TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
1.2 Statement of the
Problem
1.3 Research Questions
1.4 Research Hypotheses
1.5 Purpose of the Study
1.6 Significance of the Study
1.7
Scope and Limitations of the study
1.8 Definition of Terms
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW
OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Scope and Nature of Geography Education
2.2 The Objectives of Teaching Geography in Senior Secondary
School in Nigeria
2.3 Concept of Academic performance and Student’s performance in
Geography
2.4 Concept of Field-Trip as Teaching Strategy.
2.5 The Academic Performance
of Students exposed to the use of Field-trip Strategy and
those taught with Conventional method in Geography.
2.6 Gender implication on the
Academic Performance of Students in Geography Education
through exposure to Field-trip.
2.7 Review of Empirical Studies
2.8
Appraisal of the Literature Reviewed
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHOD
3.1
Research Design
3.2 Population of the
Study
3.3 Sample and Sampling
Techniques
3.4 Research Instrument
3.5 Validity and
Reliability of the Instrument
3.6 Procedure for Data Collection
3.7 Method of data analysis
CHAPTER
FOUR
PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS OF DATA
Discussion of the
findings
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary
5.2 Conclusions
5.4 Recommendations.
REFERENCES
APPENDICE A
APPENDICE B
LESSON PLAN WK
2
EXPERIMENTAL
GROUP (FIELD-TRIP)
LESSON PLAN WK
3
EXPERIMENTAL
GROUP (FIELD TRIP)
LESSON PLAN WK
4
EXPERIMENTAL
GROUP (FIELD -TRIP)
APPENDICE C
LESSON PLAN WK
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Geography according to
Majasan, (1995) is the dynamic science that describes the earth as the home of
man and the stage on which he carves permanent features to aid his growth and
development.. Therefore it is a subject in senior secondary school that enlightens
the students about their environment and the spatial interaction at large.
Geography is
offered at the senior secondary school level and the objectives of teaching and
learning the subject were obtained by the Nigeria Educational Research and
Development Council [NERDC] (2005); The West Africa Examination Council [WAEC] (2014);
as well as the National Examination Council [NECO] (2010).
Their respective objectives are considerably
intervention and can be presented as follow:
a.
To
understand the concept of man-environment relation. That is to examine the life
of man within his physical, social and cultural environment and to explain
their interaction
b.
To
acquire a basic knowledge of the nature and functioning of physical and human
environment particularly in understanding their inter-relationship and the
resulting issues and condition
c.
To
understand the concept of differential characters and the spatial relationship
of the surface features of earth.
d.
To
organize and formulate principle according to acquired geographical concept and
to apply these principle to interpret and analyze spatial problems in the
immediate and wider environment.
e.
To
develop skills and techniques for accurate, orderly and objective of
geographical investigation to be carried out both in the classroom and in the
immediate environment.
The above objectives are aimed at
making the students to understand man in space with emphasis in area
differentiation, human activities and special organization and to make them to
be better informed about their immediate environment (Olawepo, 2002). In the measurement of student academic performances in geography
as a school subject; various tasks are undertaken within the school and outside
the school. Within the school, such exercises include assignments, laboratory
and field/garden works supervised by the geography teacher, teacher made tests,
terminal examinations, continuous assessment etc. The results from the above
exercises are graded and reported by the subject teacher as part of the progress
report on the student.
Furthermore,
outside the school, external and independent examining bodies have emerged over
the years to validate the assessment of student academic performance in
geography. These examination bodies include the West African Examination
Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO), National Association for
Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) and other external
examination bodies. These examination bodies use standardized tests to measure
student progress in Geography. Such tests items measure students’ performances
in all the secondary schools with respect to the stipulated national
curriculum, making use of the same syllabus.
In view of the above fact, Edwards, (1993)
noted that such examinations administered for purpose of national, regional or
local monitoring covers the same content, topics and levels of difficulty are
administered and scored using the same marking scheme for all candidates taking
the same examination. This constitutes a strong basis to monitor and measure
trends in performances overtime and to equate test scores from one examination
to the next as well as the disparities among schools, districts, zones and
states. However, in pursuit of
better and satisfactory student performance in geography in Nigerian Secondary
Schools examination, West African Examination Council (WAEC), (2006)
recommended that the study of geography should be supplemented by visits to
well established government and private geographical tourism center, museums,
human related activities to geography and other institutions related to
geography.
This recommendation has become an accepted
practice as part of the curriculum and extra-curricular activities in many
secondary schools in Ilorin Metropolis. Such visits are packaged in various
names such as field trips, excursions, tours etc. Organized and guided
geography field-trips are either for pleasure, education, recreation or others.
In-fact, Fry, (2009) admitted that taking students outside the comfort of the
classroom can be a daunting step for some teachers, but admits strongly that
field-trips provide unique opportunities to apply learning to the real world.
To this end Offsted, (2008) reported that when planned and implemented well,
learning outside the classroom contributed significantly to raising standards
and improving pupils personnel, social and emotional development. It is a
journey into the land of knowledge for the purpose of acquiring practical knowledge
and skill for a specified operation or occupation, (Nwankwo, 2006). In what appears like a tradition, several secondary
schools in Ilorin Metropolis organize field trips for their students to such
area of their interest.
The benefits of field trips in educational
development among students in secondary schools cannot be over-emphasized. It
has motivational effects on students towards accepting geography as a subject
of study in secondary school that diversify into different profession. It also
has the potential to expose and educate students in secondary schools in
practical and real knowledge of what geography is, if well designed, results
into higher student academic performance in all study areas.
WAEC/NECO results in the past 10 years
show that student enrollment in Geography has dwindled from a height of 70% to
50% (even lesser) in Ilorin Metropolis (ministry of education, Ilorin). The
student’s results have also not justified. Some teachers in secondary schools
in Ilorin Metropolis believe that field trips to tourism, museum centers might
make a greater impact in learning of geography. Thus in some years back, these
secondary school teachers in selected secondary schools in Ilorin Metropolis
started taking their students on geography field-trips.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
A systems approach to educational
administration attempts to view the school as a unified, purposeful
organization or as a system composed of interrelated parts. If one is to assess
the state of a secondary educational system in order to improve its performance
and probably plan for its future meaningfully, the relationship between its
critical components must be examined as an entity, (Onuoha, 1995).
There is so much to cover within a space of time, a
situation further aggravated by the introduction of the 6-3-3-4 system, (Onuoha
1995). This is why Agbo, (1996) opined that the logical reaction of students to
the extensive content of geography is the reduction in the number of candidates
offering geography for West African Examination Council examinations. Agbo (1996)
in a study carried out in Imo State discovered that map work and physical Geography
are the most difficult aspects of Geography. He attributed this to loss of
interest by students due to defective methods of teaching, nature of subject
matter and time available for the subject matter.
Thus it confirms that teachers shy away from some
aspects of geography. Onuoha, (1995) strongly believed that concepts, theories
and ideas are internalized only when they have been represented and illustrated
with real life situations and advocated for it. Yalokwu and Amadasun, (1990)
claimed that often times, the duration of the geography period does not allow
the teachers and students time to really interact with the local environment
under study. The geography teachers presently are finding it difficult to
integrate all these aspects of geography within three years. It is a situation
caused by the innovation of 6-3-3-4 system which has caused a chain reaction in
the whole system. Invariably, this will directly affect the quality of the
students output. Generally, all these go to confirm that the processes involved
in the system are very important for reliable, qualitative teaching and for
greater productivity. The federal government of Nigeria also recommends
developing innovative materials in schools to enhance the teaching and learning
process (FRN, 2009).
The empirical studies revealed that students taught
using community resources as field-trip performed better than their counterparts
exposed to the traditional expository/route learning method. Meanwhile, the
teaching and learning of the subject, which is practical oriented, is commonly
taught verbally. Besides that, Amosa, (2013) investigated the effect of
community resources on Senior Secondary School students’ performance in Ilorin
metropolis, Kwara state. The research revealed that students taught using
community resources performed better than students taught using the
conventional method. Yusuf (2006) studied the effect of field trip on Senior
Secondary Schools students’ performance in social studies in Ilorin metropolis.
His findings revealed that students taught using field-trip performed better
than their counterparts taught using the conventional method.
Although the learning of Geography is not limited only
to the classroom activities, not much is researched in the areas regarding
empirically documented works about the use of field-trip to learn practical
skills in Geography in secondary schools in Ilorin.
1.3 Research Questions
The following research questions shall be
addressed in the study.
1.
What is the academic performance of
students exposed to field-trip teaching strategy and those taught with
conventional methods in Geography in Ilorin metropolis?
2.
What
is the effect of field-trip teaching strategy on students’ academic performance
in Geography in Ilorin metropolis?
3.
What
is the effect of field-trip teaching strategy on male and female students’
academic performance in geography in Ilorin metropolis of Kwara State?
4.
What
is the interaction effect on gender and treatment on students’ academic
performance in Geography in Ilorin metropolis of Kwara State?
1.4 Research Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were postulated
to guide the study:
Ho1: There is no significant effect of field-trip
teaching strategy on students’ academic performance in Geography in Ilorin
metropolis of Kwara state.
Ho2: There is no significant effect of field-trip teaching
strategy on both male and female students’ academic performance in Geography in
Ilorin metropolis of Kwara State.
Ho3: There is no
significant interaction effect of gender and treatment on students’ academic
performance in Geography in Ilorin metropolis of Kwara State.
1.6 Purpose of the Study
The general purpose of the study is to
ascertain the effect of students’ field-trips on academic performance of
students in geography in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State. Specifically, the
study intends to:
1. Determine the academic performance of students exposed to
field-trip teaching strategy and those taught with conventional method in
Geography in Ilorin metropolis.
2. Determine the effect of field-trip teaching strategy on
students’ academic performance in Geography in Ilorin metropolis.
3. compare the effect of field-trip teaching strategy on male and
female students’ academic performance in Geography in Ilorin metropolis
4. Determine the interaction effect of field-trip teaching
strategy on gender and treatment on students’ academic performance in Geography
in Ilorin metropolis.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This study, would
be helpful to Geography teachers, students, curriculum developers in Geography
and finally the upcoming researchers
This project would be of great important
to the Geography teachers, as regard knowing the major roles played by
employing field-trip teaching strategy in enhancing the performance of student
in geography.
It will also help the Geography
students with the hope that the use of field-trip teaching strategy for
teaching Geography will enhance the academic performance of the students’
retention of learned knowledge and encourage positive learning attitude.
For curriculum developers and
education administrator, finding from this study will provide them with insight
into the effectiveness of field-trip teaching strategy in achieving maximum
result with available curriculum instruction resources and therefore
consolidate it in their future policy efforts
Finally, this project work will
provide helpful background information to other researchers that would like to
carry-out more findings in this area of work.
1.7
Scope and Limitations of the study
The main aim of the study is to
investigate the effects of Geography Field-Trip teaching strategy on the
Academic Performances of Senior Secondary School Geography Students, as well as
finding possible ways of maximizing such teaching method to improve the
academic performance of the geography students.
Geographically, the study
is limited to Ilorin Metropolis of Kwara State in Nigeria. Meanwhile, the study
is restricted only to the effect of Field-Trip Teaching Learning Strategy on
Geography Students’ Academic Performance, with a focus on randomly selected SS
II Students from four schools in Ilorin Metropolis of Kwara State. The instrument used to get response from the
involved respondent (Geography Students) were frequencies and percentile for
bio-data, mean and standard deviation for research question while the Statistical
scope of this research was based on Inferential (t-test).
1.8 Definition of Terms
Effects: Effect as used in this project can be
defined as a CHANGE in the academic performance of senior secondary students in
geography which resulted from exposure to the field-trip teaching strategy
Field-trip:
A
field-trip is termed as an instructional trip, school excursion, or school
journey. As used here, it is defined to be a school or class trip with an
educational intent, in which students interact with the setting, displays, and
exhibits to gain an experiential connection to the ideas, concepts, and subject
matter that has been taught in the classroom. Tal and Morag, (2009) described field trips as student
experiences outside of the classroom at interactive locations designed for
educational purposes.
Students: According to the researcher, a student
is a person or someone who is willing, and able to learn under the instruction
and supervision of a knowledgeable person, in four wall of classroom that is in
line with guided and well-planned curriculum
Performance: It is the accomplishment of a given
task measured against present known standard of accuracy, completeness, and
speed. In the context here, performance is used to show comparison between the
previous action recorded and the post action recorded after the administer of
treatment (field-trip)
Geography:
Geography as the study of man environment systems from the view point of
spatial relationships and spatial processes. Therefore it is a subject in
senior secondary school that enlightens the students about their environment
and the spatial interaction at large.
Ilorin metropolis: Ilorin is the state capital of Kwara
State in the western part of Nigeria, with it coordinates as 8°30’N and 4°33’E.
It has three local government areas; Ilorin east, Ilorin west, and Ilorin
south. Moreover it covers land area of 765 km (295 sq mile), It population as
at 2011 is 908,490 (world population index, 2011) which rank it no 6th
state with high population. It has a population density of 1,188/km (3080/sq
mile).
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