ABSTRACT
This study investigated the institutional factors as predictor of students’ academic achievement in public secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. The study was guided by eight research objectives, as eight research questions were posed for the study and eight null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the Correlation Research and Ex-post facto Design. The population comprised of 4,628 male teachers and 7,014 female teachers from 587 senior secondary schools that is spread across 95 local government areas in 24 education zones in the area of study in the 2017/2018 academic session in the area of the study. A sample of 1164 teachers which comprised 737 female teachers and 427 male teachers which were selected from 59 (fifty nine) secondary schools was used for the study. 1,028 which comprised 44 secondary school principals and 984 teachers from the 199 public secondary schools in the three sampled states. Two instruments which were the “Institutional Factors Scale “(IFS) and Proforma consisting of Students academic Performances in the 2017/2018 academic session were used for data collection. The Institutional Factors Scale “(IFS) was validated by three experts which comprised two from the Department of Educational Management and one from the department of Science Education (Educational Measurement and Evaluation). The stability and internal consistency of the “Institutional Factors Scale” (IFS) gave a reliability index of 0.82 and 0.89 respectively. The data for the study was collected through the administration of 1164 copies of each of the research instruments to the teachers through the aid of a research assistant, as the researcher recorded 100% recovery of the distributed questionnaire and Corresponding Academic Achievement of students in SS II. Simple and Multiple Linear Regression analysis while the null hypotheses were also tested using the p-values of the ANOVA obtained from the Simple and Multiple Linear Regression analysis Findings of the study revealed that institutional factors such as teachers academic qualification, teachers years of teaching experience, teachers classroom management, student teachers ratio, class size, leadership styles, teaching method predicts students’ academic achievement in secondary schools in South East, Nigeria. Based on the findings of the study, the study recommended that Government should ensure the adequate recruitment of dedicated, qualified teachers to teach in all senior secondary schools in the study area in particular and the country in general. Also teachers with long years of experience should be encouraged and motivated to stay in teaching profession as the years of experience significantly predicts the students‟ academic achievement.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER
1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 12
1.3 Purpose of the Study 13
1.4 Research Questions 14
1.5 Research Hypotheses 15
1.6 Significance of the Study
15
1.7 Scope of the Study 17
CHAPTER
2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual Framework 18
2.1.1
Concept of secondary education 18
2.1.2
Students’ academic achievement 20
2.1.3
Teachers’ qualification 23
2.1.4
Teachers’ years of experience 25
2.1.5
Students
teachers’ ratio and students’ academic achievement 27
2.1.6
Class size and students’ academic achievement 30
2.1.7
School
plant and students’ academic achievement 35
2.1.8
Leadership
styles and students’ academic achievement 37
2.1.9
Teaching
methods and students’ academic achievement 40
2.1.10 Classroom management 45
2.2
Theoretical
Framework 59
2.2.1
Administrative
theory by Henry Fayol (1949)
50
2.2.2
Scientific management theory by Taylor(1947) 50
2.2.3
Adam’s equity theory (1963) 51
2.3 Empirical
Studies 52
2.4 Summary
of Related Literature Reviewed 90
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODS
3.1 Design
of the Study 94
3.2 Area
of the Study 95
3.3 Population
of the Study 96
3.4 Sample
and Sampling Techniques 96
3.5 Instrument
for Data Collection 98
3.6 Validation
of the Instrument 99
3.7 Reliability
of the Instrument 99
3.8 Method
of Data Collection 100
3.9 Method of Data Analysis 101
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND
DISCUSSION
4.2 Summary of Findings 119
4.3 Discussions of Findings 119
CHAPTER
5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary 128
5.2 Conclusion 133
5.3 Recommendations 133
5.4 Educational
Implications of the Study 135
5.5 Limitations
of the Study 136
5.6 Suggestions
for further Study. 136
REFERENCES 138 APPENDIXS 150
LIST OF TABLES
|
4.1
|
The
Summary of Simple Linear Regression showing the extent to which teachers’
academic qualification predicts students’ academic achievement in public
secondary schools in South Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
103
|
|
4.2
|
The
relative contribution of teachers’ academic qualification to their students’
academic achievement in secondary schools in South East States in Nigeria.
|
103
|
|
4.3
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the
significant Prediction between the Teachers Academic qualification and students’ academic achievement in public
secondary schools.
|
104
|
|
4.4
|
The
Summary of Simple Linear Regression showing the extent of prediction between
teachers years of experience and the students’ academic achievement in public
secondary school students.
|
104
|
|
4.5
|
The
relative contribution of teachers Years of Experience to their students’
academic achievement in secondary schools in South East States in Nigeria.
|
105
|
|
4.6
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the
significant prediction between
teachers years of experience and students academic achievement in public senior secondary
school.
|
106
|
|
4.7
|
The Summary
of Simple Linear Regression showing the extent of prediction of student
teachers ratio on students academic achievement in public secondary school.
|
107
|
|
4.8
|
The
relative contribution of Students teachers’ ratio to their students’ academic
achievement in secondary schools in South East States in Nigeria.
|
107
|
|
4.9
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the
significant prediction between
student teachers ratio and students academic achievement in public secondary
school.
|
108
|
|
4.10
|
The mean,
standard deviation and Summary of Simple Linear Regression showing the extent
class size predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
109
|
|
4.11
|
The
relative contribution of Class Size to their students’ academic achievement
in secondary schools in South East States in Nigeria.
|
109
|
|
4.12
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the
significant prediction of Class size on the students’ academic achievement in public secondary
schools.
|
110
|
|
4.13
|
The
Summary of Simple Linear Regression showing the extent to which school plant
predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in
South Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
111
|
|
4.14
|
The
relative contribution of School plant to their students’ academic achievement
in secondary schools in South East States in Nigeria.
|
111
|
|
4.15
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the significant
prediction of school plant to students’ academic achievement in public senior
secondary school.
|
112
|
|
4.16
|
The
Summary of Simple Linear Regression showing the extent to which principals leadership styles
predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in South
Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
113
|
|
4.17
|
The
relative contribution of School plant to their students’ academic achievement
in secondary schools in South Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
113
|
|
4.18
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the
significant prediction of principal leadership Styles on the students’
academic achievement in secondary schools.
|
114
|
|
4.19
|
The
mean, standard deviation and Summary of Simple Linear Regression showing the
extent of correlation between synergy conflict management procedure of
principals correlate with students’ academic achievement in public secondary
school.
|
115
|
|
4.20
|
The
relative contribution of Teaching Methods Adopted to their students’ academic
achievement in secondary schools in South Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
115
|
|
4.21
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the
significant prediction of the teaching methods adopted on the students’
academic achievement in public secondary school.
|
115
|
|
4.22
|
The
Summary of Simple Linear Regression showing the extent classroom management
predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in
South Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
117
|
|
4.23
|
The relative
contribution of Classroom management to their students’ academic achievement
in secondary schools in South East States in Nigeria.
|
117
|
|
4.24
|
Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA) of the Simple Linear Regression analyses showing the
extent classroom management significantly predicts the academic achievement
of students in public secondary schools in South Eastern States in Nigeria.
|
118
|
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
Education
is being considered a yardstick or cornerstone for rapid and sustainable
development of any nation; it forms the basis for literacy, skill acquisition,
technological advancement and ability to harness human and material resources
towards the achievement of any nation’s goals. A sound education remains the
bedrock for achieving effective human resources development capable of moving
any nation to its desired goals. Education is very important in any given
society as it is a process by which abilities and capabilities of individuals
are developed. These abilities might be physical abilities, emotional
abilities, social abilities and intellectual abilities. Formal education is the
actualizing of human potential so that the individual can become something
better than what he/she was before.
Education in Nigeria is
received under three major educational levels which are the basic education,
secondary and tertiary Education. These three educational levels are
operational under the new 9-3-4 system of education; universal basic
education which took effect from 2006, has the first nine years of basic and
compulsory education up to the Junior Secondary School three level; three years
in the Senior Secondary School and four years of Tertiary Institutions(Uwaifo
& Uddin, 2009).These three levels of education play
significant roles in producing efficient manpower that will aid the achieving
of human and economic development. For the purpose of the present study,
attention was on the senior secondary education.
The
senior secondary education is the educational institutions where senior
secondary education is received by students. The senior secondary education is
the next three years after Universal Basic Education. It has a wider scope than
the basic education and aims at broadening the knowledge and skills of students
beyond the basic education level thereby preparing them for further education.
For the National policy on education (FRN, 2014), it is the form of education
children receive after basic education and before the tertiary education, this
form of education covers both academic and vocational. The academic and
vocational scope of the senior secondary education has necessitated that its
curriculum be designed to achieve the following goals so as to make the system
a productive and functional one. The goals of the Senior Secondary Education
are to;
i.
offer
diversified curriculum to cater for the differences in talents, disposition,
opportunities and future roles;
ii.
provide
trained manpower in the applied science, technology and commerce at
sub-professional grades;
iii.
provide
entrepreneurial technical and vocational job-specific skills for self-reliance,
and for agricultural, industrial, commercial and economic development;
iv.
develop
and promote Nigerian languages ,art and culture in the context of world’s cultural
heritage;
v.
inspire
students with a desire for self- improvement and achievement for excellence;
vi.
foster
patriotism, national unity and security education with emphasis on the common
ties in spite of our diversity;
vii.
raise
morally upright and well-adjusted individuals who can think independently and
rationally, respect the views and feelings of others and appreciate the dignity
of labour and
viii.
provide
holders of the Basic Education Certificate and Junior Arabic and Islamic
Studies Certificate with opportunity for
education of a higher level irrespective of gender, social status, religious or
ethnic background (FRN,2014:12)
From
the above, it can be said that the Senior Secondary Education is very important
and plays a critical role towards National development and manpower training.
The achievement of these goals by the secondary schools is expected to reflect
in the students’ academic achievement. Hence, the students’ academic
achievement is one of the indicators of the achievement of the goals of the secondary
education.
Academic
achievement is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has
achieved their short or long-term educational goals.
According to Chukwu (2019), academic achievement is defined as the level of
accomplishment or proficiency one has in academic area as opposed to one’s
potential. Eme (2017) also defined academic achievement as an educational goal
that is achieved, by a student, leader or institution over a period of time. Students’ scores
in achievement test, Cumulative Grade
Point Average and completion of educational degrees such as High School
and bachelor's degrees represent academic achievement. In relation to
this study, academic achievement can be regarded as an observable and
measurable behavior of students in subjects students offered. This academic
achievement obtained through the administration of achievement test which could
either is teacher made test or standardized achievement test. However, for the purpose of this study, the
students score in standardized achievement test such as NECOSSCE (2018) and WASSCE
(2018) was used.
Whether
internal or external examinations, the academic achievement of the students
have not been encouraging over the years, as the number of students who possess
five “O” level credits including Mathematics and English Language has not been
encouraging which has hindered the number of students seeking admission into
tertiary institutions. Over the years there have been records of poor academic
achievement of the students at the external examination conducted by both the
West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO).
This trend of poor achievement of secondary school students has also been
confirmed by the West African Examination Council (WAEC Chief Examiners Report,
2018). The WAEC result analysis for the years 2015, 2016 and 2017 revealed the
following statistics of the achievement of Nigerian students in secondary
schools in external examination. The percentages of students who passed during
the years with five credits including Mathematics were reported to be 25.99%,
29.45% and 56.01% respectively for the year 2015, 2016 and 2017 for the West
African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE)(WAEC,2018).
Meanwhile
for the National Examination Council Senior School Certificate Examination the
percentages of students who passed during the years with five credits including
Mathematics were reported to be 20.61%, 19.34% and 38.11% respectively for the
year 2015, 2016 and 2017 (WAEC,2018). It is also on record that the percentage
of candidates in this category(five credits including Mathematics) for
2015,2016 and 2017 were 42.56 %, 38.68% and 52.97% respectively for the West
African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). In a similar vein, the
percentage of candidates in this category (five credits including Mathematics
and English Language) for 2015, 2016 and 2017 were 38.23 %, 30.22% and 42.34%
respectively for the National Examination Council Senior School Certificate
Examination (NECOSSCE)(NECO,2018).
However,
in South Eastern States, 41.7% of the total number of students who entered for
Mathematics at West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination
made A1-C6 in 2013, while 33% of the students made AI-C6 in NECO. In 2014,
30.70% made AI-C6 in WASSCE as 28.7% made A1-C6 in NECO. In South Eastern
States in 2015, 41.10% of the students made A1-C6 in West African Senior
Secondary School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) as 39.7% of the students made
A1-C6 in NECO. In 2016, there was an increase in the academic achievement as
42.6% made A1-C6 in West African Senior School Certificate Examination and 40.8%
of the students made AI-C6 in NECO (Abia, Imo, Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi State
Secondary Education Management Boards, 2017).
Hence on the average the achievement of the students in external
examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO in South Eastern States have been
generally poor with exception of Abia and Anambra States.
This
poor academic achievement of students at both the internal and external
examinations conducted by both the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and
National Examinations Council (NECO)
could be attributed to a lot of factors such as lack of conducive
environment, poor teaching methods of teaching, teachers attitude to their job,
lack of interest of students in the teaching learning process, students time
management amongst others. To this extent, Chukwu (2019) believes that the
falling level of academic achievement of students is attributable to peer pressure and Drug
abuse, as Welsh (2009) also found that the attitude of some teachers to their
job, poor teaching methods, teachers qualification and students interest influence students’ academic achievement. In
a similar vein many researchers such as Adeyemi (2011); Aremu (2014) and Eme
(2017) have established the fact that certain factors such as institutional
factors could influence the students’ academic achievement.
Considering
the poor academic achievement of the students over the years, questions have
been raised on the extent to which secondary schools have performed in
producing students for tertiary education in Nigeria. This cannot be said to be
satisfactory, as the situation is particularly disturbing when it was realized
that one of the broad aims of secondary education as stated in the National
Policy on Education (FRN, 2013), is preparation of students for higher
education. This has led to persistent decline of the products of secondary
school leavers, thereby discrediting the productivity and functionality of the
secondary school system. It is on these bases that the present study
investigated the extent to which variables such as institutional factors
correlates the students’ academic achievement in senior secondary schools.
Institutional
factors are those school based attributes as well as resources that are highly
needed in the educational system to facilitate quality and effective teaching
and learning outcome in the educational system. An institutional factor refers
to the school based attributes which affect the quality of the students’
performance (Wanjiru, 2014). Institutional factors include those areas that
affect the persistence of students that an institution may or may not be able
to change (Marsh, 2010). Institutional factors include support programs or
requirements that an institution sets as standards, practices, or criteria for
student participation to meet the conditions as established for graduation
(Dixon, 2015).
Institutional
factors play a vital role in sustaining the schooling system as well as enhance
quality performance amongst students. These institutional factors influence how
students behave in the school. These institutional factors include;
instructional materials, physical resources, teacher-pupil ratio, teachers’
qualification, peer group influence, parents’ socio-economic status, school
rules, teachers’ strike action and students’ unrest amongst others. Wanjiru
(2014) highlighted some institutional variables which could influence academic
performance of students in various secondary school to include amongst other
things, adequacy of physical resources, teacher-students ratio, teacher
quality, classroom size, peer group, school plant, teachers years of
experience, class room management amongst others. However, for the purpose of
the present study, the present will explore the institutional factors of teachers’
qualification, teachers’ years of experience, student teachers ratio, class
size, school plant, principal leadership styles, teaching methods and teachers’
classroom management.
Teacher’s
qualification is one of important institutional factors in improving students’
academic performances in school. To improve the teaching and learning process
in the school it requires that the school employs seasoned qualified teachers
(Abe & Adu, 2013). Aina
and Olanipekun (2015) define ‘qualification’ as a special
skill or type of experience or knowledge that makes someone suitable to do a
particular job or activity. Therefore, teachers’ qualification is a particular
skill or type of experience or knowledge someone possesses to make him or her
suitable to teach. Teachers’ qualifications could, therefore, mean all the
skills a teacher required to teach effectively. Such skills include formal
education, experience, subject matter knowledge, pedagogy studies, duration of
training, certificate/licensing and professional development (Aina, Olanipekun & Garuba, 2015).
The
qualification of teachers can influence the academic performances of the
students, as teachers with higher academic qualification (M.Ed and Ph.D) tend
to teach the students better than teachers with N.C.E/B.Ed. To this extent,
some studies have shown that relationship do exist between teachers academic
qualification and students academic achievement. Based on this, Unanma, Abugu, Dike and Umeobika (2013) and Ojera (2016) examined the relationship between
teacher’s academic qualifications and academic achievement of senior secondary
school students and discovered that there is a positive relationship between
the variables.
Years
of experience or length of employment is one of the institutional variables the
present study investigated its relationship with students’ academic achievement.
Years of service or length of employment refer to the total years spent in the
provision of a service (Udah, 2014). In this study, the teachers years of
experience suggest the time spent in the teaching profession as measured by
data generated from a demographics form revealing that the overall job
satisfaction of the secondary school teachers is significantly correlated to
length of service in the present school (Babtunde, 2015). The early years of a
teacher’s career have been recognized as being stressful which influence his
instructional delivery which may affect the students’ academic achievement.
However, the year of experience of the school teachers did show significant
relationship with the students’ academic achievement (Johannsen, 2011; Chona
& Roxas, 2009). Younger and less experienced teachers were observed to be
very naïve in their teachings which influences the academic achievement of the
students (Bhadoria & Singh; 2010). The twin
factor of teacher’s qualifications is teacher’s experience. Clotfelter et al.
(2014) are of the opinion that teacher’s experience is consistently associated
with achievement and these display a form of heterogeneity across students that
may help explain why the observed form of teacher-student matching persists in
equilibrium.
Teachers-students ratio is another institutional variable the
present study explored. Teacher-pupil ratio refers to a means in
which the teacher handles a specified number of students as recommended by the
educational authority (Adeyemi, 2015). To Ajayi and Akinyele (2014), Student–teacher
ratio is defined as the number of students who attend a school or university
divided by the number of teachers in the institution. For example, a
student–teacher ratio of 10:1 indicates that there are 10 students for every
one teacher. The term can also be reversed to create a teacher–student ratio.
The ratio of students to teaching staff compares the number of students (in
full-time equivalent) to the number of teachers (in full-time equivalent) at a
given level of Education and similar types of institutions. However, this ratio
does not take into account the amount of instruction time for student compared
to the length of a teacher’s working day, nor how much time spend teaching. It
therefore cannot be interpreted in terms of class size. Furthermore, Finn
(2013) concluded that the students became occupied in the small class size,
both academically and socially. Therefore, their strong engagement caused strong
academic achievement improvement.
Another
institutional variable the present study explored was the Class size. Class
size refers to an educational tool which can be used to describe the average
number of students per class in a school. It is considered as one of the
important determinants of academic achievement over which teachers in schools
have little or no control. Class size may be defined as the number of students
per teacher in a given class or the population of a class (Ajayi et al.,
2017). Mokobia and Okoye (2011) explained that educators universally have
identified class size as important and desirable attribute of effective
educational system. Consequently, debate has continued in the educational
literature stakeholders such as academics, policy makers and parents over the
educational consequences of class size. Some researchers have maintained that
class size is a tool which can be adopted in measuring achievement of
educational system (Kedney, 2013).
Babatunde (2015) described class size as the number of students per
teacher in a class. The National Policy on Education (1981) recommended that
the teacher-pupil ratio should be 1:35. For the All Nigerian Conference of
Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPS), class size should remain at a maximum
of forty students per class for effective management and better control. Class
size Class size, according to Schwartz et al.
(2012) and Olatunde (2010) has a relationship with academic achievement. In a similar way, Yara (2010) found out that the
achievement of students in large classes was very low compared to those students in smaller classes.
School
plant is the totality of resources that define the learning environment of a
school institution. School plant is defined as the physical expression of the
school programmes and activities (Alimi, Ehinola & Alabi, 2012). It is
consciously designed and controlled environment with the aim of achieving
teaching and learning activities within the school. It is the consciously designed and controlled
environment that helps to promote teaching and learning activities within the
school. School plants are made up of the indispensable systems and structures
required by any educational institution to function effectively and achieve the
objectives for which it was established (Yusu, 2008). This definitions show
that school plant encompasses the totality of consumable and non-consumables,
permanent and semi-permanent structures in the school environment needed for
proper implementation of the curriculum. Several recent studies on school plant
and students‟ academic achievement in schools have been conducted in Nigeria
and showed positive correlation. (Asiyai, 2012; Iheonunekwu, & Anyatonwu, 2014; Nsa,
Offiong, Udo,& Ikot, 2014: & Torupere,2016).
Leadership
styles of principals are another institutional factor the present study
explored. Leadership style
is the manner and approach of providing direction, implementing plans and
motivating people. Many scholars, including Babalola (2016)
and Osabiya and Ikenga (2015) defined leadership style as a process through
which the leader influences others in the process of attaining the group goal.
As a process, it requires that the leader has a laid down procedure to follow
in his/her leadership activities, and such a leader has specific direction to
follow. Mohammed, Yusuf, Sanni, Ifeyinwa, Bature, and Kazeen (2014) agreed with
the above views on leadership style and add that leadership style is the
pattern of behaviours engaged by a leader when dealing with the employees. The three major styles of leadership are
democratic transactional and transformational. A good leader uses all three
styles, with one of them normally dominant while bad leaders tend to stick with
one style (Oluremi, 2013). However, the leadership styles the principals adopts
may go a long way in determining the academic achievements of their students
.Based on this, Adeyemi (2013) and Mohammed (2016) in their separate studies
revealed that there is a significant positive relationship between the leaderships styles adopted and students
academic achievement.
Another
institutional variable the present study explored was the teaching methods
adopted by the teachers.
Teaching methods are a variety of teaching methodologies that can be employed
by the teachers to enhance teaching and learning which in turn will improve the
students’ interest toward the study of the subject as well as improving the
academic achievement of the students in the subject. Kimweri (2014) defined teaching methods as a
variety of ways of organizing the participants and the type of methods to be
used to facilitate learning process which are determined by different factors
such as number of students, age and the topic to be taught. However, Osokoye
(2016) aver that teaching method strategy (ies) or plan that outline the
approach that a teacher intends to take in order to achieve the desirable
objectives. Teaching methods consist of the following two; teacher-centered
method and student-centered method. Another type of teaching method is
teacher-student interactive method which is a fusion of both teacher-centered methods.
Teaching methods adopted by teachers do have relationship with the students’
academic achievement. To this extent, findings from Elvis (2013) revealed that teacher student
method was more effective than Teacher centered method in improving students'
academic achievement. Also findings from
Ogbulajah (2014) found that there was a significant difference between the
learning experience acquired from agricultural field trip (which is also a
method of teaching) and students' academic achievement in Agricultural Science.
Classroom
management plays an important role in the teaching and learning process. It is
veritable tool in the process of passing instructions from the teachers to the
students. The success of any educational system is a function of the
effectiveness of classroom management. Classroom management according to Omenka
and Otor (2015) is the action a teacher takes to create an environment that
supports and facilitates instructions, academic, social and emotional learning.
It is the process of creating favourable conditions to facilitate instructions
as well as that of regulating social behaviour of students. Teachers in the
classroom are by the nature of their profession, managers of classroom
activities. Adequate classroom discipline is
generally regarded to be one of the most essential aspects of education as well
as an absolute prerequisite to achieving instructional objectives and
safeguarding the psychological, social and physical well-being. This will help
in improving the academic achievement of the students, hence relation exist
between the classroom management and students academic achievement. To this
extent, findings from Titus and Adu (2017) revealed that classes effectively
managed by teachers are likely to perform better than those poorly managed because
the students will lack concentration.
The
institutional variables remain an important yardstick which could influence
students’ academic achievement. Several studies have shown inconsistencies in
the extent to which institutional
factors such as the teachers academic qualification, teachers years of teaching
experience, classroom size, students-teachers ratio, leadership styles of
principal, school plants, classroom management and teaching methods correlates with the students’ academic
achievement. Thus, it was against this backdrop that the present intends to
fill a gap by investigating on institutional factors (teachers academic
qualification, teachers years of teaching experience, classroom size,
students-teachers ratio, leadership styles of principal, school plants,
classroom management and teaching
methods) as correlates of students academic achievement in secondary schools in
South Eastern States in Nigeria. Hence, it was on this bases the present study
sought to provide empirical answer on the extent to which these institutional
factors predicts the students’ academic achievement in secondary schools.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Expectedly when
teachers are satisfied(cognitively and affectively) with the teaching
profession and also work in favourable organisational climate the teachers are
bound to deliver instruction effectively
in the areas of effective teaching, lesson note preparation, effective
use of scheme of work, effective supervision, monitoring of students’ work,
teachers’ commitment to job and extra-curricular activities. The resultant
effect of this effective instructional delivery is improved academic
performance of the students and distinct character exhibition of the students
that is guided by high moral discipline in the society thereby making the
senior secondary functional and productive.
Today
there have been recent decline in the academic achievement of students both at
the internal and external examination and also the high level of moral
decadence of the senior secondary school students which are responsible for the
fallen standard of Nigeria’s educational system. These have put the quality of
the nation’s education sector to serious question. The above poor situation of
academic and moral tone of the secondary schools manifests as teacher’s
ineffective instructional delivery. These teachers ineffective instructional delivery
seems to be due to near absence or lack of teachers’ job satisfaction and
inadequate school organisational climate.
To this extent a lot
factors could correlate the teacher ineffective instructional delivery amongst
which could be the poor teachers’ job satisfaction and inadequate
organisational climate. Based on this, the problem of the study put in question
form reads; (i) do teachers job satisfaction variables correlates effective
instructional delivery? (ii) does school organisational climate correlates
effective instructional delivery? (iii) to what extent do teachers job
satisfaction and school organisational climate correlates effective instructional
delivery in secondary schools?
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of this study was to
investigate the extent to which institutional factors predict students’
academic achievement in public secondary schools in South Eastern Nigeria.
Specifically, the objectives of the study sought to:
i.
determine the extent to which teachers
academic qualification predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria.
ii.
find out the extent to which teachers years of experience predicts the academic
achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria.
iii.
determine the extent to which student
teachers ratio predicts the academic
achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria.
iv.
find out the extent to which class size
predicts the academic achievement of
students in public secondary schools in
South East, Nigeria.
v.
determine the extent to which school plant
predicts the academic achievement of
students in public secondary schools in
South East, Nigeria.
vi.
find the extent to which principals leadership styles predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria.
vii.
determine the extent to which teaching
methods adopted predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria.
viii.
Find out the extent to which classroom
management predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria.
1.4 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
The
following research questions were posed for the study:
1.
To what extent does teachers academic
qualification predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria?
2.
To what extent does teachers years of
experience predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria?
3.
To what extent does student teachers ratio
predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in
South East, Nigeria?
4.
To what extent does class size predicts
the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria?
5.
To what extent does the school plant
predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in
South East, Nigeria?
6.
To what extent does principals leadership
styles predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools
in South East, Nigeria?
7.
To what extent does teaching methods
adopted predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools
in South East, Nigeria.
8.
To what extent classroom management
predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in
South East, Nigeria.
1.5 RESEARCH
HYPOTHESES
The
following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of
significance:
1.
The teachers’ academic qualification does
not significantly predict the academic achievement of students in public
secondary schools in South East, Nigeria?
2.
The teachers years of experience does not
significantly predicts the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria?
3.
The student teachers ratio does not
significantly predict the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria?
4.
The class size does not significantly predict
the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria?
5.
The school plant does not significantly predict
the academic achievement of students in public secondary schools in South East,
Nigeria?
6.
The principals’ leadership does not
significantly styles predicts the academic achievement of students in public
secondary schools in South East, Nigeria?
7.
The teaching methods adopted do not
significantly predict the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria?
8.
The classroom management does not
significantly predict the academic achievement of students in public secondary
schools in South East, Nigeria?
1.6 SIGNIFICANCE
OF THE STUDY
The
findings of this study may be of immense benefit to the students, teachers,
school administrators, government, curriculum planners, and researchers.
To
the teachers, the findings of the study on completion may help them to know the
academic performances of their students and its relationship with the
institutional factors that are prevalent in their school. The study may enable
them to device how they would cope with the institutional factors in their
school in order to bring out their best in the face of adversity and improve on
their effectiveness towards bringing out the best in the students. These findings
would benefit from attending conferences and orientations on factors
that influence their students’ academic achievement.
To
the students, the study may be of immense benefit to them as it would enable
teachers to know the institutional factors that affect their academic performances,
this knowledge may help the students to cope and improve on their academic
performances and the students will get at least the best from their teachers
even in the face of adversity.
To
the school administrators, the study on completion may assist them to know how
well the institutional factors which influences the teachers effectiveness in
instructional delivery and how best to recruit high quality teachers even in
the face of adversity towards bringing out the best in them. The finding may
also assist the administrators to know the institutional factors that correlate
with the students’ academic achievement, thus making them to employ the best
institutional factors that would improve the teachers’ effectiveness in
instructional delivery towards enhancing the academic achievement of their
students. These findings will
benefit from attending conferences and seminars or publications on relationship
between teachers qualities and school organisational climate on the academic
achievement of secondary school students.
To
the policy makers and government, the study on completion may help them to
fashion out policies that will ensure that favourable institutional factors and
also to ensure that high quality are
recruited, this may make the teachers to work hard and improve on their
effectiveness in instructional delivery which may be reflected in the academic
achievement of the students. These findings
would benefit from attending conferences and workshops on factors influence
their academic achievement of the students.
To
researchers, the study on completion may provide them with very useful
empirical evidence and literature on which they can make references to when
carrying out studies that are related to the present study. The study on
completion may also afford intending researchers the opportunity of appraising
and criticizing the present study with the view of finding gaps which their
future study would fill up. These findings
would benefit researchers from reviewing the study which would be made
available to libraries or through publication of the study.
1.7 SCOPE
OF THE STUDY
This
study was delimited to finding out the extent to which institutional factors
(Independent variable) predicts the students’ academic achievement (dependent
variables). Specifically the study was delimited to determine the extent to
which teachers’ academic qualification, teachers’ years of teaching experience,
student teachers ratio, class size, school plant, principal leadership styles,
teaching methods and teachers’ classroom management (independent variables)
predicts students’ academic achievement (dependent variables). The study was
also delimited to teachers and students in public secondary schools in South
East Nigeria. The specific states in the South – East Nigeria to be covered in
the study are Abia, Anambra, and Imo states out of the five states of Abia,
Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo state.
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