ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULUM IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

ENVIRONMENTAL VARIABLES AND IMPLEMENTATION OF CURRICULUM IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1   Background to the Study

Education is a vital investment for human and economic development. Is influenced by the environment with which the system operated changes in technology, labor market patterns and general global environment, all require policy responses.

We are living in an inquiry and innovation-oriented society. The demand of the twenty-first century is novelty, creativity, and integration of knowledge of global level, research, critical and analytical thoughts (Caldwell, Onwe, 2012). Rapidly social changes are creating uncertainty and complexity in society. To prepare the children and youth to cope with the present situation. There is needs to develop analytical and critical thinking, skill and attitudes that would make them more flexible and innovative to deal with uncertainty and crises at the national and global level. The greatest need of the hour is to re-designed curriculum, textbooks, teaching methodology, and children’s literature at the formal and non-formal educational systems.

Curriculum plays a critical role in national integration and harmony. Curriculum role as observed in the National Education Policy (2004) should enable the learner's knowledge to develop conceptual and intellectual skills, attitudes, values, and aptitudes conductive to the all-round development of such personality and proportionate with today’s societal, economic and environmental realities. Whitehead (1962) says “culture is the activity of thought and receptiveness to beauty and human teaching. A child is a human being in embryo, a man to be and are responsible for the future for him. It is considered that a child learns 90 percent of his personality by his nurturing.

Economics and economic education are important for providing people with valuable insight into how foreign and domestic market operations, which allow them to make a reasoned and rational choice for short-term and long-term financial benefits. Studying economics also allows people to learn how to manage and most effectively rise and scarce finite resources such as time and money. ECON (2000) suppose that the study of economics provides an individual with a methodology for understanding and making sense of their complex environment. Behind the above, to key ideas in economics are that good scare and that society must use its resources efficiently.

Indeed, economics is an important subject because of the fact of scarcity and the desire for efficiency. Samuelson and Nordhaus (2010) provide some insight into the role of economics they declare that “throughout the world, economists are labouring to collect data and improve our understanding of economic trends”. Economics analysis both theoretical and empirical can generate important insights into individual and aggregate behaviour and relationships, and help in society’s efforts to scarce resources in a more efficient manner. Therefore, it is against such background that the researcher conceived the idea to investigate those environmental variables that hampered the implementation of economic curriculum in our secondary schools.

1.2   Statement of the Problem

The academic performance which is measured by the examination result is one of the major goals of a school established with the aim of imparting knowledge and skills to those who go through them. The researcher will use this medium to arrest poor implementation of the economics curriculum in secondary schools.

The environment could be described as someone who is ready and able to learn and also wants to learn, if this same person is kept in a room without books, pictures and has no one to talk to, such a person might not learn effectively.  Thus, for learning to take place and the performance of students be enhanced, the school surrounding must be stimulating and encouraging.  The school environment must be inviting or welcoming, conducive and accommodating for adequate and effective learning to take place. According to Grant (1985), school buildings should be a suitable building furnished and well equipped for habitation.  As dilapidating buildings, lacking mental stimulating facilities that are characterized by low or no seating arrangement will also be destructive to students’ academic achievement.

1.3   Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the study is to investigate environmental variables as they influence the implementation of the economics curriculum in secondary schools. Specifically, the study sought to find the extent to which:

(i)     Availability of qualified economics teachers and implementation of economics curriculum.

(ii)    Availability of well-equipped library and implementation of economics curriculum in secondary schools.

1.4   Significance of the Study  

The study may be considered significant in a number of ways:

(i)     It will help to increase the teacher’s level of awareness and understanding most of the instructional techniques.

(ii)    The findings will also provide the teacher with feedback on the teaching methods as a basis for improvement in their instructional practices so that they can enhance performance.

(iii)   It will help the curriculum planners, educational stakeholders, educational administrators and government with empirical data to facilitate proper curricula policies and performance for effective implementation of the school curriculum.

1.5   Research Questions

                The following questions guided this study:

(i)     To what extent does availability of qualified Economics teachers influence implementation of Economics curriculum?

(ii)    To what extent does availability of well-equipped library influence implementation of Economics curriculum in secondary schools?

1.6   Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated to guide this study:-      

 (i)    The availability of qualified teachers in Economics does not significantly influence the successful implementation of the economics curriculum.

(ii)    There is no significant difference between the availability of well-equipped library and the successful implementation of the economics curriculum.

1.7   Delimitation of the Study

        The study considered various environmental variables such as availabilities of qualified teachers of economics, and as well equipped library as they affect implementation of economics curriculum in secondary schools.

1.8   Limitation of the Study

The major factors which limit the scope of this study to Abak Local Government Area were an inadequate fund, shortness of time and the researcher’s academic workload.

1.9   Operational Definition of Terms

Environment: refers to those aspects of an individual’s surroundings which can influence the individual and to which he responds to immediately after conception and at any given time. An organization, the man responds to those aspects of the surrounding that he can smell, feel, hear, see, touch and taste.

Economics: is defined as a science which studies human behaviour as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. Generally, the study of economics deals with production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods. Economics is a social science of concentrates on the study of how the man makes use of his limited resources to get maximum satisfaction.

Curriculum: is defined as the planned and guided learning experiences and intended learning outcomes, formulated through the systematic reconstruction of knowledge and experience under the supervises of the school for the learners continuous and willful growth in personal social competence.

Library: is defined as a collection of sources of information and similar resources made accessible to a defined community for reference or borrowing. It provides physical or digital access to material and be a physical building or room, or a virtual space or both. A library’s collection can include books, periodicals, newspapers, manuscripts, films, maps, prints documents, microform, CDs, Cassettes, videotapes, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, e-books, audio-books, databases, and other formats.