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ABSTRACT
This study
investigates Local resources utilization and Academic Performance Students in Biology
in Ukanafun Local Government Area. Two research questions and two hypotheses
were formulated to guide the study. The quasi-experimental design was in the
study. The population of the study comprised of all SS2 students in all the
public secondary schools in Ukanafun Local Government Area who registered for Biology
in 2015/2016 academic section. The total number of one hundred (100) students
was the sample size. The instrument used was the Biology Performance Test (BPT) to
obtain data for the study. Independent t-test was used to analyze the data.
Based on the findings, it revealed that there is a significant difference in
the performance of Biology students taught using local resources and those
taught Biology without local resources. Also, there is no significant difference
in the area performance of male and female Biology students taught Biology with
local resources in secondary schools in Ukanafun Local Government Area. Based
on the findings, it was recommended that teachers should always incorporate
local resources in their teaching in other to improve the teaching and learning
of Biology.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
Page - - - - - - - - i
Certification- - - - - - - - ii
Dedication - - - - - - - - iii
Acknowledgements - - - - - - iv
Abstract - - - - - - - - v
Table
of Contents - - - - - - - vi
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study - - - - - 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem - - - - 5
1.3 Purpose of the study - - - - - 7
1.4 Significance of the study - - - - - 7
1.5 Research Questions - - - - - 9
1.6
Research Hypotheses - - - - - 10
1.7 Delimitation of the study - - - - - 10
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms - - -
CHAPTER TWO - REVIEW OF RELATED
LITERATURE
2.1 Concept of Local Resources - - - - 11
2.2 Effect of Local Resources on Academic
Performance
of Students - - - - - - - 14
2.3 Gender Differences and Academic Performances
of Student - - - - - - - 18
2.4 Summary of Literature Review
- - - - 21
CHAPTER THREE - RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Area - - - - - - 23
3.2 Research Design - - - - - - 24
3.3 Population of the study - - - - - 24
3.4 Sample and Sampling Technique - - -- 24
3.5 Research Instrument - - - - - - 25
3.6 Validation of the Instrument - - - - 25
3.7 Administration of the Instrument - - - 25
3.8 Scoring of the Instrument - - - - 26
3.9 Method of Data Analysis- - - - - - 26
CHAPTER FOUR - DATA ANALYSIS,
PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
4.1 Data Analysis/Presentation - - - - 27
4.2 Discussion of Findings - - - - - 29
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION
5.1 Summary - - - - - - - 32
5.2 Recommendations - - - - - 33
5.3 Conclusion - - - - - - - 34
5.4 Suggestion for further studies - - - 35
References - - - - - - - 36
Appendix - - - - - - 39
CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Learning and teaching is the concern of a trained
teacher but learning is a complex process. It can, however, be defined as a
change in disposition, a relative change in behavior over-time and this is
brought about my experience. Learning can occur as a result of newly acquired
skill, knowledge, perception, facts, principles, new information at hand, etc
(Adeyanju, 2007).
According to Agun (2003), learning can be reinforced by
the teacher with teaching resources improvisation of different variety because
these learning aids stimulate, motivate as well as arrest learner’s attention
during the instructional process. He further said teaching resources are instructional
materials and devices through which teaching and learning are done as far as
Biology as a subject is a concern in schools.
Okunronifa (2007) have examples of teaching resources to
include visual aids, audio aids, audio-visual aids, real objects, and many
others. The visual aids are designed materials that may be locally made or
commercially produced. They come in the form of wall charts, illustrated pictures,
pictorial materials, puppets, and models. There are also audio-visual aids.
These are teaching machines like radio, television and all sorts of projectors
with sound attributes.
Akanbi (2008) specifically notes that whenever teachers
taught with some teaching resources, their students get more stimulated because
the learning aids used to make the learners (students) become more attentive.
In addition, students positive attitude generate more interest in the lesson
they teach. As a result, students participate better in class activity. This, in turn, enhanced the academic achievement of students in Biology in secondary
school.
In the opinion of Agun (2003), there is a need for
teachers to improvise teaching resources for effective delivery of lessons
effectively in the classroom. Accordingly, the dwindling of the economic fortune of
the country makes it imperative that Biology teachers should improvise teaching
resources using resources available within the local environment. Most
educational institutions cannot afford to depend on imported materials; hence,
there is a need for teachers and their students to improvise teaching and
learning materials. For example, scale models of human anatomies, such as the
human skeleton, muscular system and nervous systems can be used to show
students what parts of the human body looks like up close. This is by engaging
students and by providing 3-dimensional models related to the current area of
study in Biology. This can enhance effective teaching and learning of Biology
thus improves the academic achievement of school students in the subject.
Local resources from the immediate environment used by
the teachers in the teaching-learning process have a strong impression on the
minds of the students. Its effect on the students helps to bridge the gap
between reality and abstract. According to Ogunbi (2011), when teaching
resources are from the immediate environment and use effectively, it makes
learning more interesting and lively. It also helps to retain the interest of the
learners during the delivery of Biology lessons in the classroom. As put
forward by Akanbi (2008), improvised teaching resources are relatively cheaper
than imported or standard resources. They are easily available for use by
Biology teachers. Also, the improvisation of teaching resources by the teacher
creates an opportunity for students to participate in the provision of teaching
materials. It affords students the opportunity to exhibit such creative skill
while participating in the provision of some of the teaching resource use for
the delivery of Biology lessons. This will aid greatly in their academic
achievement.
Moreover, students interpret instructional activities in
terms of what they already know; they actively seek to relate new concepts,
attitudes or skills on their prior set of concepts, attitudes or skills.
Therefore, for better outcome of teaching/learning processes, two components
should be considered which are input and outputs. Inputs consist of human and
material resources while outputs are goals realization of the teaching-learning
process. These human and material resources which are termed instructional resources
are important to the teaching of Biology in the school curriculum. This
resource arouses students’ interest and at the same time helps train learners
to think things out themselves, in-depth understanding of such a lesson and
makes learning interactive thereby motivating them to learn. Therefore, this
research shall attempt to find out local resources utilization and students
academic performance in Biology in Ukanafun Local Government Area.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Biology as a subject is activity oriented and
resource-based. This is an inadequate utilization of learning resources within the
learners’ environment by Biology teachers. This suggests that the mastery of
Biology concepts cannot be fully achieved without the use of learning materials
in teaching the subject. So the teaching of Biology without learning materials
might result in poor academic achievement and lack of interest in the subject
among students. It should be noted that many Biology teachers lack the skills
and basic tools for designing and producing teaching resources. They also
lack the will or determination to improvise teaching resources and the culture
of improvisation has not been well developed in our teacher education
program. This has greatly resulted in poor academic achievement among Biology
students. The study, therefore, attempts to investigate the influence of
improvised teaching resources on the academic achievement of Biology students.
Unfortunately, despite the importance of this subject,
students’ academic performance has experienced a continuous fall in it and this
is worrisome and called for investigations. However, the chief examiner of West
African Council Examination (WACE) in 2015 reported that out of 616, 370
candidates who sat for the examination representing 38.68% obtained five
credits and above including mathematics and English Language with this result,
the expected percent is not achieved. The chief examiner attributed this to
several factors such as lack of teaching equipment, school variables and home local
variables amongst others (Adesulu, 2015). In the author's view, poor academic
performance is science is due to the lack of teaching resources in secondary
schools in Ikot Ekpene senatorial district. This trigger the researcher’s
interest to ask; could the use of local resources influence the academic
performance of students in Biology particularly in secondary schools in
Ukanafun Local Government Area? Finding an answer to this question motivated the
researcher to investigate local resources utilization and academic
performance of students in Biology in secondary schools in Ukanafun Local
Government Area.
1.3 Purpose of the study
The main purpose of this research was to find local
resources utilization and academic performance of students in Biology in secondary
schools in Ukanafun Local Government Area. Specifically, the study intends to:
(i)
Investigate the academic performance of
students taught using local resources and those taught without local resources
in Biology in Ukanafun Local Government Area; and
(ii)
Examine gender difference and academic
performance of students taught using local resources in Biology in Ukanafun
Local Government Area.
1.4 Significance of the study
This study shall be signed in the following ways:
(i)
The findings of this study shall reduce
abstraction in Biology thereby concretizing learning concept which directly
increases the academic performance of students
(ii)
The findings of this study will serve as a
guide to teachers on the effective use of local resources during the teaching
learning process.
(iii)
The study will be of help to curriculum
planners as it assists them in taking into considerations the use of local
resources in Biology teaching.
(iv) Government
through the Ministry of Education can now assess the provision of teaching
resources in our secondary school for the teaching of Biology in schools.
(v)
The study will serve as the reference point to other students/scholars who will be
researching in the same topic.
1.5 Research Questions
The
following questions were formulated to help the study:
(i)
Could the academic performance of students
taught Biology using local resources significant difference from those taught
Biology without using local resources?
(ii)
Could there be any significant difference
between the academic performance of (gender) male and female students taught using
local resources?
1.6
Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were stated to guide the
study in line with the research questions:
(i)
There is no significant difference between
academic performance of students taught Biology using local resources and those
taught without local resources
(ii)
There is no significant difference between
academic performance of (gender) male and female students taught Biology using
local resources
1.7 Delimitation of the study
This study focused on local resources utilization and
academic performance of students in Biology in secondary schools in Ukanafun
Local Government Area.
1.8 Operational Definition of Terms
The
following terms were defined as used in the study:
Local Resources: These
are those materials gotten from the immediate environment which are used to
support the teaching and learning process.
Utilization: This
is the process of making use of local resources in teaching.
Academic Performance: This
is the extent to which a student achieves in an examination or test that is the
grade or scores of the student.
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