ABSTRACT
The
study investigated how learning barrier influence academic performance of
sandwich undergraduate student of University of Lagos. The descriptive survey
research was adopted for the study. Three research question were generated
while one hypotheses were postulated for the study. The population of the study
comprises all the sandwich undergraduate student of University of Lagos. This
study adopted stratified random sampling technique to select the respondents.
The population of the sandwich students are 1448 and they are six departments
under the sample comprised Art and Social
Science 39, Adult education 18, Science and Tech 21, HKE18, Edu
Foundation 32, Edu Administration 22, with the total of 150 respondent. The instrument
used for data collection is questionnaire. Data collected were analysed with
percentage, and t-test. The findings shows that (1.) the
adult learner find it hard to cope with their home and academic at the same
time especially the female learner, (2) the adult learner occupation does not
give them chance often to come to class and the workload overwhelms them before
getting home (3.) the adult male learner always have high performance on like
the female learner because of their responsibility at home. Income 72(48.0%) of responded disagree
that income affect academic performance which means that academic performance
is not affected by income, occupation affect academic performance 87 (58.0%) of
responded strongly agree that they want to be educated in other to be useful to
themselves. Home background affect academic performance and also school background
affect academic performance; 47(37.3%) of respondent agree that their GPA is
more than 2.5. There is significant different between socioeconomic on academic
performance, there is no significant difference between home environment on
academic performance, there is significant difference between school background
on academic performance. Based on the findings of the study the following
recommendations were made (1) the facilitator should try as much as possible to
make things easier for the adult in terms of teaching and motivation. (2) the
adult learner should try to explain to their boss at work in other to be able
to cope with their academic, also for them to be able to meet up with their
clases. (3) female adult learner should take their children to day care or get
a house keep that will help in the house work. (4) the adult learner should
learn how to cope with there home and academic by adjusting their time.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of Contents vi
CHAPTER ONE:
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the study 1
1.2
Statement of the problem 8
1.3
Purpose of the study 8
1.4
Research question 8
1.5
Research hypothesis
9
1.6
Significant of the study
9
1.7
Scope and Delimitation of the study 10
1.8
Definition of the terms 10
CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction 12
2.1 Adult and Adult learner 12
2.2 Learning Barriers on
academic performance 13
2.3 Performance of Adult
learners 15
2.4 Social-economic Status
on academic performance 17
2.5 Home Environment on
academic performance 20
2.6 School background
on academic performance 23
CHAPTER
THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction 26
3.1 Research Design 26
3.2 Research Population 26
3.3 Sample and Sampling technique 26
3.4 Research
Instrument 28
3.5 Validity of research instrument 28
3.6 Procedure for data collection 29
3.7 Data Analysis 29
CHAPTER
FOUR: PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA.
4.0 Data analysis 30
4.1 Analysis of the
bio-data of the respondents 30
4.2 Data presentation
analysis 34
CHAPTER
FIVE; SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Summary of Findings 43
5.2 Conclusion 44
5.1 Recommendation 44
References 45
Appendix 49
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In this era of globalization and technological
revolution, education is considered as a first step for every human activity.
It plays a vital role in the development of human capital and is linked with an
individual’s well being and opportunities for better living (Battle &
Lewis, 2002). It ensures the acquisition of knowledge and skills that enable
individuals to increase their productivity and improve their quality of life.
This increase in productivity also leads towards new sources of earning which
enhances the economic growth of a country (Saxton, 2000).
The
history of sandwich programme at the University of Lagos cannot be separated
from the university’s institution of education. The institution was established
as an outreach unit to provide pre-service in service and continuing education
for professional teachers and educators. As an instrument for furthering these
objectives, the institute initiated the sandwich programme; under the
leadership of professor Segun Adesina
who became the director of the institute in December 1990, the sandwich
programme took off, on the 20th of December 1993.The undergraduate
progammesin education commenced on the 27th July 1996.These
undergraduate programmes are of four, five or six long vacations duration
depending on the entry qualification.
Perspectives
on adult learning have changed dramatically over the decades. Adult learning
has been viewed as a process of being freed from the oppression of being
illiterate, a means of gaining knowledge and skills, a way to satisfy learner
needs, and a process of critical self-reflection that can lead to
transformation. The phenomenon of adult learning is complex and difficult to
capture in any one definition (Cranton, 1994). Adult learners are those adults
who engage in learning activities that may promote any sustained change in
thinking, values, or behavior (Cranton, 1992).
Adult
learners participate in many types of formal and informal education activities
that they hope will help them function effectively in the changing world around
them (Taylor, Marienau, & Fiddler, 2000) or for the purpose of achieving
some personal sense of fulfillment, for bringing about improvement in their
lives, or even for the sake of leisure or recreation (Mott, 2000). Some of the
first studies which examined the reasons adult learners participate in
educational activities of any kind were conducted by Houle (1961) and Johnstone
and Rivera (1965). Adult learners have a different approach to learning. The
process of helping adults learn is called andragogy; Learning in adulthood can
be distinguished from childhood in terms of the learner, the context and to
some extent, the learning process (Merriam, 2007). Mezirow and his associates propose that the
process of transformation is set in motion by a disorienting dilemma, such as a
job loss, that may stimulate adults to reflect upon and examine their beliefs.
This critical reflection may lead to reflective discourse with others,
expanding adult learners’ historical and cultural understandings of their
needs, wants, and interests, which may lead to new self-knowledge and further
opening the door for future learning and development.
Understanding of adult learners have
frequently focused on individual learners and psychological approaches to
learning and development, but in the past 20 years, expanded understandings of
learning have recognized broader contexts and structural factors that may
impact learning (Caffarella& Merriam, 2000).
These
structural factors include the role race, class, gender, ethnicity, ability,
power, and oppression play in adult education programs and access to learning
opportunities. Hansman (2001) explains that context structures learning through
the “interactions among learners, the tools they use within these interaction,
the activities itself formal learning activities in the 12 months prior to the
survey: English as a second language (ESL) classes; adult basic education
classes; apprenticeship programs; work related or personal interest courses;
and college, university, and vocational/technical degree or certificate
programs (Kienzl, 2008). Other outcomes of the study showed that 72% of adults
with at least a bachelor’s degree participated in formal education programs,
while only 26% of adults with neither a high school diploma nor a GED
credential participated in formal education. Adults with lower education levels
also participated less frequently in work related and personal interest
courses, and when they did participate, they took fewer classes, making it less
likely for their participation to result in upward mobility or potential
personal gain (Creighton & Hudson, 2001; Kienzl, 2008; NCES, 2007). The
cost of participation in educational opportunities may be an essential barrier
for adults with less education and less than full time employment, as adults
employed full time may have employers who pay for at least some of their
educational classes. The desire for greater self esteem and feelings of self
worth also factor into adult participation in formal learning opportunities,
particularly in English as second language and basic skills preparation classes
O’Donnell (2006) found that the majority of English as second language
participants reported having taken English as second language classes to either
improve the way that they feel about themselves (95%) or to make it easier to
do things on a day to day basis (93%). He also established that 78% of adults
taking basic skills preparation classes reported doing so to improve the way
they felt about themselves, although 55% viewed the classes as a way to gain
employment with a different employer.
In addition, 45%
viewed basic skills classes as the means to gaining a raise or promotion,
28%found the classes helpful for assisting their children with their school
work, and 18%engaged in these classes to qualify for public assistance. These
data show that adults recognize education as a path to advance their economic
and personal lives. Barriers that are beyond the individual’s control are
termed external, while barriers that reflect personal attitudes are termed internal
(Merriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 1999).
According to ESL
Literacy Network 2014, learning barrier are problems or situation that prevent
learners from accessing programs, make it difficult for learners to go to class
or make it hard for learners to concentrate and learn. Adult educators
distinguish between perceived barriers and actual barriers to adult learning
and form these into three categories: institutional barriers (practices that
exclude or discourage adults), situational barriers (arising from one's life
situation), and dispositional barriers (attitudes and perceptions about oneself
as learner). If adult learners become motivated, internal barriers to
participation decrease.
Many
adults have experienced so much criticism, failure, and discouragement in their
youth that their self confidence and sense of worth are damaged. In a new
learning environment, adults often are anxious, fear failure, and dread
rejection by their peer group (Kennedy, 2003). How will I juggle family, work
and school? There are only so many hours in a day. Women, by characteristic,
experience a greater amount of guilt about her student role if she feels it
interrupts her responsibility for maintaining her role within the family.
Consequently, if she feels too much strain during this time, she will
ultimately give up school to make things easier (Shields, 1994).
While
adult learners who have some academic skills can find learning opportunities to
refresh these skills, those who have very poor literacy skills or who have
difficulty communicating in the language of instruction may not be able to gain
easy access to related programs (MacKeracher, Suart, Potter 2006).
Academic
performance according to the Cambridge University Reporter (2003) is frequently
defined in terms of examination performance. In this study academic performance
was characterized by performance in tests, in course work and performance in
examinations of undergraduate students. Academic performance is commonly
measured by examination or continuous assessment but there is no general
agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are most important
procedural knowledge such as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts.
Individual differences in academic performance have been linked to differences in
intelligence and personality. Students
with higher mental ability as demonstrated by tests and those who are higher in
conscientiousness (linked to effort and achievement motivation) tend to achieve
highly in academic settings. A recent meta analysis suggested that mental
curiosity (as measured by typical intellectual engagement has an important influence on academic
achievement in addition to intelligence and conscientiousness. learners
semi-structured home learning environment transitions into a more structured
learning environment when learners start first grade. Early academic
achievement enhances later academic achievement. According to Graetz (1995),
one’s educational success depends very strongly on social economic status of
the parents. The researcher adapted the systems theory input-output model
advanced by Ludwig Von Bertalanffy in the early 1950s.
This
theory, according to Koontz and Weirich (1988) postulates that an organized
enterprise does not exist in a vacuum but is dependant on its external
environment thus the enterprise receives inputs, transforms them and exports
the out put to the environment. In this study the university admits students
(inputs) and then transforms them through teaching and learning which is
reflected by the students’ academic performance (output). Another very
important enhancer of academic achievement is the presence of physical
activity. Studies have shown that physical activity can increase neural
activity in the brain. Exercise specifically increases executive brain
functions such as attention span and working memory. Adults have a need to be
self-directed, deciding for themselves what they want to learn. They enter into
the learning process with a goal in mind and generally take a leadership role
in their learning. The challenge for teachers is to be encouraging to the
learner) but also reinforce the process of learning. The endpoint of learning
cannot always occur quickly or on a pre-set timeline. The reasons most adults
enter any learning experience is to create change. This could encompass a
change in (a) their skills, (b) behavior, (c) knowledge level, or (d) even
their attitudes about things (Adult Education Centre, 2005). Compared to
school-age children, the major differences in adult learners are in the degree
of motivation, the amount of previous experience, the level of engagement in
the learning process, and how the learning is applied. Each adult brings to the
learning experience preconceived thoughts and feelings that will be influenced
by each of these factors. Assessing the level of these traits and the readiness
to learn should be included each time a teaching experience is being planned. Adults
have a greater depth, breadth, and variation in the quality of previous life
experiences than younger people (O'Brien, 2004).
Past educational
or work experiences may color or bias the patient's perceived ideas about how
education will occur. If successfully guided by the health care provider,
former experiences can assist the adult to connect the current learning
experience to something learned in the past. This may also facilitate in making
the learning experience more meaningful. However, past experiences may actually
make the task harder if these biases are not recognized as being present by the
teacher. Theory of Educational Productivity by Walberg (1981) determined three
groups of nine factors based on affective, cognitive and behavioral skills for
optimization of learning that is influence by
academic performance: Aptitude (ability, development and motivation);
instruction (amount and quality); environment (home, classroom, peers and
television) (Roberts, 2007).
It is generally assumed that the
learners who showed better or higher performance in the starting classes of
their studies also performed better in future academic years at degree level.
From the last two decades it has been noticed significantly that there is great
addition in research literature and review material relating to indicators of
academic achievement with much emphasis on this dialogue, whether traditional
achievement measures of academic performance are best determinants of future
academic gain at university or higher level or innovative measures. The daily
routine of university life brings new sleeping and eating habits, increased workload,
and new responsibilities. They must adjust to being away from home, perhaps for
the first time, and maintain a balance between high level of academic success
and a new social environment. The amount of stress experienced may be
influenced by the individual's ability to effectively cope with stressful
events or situations (Zurilla and Sheedy, 1991).
Environment comprises factors that play
a role in academic performance, home environment also
influence the academic performance of students. There is a range of factors
that affect the quality of performance of students (Waters & Marzano,
2006).
As at 2012, those that
enroll into sandwich programme was 220 student and as at 2013,those that enroll
into sandwich programme was at 156. According to the report
the researcher got , it was due to the fact that the management did not
make notification of the programme on time but before then, the enrollment into
sandwich programme has reduce.
Keeping in view all these
discussions, researchers conducted this study to examine the influence of
learning barriers on the academic performance of sandwich student of university
of Lagos Akoka Yaba.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
An
Adult learner has different motives of enrolling into Sandwich Programme. Some enroll in order for them to continue
their study and at the same time working, some enroll in order for them to be
able to take care of their family. These adults are married, unmarried,
employed, unemployed and self employed.
They are engage in diverse things that occupy their time, and many of
these learners find it hard to concentrate and learn due to their
responsibilities which must be balanced against the demand of learning, else, adult may have barriers against participating
in learning. Some of these barriers
include lack of time in order words adult learner lack the time to juggle
family work and study at the same time, lack of confidence, lack of information
about opportunities to learn. Looking at
the enrolment into Sandwich Programme one will notice a sharp reduction in the
student enrolment. As at 2012 those that
enroll was 220 student and as at 2013 those that enroll was 156. Considering this reduction especially in
Adult Education Department, the researcher sought to find out the challenges
facing this learner and the reasons for their reduction. This research work
therefore like to look at how learning barrier influence the performance of
adult learner.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The main purpose of this study is to
assess learning barriers on academic performance of adult, in specific terms
this study sought to;
1. determine the
effect of socio-economic on academic performance of adult learners;
2 establish the effect of home environment on
academic performance;
3. identify the effect of school background on
academic performance.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
i. What are the effects of socio-economic on
academic performance of adult learners?
ii. What
are the effect of home environment on academic performance of adult learners?
iii. What are the effect of
school background on academic performance?
1.5 RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS
In other to achieve the objectives of
this research, the researcher makes the following hypothesis-
H01: There is no significant
difference between socio-economics status and academic performance of adult
learners.
H02: There is no significant
difference between home environment and academic performance of adult learners.
H03: There is no significant
difference between school background and academic performance of adult
learners.
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
STUDY
The
study will be helpful to both the adult and the facilitator. It will help the
facilitator to understand the adult and their problems and how to help them
design and implement policies and strategies to improve
their academic performance and the quality of education by changing the
attitudes of adult towards learning, and improving the teaching procedures.
The facilitator
can use the outcome of the study to solve the adult problems; it may also
create awareness among adults about their rights and responsibilities to
achieve quality education. The report
will also be a source of reference for other researchers intending to study
academic performance of University of Lagos Sandwich students.
1.7 SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The study focusing on the influence of
learning barrier on academic performance of Adult learners, discussing how the
socio-economic affect academic performance of adult learner, how home
environment affect academic performance, and how school background affect
academic performance.
The study was carried out on six department
which comprises of HKE, adult education, educational foundation, educational
administration, arts and social sciences, sciences and technology, Sandwich
students of University of Lagos AkokaYaba.
1.9 DEFINITION OF THE TERMS
Adult
–In
this research work, an adult is a grown up person who is continuing his or her
education. An adult in this research maybe a married person or an adult that is
not married who is an undergraduate of an institution. Also this adult can be
self employed, employed by an organization or unemployed.
Adult
learner-In this research work, adult
learners are those adults who engage in learning activities that may promote
any sustained change in thinking, values, or behavior. This adult learner
engaged into learning with different motives.
Academic
performance–In this research work, academic achievement
or (academic) performance is the outcome of education, the extent to which a
student, teacher or institution has achieved their educational goals. In this
research work, the adult academic achievement is measured by their performance
in school and this is gotten from the text and examination of adult learners;
which is the GRPA.
Learning
barrier–In this research work, learning barrier can be
referred to as the obstacle that interrupts the process of learning. Learning
barriers are those barriers affecting the adult learners and this maybe
socially, economically, physically, financially, health wise, emotionally, for
instance: lack of time, lack of motivation, etc.
Learning–In
this research work, learning is the permanent change in behavior through experience.
Adult have experience that they apply while learning in other for them to
understand what they are learning; this bring about change in adult learners
and when there is a problem in learning ,we will say that learning barrier has affected learning.
Performance-In
this research work, performance is an achievement and accomplishment
representation by action, the performance of a duty. Performance in this
research work is simply how best the learner is able to study to have a good
grade in school without been affected by barriers surrounding such learners.
Home Environment-In this
research work, home environment is the environment the adult lives in and it
involves things within the home.
Socio-Economic- In this
research work, socio-economic is an economic and sociological combined total
measure of a person’s work experience and of an individual’s or family’s
economic and social position relative to others, base on income and education,
and occupation.
School
Background- In this research work, school background
involves every activities in school, how school facilities, libraries, school
settings and facilitators improve academic performance.
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