INFLUENCE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ILORIN WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT
ABSTRACT
The study examined the effect of instructional materials on student’s academic performance in geography in Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State.
Four secondary schools were selected from the local government for research purpose. Total of eight (8) teachers and thirty two (32) students were the sample used. The instrument used for the study was a structured questionnaire designed by the researcher. The data collected was analyzed using simple percentage and chi-square.
The findings revealed that there was significant difference in the performance of the students taught with instructional materials and those taught instructional materials, there was no significant difference between the performance of male and female students taught with instructional materials, there was significant relationship between the availability of text books and student’s academic performance, finally, the last hypothesis also revealed that finally, the last hypothesis also revealed that there was significant relationship between thee instructional materials and student’s academic performance in geography.
Base on the above findings, the following recommendation were made: more qualified geography teaches who are conversant with the application of instructional materials in teaching the subject should be employed; Government should assist in provision of modern instructional materials; constant seminars and workshop should be organized for teacher on the important of instructional material and its application of teaching process; the experience teacher need to be motivated with the provision of incentives such as merit award; the time allocation for the teaching of geography should be extended; the ministry of education should be inspecting and monitoring the use of available instructional materials by the teachers during the class room teaching.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The relevance of the utilization of instructional materials in the teaching and learning situation in schools cannot be over emphasized. The falling standard of education is attributed largely to the problem of unqualified teachers and lack of adequate instructional materials. Nular (1997) asserted that, when students’ interest were aroused, lesson becomes real, students, therefore, participate more actively and retain more, particularly when instructional materials are adequately used.
Instructional materials are print and non-print items that are designed to impact information to students in the educational process. Instructional materials include items, such as kits, textbooks, magazines, newspapers, pictures, recordings, slides, transparencies, videos, video Disc, work book, chat and electronic media including but not limited to music movies, radio, software, CD –ROMS and online services.
Instructional materials plays a very important roles in the teaching learning process. It enhances the memory level of the students. At this time, education has spread wide and entirely oral teaching cannot be the key to successful pedagogy, therefore, the teacher has to use instructional materials to make the teaching-learning process interesting. It is the use of instructional materials that can enhance the learning achievement (Nicholls, 2000; Raw 2003). Crobac (1989) stated the important elements of behaviour that provide the basis for learning theory: situations, the situation consists of all the objects, persons and symbols in learning environment. Experience in situation prepared a person to respond to similar situation on the future situation must be created in which learner can be satisfied. Personal characteristics under this heading will include all the abilities and all the typical responses that the person brings to the situation.
Instructional materials is used efficiently and actively to facilitate the teaching-learning process in most advance countries such as united state of America. However, the situation is not good enough in most of the developing countries, as well as in Nigeria. Firstly, only the lower quality and less quantity of instructional materials are provided to schools, in this way, the availability of instructional material is very low. Secondly, teachers are not trained properly for the use of instructional materials. Thirdly, teachers do not have interest in using the instructional materials in their teaching process. Instructional materials are classified into three categories namely: visual materials, audio materials and audio-visual materials. Visual materials are the materials (instructional materials) which transmit information and could be coded using the sense of sight. They may be concrete objects such as model or print such as photographs, magazines and journals. There category of instructional materials is usually captivating and because of this potentials, learners learn through them effectively. This brings to mind the chines adage that says what I hear I forget, what I see I remember and what I do, I understand ( Babatunde 2006 ).
The use of instructional materials, therefore, becomes more relevant in the studying of geography since it deals with distribution of phenomena on the earth surface. Despite the general importance of instructional materials and the peculiar significant to geographical studies, a number of experts like that of Badaaiye (1989) and Iwoh (1990) have revealed that instructional materials were either not adequate or not available in schools and those ones that were on ground were not adequately used by the teachers. The resultant effect is the poor teaching and learning of subject which metamorphosed into poor performance of students in secondary school and even lead to poor enrolment of students for geography. In summation, to achieve effectiveness of instruction, conducive and attractive learning environment and for the learners attention to be better controlled and sustained, adequate use of instruction materials become pertinent.
Student’s academic performance in secondary schools subject can either be affected positively or negatively. This is as a result of the factors affecting the performance of students which can mold the secondary education either directly or indirectly. According to Sual (1984), the students themselves contributed to their performance in geography, their careless reading habit, wrong use of time, poor technique and method of answering questions. They do not read to comprehend on the given questions before making their choice and answering. The poor performance of students in social science subjects especially geography has been reported by some scholars. Balogun (2000) reported that over 80% of failure in geography are due to
Statement of the Problem
The problem of the study is to examine the influence of instructional materials on academic performance of students in geography in Ilorin West Local Government Area.
Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of this study is to assess the influence of instructional materials on the teaching and learning of geography and on the students’ academic performance in geography in Ilorin West Local Government Area Secondary Schools of Kwara State. Other specific, purpose are:
a. To examine the difference on students taught with and without an instructional materials
b. To examine the gender factors on the students academic performance in geography
c. To determine the quality and quantity of instructional materials available for teaching geography in selected schools and their impact on student’s performance
d. To examine the impart of instructional material on the performance of geography students
e. To confirm the relevance of instructional material to the teaching of geography
f. To provide a possible way out of improving the students academic performance in geography in secondary schools.
g. To recommend ways of keeping up the use of instructional materials
Research Hypotheses
In order to verify the impact of instructional materials on students performance in geography, the following hypotheses were formulated to be tested to aid the study.
H01: There is no significant difference in the academic performance of students taught with instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials.
H02: There is no significant difference between the academic performance of male and female students taught with instructional materials.
H03: There is no significant relationship between the availability of text books and students ’academic performance in geography.
H04: There is no significant relationship between the instructional materials and students academic performances in geography.
Significance of the Study
The study will be greatly important to the following categories of people: parent, school administrators, curriculum planners and developers, educational researchers, educational policy makers, government, the public at large most especially the teachers and learners of geography in Ilorin West Local Government Area.
The study may enable teachers of geography to have more knowledge about different resources and materials that are useful for teaching and learning of the subject in a more effective and efficient way. Many teachers might have been prepared in the delivery of their lessons but when it comes to using of instructional materials to bring close the concept, they may not know the relevant one that is suitable.
The finding to be derived from this study would provide a sound basis for policy development on the provision and usage of instructional materials in secondary schools.
The study would also help the educational planners to restructure the educational programme and curriculum in order to improve the teaching process as regards geography as subject. The study would create awareness in the improvisation of local instructional materials or teaching aids, so that teaching and learning would be more meaningful, interesting and stimulating. School administrators would equally benefit from the findings of this study, because it will enable them to identify the problems militating against effective teaching geography in secondary schools, and this can help them to offer possible solutions to the identified problems.
Finally the research would also form a basis for further investigation in area of instructional materials to bring about significant improvement in teaching geography.
Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study covers the entire secondary schools in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State. Due to financial constraints and accessibility to data, four secondary schools were selected out of many secondary schools in Ilorin East Local Government Area. Response gathered from the selected secondary schools will be used to generalized the influence of instructional materials on students academic performance in geography in Ilorin East Local Government Area.
Definition of Terms
The terms and variables that are operationally used in the course of this study are defined as perceived by the researcher. These include:
Geography:- This is the subject that deals with the study of the multiplicity of phenomenon present on the earth surface and their distribution.
Instructional Materials:- This a collection of materials and equipment that are used to help in communication between two or more people, it may be inform of Audio – visual specimen and items in the locality.
Visual Materials:- These are instructional materials or objects which transmit information to the learners and could be coded using the sense of sight. i.e they may be concrete objects such as models or prints such as photocopy or printed materials in the form of newspaper magazine and journals.
Audio Material:- These are instructional objects whose information can be decoded by the sense of hearing e.g radio, gramophone.
Audio-Visual Material:- These are instructional materials whose information can be coded and decoded by the use of two sense simultaneously i.e by use of hearing and sight at the same time e.g Television, video.etc.
Academic Performance:- High output or understanding of lesson taught which are achievable in the long run or short run goal. This was to be carried out through test and examination.
Learning:-Bringing out changes behaviour of a person as a result of experience brought about by person motivation, interest, thinking activity external factors (direct instruction incidental experience, reading, discussion. etc)
Resources:-This can be human or materials that are employed in the process of transferring knowledge.
Human Resources:-These are personal or teachers that are involved in transferring knowledge.
Resource person:-These are certified experienced professional on specified field of study.
Attitude:- The way teachers and students think and feel about the usage of instructional materials.
Geography Teacher:- These are professional qualified and certified teacher teaching geography.
Teacher of geography:-These are teachers who teach geography but have their certificate not in geography but on related paid like social studies, Town planning etc.
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