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instance, research evidences abound that immediately after independence in 1960, only
32.36% passed at West African School Certification Examination at the five-credit level and
it dropped in subsequent years. In year 2001 and 2002 in the early years of National
Examination council (NECO), the results of students in Economics are as reported below:
Table 1: National Examination Council (NECO) Results for 2001 and 2002
Years 2001 Pass Fail 2002 Pass Fail
Subject Credit Credit
Economics 54.00 23.50 22.50 48.52 29.22 22.26
Source: Ojerinde 2002 p. 18
,,
The public’s unhappiness becomes more prominent, following the annual release of
the West African Senior School Certificate Examination results. Students’ outcomes do not
match the government and parental investment. All stakeholders are concerned about why
the system is turning out graduates with poor results. Ogunsaju (2004), states that the
academic standard in all Nigerian educational institutions has fallen considerably below
societal expectations. Among the reasons for this downward trend in achievement of students
in Economics are the various effects the environment and poor teaching has on students.
Previous studies have investigated the relationship of poor school environment including
problems with student-teacher ratio, school location, school population, classroom
ventilation, poor lightning in classroom and inconsistent temperatures in classrooms with
students health problems, student behaviour and student achievement. (Crandell and
Smaldino, 2000; Davis, 2001; Johnson, 2001; Lyons, 2001; Moore, 2002; Stricherz, 2000;
Tanner, 2000).
To blame teachers and poor teaching method might not be adequate in explaining the poor
performance in Economics. This research aims to examine some of the aforementioned areas
of school environment as it affects students’ performance in economics in senior secondary
schools in Ilorin, Nigeria. However, this study is focus on the impact of school environment
on academic performance of senior secondary school students in economics in Ilorin,
Nigeria. it may be worthwhile to survey some environmental factors that has hampered
students from performing well in Economics. In this regard, the researcher will consider it
worthwhile to make some researches on the performance of students in Economics in Ilorin,
Nigeria.
Purpose of Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship that exists between the
school environment and academic performance in economics among senior secondary
schools in Ilorin, Nigeria. Specifically, the researcher is interested in examining:
1. general academic performance of senior secondary school students in economics
2. relationship between school environment and students academic performance in
economics in senior secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria.
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3. impact of school facilities on the academic performance of students in economics in
senior secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria.
4. How classroom condition that have been perceived to promote or inhibit students
learning influence students academic performance in economics in senior secondary
schools in Ilorin, Nigeria?
5. How school location affects students’ academic performance in economics in senior
secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria?
Research Questions
One research question was formulated for this study:
1. What is the general academic performance of senior secondary school students in
economics?
Null Hypotheses
The following research hypotheses were formulated for this study:
1. There is no significant relationship between the school environment and students
academic performance in economics in senior secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria.
2. There is no significant relationship between school facilities and students academic
performance in economics in senior secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria.
3. There is no significant relationship between classroom condition and students’ academic
performance in economics in senior secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria.
4. There is no significant relationship between school location and students academic
performance in economics in secondary schools in Ilorin, Nigeria.
Methodology
Survey design was adopted for this study. According to Adegboye (2001), descriptive
research method is basic for all type of research in investigating the extent to which variation
in one or more factors could influence others. According to Sheu (1999) a descriptive design
attempts to describe, find out and interprets conditions, relationship that exist or the attitudes
of people or events or the attitude of people towards events and ideas, the trends that are
developing and so forth. The population for this study consists of all the senior secondary
schools in Ilorin, Nigeria. There are twenty (20) schools in Ilorin south local government,
twenty (25) in Ilorin east and twenty four (24) in Ilorin west (state ministry of education
2012). Thus, two (2) schools each were selected from Ilorin south and west and one (1) were
selected from Ilorin east local government comprising of five (5) schools in total by the use
of simple random sampling. The target population consists of SS2 students that offer
economics. There are five thousand, two hundred and seventy five (5,275) SS2 students in
Ilorin south, five thousand, six hundred and twenty six (5,626) SS2 students in Ilorin west
and four thousand, four hundred and seven (4,407) SS2 students in Ilorin east local
government totaling the number of SS2 students in Ilorin to fifteen thousand, three hundred
and eight (15,308). Fifty (50) students were selected from each secondary schools comprising
of two hundred and fifty (250) students as a whole. Purposive random sampling technique
was used mainly in S.S.S. II due to their level and exposure to the rudiments and elements of
critical economics concepts.
The instrument used for this research is a researcher-designed questionnaire titled
School Environment Questionnaire (SEQ). Also, the senior secondary school student’s
second term scores were collected with profoma. SEQ consisted of section A and section B.
Section A includes information about the respondents biographical data, which include
school, gender, age range among others while Section B contained questions relating to
effect of school environment has on the academic performance of the respondents. The
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respondents are to respond to the questions in the questionnaire by ticking the space
provided. The 4- point scale of Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly
Disagree (SA) was used. Expert judgment was used in validating the instrument. A
Cronbach’s Alpha reliability co-efficient of 0.89 was obtained for the instrument.
The researcher used mean and standard deviation to answer research question one, while
Pearson product moment correlation statistics was used to test all the four hypotheses
formulated at 0.05 level of significance.
Results
Research Question 1: What is the general academic performance of SSS students in Ilorin in
Economics?
The minimum, maximum, mean and standard deviation of respondents’ T-scores in
Economics were calculated as shown in Table 3
Table 1:Minimum, Maximum, Mean and Standard Deviation of Respondents’ Scores in
Economics
Variable N Minimum Maximum Mean Standard
deviation
Scores 250 15 86 50.0211 10.01969
Table 1 revealed 15 and 86 as students’ least and highest score in Economics in Ilorin
respective and 50.0211 indicates that students perform slightly above average in Economics
in Ilorin.
Null Hypotheses Testing
In this study four (4) null hypothesis were formulated and tested at 0.05 alpha level of
significance.
Null Hypothesis 1: There is no significance relationship between school environment and
students’ academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin
Students’ responses on School facilities, classroom condition, and school location were
summed (school environment) and correlated with their T-scores in Economics using
Pearson r
Table 2: Relationship between School Environment and Students’ Academic Performance
Variables N Cal r p-value Decision
School Environment
250 .001 .981 Accepted
Academic Performance 250
Table 2 above revealed no significant relationship between school environment and students’
academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin because the p-
value (0.981) is greater than 0.05 alpha level (0.981 > 0.05). Thus, the null hypothesis one is
accepted. An extremely low correlation coefficient (r) of school environment and students
academic performance (0.001) is an evidence of the acceptance of the null hypothesis.
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Null Hypothesis 2: there is no significant relationship between school facilities and students’
academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin.
Students’ responses on School facilities were summed and correlated with their T-scores in
Economics using Pearson r
Table 3: Relationship between School Facilities and Students’ Academic Performance
Variables N Cal r p-value Decision
School Environment
250
.016 .796 Accepted
Academic Performance
250
Table 3 above revealed no significant relationship between school environment and students’
academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin because the p-
value (0.796) is greater than 0.05 alpha level (0.796 > 0.05). Thus, the null hypothesis two is
accepted. A very low correlation coefficient (r) of school environment and students academic
performance (0.016) is an evidence of the acceptance of the null hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis 3: There is no significant relationship between classroom condition and
students’ academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin
Students’ responses on classroom condition were summed and correlated with T-score in
Economics using Pearson r
Table 4: Relationship between Classroom and Students’ Academic
Variables N Cal r p-value Decision
Accepted
School Environment 250
.022 .734
Academic Performance 250
Table 4 above revealed no significant relationship between classroom condition and
students’ academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School Ilorin because the
p-value (0.734) is greater than 0.05 alpha level (0.734 > 0.05). Thus, the null hypothesis three
is accepted. A low correlation coefficient (r) of school environment and students academic
performance (0.022) is an evidence of the acceptance of the null hypothesis.
Null Hypothesis 4: There is no significant relationship between school location and students’
academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin.
Students’ response on school location were summed and correlated with their T-scores in
Economics using Pearson r
Table 5: Relationship between School Location and Students’ Academic Performance
Variables N Cal r p-value Decision
School Environment 250
.006 .923 Accepted
Academic Performance
250
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Table 5 above revealed no significant relationship between school location and
students’ academic performance in Economics in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin because
the p-value (0.923) is greater than 0.05 alpha level (0.923 > 0.05). Thus, the null hypothesis
four is accepted. A very low correlation coefficient (r) of school environment and students
academic performance (0.006) is an evidence of the acceptance of the null hypothesis.
Discussion of the Findings
This study analysed the effects of school environment on the academic performance
of Senior Secondary School Students’ in Economics in Ilorin Nigeria.
Finding revealed that senior secondary Economics students performed averagely.
Finding revealed that there is no significant relationship between school environment
and students’ academic performance in Economic in senior secondary school in Ilorin. This
finding is in disagreement with that of Ibitoye (2003) found out there is significant
relationship between environment and academic performance of secondary school students.
Yusuf (2014) also found out that there was a significant relationship environmental factors
and academic performance in Ibadan North.
Finding revealed that there is no significant relationship between school facilities and
students’ academic performance in economics in senior secondary school in Ilorin. The
finding of this study is in disagreement with that of Oshodi (1991) who study resource,
utilization, and students’ academic performance in Kwara State secondary schools and found
out that the resource utilization was the most important determinant of students’ academic
performance in secondary schools. Owoeye (2000) found out that school facilities were
found to be the most potent determinant of academic achievement in SSCE when taken
together.
Contrary to this, Iyamu (2005) contended that the provision of all these factors may not
have significant impact on successful learning if the learners are not exposed to competent
principals, teachers and other school teams.
Finding also revealed that there is no significant relationship between classroom condition
and students’ academic performance in economics in senior secondary school in Ilorin. This
study against the finding of Lefgren (2006) found a positive correlation between class size
and students’ academic performance of secondary schools in Oyo State. Also, Yusuf (2014)
there was a significant relationship between class size and academic performance of
secondary school students.
Finding revealed that is no significant relationship between school location and students’
academic performance in economics in senior secondary school in Ilorin. This finding is in
disagreement with the finding of Yusuf (2014) who found out that there was a significant
relationship between school location and academic performance of secondary school
students.
Conclusions
Finding revealed that senior secondary Economics students performed averagely.
Finding revealed that there is no significant relationship between school environment and
students’ academic performance in Economic in senior secondary school in Ilorin. Finding
revealed that there is no significant relationship between school facilities and students’
academic performance in economics in senior secondary school in Ilorin. Finding also
revealed that there is no significant relationship between classroom condition and students’
academic performance in economics in senior secondary school in Ilorin. Finally, finding
revealed that is no significant relationship between school location and students’ academic
performance in economics in senior secondary school in Ilorin.
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Recommendations
In view of the findings above, the following recommendations are made in order to
ensure students perform more than average in economics.
1. Conducive learning environment should be created for the students so that they would
be able to perform academically.
2. The school should be provided with adequate teaching aids, as this will also enhance
the academic performance of students in economics.
3. The school administrators should also encourage student – teacher interpersonal
relationship as this will bridge communication gap between students and their
teachers and this will in turn enhance the academic performance of students.
4. Government and school proprietors should endeavor to produce adequate school
facilities for schools in order to encourage students to learn and improve
academically.
5. The school administrators should also endeavour to regulate the number of students
per class and should try to follow the student- teacher ratio as stated by the national
policy on education.
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Assessment of students’ preferences for online counselling of test anxiety in
Federal College of Education, Kano
Abubakar Sadiq Haruna, Ph.D
Department of Educational Psychology
Federal College of Education, Kano
E-mail: [email protected]
&
Umar Hassan
Department of Education
Bayero University, Kano
Abstract
The persistent nervousness experienced by many students during test situation has significant
impact on their performance, hence requires appropriate counselling approach. This study
assessed students’ preferences for online counselling of test anxiety in Federal College of
Education, Kano. Descriptive survey design was employed in which views of 370 students
were sampled from a population of 10,349 through a self-designed 20 item scale called
Preference for Online Counselling of Test Anxiety Scale (POCTAS) whose reliability of 0.83
was estimated via Cronbach’s Alpha. Two research questions and corresponding hypotheses
were postulated for the study. Percentage and t-test were used to answer the research
questions and null hypotheses respectively at 95% confidence level. Results obtained from
the analysis revealed that both B.Ed. and NCE (78.2% and 74.8%) as well as male and
female (71.0% and 78.5%) students respectively prefer online counselling for test anxiety.
However, while B.Ed. and NCE students differ significantly (t= -3.605; P<0.016) in their
preferences, male and female students do no differ (t= -1.601; P<0.250). The study
concludes that online counselling could serve as a viable approach for counselling students
with test anxiety. A major recommendation offered that the College Counselling Center
should introduce online counselling services for both B.Ed. and NCE students on education
and persona-social issues.
Keywords: Online Counseling, Test Anxiety and Students’ preferences
Introduction
One of the psychological issues relating to examination is test anxiety (Baumeister,
2007). Test anxiety is the uneasiness, apprehension, or nervousness felt by students who have
a fear of failing an exam (Cassady & Johnson, 2001). Many Students associate grades with
personal worth (Chamorro-Premuzic, Ahmetoglu, & Furnham, 2008). Some of such students
fear being embarrassed by their teachers; fear of alienation from parents or friends; time
pressures; or feeling a loss of control (Carrier, Higson, Klimoski & Peterson, 2009).
Although, an optimal level of arousal is necessary to best complete a test task or an exam,
when the anxiety or level of arousal exceeds that optimum level, the result is a decline in
performance (Covington, 2007). Sweating, dizziness, headaches, racing heartbeats, nausea,
fidgeting, uncontrollable crying or laughing and drumming on a desk are all common among
students with test anxiety (Esser, 2006). Test anxiety is often accompanied by restlessness,
fatigue and problems in concentration (Kleijn, van der Ploeg, & Topman, 2004). Test anxiety
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can be appropriate, but when experienced regularly the individual may suffer from an anxiety
disorder (Eisynk in Covington, 2007). Research suggests that high levels of emotional
distress have a direct correlation to reduced academic performance and higher overall student
drop-out rates (Kleijn, van der Ploeg, & Topman, 2004). Test anxiety can have broader
consequences, negatively affecting a student's social, emotional and behavioural
development, as well as their feelings about themselves and school (Hembree, 2005). Highly
test-anxious students score about 12 percentile points below their low anxiety peers (Hodapp,
2005).
Test anxiety can also be labeled as anticipatory anxiety, situational anxiety or
evaluation anxiety (Haladyna, & Downing, 2004). Inferior performance arises not because of
intellectual problems or poor academic preparation, but because testing situations create a
sense of threat for those experiencing test anxiety (Wicherts, & Zand Scholten, 2010);
anxiety resulting from the sense of threat then disrupts attention and memory function
(Zeidner, 2007). Researchers suggest that between 25 and 40 percent of students experience
test anxiety (Andrews & Wilding, 2004). Students who experience test anxiety tend to be
easily distracted during a test, experience difficulty with comprehending relatively simple
instructions, and have trouble organizing or recalling relevant information (Vaez &
Laflamme, 2008).
George Mandler and Seymour Sarason in 1952 developed the theory that anxiety
present in testing situations is an important determinant of test performance (Pritchard &
Wilson, 2003). According to the theory, individuals that become highly anxious during tests
typically perform more poorly on tests than low-test anxious persons, especially when tests
are given under stressful evaluative conditions such as a post-secondary examination.
Liebert and Morris’ theory of 1967 posits that two distinct factors account for test
anxiety; Cognitive Test Anxiety and Emotionality (Andrews & Wilding, 2004). While
Emotionality means that the individual shows high levels of several different symptoms
related to test anxiety that can be seen through physiological responses experienced during
situations where they are being evaluated; such as an examination (Salend, 2012), Cognitive
Test Anxiety, otherwise known as worry is mostly composed of the individuals cognitive
reactions to situations where they are being evaluated, in the times prior to, during, and after
those tasks (Andrews & Wilding, 2004). Some of the thoughts that individuals with high
cognitive test anxiety are constantly dealing with are comparing self-performance to peers,
considering the consequences of failure, low levels of confidence in performance, excessive
worry about grades, feeling that they are unprepared for tests, and loss of self-worth
(Zeidner, 2007).
Several approaches to management of test anxiety exist. In this text, approaches that
were reviewed focused on the application of behaviour modification techniques, cognitive–
behaviour al techniques and environmental changes that involve modifications in the usual
classroom dynamics. Fabiano and Pelham (2003) used a single-subject design. The
intervention was carried out by the teacher in the normal classroom for two weeks with a
primary school student diagnosed with persistent test anxiety who was not receiving
stimulants. The intervention produced a reduction in the anxiety related behaviours and an
increase in the task focused behaviour .
In the study by VanLier, Muthen, VanderSar, & Crijnen. (2004) on efficacy of Good
behaviour Game used behaviour management program that is based on obtaining rewards
for performing appropriate behaviour s and following the class norms during exams. The
intervention, which was carried out at the group level and maintained for a prolonged time
(24 months), considerably reduced the anxiety-related problems compared to the participants
in the control group. Likewise, the study by DuPaul and Hoff (1998) suggests that self-
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management, and specifically self-evaluation, are available alternatives to the traditional
contingency management approach for decreasing the disruptive behaviour of students in
elementary school with test anxiety related behaviours. Results reveal that the students
maintained the changes in the absence of teacher feedback, with the gains observed across
both structured and unstructured environments.
Additional information about the self-evaluation approach comes from the study by
Ardoin and Martens (2004), whose objective was to examine the accuracy and sensitivity of
students’ ratings before and after training, as well as the effects of accuracy training on test
performance. In their study, the participants were four students between the ages of 9 and 11
who exhibited behaviour s consistent with test anxiety. Although none of the students
accurately rated his or her behaviour prior to training, all of them met the criteria of two
consecutive matches of their target behaviour s, which suggests that accuracy training can be
effective.
While the aforementioned approaches have been proven to be effective in the
management of test anxiety under actual traditional therapeutic settings, and on clients with
little or no signs of stigma and prejudice, it should be assumed that the same techniques
would provide similar results under virtual setting using online platform given the
circumstance of the fast growing electronic age and activities available to students. In
consideration of the plight of many youth around the globe who have little or no access to
actual/normal traditional face to face counselling, the online counselling has been used to
reach out to such youngsters. Online counseling is the provision of professional mental
health counseling services through the Internet. Services are typically offered via email, real-time
chat, and video conferencing (Mallen, Michael, David, & Vogel, 2005). Some clients use online
counselling in conjunction with traditional counselling, and a growing number of clients are using
online counselling as a replacement for office visits (Glueckauf, Fritz, Ecklund-Johnson, Liss, Dages
& Carney, 2002). While some form of tele-psychology has been available for over 35 years (Spiro &
Devenis, 1991), the advent of internet video chat systems and the increasing penetration
of broadband has resulted in a growing movement towards online therapy. Clients are using video
conferencing, live chat and email with professional psychologists in place of or in addition to face-to-
face meetings (Spiro & Devenis, 1991).
The growing body of research into online counselling has established the efficacy of
online therapy with treatment outcomes at least equal to traditional in-office settings (Change
& Yeh, Krumboltz, 2001). Online therapy has additional benefits unrealized by office-based
treatments as it allows the patient to attend sessions at a higher rate than traditional sessions
(Stofle, 2001). The number of missed appointments is much less than with in-person therapy
(Suler, 2000). Some researchers (Cassidy & Johnson, 2001) suggest that online counselling is
more effective because a client is at greater ease and feels less intimidated than they would in
traditional settings (Zelvin, 2004).
Cohen and Kerr (1998) conducted a study on the effectiveness of online therapy for
treatment of anxiety disorders in students and found that there was no difference in the level
of change for the two modes as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Mallen,
Michael, David & Vogel, 2005). As the main goal of counselling is to alleviate the distress,
anxiety or concerns experienced by a client when he or she enters therapy, online counselling
has strong efficacy under that definition (Kessler & Kaur, 2009). Client satisfaction surveys
tend to demonstrate a high level of client satisfaction with online counselling, while the
providers sometimes demonstrate lower satisfaction with distance methods (Mallen, Michael,
David & Vogel, 2005). Researchers have suggested that counselling professionals themselves
are more critical of newer technologies than their clients (Kessler & Kaur, 2009).
There is a split within the counselling field on the validity of online counselling.
Some practitioners have suggested that online counselling cannot be considered
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psychotherapy (Zelvin, 2004), while other published studies conclude that online cognitive
behaviour al therapy is as effective as traditional "in-person" therapy for the treatment of
anxiety (Cohen & Kerr, 1998). Although local literature on the efficacy of online counselling
are scarce, the rate at which students in Federal College of Education, Kano access and
utilize online educational facilities such as online libraries and scholarships may make them
appreciate online counselling for test anxiety. Nevertheless, while review of empirical studies
shows viability of online counselling, none have addressed students’ preference for the
services in Federal College of Education, Kano. Therefore the present study attempt to bridge
the gap. To achieve this, two research questions and corresponding null hypotheses were
postulated as thus:
Research Questions:
1. Do students of Bachelors of Education (B.Ed.) and Nigeria Certificate in Education
(NCE) prefer online counselling for test anxiety in Federal College of Education,
Kano?
2. Do male and female students in Federal College of Education, Kano prefer online
counselling for test anxiety?
Null Hypotheses
1. There is no significant difference in preference for online counselling of test anxiety
between B.Ed. and NCE students in Federal College of Education, Kano.
2. There is no significant difference in preference for online counselling of test anxiety
between male and female students in Federal College of Education, Kano.
Methodology
The design employed in this study was descriptive survey which covered all regular
(B.Ed. and NCE) students in Federal College of Education, Kano whose population was 10,
349.
Table 1: Population of the study (N=10,349)
B.Ed. Programme (N=3,473 NCE Programme (N=6,873)
Level Male Female Total Male Female Total
100 115 317 432 1,449 1,932 3,381
200 284 657 941 569 1,383 1,952
300 240 691 931 688 852 1,540
400 243 929 1,172 Nil Nil Nil
Total 882 2,594 3,476 2,706 4,167 6,873
Three hundred and seventy (370) participants were drawn following Research
Advisors (2006) procedure for selecting sample size. Participants’ consent was sought
through their Heads of Departments/Units. Students’ state of anxiety and knowledge of the
internet were however not considered for participation. To arrive at a representative sample,
proportions of each category (programme/level) were determined and presented in Table 2.
Table 2: Sample size (N=370)
B.Ed. Programme (N=124) NCE Programme (N=246)
Level Male Female Total Male Female Total
52
100 04 11 15 20 69 121
25
200 10 24 34 Nil 50 70
97
300 09 24 33 30 55
400 09 33 42 Nil Nil
Total 31 93 124 149 246
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Guided by the distribution in Table 2, random sampling was used to select
participants from each stratum. Since the study required a thorough understanding of
participants’ preference for online counselling of test anxiety, Research Assistants were
employed. The Assistants were trained on the rudiments of the exercise, such as
administration and scoring of data collection instrument.
The instrument used for data collection was a self-developed 20-item likert scale
known as Preference for Online Counselling of Test Anxiety Scale (POCTAS). Content
validity for POCTAS was demonstrated by examining the consistency of the inventory with
research and theoretical literature as well as assessment by experts. Using Cronbach’s Alpha
procedure, a reliability of 0.83 was obtained for the scale. Research Assistants haven been
trained on usage of the instrument, administered it on participants. A total of 370 POCTAS
copies were given to the Research Assistants to enable them carry out the exercise. Extra
copies of the scale were also provided for replacement of damaged instruments where
necessary. In a nutshell, a period of four weeks was used for data collection.
Data obtained via the completed scales were analyzed using Statistical Package for
Social Sciences (SPSS version 17.0 software). Frequency distribution and percentage of
participants’ responses to items on the scale were used to determine their preference for
online counselling of test anxiety. t-test statistic was applied to find out the difference in their
preferences between; B.Ed. and NCE students; as well as male and female students in the
college.
Findings
Data obtained via POCTAS is presented in table 3. The table shows frequency of
students’ preference for online counselling of test anxiety in Federal College of education,
Kano. The figures in the table are used to answer the research questions.
Research Question 1: Do B.Ed. and NCE students prefer online counselling for test anxiety
in Federal College of Education, Kano?
Table 3: Frequency of B.Ed. & NCE students’ preferences (N=370)
Level B.Ed. Programme (n=124) NCE Programme (n=246)
100 11 85
200 20 52
300 26 47
400 40 Nil
Total 97 184
% of Total 78.2 74.8
The distribution in table 3 is the frequency of B.Ed. and NCE students’ preferences
for online counselling of test anxiety in Federal College of Education, Kano. It illustrates that
78.2% and 74.8% of B.Ed. and NCE students respectively prefer online counselling for test
anxiety.
Research Question 2:
Do male and female students in Federal College of Education, Kano prefer online
counselling for test anxiety?
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Table 4: Frequency of male and female students’ preference (N=370)
Programme Male students (n=128) Female students (n=242)
B.Ed. 26 71
NCE 65 119
Total 91 190
% of Total 71.0 78.5
The gender dimension of the preferences shows that 71.0% of male participants
prefer online counselling of test anxiety, while 78.5 % of female respondents prefer online
counselling for test anxiety.
Null Hypothesis 1: There is no significant difference in preference for online
counselling of test anxiety between B.Ed. and NCE students in Federal College of
Education, Kano.
Table 5: t-test analysis of difference between B.Ed. and NCE students’ preference for online
counselling of test anxiety (N=370)
Programme N Mean SD df t-value P-value Decision
B.Ed. 4 24.25 4.44 -3.605 0.015 Sig. at P<0.05
NCE 5
3 64.67 6.32
The t-test analysis presented in table 5 shows a significant difference between B.Ed. and
NCE students’ preferences for online counselling of test anxiety. The calculated P-value of
0.015 is significant at 0.05, therefore the postulated null hypothesis which supposes no
difference between B.Ed. and NCE students’ preferences is rejected.
Null Hypothesis 2: There is no significant difference in preference for online counselling of
test anxiety between male and female students in Federal College of Education, Kano.
Table 6: t-test analysis for gender difference in students’ preference for online counselling
for test anxiety (N=370)
Gender N Mean SD df t-value P-value Decision
Male 2 45.5 7.60 -1.601 0.250 N.S at P<0.05
Female 2
2 95.0 11.52
The analysis presented in table 6 does not show gender difference in students’ preferences for
online counselling of test anxiety. The calculated P-value of 0.250 is greater than 0.05,
therefore male and female students in Federal College of Education, Kano do not differ
significantly in their preferences for online counselling of test anxiety.
Discussion of findings
The analysis of data obtained from students’ responses on null hypothesis one reveals
significant finding. It found that B.Ed. and NCE students differ significantly in their
preferences for online counselling of test anxiety. This result conforms with the finding of
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Mallen, Michael, David & Vogel (2005) in which they established that client satisfaction
surveys tend to demonstrate a high level of satisfaction with online counseling. In the same
vain, Zelvin (2004) supports that online counselling is more effective because a client is at
greater ease and feels less intimidated than they would in traditional settings. This makes
clients more likely to be honest and thus allow the counsellor to provide better treatment
(Cohen, & Kerr, 1998).
Mittnacht, and Bulik (2015) opine that online counselling is filling the unmet need for
clients located in areas traditionally under-served by traditional counsellors. In their view,
rural residents along with under-served minorities often have an easier time finding a suitable
therapist online than in their local communities. These access issues are solved with online
counselling resources and result in clients receiving culturally or linguistically relevant
treatment that they would not have otherwise been able to receive (Kessler & Kaur, 2009).
Online counseling has also been shown to be effective for clients who may have difficulty
reaching appointments during normal business hours (Mallen, Michael, David & Vogel,
2005).
Result obtained on the second hypothesis shows that male and female students do not
differ in their preferences for online counselling for test anxiety. Indeed they both show
significant interest in the service (male=71.0% and female=78.5%). This finding corroborates
Abdullahi (2016) in his study on female students’ preference for online counselling of HIV in
Federal College of Education, Kano. Although the present is not on HIV but they both focus
on online counselling.
Conclusion
Test anxiety is no doubt a psychological impediment to students’ performance in
examination. Persistent exhibition of anxiety during test can lead to anxiety disorder.
Management of the problem consists of a range of behaviour modification techniques and
cognitive behaviour therapy. While these management approaches are effective for many
students who physically seek for help from counsellors, others who are shy or stigmatized
may find it difficult to access the services, hence the need for online counselling.
As a global phenomenon that started like a hobby by a few computer literate people,
online platforms are being used by many organizations to render assistance to clients. Apart
from being a medium of social connectivity, it is also used for educational advancement and
psychological support. Since B.Ed. and NCE students in Federal College of Education, Kano
show their preference for online counselling of test anxiety, it could be an alternative
measure for managing anxiety being observed during examination by many students in the
college.
Recommendations
1. College Management should equip the College Counselling Center with internet
facilities, online counselling experts and introduce online services for both B.Ed. and
NCE students on education and persona-social issues.
2. College Counselling Center should create Special online counselling platforms for
male and female students in order to allow for equal opportunity and maximum
access to counselling services as well as management of test anxiety in the college.
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Formal Agricultural Information Sources and Farmers’ Satisfaction in
Crop Production in Akwa Ibom State North-East Senatorial District.
Okon, D. P. – Ph.D & Essien, E. N. Ph.D
Department of Vocational Education
Faculty of Education
University of Uyo, Uyo
[email protected]
0803472706
Abstract
The study investigated formal agricultural information sources and farmers’ satisfaction in
crop production in Akwa Ibom State North-East Senatorial District. Descriptive survey
design was adopted for the study. The population of this study was made up of 2,154
registered crop farmers (comprising of root/tuber crop farmers, oil palm farmers, vegetable
farmers, cocoa farmers and rubber farmers) in Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District.
The sample size of 332 crop farmers were selected for the study using cluster sampling
technique. The sample size was determine using the Taro Yamane Formula. Data was
collected using researchers’ made survey instrument titles “Formal Agricultural Information
Sources and Level of Satisfaction of Crop Farmers Questionnaire (FAISLSCFQ). The
instrument was face validated by three validates. Cronbach alpha method was used to
determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire which yielded coefficient of 0.79.
Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research
questions. Findings revealed that farmers to a very high extent are satisfied with agricultural
cooperative information sources and to a high extent are satisfied with agricultural magazine
information sources. Based on the findings of the study it is recommended among others that
Agricultural Agencies should form a strong alliance to enhance the dissemination of
information to farmers.
Key words: Agricultural Information, Agricultural Magazine, Farmers Cooperative, strong
alliance, inputs, innovations.
Introduction
The importance of crop farming in the economy of Nigeria is profound. It provides
food for the teeming population, raw materials for agro-based industries, source of foreign
exchange and creates employment opportunities for the youths among others. Enhanced
agricultural productivity and farmers livelihoods largely depend on how the relevant
technological information and farm inputs are accessed by farmers. The Food and
Agricultural Organization, FAO (2010) suggested that in order to enhance agricultural
development, innovations in the methods of production of agricultural products must be
developed and communicated to farmer to help them solve their farm problems. The type of
agricultural information required and consumed by farmer depends on their needs. The
provision of such information to farmers are made through channels such as radio, television,
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neighbours or relatives, cooperatives societies, posters, newspaper and agricultural
magazines, community libraries and extension agents.
In Nigeria, there are various agencies, research institutes, agricultural universities and
colleges and non-governmental organizations that generate innovations and improved farm
practices or technologies (Oladele, 2006). The primary function of the dissemination
components (agricultural extension, agricultural change agencies, private extension
organizations) is the transformation of the agricultural sector of the economy through
promotion of rapid adoption and utilization of improved farming technologies by the
utilization component – the farmers (Oladele, 2006).
The researchers observed that persistent low yield is one of the major problems
affecting the development of the crop production sector especially vegetable crops, in Akwa
Ibom State. Farmers in Akwa Ibom State are not noted to produce enough food, probably due
to lack of access to timely and up-dated information which could have enabled them to
achieve the expected optimal yields from their farms. Agricultural innovations developed by
research institutes revolves around improved pre-planting, planting and post-planting farm
practices that could boost agricultural productivity and profitability thereby reducing
agricultural loses. Meanwhile, there are quantum of agricultural technology information
generated and developed by research institutes, agricultural universities and colleges, Non-
governmental Organizations (NGO) and various related agencies. Such information are
highly desired by farmers especially in the aspect of acquiring inputs, sourcing for fund, crop
and livestock protection, processing, value addition and marketing. Such information can
only be made available via extension agents, communities’ libraries, state and local
government agencies like ADP, internet, radio, television, agricultural magazines, and
newspaper among others.
The major challenges lie in dissemination of information about these technologies
and innovations by the dissemination agencies. Information sources are institutions or
encoders that create or bring about a message that are essential to and could be utilized by
farmers – end users. The characteristics of a good information source are relevance,
timeliness, accuracy, cost effectiveness, reliability, exhaustiveness and aggregation level
(Dauda, Chado and Igbashal, 2009). Information and knowledge are indispensible in
agricultural development of farmers and the poor dissemination of such information has
impeded the development of agriculture in Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District
Daramola, Adebo and Adebo (2016) opined that the efficiency of technologies generated
from research institutes and disseminated to farmers depends on effective communication
which is the key process of information dissemination.
Okorie and Oyedepo, (2011) opined that in the context of sustainable development,
the press or mass media remains a vital instrument in the realization of nations’ goals. It is
believed that the media motivate the people as well as ensure participation in the growth and
developmental process apart from informing and educating members of the society. The
reason for media reportage on agriculture programmes and policies societies in Nigeria was
due to the large number of farmers who were involved. Specifically, agriculture has provided
employment platform for majority particularly people living in the rural areas and farm
communities. Agriculture by estimation, account for over 80% of our Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) prior to the discovery of crude oil (Essien and Okon, 2017).
Subsequently, beyond information and transmission role of the media, the newspaper
provides to a large extent background details relevant to the news, explanations of related
events, analysis of their importance and implication importantly, in a true agrarian or
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agriculture society, the role of the media is largely insignificant (Zijp, 2002). Newspaper over
the years have been playing significant role in disseminating various kinds of information. As
a print media, it has the capacity of reaching large audience irrespective of their geographical
location. Olowu and Oyedokun (2000) noted that newspaper media houses can provide
information at rate driven by pressure of time and population, geographical constraints and
shortage of trained extension in developing countries, sub-sahara Africa plus Nigeria. The
information disseminated through Newspaper media houses can be on production,
processing, storage, marketing and source of micro and macro credits to farmers.
Newspaper according to Igbeka and Ola (2010) is the textbook that provides up-to-
date information on local, state or national, and world affairs as well as the most current
analysis and criticism on executive and legislative decision-making. They are among the
most widely-read periodicals that are available and accessible to the vast majority of people
of all ages and walks of life in any community. Every category of reader can find some
important, current and interesting information in newspapers. Today’s newspapers use
designed elements that make information easily accessible to the reader. Among the mass
media, print media are no less important due to a number of characteristics like durability,
extensive and intensive coverage, low cost and choice of contents. The print media are highly
qualified for their use in the dissemination of agricultural information among farmers (Igbeka
and Ola, 2010).
Okorie and Oyedepo (2010) in a study titled “Newspaper reportage and its effect
towards promoting agricultural development in Nigeria” revealed that out of a total of 4,220
news items which the 3 newspapers published between January and December 2007, 750
news items were devoted to agriculture representing 17.7%. Okorie and Oyedepo reported
based on their findings that the Nigerian newspapers did not give sufficient press coverage in
terms of prominence in its reportage to agriculture compared to other issues. Also, the press
did not give sufficient attention on certain areas of agricultural sub-sector in its report as
observed in the study. The Nigerian press as an institution or organ is expected to report all
or every sector of the Nigerian economy with sufficient attention on each sector. This
becomes necessary because each sector of the economy is of equal importance to the
development of the Nigerian society. As observed by Okorie and Oyedepo (2010), it would
be necessary for the Nigerian press to give equal attention to all agricultural sub-sector of the
Nigerian economy as issues on agriculture by providing a favorable coverage by the press.
Apata (2010) reported that language is no more a serious barrier to receiving
agricultural information through Newspaper media house rather agricultural information
through print media should be made more available at low or no cost in the rural
communities so that farmers can have access to it. On the other hand, Newspaper media
houses indicated that their own constraints to disseminating agricultural information, is that
researchers or agricultural technology development agencies do not always make agricultural
information available to them for dissemination (Apata, 2010).
A farmers’ co-operative is a private company that belongs to the farmer producers,
the members which aims at providing a range of services and operations for its members,
with a view to improving the members’ profits from their own farming activities (Olujide,
2008). As a basis for co-operatives, there is a willingness of a group or producers for some
common commercial objectives and activities. A Farmers’ Co-operative is set-up by a group
of members as a private business under the local enterprise or company laws and regulations
of that country. A co-operative follows certain basic rules, in order to be a strong agricultural
business in the market the activities of farmers’ cooperatives are geared towards educating
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members and keeping them appraise with novel innovations that could improve members
socio-economic status.
The survey conducted by Wambugu, Okello and Nyikal (2010) depict the utilization
of different sources by farmers for seeking agriculture information. As per their observation
in personal contact mode, the farmers prefer to contact in an informal environment with
easily accessible persons instead of formal and remotely accessible contacts. In group contact
media, most of the farmers use meetings and group discussions, while in mass contact mode,
radio is the most favorite media.
Ifenkwe and Ayanwu (2008) conducted a study to examine communication network
characteristics of cooperative societies in Abia State, Nigeria. The population comprised of
all 2012 registered cooperatives in Abia State. A multi-stage stratified sampling technique
was employed to proportionately select sample of farming, trading and agro-industrial groups
to constitute 25 cooperative societies and one hundred and fifty (150) operators. Sociometric
preference test yielded data cast into a who-to-whom matrix and sociogram and used to
describe the position of each member in the communication network of the group. Over 50%
of the cooperatives had two or more distinct communication networks varying in length and
complexity. Trading cooperatives exhibit the highest degree of network centralization. None
of the group had a transversal network. The implication of these for predicting
communication relationships and effectiveness as well as for enhancing information security
and diffusion within the groups are discussed.
The main purpose of the study was to determine the farmers’ level of satisfaction with
the formal agricultural information sources in Akwa Ibom State. Specifically the study
sought to:
1. Determine the level of satisfaction of crop farmers with agricultural newspaper
information sources in Akwa Ibom State North-East Senatorial District.
2. Determine the level of satisfaction of crop farmers with agricultural cooperative
information sources in Akwa Ibom State North-East Senatorial.
Research Questions
The following questions were raised to guide the study:
1. To what extent are crops farmers satisfied with agricultural newspaper information
sources in Akwa Ibom State North-East Senatorial District?
2. To what extent are crops farmers satisfied with agricultural cooperative information
sources in Akwa Ibom State North-East Senatorial District?
Methodology
The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The population of the study
was made up of 2154 registered crop farmers (root/tuber crop farmers, oil palm farmers,
vegetable farmers, cocoa farmers and rubber farmers) in Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial
District (Akwa Ibom State Ministry of Agriculture, 2016). A sample size of 337 crop farmers
was selected for the study. The sample size was determined using the Taro Yamane Formula.
Simple random sampling technique was employed to randomly select the sample size of 337
crop farmers (root/tuber crop farmers, oil palm farmers, vegetable farmers, cocoa farmers
and rubber farmers) in Akwa Ibom North-East Senatorial District. Data was collected using a
researchers’ made survey instrument titled “Formal Agricultural Information Sources and
Level of Satisfaction of Crop Farmers Questionnaire (FAISLSCFQ). The instrument was
sub-divided into section A and B. section A contains items on the demographic
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characteristics of respondents while section B elicited information on the variables arranged
orderly according to the purpose of the study from the crop farmers respectively. The
questionnaire items in section B was structured under four point rating scale of: Highly
Satisfied (HS), Moderately Satisfied (MS), Lowly Satisfied (LS) and Not Satisfied (NS). The
instrument was face validated by three validates. Cronbach alpha method was used to
determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire which yielded coefficient of 0.79.
Two research assistants with the researchers administered and retrieved the 332 copies of the
questionnaire. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the
research questions
Results
Table 1: Farmers Satisfaction with Newspaper Agricultural Information Sources
S/N Indicate your level of satisfaction with Mean Standard Decision
Deviation
agricultural newspaper information
.44 Lowly
source on the following Satisfied
1 Provision of guidance for sourcing for 2.34 .82 Moderately
Satisfied
planting materials
1.01 Lowly
2 Provision of information on best 2.75 Satisfied
practices in pre-planting operations to 1.10 Highly
Satisfied
boost productivity
.84 Moderately
3 Provision of information on how to 2.40 Satisfied
source for fertilizer to improve soil 1.05 Highly
Satisfied
fertility
.92 Highly
4 Education of farmer on appropriate 3.58 Satisfied
Moderately
measures for handling agro-chemicals
.73 Satisfied
5 Information on price of crop produce 2.64
6 Information on how to source for funds 3.03
to increase production capacity
7 Provision of information on market for 3.30
crop produce
Grand mean 2.86
N = 332 Source: Field work 2017.
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Table 2: Farmers Satisfaction with Agricultural Cooperatives Information Sources
S/N Indicate your level of satisfaction with Mean Standard Decision
farmers’ cooperative agricultural Deviation
information source on the following 1.40 Highly
Satisfied
1 Provision of guidance for sourcing for 3.42
.86 Highly
planting materials Satisfied
2 Provision of information on best 3.56 .58 Moderately
Satisfied
practices in pre-planting operations to
1.11 Highly
boost productivity Satisfied
3 Provision of information on how to 2.64 .88 Highly
Satisfied
source for fertilizer to improve soil
.69 Lowly
fertility Satisfied
4 Education of farmer on appropriate 3.16 1.02 Lowly
Satisfied
measures for handling agro-chemicals
.93 Highly
5 Information on price of crop produce 3.50 Satisfied
6 Information on how to source for funds 2.50
to increase production capacity
7 Provision of information on market for 2.72
crop produce
Grand Mean 3.07
N = 332 Source: Field work 2017
Discussion of Findings
The result of the findings as presented in Table 1 indicated that the cluster mean of
2.86 which implies that crop farmers are highly satisfied with newspaper agricultural
information source. The findings is in-line with the findings of Ifenkwe, (2008) who reported
that newspaper provide up-to-date information on local, state/provincial, national and world
issues. Farmers are highly satisfied when they are update with information from agricultural
newspaper information sources especially in areas such as educating farmers on appropriate
measures for handling agro-chemicals, provision of information on price of crop produce to
crop farmers, provision of information on how to source for funds to increase production
capacity as well as provision of information on market for crop produce.
However, most farmers are moderately satisfied with agricultural newspaper
information sources when it has to do with provision of guidance for sourcing for planting
materials, information on best practices in pre-planting operations to boost productivity,
information on how to source for fertilizer to improve soil fertility.
The result of the findings as presented in Table 2 indicated that the cluster mean of
3.07 which implies that crop farmers are highly satisfied with cooperative agricultural
information source. The findings is in-line with the findings of Ifenkwe and Ayanwu (2008)
who observes that farmers’ cooperative communication relationships and effectiveness
enhance information security and diffusion within the farmers groups especially members.
Farmers are highly satisfied with cooperative agricultural information sources in areas such
as provision as guidance for sourcing planting materials, information on best practices in pre-
planting operations to boost productivity, information on how to source for fertilizer to
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improve soil fertility, education of farmer on appropriate measures for handling agro-
chemicals and information on price of crop produce to crop farmers.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations are made:
1. Agricultural Agencies should form a strong alliance or link to enhance the
dissemination of information to farmers.
2. Farmers should take advantage of agricultural cooperative by formal registering and
attending their programmes.
References
Apata, O. M. (2010). Farmers’ use of newspaper as channels of agricultural information in
Ekiti State, Nigeria. Journal of Environmental Issues and Agriculture in Developing
Countries, 2(2 & 3), 1-7.
Daramola, C. F., Adebo, T. I. and Adebo, G. M. (2016). Challenges and information needs
assessment of dry season vegetable farmers in Akure Metropolis, Ondo State. Journal
of Agriculture and Veterinary Science 9(4):52-58
Daudu, S., Chado, S. S. and Igbashal, A. A. (2009). Agricultural information sources utilized
by farmers in Benue State, Nigeria. Production Agriculture and Technology (PAT):
5(1): 39-48.
Essien, E. N. and Okon, D. P. (2017). Akwa Ibom State women farmers satisfaction with
agricultural extension services for improved cassava production. International
Journal of Educational Benchmark (IJEB) 7(1): 13-22.
Food and Agriculture organization (FAO) (2010). Report of the second consultation on
agricultural information management. Rome, Italy.
Ifenkwe, G. E. (2008). Assessment of newspaper advocacy for rural development and
environmental education in Nigeria. Journal of Agricultural Extension, 12(2), 41-51.
Ifenkwe, G. E. and Ayanwu, A. C. (2008). Communication network characteristics of
cooperative societies in Abia State, Nigeria. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture and
the Environment. 10(1) 13-1.
Igbeka, J. U and Ola, C. O. (2010). Use of newspapers by Nigerian university students: The
case of Delta State University, Anwai campus. Library philosophy and practice.
Retrieved from http://www.webpass.uidaho.edu/-mbdin/igbeka-ola.htm. Accessed on
2/8/2016.
Okorie, N, and Oyedepo, T. (2010). Newspaper reportage and its effect towards promoting
agricultural development in Nigeria. Journal of Media and Communication Studies
3(2), 27-32.
Oladele, O. I. (2006). Multilinguality of farm broadcast and agricultural information access
in Nigeria. Nordic Journal of Africa Studies, 15(2): 199-205.
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Olowu, T. A. and Oyedokun, O. A. (2000). Farmers’ accessibility of agricultural marketing
information: the case of Oyinladun radio programe. Journal of Economics and rural
Development 14(1): 109-125.
Olujide, M. G. (2008) “Attitude of youth towards rural development projects in Lagos State
Nigeria”. Journal of Social Science. 17(2): 163-167.
Wambugu, S. N., Okello, J. J., and Nyika, R. A. (2010). Effect of social capital on
performance of smallholder farmer organizations in Western Kenya. Journal of
Agricultural Science and Technology 4(6): 1-19.
Zijp, W. (2002). Changing the way World Bank thinks about and supports agricultural
extension. Washington D.C.: World Bank.
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eISSN: 2489-0170 pISSN:2489-4162 University of Uyo
Influence of Parental Provision and Protection on Academic Achievement
of Students in Biology in Calabar Education Zone of
Cross River State, Nigeria
Oyo-Ita, M. E. (M.Ed) Bassey, P. U. (Ph.D)
&
Obogo, G. O. (M.Ed)
Department of Educational Foundations
University of Calabar
Calabar
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
Abstract
This study was aimed at examining the influence of parental provision of school needs and
parental protection on the academic achievement of students in Biology in Calabar
Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Causal comparative research design was
adopted for the study. Two hypotheses were formulated and tested at .05 level of
significance. The stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 558
students from 80 public secondary schools from the zone. The research instruments
“Parental Protection and Provision Questionnaire” (PPPQ) and an Academic Achievement
Test in Biology were used for data collection. The instruments were well validated. The
Cronbach alpha reliability co-efficient got from the variables ranged from 0.73 to 0.87 which
showed that the instruments were reliable for the study. Data collected were adequately
coded using the One-way analysis of variance statistics. The findings of this study revealed
that: parental provision of school needs and parental protection significantly influenced
students’ academic achievement in biology. It was recommended among others that there is
need for strong parental provision and protection to enable students improve on their
academic achievements. Parents should, therefore, endeavour to meet the needs of their
children like providing them with textbooks and uniforms. In addition they should ensure that
their wards feel safe and secure by knowing the type of company they keep; ensuring that
they do not stay out late and monitoring their activities both at home and in school. These
would help boost their success in school.
Key words: Parental provision of school needs, parental protection, academic achievement.
Introduction and the problem
Education is the bedrock of any functional society (National Policy on Education,
2013). For a state like Cross River in Nigeria to provide quality healthcare and enhanced
agricultural production, then steps must be taken to improve the academic achievement of the
secondary school students in Biology. Regrettably, students’ academic achievement in
Biology is worsening thus raising concerns amongst parents, teachers, psychologists, and
researchers including school administrators. This decline in the quality of education in
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Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State in Biology is shown in Table 1 from year 2012
to 2016 with the percentage of those with F9 ranging from 47.2 to 74.12.
Table 1 - Achievement level of students in Biology in WAEC Examinations in Cross River
State from 2012-2016
Year Entry A1 (%) B2-B3 (%) C4-C6 (%) D7-E8 (%) F9 (%)
2012 21,768 1209 5.6 2100 9.6 325 1.5 2000 9.2 16,134 74.1
2013 45,782 9016 19.7 10,987 23.1 3,500 7.6 1702 4.0 21,577 47.1
2014 37,190 2401 6.5 3,510 9.4 4,454 12.0 7800 21.0 9,025 51.2
2015 40,990 2150 5.3 5,879 14.3 5,431 13.3 2430 5.9 25,100 61.2
2016 38,102 2541 6.7 3,607 9.5 6,534 17.2 5597 14.7 19,823 52.0
Source: Inspectorate Department, Ministry of Education, Calabar (2016)
This issue of poor academic achievement in Biology in Cross River State and particularly
in the Calabar Education Zone is bad for its educational system because students cannot
compete with their mates in other States of the Federation thereby making the State
educationally disadvantaged. This is especially so since Biology is one of the science
subjects that every Senior Secondary Two student is required to offer. Poor academic
achievement of students in Biology affects the production of professionals due to the
reduction in the number of students certified to go after vocations in Medicine, Nursing,
Pharmacy etc. (Source: State Secondary Education Board, April, 2016). In an attempt to
solve the stated problem, Government has made some provision like furnishing school
laboratories with science equipments, resource materials like: Biology textbooks, recruitment
of qualified and experienced Biology teachers as well as paying science teachers stipend.
In spite of the steps taken by the Cross River State Government, poor academic
achievement in Biology remains as shown in table 1 whereby only 32.5% of the students
passed Biology. This research therefore, is aimed at examining parental provision of school
needs and parental protection and their influence on students’ academic achievement in
Biology in senior secondary schools in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State.
Academic achievement here represents performance outcomes that indicate the extent to
which a student has accomplished specific goals that were the focus of activities in
instructional environments that their teachers assign to them.
Poor academic achievement is considered devastating because it sabotages the
students’ self-esteem. The school may, therefore, advise the student to withdraw or place
him/her on probation. It could also lead to loss of confidence by parents in their wards’
academic ability. Consequently, such parents may see their efforts at giving their wards good
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education, as a waste of time. Additionally, students’ poor academic achievement may rub
down badly on the schools. This, therefore, calls for uninterrupted and diverse ways and
strategies of improving the general academic achievement of students.
The fundamental goal of the National Policy on Education is to improve students’
academic achievement and to produce students who will be well integrated into the society
because education is a tool for national growth and development. Consequently, it became
necessary to tackle variables such as parental provision of school needs and parental
protection which influence the academic achievement of secondary school students in
Biology.
Since parents play an integral part in the overall development of the students, it
follows that when parents make adequate provision for their school needs and keep watch
over them, the better their academic achievement.
Parental provision of school needs such as textbooks, uniforms, writing desk, stationeries
(pencil, pen, ruler, etc) could lead to cognitive engagement and enable the students persevere
in their academic pursuit. While inadequate provision of school needs may result in poor
academic achievement and lack of self-motivation/encouragement, parental provision of the
students’ school needs, on the other hand, generates a positive attitude towards their
academic work and improves academic achievement.
Parental provision of school needs also improves students’ academic performance and
reduces depression and failure rate (Mueller, 2009). According Huitt (2007), students who
have all their needs catered for move into achievement levels that are self-actualizing.
Parental protection involves preparing the students for life’s challenges and removing
obstacles that could impair the child’s academic success. Thus, raising children requires a
high level of protection to prevent them from growing up to become wild, nuisances, and
objects of embarrassment and ridicule to the parents and the public (Wilkerson, 2007).
Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of parental provision of school
needs and parental protection on students’ academic achievement in Biology in Calabar
Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria. Specifically, this work is aimed at:
1 Determining the influence of parental provision of school needs on student’s academic
achievement in Biology.
2. Investigating the role parental protection plays on the academic achievement of students
in Biology.
Literature review
Parental provision of school needs could be explained as the extent parents are able to
supply all the needs required by their children to enable them come out successfully from
school. Apart from basic needs, students also require emotional support which is a valuable
resource, irrespective of family structure and the parent’s financial status (Finch, 2006).
In the opinion of Uruk, Sayger and Cogdal (2007), parental provision of the required
school needs can only be useful when there is emotional bonding between family members.
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They further stated that provision of school needs can raise the student’s self esteem with
satisfactory consequences on the student’s consciousness.
Kibet (2010) carried out an investigation on the part parents play in providing their
wards’ school requirements in Kenya. He made use of pre-schoolers because they were at the
foundation level of education. From his findings, parents’ provision of basic needs was very
low. In the same vein, Ciaraka (2003) in finding out the part parents’ play in enhancing
processes of learning in some secondary schools in (Kenya) discovered that parents who do
not provide resources for learning for their children were about (93%).
Sperns (2011) studied the relationship between parents and schools and their
responsibility for the students’ education. 80 students in rural Kenya were randomly selected.
The study revealed that schools were solely responsible for all the school requirements in
terms of books, uniform, etc. and that parents had nothing to do with their wards’ academic
pursuit. This negatively affected the students because they could not achieve academically
like their counterparts whose parents took responsibility for their school needs.
Freijo (2006) argues that different conditions in the family such as economic, social
and cultural can have a continuing effect on students’ academic achievement. He opines that
students whose parents get well-paid and better jobs, who have attained higher levels of
education, have more educational as well as cultural materials at home, tend to perform better
academically than their counterparts because their parents are able to furnish them with
adequate textbooks, pay their fees on time and provide all that is necessary to help them
succeed in school. According to Freijo (2006), the school system is always confronted with
the task of making up for students coming from poor backgrounds since their parents cannot
provide them with their needs.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2007) stated that family
characteristics are a major source of difference when looking at students’ academic
achievement. Well educated parents can make contributions to the education of their wards’
by payment of fees, provision of food, uniforms, etc. The daily interaction with their children
gives them the opportunity to achieve academically. Also parents with very high
occupational status may equally have big dreams and prospects for their wards’ future
profession and educational success, and the resultant influence on their academic growth.
On parental protection, Okeke (2007), observed that raising a child with good
attributes largely depended on the mode of protection adopted by parents. Protecting children
in the parenting process, explains the differences observed in their carriage and requirements,
but also for their progress in school. He further opined that parental protection also affects
children’s choice of career, interaction at the social level, making decisions in life, academic
ambition and in addition will assist in determining our country’s development. Consequently,
the necessity for parents to provide adequate protection for their children is paramount to the
child’s school progress.
Obinajuruoha (2004), studied 129 secondary school students, on parenting techniques
for protecting children from dropping out of school in Africa, and found out that adequate
protection brings peaceful existence (agreement) that motivates children to improve on their
academic achievement. The parent determines the impression their children have about
academics as they bring them up and protect them adequately. Parental protection enables
children to assist in maintaining peace at home through academic success. The findings of
Nwaoba (2011) and Koo’s (2008) clearly shows that many times, parents misfire by causing
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disharmony at home which impedes their children’s academic success due to their inability to
keep watch over their children at home and in school.
Nwazor (2003) emphasised the need for parents to create accord and protection at
their homes for their children’s academic success. He listed important methods of protecting
children in their various homes. These are:
1. Toning down your voice even when it has to do with correcting a fundamental mistake in
your ward’s school assignment.
2. Allowing each child to take turns and express their feelings on his experiences at school
at meal time.
3. Respecting each child equally – parents should desist from looking down on any child.
Not even those that are not performing well at school.
4. Setting home rules about academic success and sticking to them.
Anagbogu (2009), carried out a study on the prevention of academic failure through
counselling using 47 parents who did not protect their children by giving them appropriate
counselling. He found out that their children recorded a higher rate of failure than those who
took time to counsel their children. The study then recommended that parents should offer
safety and protective measures. Consequently, parents should devote time for their children
by giving them a listening ear and showing them ways of asserting themselves to ensure
protection against criminal acts. Additionally and very significantly, create a home where
love and togetherness exists to fulfil their needs.
Methodology
The research design adopted for the study is the causal comparative design. The
study used this method since the focus is on finding out the influence of parental provision of
school needs and parental protection on student’s academic achievement.
This research was carried out in Calabar Education Zone of Cross River State. It is
one of the three Education Zones in the State. It comprises of seven Local Government Areas
which are: Akamkpa, Akpabuyo, Biase, Bakassi, Calabar Municipality, Calabar South and
Odukpani. (Southern Senatorial district, Cross River State Government, 2007).
The Zone is bordered to the South by Akwa Ibom State, to the North by Yakurr Local
Government, to the East by the Republic of Cameroon and to the West by Abi Local
Government Area. It is situated between latitude 20o.181 and 30o.251 North of the Equator
and longitude 40o.301 and 50o.161 East of the Greenwich Meridian. It covers a land mass of
13,074km2 (2006: Nigerian census publication).
Calabar Education Zone is endowed with many primary and secondary schools
including St Patrick’s College, Ikot Ansa, and the famous Hope Waddell Training Institution
(HOWAD) which are among the oldest schools founded in Calabar by Irish Catholic and the
Scottish Presbyterian Missionaries respectively. The higher institutions in the zone are:
University of Calabar, Calabar; Cross River University of Technology, Calabar; College of
Health Technology, Calabar and the College of Education, Akamkpa. The zone is naturally
endowed with a heavy rain forest; vast vegetation; varieties of forestry products and trees like
Mahogany, Obeche, Teak, Walnut, etc. Animals populating the rainforest are monkeys,
gorillas, chimpanzees, baboons etc. The major occupation of the people in the Zone includes:
farming, fishing, and hunting. Many are civil servants and a few of them are engaged in
agriculture with major food crops grown like yams, cassava, corn, palm fruit and rice.
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Mineral resources existing in the zone includes: limestone, oil and gas, clay, barite and
quartzite. The major dialects spoken by the people are Efik and Ejagham. The population of
the study consists of the entire 5,584 Senior Secondary Two (SS2) students in the 80
secondary schools across the seven Local Government Areas in the Zone. The stratified and
simple random sampling procedures were used in selecting the required subjects for the
study. The first stage was to stratify Calabar Education Zone proportionately into the seven
Local Government Areas.
The second stage was to randomly select 30% of schools each from the 7 Local
Government Areas, which gave a total of 31 schools. The next stage was to apply the simple
random sampling in selecting the required sample of students that was used in this research,
in doing this 10% was drawn from the population which gave a total of 558 respondents.
However, students were picked using balloting method. Pieces of papers with “yes “and “no”
written on them were rolled and put in a container and those that picked “yes” were used as
sample for the study. A research instrument titled “Parental Provision and Protection
Questionnaire” (PPPQ) was used to gather data for the study. Section A seeks to obtain
personal information from the respondents such as name of school, class, etc while section B
contained a 10-item likert-type sub-scale that measured the level of parental provision as well
as level of parental protection. Section C contained a 20-item test in Biology measuring
respondents’ academic achievement.
The validity of the instrument was determined using face validity. Data obtained
were analysed using the Cronbach alpha coefficient to determine its internal consistency. The
reliability figures for the different sub-scales ranged from 0.73 to 0.87 showing that the
instruments were high enough to be used for the study.
Data analysis
Table 2 - One-way analysis of variance of the influence of parental provision of school needs
and students’ academic achievement in Biology
Group Sum of Degrees of N X̅ SD
Text books squares Freedom 17.61 3.03
Writing materials 266 17.71 2.90
School uniform 129.456 2 142 16.55 2.31
Total 145 17.29 2.75
Sources of variance 550 553 F-value Sig.
552 Mean
Between Groups square 8.110* .001
64.728
Within Groups 4389.933
Total 4519.389 7.982
*P<.05; df=2, 550; F-critical =3.00
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The result of Table 2 above shows that the calculated F-value of 8.110 was higher than the
critical F-value of 3.00. Therefore, the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant
influence of Parental provision of school needs and students’ academic achievement in
Biology was rejected. Consequently, a post-hoc mean comparison was then carried out as
shown in Table 3.
Table 3 - Post-hoc mean comparison with Fisher’s Least Significance Difference (LSD) with
the influence of parental provision of school needs and students’ academic
achievement in Biology.
Parental provision of school N Text books Writing School
needs (266) materials uniform
266
Text books 142 (142) (145)
Writing materials 145
School uniform 17.61a -0.10b 1.06*c
-0.33 17.71a
1.16*c
3.53 3.52
16.55a
MSW=7.982
*<.05, critical t = 1.960, df = 551.
a = the principal diagonal is where the group means: 17.61, 17.71 and 16.55 are placed.
b = above the principal diagonal is where the difference between group mean -0.10 is placed
c = 1.06* and 1.16* are values of Fisher Least Significant Difference for school uniform and
writing materials
Table 4 - One-way analysis of variance of the influence of parental protection on students’
academic achievement in Biology.
Group Sum of Degrees of N X̅ SD
Very protected squares freedom 277 17.53 3.03
Moderately protected 2 143 17.33 2.99
Lowly protected 52.639 133 16.77 2.23
Total 550 553 17.21 2.75
552 Mean F-value Sig.
Sources of variance square
26.319 3.245* .040
Between Groups
8.110
Within Groups 4460.316
Total 4512.955
*P<.05; df=2, 550; F-critical =3.00
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Table 5 - Post-hoc analysis using the Least Significance Difference (LSD) of Fisher with the
influence of parental protection on academic achievement of students in Biology
Parental protection N Highly Moderately Lowly
protected protected protected
Highly protected 277 17.53a 0.20b 0.76*c
Moderately protected 143 0.67 17.33a 0.56*c
Lowly protected 133 2.45 1.60 16.77a
MSW=8.110
*< .05, critical t = 1.960, df = 551.
a = the principal diagonal is where the group means: 17.53, 17.33 and 16.77 are placed.
b = above the principal diagonal is where the difference between group mean, 0.20 is placed
c = 0.76* and 0.56* are the values of Fisher Least Significant Difference for lowly and
moderately protected students.
Discussion of Results
One-way analysis of variance, as shown in Table 2, was used to evaluate the
influence of parental provision of school needs and students’ academic achievement in
Biology. 553 students were used in this research; 266 were provided with textbooks - the
mean and standard deviation were 17.61 and 3.03 respectively. Writing materials were
provided for 142 students with a mean of 17.17 and corresponding standard deviation of
2.90. Those given school uniforms were 145 in number – the mean and standard deviation
were 17.29 and 2.75 respectively.
It can be seen from the One-way analysis of variance that between group sums of
squares is 129.456 and that of within groups is 4389.933. Their respective degrees of
freedom were found to be 2 and 550 respectively. The mean square was 64.728 for between
groups and 7.982 for within groups. The F-calculated value of 8.110 was greater than the
critical F-value of 3.00. Therefore, the null hypothesis which states that there is no significant
influence of Parental provision of school needs and students’ academic achievement in
Biology is rejected (F=8.110; P=.000).
To further test the direction of the mean difference, the least significant difference
(LSD) of Fisher was carried out and presented in Table 3 which shows that the mean
differences for parental provision of text books and writing materials is given as (P>.05; t=-
.74; P=.710, X̅ =-.10). Parental provision of text books and school uniform has a statistical
mean difference as (*P<.05; t=-3.32; P=.000, X̅ = 1.06), while that of parental provision of
writing materials and school uniform is given as (*P<.05; t=-3.00; P=.001, X̅ = 1.16).
Consequently, parental provision of school needs significantly influence students’ academic
achievement in Biology.
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This result is in consonance with the findings of Khan and Zubairi (1999) that making
provision for the child’s school needs is a function of the level of their parents’ education and
financial ability. They contend that most parents who are illiterates with low socio-economic
status do not know what their children’s educational requirements are. Many parents depend
on the school for their children’s education, since such parents lack the money to pay for
their children’s tuition and extra lessons. This results in poor academic achievement by their
children. This is in line with the findings of Fan (2001) that children naturally exhibit some
sense of responsibility when their needs are catered for and perform better as they grow
older.
However, the nature of parental provision of school needs vary at various ages and
class levels of the children. According to Gonzalez-Pienda (2002) parental provision of
school needs tend to reduce as students transit from primary to secondary school. Students
whose parents wanted higher prospects for them showed better academic achievement, from
the outset, and made faster academic progress during the transition period from secondary to
tertiary level of education because their needs were met. Parents are therefore advised to
provide for their wards appropriately for better results in school.
Table 4 shows that parental protection has significant influence on students’ academic
achievement. 553 respondents were used in the study with three levels of parental protection;
of which 277 of them were much protected with mean and standard deviation of 17.53 and
3.03 respectively. Moderately protected students were 143 with mean of 17.33 and standard
deviation of 2.99. For the lowly protected, 133 respondents were sampled resulting in a mean
of 16.77 and standard deviation of 2.23. From the One-way analysis of variance, the between
group sum of squares was 52.639, and the within group of squares was 4460.316 at 2 and 550
degrees of freedom respectively. The mean squares between and within group were 26.319
and 8.110 respectively.
The calculated Fisher’s value amounting to 3.245 was greater than the critical F-value
of 3.00. Accordingly, the null hypothesis stands rejected (F=6.68; P=.001) impling that, there
is a significant influence of parental protection on students’ academic achievement in
Biology. To further test for the direction of the mean differences, the Least Significant
difference (LSD) of Fisher was performed as shown in Table 5. The mean difference for
highly protected and moderately protected students is given thus: (P>.05; t=-.67; P=.491, X̅
=0.20). For highly protected and lowly protected there is a statistical mean difference of
(*P<.05; t=2.45; P=.011, X̅ = 0.76), while for moderately protected and lowly protected the
mean differences is: (P>.05; t=1.60; P=.102, X̅ = 0.56).
This is in line with the work of Okeke (2007) who discovered that the quality of a
child’s upbringing is dependent, to a reasonable extent, on the level of parental protection
that exists in the family. The parental protection accorded the children, accounts for the
differences in personality, needs and progress at school. The findings also agree with
Obinajuruoha (2004) that adequate protection brings about peaceful co-existence (agreement)
which motivates children to improve on their academic achievement. The result also agrees
with Anagbogu (2009), whose study on prevention of academic failure showed that parents,
who do not protect their children through appropriate counselling, recorded higher rate of
failure than those who took time to counsel them.
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Conclusions
In conclusion, therefore, parental provision of school needs and parental protection
affects students’ academic achievement in Biology.
Recommendations
Based on these findings the following recommendations are made:
Parents should ensure they furnish their children with the necessary materials needed
at school irrespective of their socio-economic status. This will serve as an
encouragement in their academic pursuit.
Parents should also take into consideration the age and educational level, of their
wards, when making provisions for them. Remembering that their needs change at
various levels.
The school management should organise workshops for parents and students on
safety measures both at school and at home.
Leaders, teachers and educationists should create awareness on the need for parents to
protect their children. Parents should be made to understand that they can contribute
to the educational success of their children by way of providing a secure atmosphere
at home for peaceful co-existence.
Steps should be taken by government and stakeholders through sensitization and
workshops to encourage illiterate parents to enroll in adult education classes, because
when their literacy level improves it will rub off positively on the educational success
of their wards.
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Huitt, W. (2007). Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Educational Psychology Interactive.
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university students’ academic performance: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
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Sperns K (2011). I buy paraffin so can read in the evening: A study from Kenya about
parental involvement in school. Norway: Oxford University College.
Uruk, A. C., Sayger, T. V., & Cogdal, P. A. (2007). Examining the influence of family
cohesion and adaptability on trauma symptoms and psychological well-being.
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Pupils’ Disruptive Behaviour and Self Concept Development of Primary
School Pupils in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State
1Arit Okonobong Atakpa,
2Dr. Immaculata G. Umoh
&
3Dr. A. U. Inyon
1Department of Early Childhood Care
and Education
College of Education, Afaha Nsit
[email protected] 08180821743
2&3 Department of Early Childhood
and Special Education
Universityo Uyo, Uyo
[email protected] 08027336555
[email protected] 08067195850
Abstract
The study investigated pupils’ disruptive behaviour and self concept development of primary
school pupils in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Four hypotheses were
formulated for the study. The population for this study was all primary five pupils totalling
5000 pupils. Sample size of 100 primary five pupils was drawn from the population. Simple
Proportional and Stratified Random Sampling technique was used to select four (4) primary
schools from each clan in Uyo LGA and twenty-five (25) primary five pupils from each of the
sampled school. The research instrument for data collection was questionnaire. The
instrument was duly validated by three experts and was subjected to reliability test using
Cronbach Alpha Technique which yielded reliability co-efficient of 0.70. The data gathered
was analysed using related t-test statistics. The result revealed that there is a significant
influence of deviant, delinquent, disobedient and hostile behaviour on pupils self concept
development. Based on this finding, it was recommended that: Ministry of Education, head
teachers should ensure that the learning environment is attractive, stimulating and safe.
There should be standard disciplinary measures on violation of school rules and regulations
to check disruptive behaviour of primary school children. Parents and teachers should form
role models; always behaving rightly since their actions powerfully influences their
children’s behaviour than words.
Keywords: Attractive, Stimulating, Safe Environment, Disciplinary Measures, and
Disruptive Behaviour .
Introduction
Disruptive behaviour is the behaviours exhibited to interrupt normal procedure.
National Teachers’ Institute (NTI, 2010) defined disruptive behaviour as those behaviours of
children, which are against schools or class routines, practices and rules.
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Disruptive behaviour simply means behaviour that disturbs or breaks the normal
routine or sequence of things (Akinboye 2006). This behaviour disturbs lessons and causes
discipline problems in the classroom. For example, when a child is uncooperative and
prevents himself and other children in class from working. This behaviour is an activity
that causes distress for teachers, interrupts the learning process which in turn lead teachers to
make continual comments to the child. Also, disruptive behaviour refers to that behaviour
that proves unacceptable to the teachers. This illustrate the fact that behaviour that are
considered disruptive may vary hugely from culture to culture, overtime, or even from
classroom to classroom, with the same school or the myriad activities which disrupt and
impede the teaching and learning process.
Disruptive behaviour are identified as follows: deviant, hostile, disobedient, and
delinquent behaviour . Several studies have found that pupils who exhibited inattentiveness,
withdrawn or aggressive behaviour had low or negative self concept in the elementary
classes (Laad, 2007). Barriga and Doran (2002) suggested that pupils who exhibit these
maladaptive behaviour throughout the early years of school are more likely to gravitate to
other pupils engaging in negative behaviour , face academic failure, and have trouble
interacting with their peers. Nevertheless, a particular behaviour viewed as disruptive may
not necessarily be rule breaking, but inappropriate or disturbing in the classroom setting, for
instance, day dreaming in class, not completing homework, talking in class, lesson
disruptive, bullying, and rudeness to the teacher are named as problem behaviour or
disruptive behaviour .
For any meaningful activity to go on in the classroom, the teacher must control
disruptive behaviour in the classroom and pupils must maintain order and be attentive in the
classroom to develop positive self concept. Scholars such as Barriga and Doran (2002) used
different terminologies to describe disruptive or problematic behaviour of pupils, for
instance, pupils’ misconduct to disciplinary violation in school. These disciplinary violations
according to (Akinboye, 2009).include tardiness, vandalism, fighting and stealing in the
school. When there are explicit rules and regulations in the school and classroom, violation
of these is apparently a “misbehaviour or misconduct” (Akinboye, 2009).
According to Walker (2004), children disruptive behaviour in schools does not
just suddenly happen, in most cases the behaviour manifest overtime and it often associated
with other issues from home, initial upbringing, primary socialization, training or lack of it or
medical conditions. Also, Walker (2004) postulated that positive self concept development
and school success for pupils at any level involves being able to: socialize well in the class
group, complete and perform the work provided in timely fashion and correctly, stay
organized and track with what is coming with assignments, follow the school and classroom
rules and have a positive attitude. As could be noted, every primary grade, school children
have to meet the above five elements in a fashion that is appropriate for their age. However,
pupils’ disruptive behaviour in schools or elsewhere can manifest early, many times outside
the conscious control of the child and therefore requires help from both the parents and the
teachers to overcome this behaviour.
Children who behave disruptively by bullying other children, talking during lesson
or by requiring the teachers to interrupt lessons to discipline them can have a negative effect
on an entire classroom and negative self concept development in their entire life. Teachers
who have disruptive pupils in their classroom may have to spend additional time on
behavioural management, thereby reducing the time the teacher spend teaching. Disruptive
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behaviour would hinder the achievement of learning objectives thereby making the children
to perform poorly during examination and will contribute to negative self concept in future.
Thus, positive behaviour in the classroom as observed by teachers include: active
participation in class, love for learning, adhering to classroom and school rules will
ultimately contribute to school achievement and positive self concept (Collins, 2009).
According to Harrelson (2006), self concept is an individual perception of self
formed through experience with the environment, interaction with significant others, and
attribution on his or her own behaviour. Also, Harrelson (2006) asserted that the way a
person sees himself (self-image) and what value he puts upon himself (self-esteem) is clearly
crucial in determining the goals which he sets for himself, the attitude he holds, the
behaviour he initiates and the responses he makes to others. Nwosu (2008) observed that the
amount of time one spends with a person is one of the main determinants of how significant
that person is in his life and how much influence his attitude and behaviour will have on
one’s behaviour and his attitude towards self. Therefore, a harmonious and properly
oriented classroom setting contributes to the positive self concept of a child while a
disorganized classroom setting might produce a negative self concept.
Deviant behaviour is one of the disruptive behaviour that affects pupils’ self
concept development. This behaviour is seen as not keeping to the rules or norms of the
society, or the schools’ norms. Deviant behaviour is defined as a deviation in behaviour
different from what most people consider to be normal and acceptable, that is turning aside or
away from the set rules of social system or principle of a social or political rule (Nelson
(2006). Such behaviour could be seen as crime, drunkenness, indiscipline in school, home
prostitution, cultism, gambling, stealing, lying and others. It could be noticed that this
behaviour has made children to involve in bad habits that they should not. Rather than
staying in school to learn, they move about the streets and villages without sense of direction
and are likely to meet with bad persons as friends who are corrupt and may introduce them in
robbery, alcohol consumption, prostitution and cultism which will end them in negative self
concept in later life.
Delinquency is a form of anti-social behaviour that portrays the tendency of an
individual committing crime. Gallup (2008) claimed that pupils at school may be seen as
both perpetrators as well as victims of school misconduct. This in turn will or may affect life
at school for pupils and teachers alike. Badden (2006) observed that delinquent children
participate in illegal behaviour, showing anti-social and aggressive manners in adolescence
and continues into adulthood. Badden (2006) also concluded that it is important to account
for this behaviour in childhood in order to determine how children can coordinate their
proper self-image for long term gain for an ideal society.
Hostile behaviour is the most serious of inappropriate behaviour and has the
most serious consequences for both pupils and those in his environment. Violent and
bullying behaviour are specific types of hostile behaviour that result in social withdrawal
among boys and girls which may equally result in poor self concept development (Nwosu,
2003). Whitecom (2007) observed that it is during early formative years that children
development their first self concept, values and attitudes, principles and skills to become life
long learners. Whitecom (2007) added that it is during this period that they build their value
systems towards peace, non-violence and non-hostile in order to have a positive self-image,
self esteem and confidence. Also, Alemika (2012) explained that a child who is always
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showing hostile behaviour right from early years will likely disappoint himself and the
environment he finds himself in the future.
Disobedience is one of the various types of disruptive behaviour exhibited by
primary school pupils, Collins (2009), explained disobedience as an act of failing or refusing
to behave as told or taught. Disobedient children do not only disrupt the ongoing educational
activities of the classroom, but also demand a lot of teachers’ time and attention. Also,
teachers’ feelings of pressure and emotional tension that results from coping with pupils who
are disobedient may have negative effect on classroom management practices and self
concept development of these pupils. According to Johnson (2010), disturbing behaviour or
disobedient in the classroom are stress provoking and intolerable, hence children’s mis
behaviour or disobedient retard the smoothness and effectiveness of teaching and also
impede the learning of the pupils and their classmates which will lead them to negative self
concept to exhibit in later life. Nelson (2006) opined that teachers’ feelings of pressure and
emotional tension that results from coping with pupils who are disobedient may have
negative effect on classroom management practices and self concept development at large.
Nelson (2006) concluded that anti-social and deviant behaviour among others hinder
personal performance and concentration on daily task
However, certain factors such as deviant behaviour , delinquent behaviour ,
disobedient, hostility among others can mar pupils’ academic achievement and self concept
development. On the other hand, active participation in class, love for learning, obedience
in class among others can enhance positive and better achievement in school and self concept
development of pupils.
Statement of the Problem
Disruptive behaviour among pupils is not a new thing in the learning environment
as it often occur despite the efforts of the teacher or parents to prevent it. It sometimes threw
the classroom teacher into confusion which triggers annoyance that frustrate other pupils and
create a hostile learning environment. Moreover, specific behaviour exhibited by primary
school pupils in the classroom has the propensity of directly affecting the learning
environment, self concept and also reducing the pace of teaching and learning. Disruptive
behaviour such as inattention, aggression, hostility, deviant and delinquent behaviour like
lying, stealing, pilfering, truancy etc., detract from the learning environment and usually
require more teachers’ attention and redirection, thus compromising the amount of time spent
on teaching and type of instruction received by pupils which at the end influence their self
concept development.
The prevalence of problematic and disruptive pupils’ behaviour in schools has
called for attention to extensive research on finding the sources of such behaviour and
developing foundation to educate teachers who can effectively manage their classes through
adopting appropriate disruptive strategies. Children disruptive behaviour such as talking,
chronic avoidance of work, interfering with teaching activities, harassing classmates, verbal
insults, rudeness to teachers, deviance and hostility, ranging from infrequent to frequent, mild
to severe is a thorny in everyday classroom.
Moreover, research findings have shown that, disruptive behaviour in school
escalated with time but also lowered self concept, pupils’ achievement and increased
delinquent behaviour. It is of primary importance to identify what exactly are these
behaviours inside classroom. Teachers on the other hand, can develop negative perception of
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pupils who are constantly disruptive. These negative perceptions can affect how children
acquire and use knowledge taught in the classroom, as teachers perceptions are often seen as
an important contributing factors in pupils’ self concept development. Their feelings and
actions toward pupils often have a direct impact on their self concept development, growth,
motivation and learning ability. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the influence of
disruptive behaviour on self concept development of Primary School Pupils in Uyo Local
Government Area.
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to investigate disruptive behaviour and self
concept development of primary school pupils in Uyo Local Government Area. Specifically,
the study sought to:
1. Determine the influence of deviant behaviour on self concept development of
primary school pupils in Uyo Local Government Area.
2. Determine the influence of delinquent behaviour on self concept development of
primary school pupils in Uyo Local Government Area.
3. Determine the influence of disobedient behaviour on self concept development of
primary school pupils in Uyo Local Government Area.
4. Determine the influence of hostile behaviour on self concept development of primary
school pupils in Uyo Local Government Area
Null Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were proposed and tested at 0.05 level of significance:
1. There is no significant influence of deviant behaviour on primary school pupils’ self
concept development.
2. There is no significant influence of delinquent behaviour on primary school pupils’
self concept development.
3. There is no significant influence of disobedient behaviour on self concept
development of Primary School Pupils.
4. There is no significant influence of hostile behaviour on self concept development of
Primary School Pupils.
Methodology
The researchers adopted a descriptive survey design for the study. The population for
this study consisted of all Primary Five Pupils in Uyo Local Government Area estimated
at five thousand (5,000) pupils.
A sample size of 100 primary five pupils was drawn from the population. The sampling
method for this study was the proportional stratified random sampling technique to
enable fair representation of the population of the study with respect to selection of
schools for respondents. Uyo Local Government is made up of 4 clans (Etoi, Oku,
Ikono, and Offot). Four (4) public schools were systematically selected for the study.
This was obtained by randomly selecting one (1) public school in each clan in Uyo Local
Government Area. In each public school, two percent (2%) of the total number of
children both male and female in primary five classes belonged to the sample. Twenty-
five (25) pupils per school were selected. Simple balloting was used. The researcher
wrote numbers on pieces of papers and mixed with papers without numbers written on
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them; then in Primary 5, pupils were required to pick and those with numbers on their
papers were given questionnaire to fill. Two sets of instruments were constructed for
data collection. They are: pupils’ disruptive behaviour questionnaire (PDBQ) and Pupils’
Self Concept of Questionnaire (PSCQ). In PDBQ, the statements were structured on a 4-
Point Likert Scale. Each of the positive statements attracted marks from 4, 3, 2, 1 while
the negative statements attracted reverse score, 1, 2, 3, 4 respectively. The PSCQ was
constructed to gather information on self concept development. The statements were also
structured on a 4-Point Likert Scale. The questionnaire were personally administered to
the respondents and all the copies of questionnaire were collected back for data analysis.
The data obtained were analysed using related t-test analysis.
Results
Null Hypothesis 1:
There is no significant influence of deviant behaviour on self concept development of
Primary School Pupils in Uyo Local Government Area.
Table 1: Related t-test analysis of influence of deviant behaviour on self concept
development of Primary School Pupils
Variables x SD df t-cal crit
Deviant 15.43 5.22 98 2.43 1.96
behaviour 10.30 4.5
Self concept
The table presented above shows related t-test analysis of influence of deviant behaviour on
self concept development Primary school of pupils. The result shows that t-cal of 2.43 is
greater than the t-crit of 1.96 at .05 level of significant with 98 degree of freedom. Thus, the
null hypothesis is rejected and this implies that there is a significant influence of deviant
behaviour on self concept development of pupils.
Null Hypothesis 2: There is no significant influence of delinquent behaviour on self concept
development of Primary School Pupils in Uyo Local Government Area.
Table 2: Related t-test analysis of influence of delinquent behaviour on self concept
development of Primary School Pupils.
Variables x SD df t-cal crit
Delinquent 15.40 6.11 98 2.38 1.96
behaviour 10.30 4.5
Self concept
The table presented above shows related t-test analysis of influence of delinquent
behaviour on self concept development of pupils. The result shows that the t-cal of 2.38 is
greater than t-crit of 1.96 at .05 level of significance with 98 degree of freedom. Therefore,
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the null hypothesis is rejected, while the alternative is upheld. This means that there is a
significant influence of delinquent behaviour on self concept development of pupils.
Hypothesis 3:There is no significance influence of disobedient behaviour on self concept
development of Primary School Pupils in Uyo Local Government Area.
Table 3: Related t-test analysis of influence of disobedient behaviour on self concept
development of pupils.
Variables x SD df t-cal crit
Disobedient 14.47 7.34 98 4.95 1.96
behaviour 10.30 4.5
Self concept
The table presented above shows related t-test analysis of influence of disobedient
behaviour on self concept development of pupils. The result shows that the t-cal of 4095 is
greater than t-crit of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance with 98 degree of freedom. This
means that the null hypothesis is rejected. Thus, there is a significant influence of
disobedient behaviour on self concept development of Primary School Pupils.
Hypothesis 4: There is no significance influence of hostile behaviour on self concept
development of Primary School Pupils in Uyo Local Government Area.
Table 4: Related t-test analysis of influence of hostile behaviour on self concept
development of Pupils.
Variables x SD df t-cal crit
Hostile 18.04 5.47 98 3.33 1.96
behaviour 10.30 4.5
Self concept
The table presented above shows related t-test analysis of hostile behaviour and self
concept development of pupils in Uyo Local Government Area. The result shows that the t-
cal of 3.33 is greater than t-crit of 1.96 at 0.05 level of significance with 98 degree of
freedom. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected, meaning that there is a significant influence of
hostile behaviour on self concept development of Primary School Pupils.
Discussion of Findings
The result of the study as presented in Table 1 was significant because the obtained t-value
(2.43) was greater than the critical t-value (1.96) at .05 levels with 98 degree of freedom.
This result implies that there is a significant influence of deviant behaviour on pupils’ self
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concept development. The findings of the study is in line with the opinion of Collins (2011)
who concluded that children who exhibit deviant behaviour negative self concept and
perform poor in school. Collins (2011) concluded that primary school pupils become deviant
when they engaged in activities which are not under the control of the school system which
results in law breaking and label them as poor self-image children. Akinboye (2009)
supported this assertion that children who are deviant deviate from the norms of a particular
people in the society or community which decrease their responsibilities as they grow older
and encourage negative self concept when they are adults.
The result of data analysis on Table 2 was significant because the obtained t-value
(2.38) was greater than the critical t-value (1.96) at .05 level of significance with 98 degree
of freedom. The result therefore means that there is a significant influence of delinquent
behaviour on self concept development of primary school pupils. The significance of the
study is in agreement with the idea of Badden (2006) who observed that delinquent children
participate in illegal behaviour, showing anti-social and aggressive manners in adolescence
and continues into adulthood. Badden (2006) also concluded that it is important to account
for this behaviour in childhood in order to determine how children can coordinate their
proper self-image for long term gain for an ideal society.
The findings of the study also revealed that there is a significant influence of disobedient
behaviour on self concept development of primary school pupils. This was presented in
Table 3 where the obtained t-value (4.95) was greater than the critical-value (1.96) at .05
level with 98 degree of freedom. The opinion of Johnson (2010) is in support of this result
who reported that disturbing behaviour or disobedient in the classroom are stress provoking
and intolerable, hence children’s mis behaviour or disobedient retard the smoothness and
effectiveness of teaching and also impede the learning of the pupils and their classmates
which will lead them to negative self concept to exhibit in later life. The significance of the
result is also in agreement with the findings of Nelson (2006) who opined that teachers’
feelings of pressure and emotional tension that results from coping with pupils who are
disobedient may have negative effect on classroom management practices and self concept
development at large. Nelson (2006) asserted that anti-social and deviant behaviour among
others hinder personal performance and concentration on daily task.
Data analysis on Table 4 was significant. This result implies that hostile behaviour is
influenced by self concept development of primary school pupils. The significance of the
result is in agreement with the idea of Alemika (2012) who supported this result by
concluding that a child who is always showing hostile behaviour right from early years will
likely disappoint himself and the environment he finds himself in the future.
Conclusion
Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions are made: pupils’ disruptive
behaviour has a significant influence on pupils’ self concept development in the primary
school. Some of the disruptive behaviour identified are deviant, delinquent, disobedient
and hostile behaviour as having significant influence on pupils concept development.
Therefore, for any meaningful activity to go on in the classroom, the teacher must control
disruptive behaviour in the classroom
Recommendations
1. Deviant children should change their behavious to suit the normal and acceptable
norms of the society.
2. Children who exhibit delinquent behaviour should stop participating in illegal and
antisocial behaviour .
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3. Parents of pupils who bully other children should be made to sign undertaking to stop
this behaviour.
4. Ministry of Education should ensure that the learning environment is attractive and
conducive for learning.
5. Head teachers should ensure that the learning environment is stimulating and safe for
children.
6. Teachers should set standard disciplinary measures on violation of school rules and
regulations to check disruptive behaviour of children.
7. Head teachers should ensure that only early childhood educators are allowed to teach
very young children.
8. Parents and teachers should form role models for children to observe and imitate
always by behaving rightly since their actions powerfully influence their children’s
behaviour than words.
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Vol. 8(2) 2017 Page 87
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eISSN: 2489-0170 pISSN:2489-4162 University of Uyo
Re-Training Skill Needs for Agricultural Science Teachers and Animal
Husbandry Trade Curriculum Implementation in Secondary Schools
Dr. Uduakobong Aniebiat Okon,
Bishie-Unnung Stephanie
&
Gladys Eyo Agbor
Vocational Education
Faculty of Education
University of Uyo
Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate re-training skills need areas for agricultural
science teachers in the new animal husbandry trade curriculum, requisite for effective
implementation in Obanliku LGA of Cross River State? Survey design was adopted for the
study. The population of the study consisted of agricultural science teachers in public
secondary schools from which 30 Agricultural Science Teachers who were farm masters and
mistresses were purposively drawn to constitute the sample of the study. Reliable, validated
and researcher structured, questionnaire was used for data collection. In the results, Re-
training skill needs identified included; Farm Animals health management skills with mean
score at 3.35, Farm Animal reproduction management skills with mean score at 3.25 and
Farm Animal housing construction skills with mean score at 3.15 among other skill needs.
There was no significant difference by gender of agricultural science teachers’ responses on
the re-training skills need areas for effective implementation of the new animal husbandry
trade curriculum The federal government of Nigeria should create and support re-training
programmes for already existing agricultural science teachers in the areas of identified skill
needs and support trades and entrepreneurship education in tertiary institutions for the
teacher trainees to gain adequate skills.
Key words: Re-Training Skills, Agricultural Science Teachers, Animal Husbandry Trade,
Curriculum, Implementation,
Introduction
The relevance of entrepreneurship as a development tool has necessitated its inculcation
in the secondary school curriculum at in Nigeria. Hence, trade and entrepreneurial
education has become a compulsory aspect of education for senior secondary students with
the aim of impacting students with the necessary entrepreneurial skills for self-reliance as
well as economic development. Trade and entrepreneurship education (TEE) entails the type
of education or training given to a child/student in any of the T/E subjects. It is structured
into the school system in such a way that it targets all round development of students who
will undergo the program. Students are therefore expected to offer at least one T/E subject
and be assessed in NECO/WAEC irrespective of their field of study, making T/E subject(s)
one of the four compulsory core cross cutting subjects in the new secondary school education
curriculum (SSEC) (Osuafor, 2012). The rationale for trade and entrepreneurship curriculum
(T/EC) according to Orji (2013) is outlined as follows: to attain the objectives of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategy (NEEDS); to make secondary school education functional to the
Vol. 8(2) 2017 Page 88
Benchmark Journals INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL BENCHMARK (IJEB),
eISSN: 2489-0170 pISSN:2489-4162 University of Uyo
extent that school graduates have vocational, technical and entrepreneurial skills and
competences necessary to generate jobs and create wealth, and in the process eradicate
poverty; to address the dearth of technical skills and a growing demand for services of the
skills in Nigeria. The new curriculum targets, among other things, building students in the
knowledge, skills and motivation to successfully start and sustain a profitable business. It
will offers self-employment and meet the demands of the new global work-place; and it’s
hoped that the new breeds of school leavers would have the spirit of enterprise and industry.
Orji went further to list some advantages of the T/EE if implemented properly, will promote:
occupational aspirations and job readiness; hands-on work-based experience; acquisition of
functional organizational skills; development of responsible and enterprising individuals;
capacity for independent work etc.
Since teachers are the implementers and one of the key elements of effective
teaching, their competence in the delivery of the trade subjects is worthy of consideration.
T/EC celebrates hands on knowledge and experience, and teachers who are supposed to
ensure the achievement of the aims and objectives of the curriculum should not embrace it
differently. Odubunmi in Danmole (2011) observed that, a teacher who does not understand
the of a subject might find it difficult to teach the subject. It is pertinent to say that, before a
teacher should be assigned to carry out the instruction of any of the trade subjects, he/she
must have been equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills so that he/she can in turn
impact same if not more to his/her students to achieve effectiveness in the teaching and
learning process.
The restructuring of the secondary school curriculum is aimed at meeting emerging
educational needs and global competitiveness but like any innovation, the implementation of
the restructured curriculum seems to be confronted with some inherent challenges, some of
which are lack of textual materials, poor infrastructure, and lack of suitably qualified teachers
(Osuafor, 2012). (Danmole, 2011) rightly mentioned that, teachers constitute the human
resource required for the facilitation of achievement of the objectives of the curriculum and
its implementation. It is the researchers observation that, in most secondary school (if not all)
in Cross River State, Agricultural Science teachers are the same individuals teaching all the
agricultural related trade subjects like animal husbandry, fisheries, etc, even when most of
these teachers do not have the skills for effective delivery of the lessons.
Since T/EC encourages hands-on job experience for effective skill acquisition, one
will agree that the manner in which the teachers are expected to pass instruction to students is
more of practicals than the normal classroom teaching and learning process so that students
can acquire the said entrepreneurial skills and training to succeed in an ever-changing
workplace. More so, the effective implementation of animal husbandry trade curriculum
entails that students have been equipped with requisite skills and knowledge for job creation,
wealth generation and poverty alleviation (Orji, 2013). It is therefore pertinent for these
teachers to be re-trained so they can provide students with both classroom and hands-on job
experiences related to their chosen trade subject - animal husbandry, to enhance students’
interest, career aspirations, and goals achievement as well as effective implementation.
In line with the previous statement, (Danmole, 2011) said that the training and re-
training of teachers is necessary for them to enact a reform-based curriculum such as that of
the T/EC. In addition, Ibrahim (2015) said that, going by what is happening in the classroom
by the teachers, the students’ poor performances in the external examinations and the key
Vol. 8(2) 2017 Page 89
Benchmark Journals INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL BENCHMARK (IJEB),
eISSN: 2489-0170 pISSN:2489-4162 University of Uyo
position held by the classroom teachers in the implementation of school curriculum activities,
appropriate training and retraining (in-service) becomes very essential in Nigerian
educational system. It is therefore obvious that, the challenge of any reform (curriculum) in
Nigeria is actually in the implementation of such reform. Hence, the study re-training needs
assessment for Agricultural Science teachers and Agricultural trade curriculum
implementation in secondary schools in Cross River State.
Agricultural science teachers are individuals that had trained in general agricultural
knowledge, skills, attitudes coupled with pedagogy.. So, these teachers at their training use a
curriculum on which their knowledge based is anchored upon. And it is this same curriculum
that is expected to be implemented by these group of individuals in their profession as
teachers.
Realities have shown that, there is a serious drift in terms of change in curriculum
content and context from the original curriculum with which these teachers were trained. The
new curriculum emphasizes trade and entrepreneurship, which requires adequate skills for
effective implementation even though it is agricultural-based. It is looking at agriculture
beyond farming and classroom instruction, rather as an enterprise. It therefore implies that, so
many concepts that are alienate to the former curriculum have been greatly injected into the
new curriculum without a corresponding re-training of the teachers in skills acquisition who
will implement the new curriculum. It is therefore imperative that if the objectives of the new
curriculum will be achieved, it is necessary that the teachers who are the operators of the
curriculum be exposed to a modern level approach as demanded by the new curriculum. It is
in this regard that the researchers investigated is need for a re-training of Agricultural
Science teachers to enable them implement the new curriculum effectively and efficiently.
Objective of the study
The objective of this study was to investigate re-training skills need areas for agricultural
science teachers in the new animal husbandry trade curriculum requisite for effective
implementation?
Research Question
The following research questions guided the study:
What are the re-training skills need areas for agricultural science teachers in the new
animal husbandry trade curriculum requisite for effective implementation?
Research Hypothesis
There is no significant difference in the mean ratings of male and female agricultural
science teachers’ responses on the re-training skills needs areas for effective
implementation of the new animal husbandry trade curriculum?
Theoretical Framework
a) The theoretical framework of the study was hinged on Obanya’s (2004) functional
curriculum theory. This theory posits that, for Africa to get to the level at which it can
contribute to the world pool of knowledge, ideas, inventions, human and financial capitals
Vol. 8(2) 2017 Page 90
Benchmark Journals INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL BENCHMARK (IJEB),
eISSN: 2489-0170 pISSN:2489-4162 University of Uyo
and become fully participating member of the global economy, it has to embrace a
curriculum that is tripartite in nature and practical. According to him, this could be done
following the goal of personal development for contributions to social transformation: A
variety of core skills for lifelong learning, vocational awareness and vocational activities,
entrepreneurship, creativity, communication and interpersonal conduct, self-awareness
among other goals.
According to him, functional content education simply says that the situation in which the
child is growing, and the one he/she is going to live in should determine the way education is
carried out, including what is taught and how it is to be taught and learned. Functional
education states that the purpose of education is to acquire skills of adapting to it and acting
to influence it thereby contributing to its development. The later functions require specific
skills which education should seek to inculcate. According to him, the notion of functional
skills education has already been applied to the various aspects of education. In basic literacy
programs, it refers to the application of reading and writing to solving day-to-day problems,
including the improvement of one’s living conditions. In the education of people with
disabilities, it refers to the skills required to overcome disabilities. In the training of teachers,
it means the aptitudes and abilities needed to promote learning to get the best out of learner.
Methodology
Survey design was adopted for the study. The area of the study was Obanliku Local
Government Area of Cross River State. The population of the study consisted of agricultural
science teachers in public secondary schools from which a sample of 30 Agricultural
Science teachers who were farm masters and mistresses were purposively sampled. School
farm masters and mistresses were chosen because they were the most relevant set of teachers
to identify the re-training skills areas needed for curriculum implementation. Questionnaire
tagged Agricultural Science Teachers Re-training Skills Needs (ATRSN) Questionnaire was
used for data collection. The instrument was structured with a four-point rating scale of
Strongly Agree SA, Agree A, Disagree D and Strongly Disagree SD); and with 11 items.
Mean of 2.50 was the cut-off point for each item, mean responses of items with 2.50 and
above were considered agreed otherwise disagreed.
The instrument was face validated by experts in Agricultural Education Unit in the
Department of Vocational Education, University of Uyo. . Crombach alpha technique was
used to determine the reliability of the instrument and a coefficient of 0.89 was obtained and
adopted. Questionnaires were administered by the researchers to the subjects and collected
immediately after completion with a 100% return rates. Mean and standard deviation was
used to answer the research questions. Statistical tool used was Independent t-test for testing
of hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance.
Presentation of Data Analysis and Discussion of Findings
The results of the analysis were presented based on the research question and the hypothesis.
Vol. 8(2) 2017 Page 91
Benchmark Journals INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL BENCHMARK (IJEB),
eISSN: 2489-0170 pISSN:2489-4162 University of Uyo
Table 1: Mean Responses of Agricultural Science Teachers on Areas of Skills Re-Training
Needs in Animal husbandry for Effective Implementation of the New Trade Curriculum.
N=30
S/NO. Items of Re-Training Skills Needs in Mean SD REMARKS
1. Animal Husbandry for Agricultural 3.10 0.97 Agreed
Science Techers.
Animal Farm budgeting skills
2. Skills in identification of prolific breeds of 2.65 0.48 Agreed
1.83 Agreed
farm animals 0.91 Agreed
0.69 Agreed
3. Farm Animal Housing Construction 3.15
skills
4. Farm Animal house Hygiene 2.90
maintenance skills
5. Farm Animal Feeding Skills 2.50
6. Farm Animal Paste control skills 2.55 1.10 Agreed
7. Farm Animals health management skills 3.35 0.49 Agreed
8. Farm Animal growth/reproduction 3.25 0.91 Agreed
management skills
9. Farm Animal harvesting skills animals 2.05 1.36 Agreed
10. Farm Animal product processing and 2.35 1.44 Agreed
packaging skills 2.58 0.68 Agreed
11. Farm Animal marketing skills
12. Farm equipment/facility maintenance 2.52 0.05 Agreed
13. GRAND MEAN 2.80
Field Work 2015
Results in table 1 shows that all responses on the items had a mean greater than 2.50, which
is the cut-off point to identified agricultural science teachers as areas of need for a re-training
in animal husbandry for effective implementation of the curriculum.
Table 2: t-test Analysis by Gender of Agricultural Science Teachers’ responses on the areas
of need for re-training in animal husbandry, for effective implementation of the new
Respondent n mean SD df t-cal P<0.05 Decision
Male farmer 19 2.54 .53
28 2.240 .449 ns
Female farmer 12 2.63 .50
= Not Significant at p> .05, df = 28,
In Table 1, since the calculated t-test value is 2.24 .449, at 28 degree of freedom and is
greater than the set alpha level of 0.05, the null hypothesis is therefore upheld. Meaning
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The “International Journal of Educational Benchmark” (IJEB), is a multidisciplinary, double-blind, peer reviewed, open access journal, publishing original academic articles that deal with issues of international relevance in educational theory, methodology and practice. The journal has a distinguished editorial board with extensive academic records, helping to ensure that high academic quality benchmarks and scientific standards are maintained. IJEB publishes theoretical and empirical and theoretical papers. IJEB seeks to acquaint a wide spectrum of readers with the quality research being done in various educational institutions, research bodies and intellectual institutions. IJEB therefore welcomes wide comparative and transnational studies, essays, research papers that are addressing this community’s qualitative and quantitative concerns. Importance and preference will be given to those articles that address and contribute to important disciplinary and interdisciplinary queries, clarifications, problem statements and controversies. The journal publishes original research articles on a wide range of topics of contemporary relevance in the broad fields of Arts, Education and Humanities.
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