CHAPTER
ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study
Various media organs carry reports
of students’ inability to perform well in various examination organized by
bodies like the West African Examination Council (WAEC), National Examination
Council (NECO), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) etc. Students’
poor academic performance especially in post primary institutions in the
country has been of great concern to parents, scholars, educators, those in the
education delivery industry and government at large. Many people have wondered
what could be responsible for this.
Students’ academic achievement and
educational attainment have been studied within different frameworks. Many of
them have a focus on parents education, occupation or home background (like
family income, activities of the family and work methods), while other studies
look at it from the teachers’ variables (such as teachers’ age, experience,
education, gender,etc), school variables (such as environment, buildings and
structures, location etc), students variables (such as attitudes, self-concept,
self-esteem, study habit, interest, etc) or parents support (such as
achievement, motivation or parental attitudes, education, the aspirations of
parents etc).
A cluster of other variables has
been implicated as being responsible for dismal performance of students in
science subjects. These include government related variables, curriculum
related variables, examination bodies, teacher related, student related, home
related and textbooks related variables. Apart from these variables, some
specific variables has been identified by Amazigo in Betiko (2002), such as
poor primary school background in mathematics, lack of interest on the part of
the students, lack of incentives for the teachers, incompetent teachers in the
primary schools, students not interested in hard work, perception that science,
technology and mathematics are difficult, large class and psychological fear of
the subject.
The classification of any nation
into developed, developing and underdeveloped could be measured accurately by
the number of chemists, physicists, engineers, pharmacists, doctors,
agriculturists and science educators the nation could produce. The relevance of
physics as one of the basic sciences in human and societal development cannot
be over-emphasized. Physics is the basis of modern technology. Physics based technology
is the ground of manufacturing industries. It helps us to study the universe,
connect to things and to understand how our environment works. Its laws, facts,
theories and principles make us interact better with our surrounding.
Inventions of cars, air-conditioners, mobile phones, laptops, fans, light, air
buses, and micro-leaves are all made possible through the application of its
principles.
Inspite of the efforts made by the
Nigerian government to the promotion of a sound educational policy, the schools
appear to have failed to meet the nation’s expectations and realities
especially in the science, technology and mathematics (STM) education. Several
studies, both Nigerian and foreign have revealed that students are not
achieving sufficiently in these subjects studied in the school (Opara, 2004).
Often time, the teacher is blamed
for poor performance and even when the student is blamed, explanations are
proffered only in terms of the students’ cognitive or intellectual ability.
Little or no consideration is given to the fact that the student’s conception
of himself or herself in the science subjects (where physics is one) could
affect his or her achievement in science generally. Little attention too is
paid to the fact that a child’s attitude towards a subject could also influence
his or her performance in the subject. This poor perception of the subject
prior to learning could lead to poor achievement. Negative attitude developed
through repeated failure emanated from poor perception, anxiety and fear of the
subject.
Anxiety can be generated on the part
of the students if he is not certain on the prospect of his line of thought. It
is therefore a key factor in any endeavour because it affects one’s ability to
endure, concentrate and perceive. It has been observed that so many students
fear physics and such fear is characterized by mass disenchantment among the
students towards the subject. The end product is the declining popularity of
the subject over the years.
Abdulraheem (2004) stated that
beliefs are the ideas people are committed to, sometimes called core values.
They shape goals, drive decisions, create discomfort when violated and
stimulate ongoing critique.
There are a number of suggestions
that apart from school-related factors, the student’s achievements are a facet
of attitudes that students have. Wasike (2013) stated that academic performance
is an individual’s inherent potentials in terms of intelligence combined with
other sociological factors. He identified personality factors such as anxiety,
achievements, motivation and level of interest as factors that affect academic
performance. Students with high self-efficacy received higher grades than those
with low self-efficacy and student with negative self-concept have poor
academic performance. Therefore academic performance is a facet of many
interrelated variables; key among them is the inherent students’ effort,
teacher’s inputs, school environment and students attitudes.
Educational psychologists have at
various times analyzed the different types of relationships, both associative
and predictive that exist between academic self-concept and achievement, but
there is a death of literature on the composite and relative contributions of
these variables to secondary school physics achievements. This therefore is the
main thrust of this research.
1.2
Statement of the Problem
Physics is perceived as a difficult
subject or course for students from secondary school to university and also for
adults in graduate education studies. It is well known that both high school
and college students consider physics as the most problematic area within the
realm of science and it traditionally attract fewer students than chemistry and
biology. If students have negative attitudes towards science, they also do not
like physics as a subject and even the physics teachers. Research has made us
know that attitude towards science change with exposure to science, but the
direction of change may be related to the quality of that exposure, the
learning environment and the teaching method.
Based on the above, numerous studies
have been conducted to determine the factors that affect students’ attitude in
science. From these studies, some basic factors can be listed including;
teaching-learning approaches, type of science subject taken, method of
studying, intelligence, gender, motivation, science teachers’ attitude,
student’s attitude, self-adequacy, cognitive style of students, career
interest, socio-economic levels, influence of parents, locus of control etc.
Most of these studies revealed that
attitude and self-concept significantly predicted students’ performance, while
a lot too revealed that attitude and self-concept alone without ability,
personal effort and initiative did not significantly predict better academic achievement.
Since research findings on how
attitude and self-concept predicts students’ achievement does not lend itself
to simple summary, there is therefore the need for further research especially
in physics, which is the concern of the researcher.
1.3
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of the study was to
determine the relationship between secondary school students’ attitude and
self-concept and their performance in physics. Specifically, the study sought
to;
- Determine secondary school students’ attitude to physics and their performance in physics.
- Determine secondary school students’self-concept to physics and their performance in the subject.
- Determine the influence of gender on secondary school students’ attitude and self-concept and their performance in physics.
1.4
Research Questions
- How does secondary school students’ attitude affect their performance in physics?
- How does secondary school student self-concept affect their performance in physics?
- What difference exists between male and female secondary school students’ attitude and self-concept and their performance in physics?
1.5
Research Hypothesis
- There is no significant difference in physics academic achievement between students with positive attitude and those with negative attitude and their performance in physics.
- There is no significant difference in physics academic achievement between student with positive self-concept and those with negative self-concept and their performance in physics.
- There is no significant difference between male and female secondary school students’ attitude and self-concept and their performance in physics.
1.6
Significance of the Study
The findings of this study will
serve as a guideline to teachers, educational practitioners and curriculum
developers; so that they ensure that they utilize educational policies,
methodologies and activities that will help students improve their academic
performance in physics and other science subjects.
Specifically, to the physics
teachers, the findings of thisstudy will provide a guide in their choice of
teaching methods appropriate for identified difficult lessons. This is
necessary so that whatever students perceive as easy would really turn out easy
and in providing attention so that whatever lesson that is identified as
difficult may be properly addressed to improve students achievement.
To the school counselors and all
those involved in the education of children, the study will provide an input to
the counseling of students who are disoriented from certain educational career
and career opportunities to discover their strength and weaknesses and channel
their gains to appropriate educational and vocational pursuits.
To the students, the study will
provide means of revitalizing their social and religious morality as well their
aesthetic and ethical values towards strengthening their human qualities and
improve their attitudes, anxiety and achievement in physics. The study of the
subject matter also exposes the students to appreciate the concept of the
fundamental unity of science and also give them the understanding and
opportunity of embracing the roles and functions of science in everyday life
and the world in which they live.
1.7
Delimitation of the Study
The study was conducted in Uyo Local
Government Area of Akwa Ibom State and limited to the thirteen (13) government
owned senior secondary schools in Uyo Local Education Committee (LEC). The
population of the study was drawn from senior secondary school three (SSS III)
in the selected schools within the education zone.
The study surveyed and evaluated the
extent to which students attitudes and self-concept towards physics affect
their achievement or performance in the subject.
1.8
Limitation of the Study
The researcher could not by any
means authenticate the truthfulness of the opinions of the respondent. The
generalization drawn was based on the information disclosed by the research
instrument – the questionnaire and the students’ examination scores; thus the
power of generalization will be limited by whatever opinion drawn from the
instrument of the study.
The examination results used by the
researcher were those from the Ministry of Education (MOE) conducted for
promotion into SSIII class. The researcher could not therefore authenticate the
truthfulness of the result to ascertain whether they represented the abilities
of the students or whether they were adulterated by the examination condition
or atmosphere in which they were conducted.
Equally, the way students and
examination bodies handle examination – both internal and external to some
extent, depends on the prevailing mentality and values of the individual
students and members of the society. The laissez-faire attitude of the students
towards science may be a product of the nature of education, like
“leave-no-students-behind” free education policy of the state where student are
promoted enmasse.
Considering the statement as a
possibility, the observed differences in achievement as well as factors affecting
students’ achievement in physics might be a function of the way students
challenge demanding situations.
1.9
Definition of Terms
Grade: A grade is a measure, an index or a symbol which represents
a student’s achievement in a subject. This may be a percentage score or mark
such as 63%, a numerical such as 18, or a letter such as A, B or C.
Attitude: The tendency to think, feel or act positively or negatively
towards objects, events or ideas in our environment.
Attitude towards Science: Denotes interests or feelings towards studying science. It
is the students’ disposition towards liking or disliking science.
Academic Performance: It could be defined as the display of knowledge attained or
skills developed in school subjects designated by tests and examination scores
or marks assigned by the subject teachers or examination bodies.
Self -efficacy: Ones’ perception that he or she can successfully achieve a
particular outcome.
HOW TO GET THE FULL PROJECT WORK
PLEASE, print the following
instructions and information if you will like to order/buy our complete written
material(s).
HOW TO RECEIVE PROJECT MATERIAL(S)
After
paying the appropriate amount into our bank Account below, send the following
information to
08140350866
or 08058580848
(1) Your project
topics
(2) Email
Address
(3) Payment
Name
(4) Teller Number
We will send your material(s)
immediately we receive bank alert
BANK ACCOUNTS
Account Name: AKINYEMI OLUWATOSIN
Account Number: 3022179389
Bank: FIRST BANK.
OR
Account Name: AKINYEMI OLUWATOSIN
Account Number: 2060566256
Bank: UBA.
OR
Account Name: AKINYEMI OLUWATOSIN
Account Number: 0042695344
Bank: Diamond
HOW TO IDENTIFY SCAM/FRAUD
As a result of fraud in Nigeria,
people don’t believe there are good online businesses in Nigeria.
But on this site, we have provided
“table of content and chapter one” of all our project topics and materials in
order to convince you that we have the complete materials.
Secondly, we have provided our Bank
Account on this site. Our Bank Account contains all information about the owner
of this website. For your own security, all payment should be made in the bank.
No Fraudulent company uses Bank
Account as a means of payment, because Bank Account contains the overall
information of the owner
CAUTION/WARNING
Please, DO NOT COPY any of our
materials on this website WORD-TO-WORD. These materials are to assist, direct
you during your project. Study the materials carefully and use the
information in them to develop your own new copy. Copying these materials
word-to-word is CHEATING/ ILLEGAL because it affects Educational standard, and
we will not be held responsible for it. If you must copy word-to-word please do
not order/buy.
That you ordered this material shows
you have agreed not to copy word-to-word.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL:
08058580848, 08140350866
YOU CAN ALSO VISIT:
www.achieverprojectmaterial.com
www.acheiversprojectmaterials.com
www.achieversprojectmaterials.com
www.naijasplash.com
www.achieversprojectmaterials.blogspot.com
www.achieverprojectmaterial.blogspot.com
www.acheiversprojectmaterials.blogspot.com
www.archieverprojectmaterials.blogspot.com
www.acheiversprojectmaterials.blogspot.com.ng
www.archieverprojectmaterials.blogspot.com.ng
www.achieversprojectmaterials.blogspot.com.ng
www.achieverprojectmaterial.blogspot.com.ng
www.achieverprojectmaterial.wordpress.com
www.achieversprojectmaterials.wordpress.com
www.acheiversprojectmaterials.wordpress.com
www.archieverprojectmaterials.wordpress.com
No comments:
Post a Comment