding, resource allocations and

tracking leave minority students with fewer and lower quality books, curriculum

materials, laboratories and computers (Post and Darling, 2000)

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1.2 Statement of The Problem

One of the major problems facing the education sector in Nigeria is the poor

level of academic performance of students in the senior secondary schools in

both internal and external examinations. Finding the root cause as well as a long

lasting solution has become a great concern for researchers, educators and all

the stakeholders in the education sector over the years. It has been observed that

students usually perform poorly in examinations due to improper teaching

methods adopted by teachers and lack of essential teaching aids for instructional

delivery (Afolabi, 2009).

Many studies have been carried out to look into the state of instructional

materials in schools. However, not too many scholars have connected the

inadequate availability of these materials with poor academic performance of

students in the senior secondary schools. As the studies above point out

instructional materials are important in teaching and learning and are inadequate

in many schools (Kerr, 2003). Although, some studies (for example, Sumra and

Rajani, 2006; Hakielimu, 2007; Makombe et al 2010) have lamented on poor

academic performance of students, they did not attach this situation with

inadequacy of quality instructional materials. These studies clearly show that

there exist a strong relationship between adequate and quality instructional

materials and quality teaching and learning process (Blair, 1998) but did not

show this relationship with students’ academic performance. Other studies

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carried out by researchers such as Earthman and Lemasters (1996) have

revealed that learners who are provided with safe, modern and environmentally

controlled situation learn much better and their academic performance are high.

Nevertheless, studies are needed to determine the influence of school

environment factors and instructional materials on the academic performance of

senior secondary school students in economics in Alimosho local government

area of Lagos State, Nigeria. In order for the government to support educational

reform that will improve students’ academic performance, they will need to

understand the impact school environment factors and instructional materials

have on the academic performance of senior secondary school students in

economics.

1.3 Purpose Of The Study

Generally, this study seeks to examine the extent to which school environment

factors and instructional materials act as a predator to the academic performance

of senior secondary school in economics in Alimosho local government area of

Lagos state, Nigeria.

Specifically, the purpose of this study is to investigate:

(i) The influence of teachers’ quality on senior secondary school

students’ academic performance in economics.

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 (ii) The influence of teaching methods on senior secondary school

students’ academic performance in economics.

(iii) The influence of class size on senior secondary school students’

academic performance in economics.

(iv) The influence of adequate and quality instructional materials on senior

secondary school students’ academic performance in economics.

1.4 Research Questions

This study seeks to provide answers to the following research questions:

(i) What is the influence of teachers’ quality on senior secondary school

students’ academic performance in economics?.

(ii) What is the influence of teaching methods on senior secondary school

students’ academic performance in economics?

(iii) What is the influence of class size on senior secondary school

students’ academic performance in economics?

(iv) What is the influence of adequate and quality instructional materials

on senior secondary school students’ academic performance in

economics?

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1.5 Research Hypotheses

Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no significant relationship between school

environment factors and senior secondary school academic performance in

economics.

Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no significant relationship between instructional

materials and senior secondary school academic performance in economics.

1.6 Significance Of The Study

This study intends to examine the influence of school environment factors and

inadequate instructional materials on the academic performance of senior

secondary students in economics. It is hoped that the knowledge obtained would

help the school administrators to reflect upon the various factors that influence

the teaching and learning process. In so doing, they could consider the

possibility of introducing to their schools those factors that can consequently

lead to reduction in absenteeism, dropouts and repetition and which can also

result to effective teaching and learning process. The findings will also help the

government to provide adequate funds to public schools for instructional

materials, repair and maintenance of physical available facilities, thus,

improving the teaching and learning process. Parents will also benefit from the

findings of this study by drawing their attention to how they can help improve

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the school facilities through fund raising to construct for instance classrooms,

laboratories, library among other facilities. The findings will help policy makers

to make decisions that will develop strategies which will improve academic

standards. Students will also benefit from the findings. It will help them to

realize that their poor academic performance may not necessarily be their fault

alone. Such knowledge will go a long way in reducing frustration in students

and also reduce dropouts which occur most times as a result of frustration.

Rather, the students would probably adjust and help themselves by studying

hard at home and make proper use of books and learning materials provided for

them at the school library. This study will help in fulfilling the requirement of

Post Graduate Diploma degree in Education. The findings will help future

researchers to identify priority areas and gaps on which to carry out further

research about public senior secondary schools.

1.7 Scope Of The Study

This study was delimited to findings from public senior secondary schools in

relation to students’ academic performance in economics. The study focuses on

school environment factors and adequate availability of quality instructional

materials. The study focused on selected public senior secondary schools in

Alimosho Local Government Area. The findings of this research are unique to

public schools and therefore caution should be adhered to in generalizing to all

schools.

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1.8 Limitation Of The Study

Limitations are conditions beyond the control of the researcher that is capable of

placing restrictions on the conclusions of the study and their application or other

situations (Best and Khan, 1993). Firstly, the challenge faced by the researcher

was on the part of obtaining information from the students where some were not

willing to give information about their behaviours for fear of victimization from

their teachers. The researcher made several efforts to assure them of

confidentiality on their identities. The other limitation was that the researcher

could not carry out the research in the whole of Alimosho local government

area as the topic suggests due to financial and time constraints. The researcher

carried out the research in sampled schools.

1.9 Definitions Of Operational Terms

School environment factors: These are those aspects within the students’

surrounding at school that can influence the teaching and learning process.

Examples are the classrooms, teachers’ quality, teaching methods, peers and so

on.

School location: This refers to the site where a school is situated.

Class size: This refers to the number of students in a class.

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Instructional materials: These refer to those materials that a teacher uses in

class to facilitate teaching and learning. They include textbooks, exercise books,

wall maps, charts, visual, audio-visual, software and hardware education

technology, etc. Furthermore, instructional materials include fixtures,

equipment and buildings necessary for the effective and efficient operation of

the programme of public schools ([Link],2015).

Influence: This refers to the effect that school environment factors and

instructional materials have on teaching and learning process.

Academic performance: This refers to the level at which a student, teacher or

an institution has managed to reach their educational goals.

1.10 Research Assumptions

This study is based on the following assumptions:

(i) That the students answered the questions correctly and willfully.

(ii) That the respondents were conversant with the English Language and were

able to respond to the instruments with ease.

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