CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Statement of the Problems
Education cannot work out successfully without adequate plans, policies and proper implementations of laid down rules, in order to achieve stated goals.The administration of Nigeria educational programmes has been swimming in the biocratic situation due to politics, economic and social problems. The socio-economic factors have been multi-dimensional in features. The homes of these pupils/students have been identified through this research as the basic or foundation of the problems. Due to high level of divorcés, broken homes, single parenthood and the quest for material wealth, parents and guidance has left their primary status to maids, house boys, and teachers. The research work is concerned more to find out the socio-economic factors affecting the academic performance of students in ObingwaLocal Government area of Abia State.
From all indications, in a situation like this, one can conclude that the academic performance of students who are the bye-products of our school system will be in jeopardy, and the future will be bleak.
However these socio-economic factors have affected students’ performance in external examinations and their attitude in higher institutions of learning, and have been a great challenge to the implementation of programme and policies of government.
Furthermore, due to non-challant attitude of our educational administrators in implementing the national policy on education, and inherent corruption in the sectors, teachers lack the basic tools and instructional materials required to impact knowledge on the children. In addition, the teaching profession is looked down upon as the morale of the teachers are low, which also affect their productivity. Teaching has been left in the hands of women due to poor remuneration and allowances, low morale of the profession and little or no motivational factors on the job.
The researcher has gone to finding a lasting solution that if properly implemented or adopted, it will go a long way to help alleviating the situation, which will have a positive effect on the student’s performance in schools.
However, the over bearing influence of the peer groups on these children has been enormous. In addition, movies, televisions, internets, telephones and other social networks like the face book, 2go, twitter etc has played significant roles in shaping the morals and attitude of our students and their performance in schools.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to find out the Factors Affecting the Socio-Economic of Academic Performance of Student inObingwaLocal Government Area of Abia State.
Importance of the Study
The factors affecting the socio-economic of academic performance of students in ObingwaLocal Government Area of Abia State has become alarming, that through this research work certain salient factors which has not been addressed will be highlighted in order to help our school system and the pupil/students at large.
The duties of our parent/guidance will be highlighted, which has been neglected for some time now. The study intends to expose the various socio-economic factors affecting student’s academic performance such as examination malpractices, broken homes, single parenthood, divorce, economic recessions, poverty in the economy, low moral and social values of our culture and norms in the recent past.
However, students’ attitude towards hard work and quest for academic excellence has not been encouraging. The issue of special centres for examination malpractices, leakage of examination questions by relevant educational authorities for material gains, and the quest of parents to make sure that their wards successes at all cost have contributed a lot to these problems.
Literature Review
This section focuses on the Review of Related Literature on the socio-economic factors affecting the Academic Performance of Students, the concept of education and the prospect of finding a lasting solution to some of these problems.
Empirical Studies
Meaning of Instructional Strategy:
All instructional designers would then plan an approach to each of these steps after obtaining a set of objectives a description of assumed entry behaviours and the criterion referenced test.
I. Does the plan provide for inquiry approach?
2. What provisions are made to enable the learner to think, discover, make generalizations and give illustrations of his own?
3. How far does the teaching procedure promote high levels of objectives?
4. Are there provisions in the teaching styles of known principles of learning such as motivation, interest, reinforcement and transfer?
5. How are the activities varied?
Ama-jirionwu (2005) has listed the following techniques and skills to be included in instructional strategy. Using different points of view; Reinforcement; Control of participation; Repetition; Recognizing pupil attention; Use of examples; Asking questions; Silence and non—verbal cues communication; Varying the stimulus situation lecturing; Lecturing; Variety and variation. Each of these skills and techniques is used within any given lesson to bring about a desirable outcome.
According to Gaga and Brigge (2009) a major distinction needs to be made between a model of teaching and instructional system. They feel that it appears that the purpose of a model of teaching is to provide a conceptual link between desired outcomes and an appropriate teaching method or set of methods. Dick and Carey (2008) preferred to use system’ e approach and humanistic approach to instruction. Nevertheless, they share almost the same basic concepts from principles of learning. Any given model is designed to teach a particular type of lessons to a particular type of student. Thus some models are used for the science subjects and others for the arts subjects.
Some more lights have been thrown into the following concepts: Instruction; teaching strategies methods and procedure.
According to Rodgers (2005) when one discusses curriculum instruction and teaching strategies, method and procedures-some instance must be taken-unfortunately, the literature in education often uses these terms interchangeably or on term has been used as a replacement for the other owing to the ‘fact in vogue at the time of its use.
Lecture/Discussed Methods
Many writers have viewed teaching methods from different perspectives. According to Gagne and Briggs (2004) instructions have been classified into three groups mainly:
i. Instruction in two person group.
ii. Instruction in small group
iii. Instruction in large group.
In essence, this approach viewed here as a teaching method rather than as a study of group process, entails discussion among students with considerable attention given to inter-play among members of the group. The first one consists of one student to one instructor. They feel it could be composed of students, one of whom assumes the tutoring. This kind of instruction according to Dewy (2002) is child centred, Instruction in small groups is common in lower classes where children have not mastered the geographical factors determining the choice of site like mapping out the market.
In the large group instruction, the teacher employs communications which are the same as the two above. Its advantage lies in the fact that students cannot be said to have gained mastery. The most common mode of instruction for the large group is the lecture method. Here the teacher communicates orally with students assembled in a group. It may be accompanied by occasional demonstration, pictures or diagrams.
McLeish (2006) has proved that the lecture method can accomplish some positive instructional purposes:
i. Inspire an audience with its own enthusiasm
ii. Relate his field of study to human purposes and thus studies interest,
iii. Relate theory and research to practical problems.
Another writer, Obanya (2000) has identified lecture methods as widely practiced method of teaching. He has outlined how useful a lecture method could be, but sounds a note of warning. He contends that the lecture method is not suitable at the lower level of our educational system because real teacher pupil interaction is necessary for promotion of learning. The lecture lacks this.
The learner simply listens and writes down a few notes. He further ascertained that lecture method does not permit the teachers to know his pupils. Young learners particularly those still with Agricultural Science problems like those for whom practical work could be problem including Chemistry and Mathematics cannot make useful notes from lectures. He said that with the lecture method in the other hand, a lecturer can deal with a very large class in comparatively shorter time.
Blingh (2002) in his survey of relevant research concludes that the lecture is acceptable as a means of transmitting information; it is less valuable than other teaching methods for stimulating thought for personal and social adjustment and for change of attitude.
Re-Enforcement
Classroom Reward Structures (reinforcement) refers to performance criteria contingencies or standards that students must satisfy in order to receive presumably valued or reinforcing consequences such as prizes or high grades. Michael (2007) contends that the reward structure typical of most classrooms appears to be some compromise between indirect individual competition in which grades are assigned to students based on their performance relative to those of their classmates and personal reward contingencies in which grades are assigned to student on the basis of how much material each learner apparently masters.
Learning can be initiated, stimulated and increased by conscious use of rewards. Aristotle and Plato urged that learners must be stimulated or motivated to arouse interest and desire for learning. Bimbanm (2002) describes how edible reinforcement (Nuts, apples and honey) were used as rewards in the twelfth century teaching of torch.
Classical learning theorist of current century (Watson 2000 Skinner 2004, Throndike 2008, Dellard and Miller 2000, Ferter and Skinner 2007 regard reinforcement as essential components of successful learning. Watson (2000) investigated the effects of reinforcement on changing behaviour and attitudes towards learning. Skinner (2002) and. Thorndike (2001; 2000) experimented at first on the effectiveness of various reinforces on training animals and subsequently transferred their interest and research activities to humans.
Fester and skinner (2007) co-operated in producing exhaustive of learning response to several schedules of reinforces. Skinner (1966) when later designed contingencies of reinforcement for an ideal culture. Contemporary reviews stretch the evidence on the general effectiveness of reinforcement in token economics O’Leary and Draboran (2001) found token reinforcement programmes generally effective in improving the academic and social behaviour diverse samples of children. Such programmes could be more effective (they ascertained) when teacher, children and parents are involved in the planning and selection of reinforcement.
According to Michael’s (2007) co-operative reward structures and group oriented contingencies result in significantly strengthened co-operation among classroom groups as well as improvement in the learning. He has classified reward structures most frequently operationalized in both classroom and laboratory research as:
1. Individual reward contingencies
2. Group reward contingencies
3. Group competition.
Although recent reviews support the idea of the general efficacy of reinforcement, some theory and evidence suggest that reinforce must be suited to the development of cultural or social level of the learner.
Forness (2003) for instance cited as number of experimental studies that show the developmental nature of reinforcement. He is of the opinion that a teacher must gain knowledge of the learner’s developmental stage to know what kinds of reinforcement may be most appealing. He classified reinforcement into seven developments levels from the moat traditional such a edibles, bodily satisfactions, toys, and many through social acceptance on the highest rein forcers such competence or self motivation. He based his categories generally on psychological theory, but with the intention of making them relevant to classroom teaching practices. He found out that social approval or verbal praise is more effective than rewards.
Individual versus Group Reward:
According to Hamblin, Nachway and Wodershi (2001) an individual reward contingency and a group reward contingency based on the average performance of group members to be equally effective in strengthening the Academic performance, of fourth grades. In addition, both reward contingencies were more effective in strengthening academic performance than was a contingency that reward students for simply attending class. The findings of two other studies are consistent with the no difference finding or Hamblin, Hathaway and Wodareki.
Individual versus Group Competition
Miller and Humblin (2003) in their study compared the effectiveness of individual and group competition in strengthening the independent academic performance of students has consistently found individual competition to be more effective. Tasks used in these studies included Mathematics problems, digit-letter substitution and reading.
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