effect of instructional material on academic performance of students in agricultural science in secondary schools in ilorin west l.g.a kwara state

Description

TABLE OF CONTENT

Title page

Certification

Dedication

Acknowledgement

Table of Content

Abstract

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

• Background of the Study
• Statement of the problem
• Purpose of the Study
• Research Questions
• Research hypothesis
• Scope of the Study
• Significance of Study
• Operational Definition Term

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

2.1     Conceptual or Theoretical framework

2.2     Review of the Empirical Studies

2.3     Appraisal of the Review Literature

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1     Research Design

3.2     Population of the Study

3.3     Sample and Sampling Techniques

3.4     Instrument of Data Collection

3.5     Validity of the Instrument

3.6     Reliability of Instrument

3.7     Procedure for scoring

3.8     Procedure for Data Analysis  

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS OF DATA AND DISCUSSION

4.1     Data Analysis

4.2     Answering the research Question(s)

4.3     Hypothesis Testing

4.4     Discussion of Finding

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 

5.1     Summary

5.2     Conclusion

5.3     Recommendations

5.4     Suggestion for Further Studies

ABSTRACT

The study examined the effect of availability of instructional materials on student’s academic performance in agricultural science in Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State. The population for this study comprised of all Agricultural Science Teachers and all SS II students who offered Agricultural Science in all secondary schools within the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique of stratified, purposive and simple random techniques was used to select 236 respondents for the study. A researcher structured questionnaire of Liker rating scale forma was used to gather information from the respondents. The instrument was validated by three experts in the field of measurement and evaluation in the Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin. The reliability of the study was established through test re-test method using pearson product moment correlation. A correlation of 0.75 was obtained. The instrument was administered by the researcher and four trained research assistants. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency count and percentage for personal data of the respondents while inferential statistics of chi-square X² was used to test the postulated hypothesis set for the study at 0,05 alpha level.  The results of the findings revealed that appropriate utilization of instructional materials have significant effect on student performance in agricultural science, characteristics of instructional materials, importance of instructional materials and factors affecting the use of instructional materials have significant effect on student performance in agricultural science. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher recommends that Agricultural Science Teachers should endeavour to improvise instructional materials so as to enhanced students performance, school management needs to encourage Agricultural Science Teachers to always utilize the use of instructional materials for effective teaching and also to organize seminars and workshops for them in order for them to know the importance of using instructional materials o enhance students performance in Agricultural Science.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

The role of Agriculture in the development of the economy cannot be underestimated. It is important to note that with adequate and effective training in agriculture as a field of study, there will be high prospect of sustainable food security and economic advancement in the country. In order to guarantee this goal, there is need to provide top quality education services to the students particular in secondary schools. Hence, there is need for the subject to be taught thoroughly if it is to meet the educational and economic development goals.

The effect of instructional materials in promoting students’ academic performance in teaching and learning in educational development cannot be underestimated. The curriculum content of the senior secondary school levels consists of three major concepts of production, protection and economics. Learning by doing was emphasized in the curriculum so that the students should be able to produce food and other agricultural products for themselves and their community. Therefore, for effective and positive production in any establishment, there must be enough working tools to be used by the personnel (Oyedun 2000).

It is inarguable that the teacher alone cannot provide all the needed condition for an effective teaching and learning process, other supporting materials should be provided. The students learn better when most of the senses are appealed to the instruction and use of instructional materials in agriculture science education has added a new dimension in the positive promotion of the teaching and learning process. It provides the much need sensory experiences needed by the learners for an effective and meaningful behavioural change.

Instructional materials are designed to improve the quality of education for effective academic performance of agricultural science students in schools. It has been observed that teachers normally dodge the use of instructional materials in most of their teaching topics, while they try to do all they could during their practical teaching in their course of study; even though some of these materials are not usually available in the schools for teachers’ use.

Secondary schools are educational institutions below tertiary level established to inculcate in learners the societal needs and values, and make them skillful. These needs, values and teachable skills are designed into bodies of knowledge and taught to learners, such as Agricultural Science. Agricultural science is largely the application of scientific principles for successful production of crops and livestock and other uses for man’s benefit (Talathi, Naik, & Jalgaonkar, 2011; Onu, Ugwoke, Agboeze, & Ikehi, 2014).

Agricultural science, as a subject in secondary schools, seeks to teach the students the principles of using scarce resources to produce crops and animals to feed the world’s population and to service other related uses (Ikehi, Ifeanyieze, & Ugwuoke, 2014). The teaching and learning of vocational studies as well as skilled based sciences such as Agricultural Science, have often called for the use of instructional materials during content delivery to aid learners’ learning pace and retention (Onu & Ikehi, 2013).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Several school managements have developed lackadaisical attitudes towards the provision of needed tools, equipments, and farm inputs required for effective agricultural science, especially practical in secondary schools. This negative and unconcerned attitude poses great threat to genuine efforts of some teachers of agricultural science in the secondary schools. In spite
of the emphasis being placed on agricultural science as one of the subjects in secondary schools, there is usually not enough time provided in the time-table for a meaningful agricultural science work (Adeyemi, 2000).

It has been observed that most teachers in secondary schools in the state did not fully make use of instructional materials in the teaching of agricultural science to their students. The negligence of the effective use of instructional facilities and materials in teaching and learning of agricultural science is common to both the trained and untrained teachers; this has been affecting the successful academic performance of students in agricultural science in secondary schools.

The desire to embark on this research study therefore, stemmed from the fact that there is problem of poor performance of secondary school students in agricultural science in the state. The appropriate utilization of instructional materials and teaching of agricultural science by experienced and qualified teachers, may probably be the main solution to poor performance in Agricultural Science. It was observed that students usually fail in examinations owing to improper teaching methods and lack of essential teaching aids for instructional delivery (Afolabi, 2009). This study therefore deemed it necessary to look specifically into the effect of instructional materials on academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study was to examine the effect of instructional materials on the academic performance of students in agricultural science in secondary schools in Kwara State, Nigeria.

The specific purposes were to:

1. Discover the types of instructional materials being used for teaching in order to achieve students’ academic performance in agricultural science
2. Ascertain the characteristics of instructional materials that can be used to
   influence students academic performance in agricultural science
3. Evaluate the importance of using instructional materials to achieve students academic performance in agricultural science
4. Examine the factors affecting the use of instructional materials and its effect on the academic performance of students in agricultural science.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions were answered in the course of this study.

1. To what extent has the type of instructional materials available for use affected the academic performance of agricultural science students in secondary schools in Kwara State?
2. To what extent has the characteristic of instructional materials being used to affect the academic performance of students in agricultural science in secondary schools in Kwara State?
3. Has the importance of instructional materials affected students’ academic performance in agricultural science in secondary schools in Kwara State?
4. What are the factors affecting the use of instructional materials to influence students’ academic performance in agricultural science in secondary schools in Kwara State?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were stated to guide the study.
Ho. There is no significant relationship between the use of available instructional
materials and students academic performance in agricultural science in
secondary schools in Kwara State.

Ho. There is no significant relationship between the use of
instructional materials and academic performance of students in
agricultural science in secondary schools in Kwara State.

Ho. There is no significant relationship between the importance of using
instructional materials and the academic performance of students in
agricultural science in secondary schools in Kwara State.

Ho. There is no significant relationship between the factors affecting the use of
instructional materials and students’ academic performance in agricultural
science in secondary schools in Kwara State.

1.6     Scope of the Study

This study is focused on examining the effect of the use of instructional materials on the academic performance in agricultural science of secondary school students in Ilorin West Local Government Area. It was carried in senior secondary school two (SSII) class public and private schools in Ilorin West Local Government Area. The students in this class were selected because they have covered some topics in SS1 and are heading to examination class. The study was delimited to thirty government and private secondary schools in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State.

1.7 Significance of the Study

The significance of this study would useful in the teaching and learning of
agricultural science. Findings from this study will also be useful in assessing the effectiveness of the stated objectives of secondary school agricultural science curriculum. It would motivate agricultural science teachers to develop interest towards utilizing suitable teaching materials that will be a possible means towards reducing failure in the teaching and learning of agricultural science.

1.8 Operational Definition of Terms

Effect: a change which is as a result of an action

Use: it is the value or advantage of something

Instructional materials: these are tools used in educational lessons which include active learning and assessment.

Performance: it is a process carrying out a task

Academic Performance: this refers to the level of grade or scores that a student obtains in class test or internal and external examination after due process of evaluation

Agricultural Science: one of the subjects offer in Junior and Senior Secondary School which focuses on the arts and science of growing crops and rearing of animals

Secondary Schools: this refers to the formal academic programmes meant for children who have completed their primary school course and are between the age of eleven to seventeen years and above.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1 Summary

The study was carried out to determine the Effect of Instructional Materials on the Academic Performance of Students in Agricultural Science in Secondary Schools in Kwara State, Nigeria. In order to achieve this objective, four specific objectives were raised which included: to identify the types of instructional materials available to be used to affect student academic performance in Agricultural science. In line with these objectives, four research questions were formulated and four null hypotheses were posited. The total population for the study is 235 Government and Private Secondary Schools which was made up of 8,142 Agricultural Science students and 73 Agricultural Science Teachers in the 3 senatorial districts of the 16 Local Government Areas in Kwara State. The researcher used questionnaires as the instrument for the data collection. Descriptive Survey research design was adopted for this study. A total of 236 respondents made up of students and teachers were used for the study. The data collected were presented in tables and analyzed using simple percentages and frequencies. The four null hypotheses were tested using contingency chi-square statistics at 0.05 level of significance.

5.2 Conclusion

Based on the findings in this study, the following conclusions were drawn:

1. The failure rate of students will be curtailed if agricultural science teachers were made to utilize appropriate and relevant instructional materials while teaching agricultural science in secondary schools.
2. Students will perform better in agricultural science when the instructional materials possess the characteristics of appropriateness, relevancy, visibility, sufficiency, simplicity and attraction, hence improve student academic performance in agricultural science.
3. Instructional materials were effective in student academic performances in agricultural science as they simplify and clarify what is complex and difficult to express in words.
4. The agricultural science knowledge and subsequent performance of students in both junior and senior secondary schools and agricultural science as a subject becomes more interesting to learn when it was taught by experienced, well committed, dedicated and qualified agricultural science teachers.

5.3 Recommendations

The following recommendations were made based on the findings of the study.

1. The agricultural science teachers should endeavour to use and try to improvise instructional materials for effective teaching of agricultural science in the secondary schools.
2. Government should ensure the adequate employment of dedicated and qualified agricultural science teachers to teach the subject in all secondary schools in the study area and in the state.
3. Suitable textbooks on utilization of agricultural science materials should be made available to all secondary schools.
4. Government should make available funds and sponsor the teachers’ attendance at conferences, seminars and workshops on utilization of agricultural science instructional materials.
5. The government through the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST), should make available agricultural science instructional materials for use by teachers to enhance students’ academic performance in agricultural science.
6. There is need for a well-equipped laboratory and farms for agricultural science practicals. This will go a long way in ensuring that students are exposed to different aspects of practical learning.
7. Parents should not be left out in the drive to provide and encourage the effective utilization of agricultural science instructional materials by their children in secondary schools.

Once parents and guardians realize the importance of instructional materials in the education of their children and wards, they will not hesitate to give moral, material and financial support for the use of agricultural science instructional materials.

5.4     Suggestions for Further Studies

The researcher suggests the following areas for further studies.

1. A way of ensuring a larger scope for this study could be through the involvement of a larger sample from all the local government areas of Kwara State. Future research work should attempt to use more samples drawn from Kwara State.
2. Research should also be carried out on teachers’ attitude towards improvisation of teaching resources for effective teaching of agricultural science.
3. This study concentrated on the effect of instructional materials on students’ academic performance in agricultural science, other subjects such as Chemistry, English, and Biology should also be researched into, for a total upliftment of education in Nigeria.
4. An assessment of competence teachers in the agricultural science contents should be carried out too. This is to assess the personnel handling the teaching of agricultural science and arrange for their capacity building.
5. The researcher also recommends the basic instructional materials for special students (disables).