The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
For over four decades, series of studies have suggested the importance of school as social environment of learning. Some of these studies examined locational planning and their attendant consequences on achievement of students in various states of the Federation.
The studies were intended to assist education authorities of various states to decide where a particular type of school should be located; the size of a school in each location; whether a new school should be built or otherwise among others (Mbakwe, 1986). The World Bank recommended that the following data were needed for rationalizing and drawing up of both the urban and rural school map.
Schools which includes physical aspects, site, type of building, usage, capacity, teachers (numbers, qualification, and age); students which include enrollment in school by age, individual data in age, sex, previous schools, home, location of mode transport, time taken in home/school journey, parental background; Rural and Urban Area Data which include land use administrative map on as large a scale as possible, planning reports, settlement patterns and the likes are required.
These school locational planning techniques have been reportedly used by a number of countries to solve their educational problems (World Bank Guidelines 1978). In applying the school locational planning to study and establishment of secondary level education in a plot study in Ondo State of Nigeria, Omoyemi (1978) discovered that locations of schools was not based on sound principles of distribution of population because of initial community participation.
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
In his observation, Ogunsaju (1984) noted that School sites in the past were arbitrary chosen with little or no consideration for the necessary parameters such as creativity and corporate planning. In another development, Orebiyi (1981) using locational implication of secondary education reform in Oyi Local Government area of Kwara State between 1980 and 1985 purports that unplanned location of secondary schools has limited the spread of secondary education to a few centers.
School is one of the social institutions that is responsible for the development and training of the mind and skills. It is also for the preparation of mind for the challenges and responsibility in the society at large. The importance of education has been well accentuated in all societies whether developed or developing, ancient or modern. It is as a result of this obvious truth that every country accords great emphasis to education both in terms of quality and access.
School location refers to the particular place, in relation to other areas in the physical environment rural or urban), where the school is sited. In Nigeria, rural life is uniform, homogenous and less complex than that of the urban centers, with cultural diversity which often is suspected to affect students’ academic achievement.
This is because urban centers are better resourced with respect to distribution of social amenities such as pipe born water, electricity, health care facilities. Why the rural areas are less favoured Neoga (2010). According Pascallerlla and Terenzina (2011) a school location in a rural area have all the characteristics in the rural environment, similarly, an urban school will have an environment based activity peculiar to its environment but different a rural location.
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
Thus, as the school environment differs, the level of academic may also differs. The consequent is that the quality of education may not be even, and the national and national policy of education for a democratic egalitarian society cannot be attained unsentimentally
The International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) defines Physics as the scientific study of matter and energy and their interactions with each other, which plays a key role in the future process of mankind. Advancement in physics often translates to the technological sector and, sometimes to the other sciences, Mathematics and Philosophy (IUPAP, 1999).
For instance, advancement in Physics, relative to electromagnetism, has led to the spread of electrically driven devices; advancement in thermodynamics has led to the development of motorized transport; just as advancement in mechanics has also led to the development of calculus, quantum chemistry, and the use of instruments such as electron microscope in microbiology. Okoronta (2004) asserts that Physics is a vehicle for achieving long-term goals of science because it is instrumental to technological and socio economic growths across the globe. Physics, as a subject, is the foundation upon which the scientific and technological advancement of a nation rests (Ogunleye &Babajide, 2011).
It is the link between all the science subjects at the secondary school level and technological courses at the tertiary levels of education. In spite of the importance of Physics, its teaching and learning have been in decline in Nigeria as shown by its low enrollment. The reason is not far-fetched. Ogunleye and Babajide (2011) state that there are observable problems plaguing the learning of Physics in Nigeria. They include poor infrastructure, lack of qualified manpower, non – availability of, or poorly equipped laboratories, wrong teaching methods, among others.
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
Such problems often lead to students’ poor performance in external examinations, such as the West African Examination Council (WAEC) or Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), (Abamba, 2012) Research by Ogunleye and Babajide (2011) affirm that Physics students at the secondary school level continue to exhibit poor performances in the subject.
The methods of teaching adopted by teachers go a long way in determining how students learn, and this ultimately affects their academic achievement. Eze (2003) blames the persistent low achievement on persistent use of traditional teaching methods, especially the lecture method which has been very ineffective in teaching pedagogy. Hence, Eze (2003) advocate a shift from the traditional methods to more effective ones that will engage the students’ domains (affective, cognitive and psychomotor) of learning.
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
Teaching is not just a process of passing information by the teacher or showing how much a teacher can express himself but one that affords students the opportunity to interact with both humans and available material resources. Agbowaro (2008) states that meaningful learning is active, constructive, intentional, authentic and cooperative. Therefore, it is imperative for teachers to employ methods that are student-centered.
According to Bybee, Tylor, Gardner, Scaffer, Powell, Westbrook and Landes (2006), science teachers’ globally strive to improve their instructional practices to enhance students’ learning. According to them, science teachers, curriculum experts have identifying research findings to incorporate into materials in order to facilitate connections between the teachers, the curriculum, and the students. Bybee et al. (2006) state that the use of coherent and coordinated sequencing of lessons and instrument models have become popular in science education at present.
According to Eze (2013), a school could be located in the urban or rural area. Rural schools are generally inferior to urban school as schools in rural areas lack human and materials need for the success at school. The location of school whether urban or rural affects a child ability to study and perform at the level expected of him.
He noted that different aspect of school environment (rural and urban) influence students’ achievement. He further stated that the motivating forces of his own, scholastic ability, and academic values but also by the social pressure applied by the participant in the school setting.
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
Also, differences in the location imply differences in the existent of the demographic and socio-economic parameters of the school. As stated by Imoagens (2008) in Akubue and Ifelunni (2016) that because of urban involvement, students in urban schools perform better than those in rural schools in language learning.
Student have limited access to reading materials, inadequate reading culture and insufficient graduate teachers in rural schools. Therefore, the location of school has tremendous influence on student academic performance in schools.
The World Bank recommended that the following data were needed for rationalizing and drawing up of both the urban and rural school map. Schools which includes physical aspect site, type of building, usage, capacity, teachers (numbers, qualification, and age), students which include enrolment in school by age,
individual data in age, sex, previous schools, home, location of mode, transport, time taken in home/school journey, parental background rural and urban area data which include land use administration, map on a large scale as possible, planning reports, settlement patterns and the like are required. These school vocational planning techniques have been reportedly used by a number of countries to solve their educational problem (World Bank Cividelines, 2010).
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
1.2 Statement of the Problem
There is a great difference between the physical and demographic characteristic of rural and urban area. The rural areas are characterized by lack of infrastructures, aging population and agrarian orientation; whereas, the urban area are characterized by increasing industrialization and availability of modern infrastructures, this, however, tend to define class size in both rural schools.
The citing of secondary school by the government does not take cognizance areas because of its plan to make secondary school more accessible to people large differences have been found between urban and rural school characteristics in terms of school plant inadequate resources managerial capacity and isolation.
It is also observed that students schooling in public secondary schools in Nigeria do so at the risk of their lives because most of the school buildings had cracked, it is also observed that some school in Akwa Ibom State in particular lack basic instruction resources and quality teachers.
How do these conditions differ in the urban and rural areas and how does these differences influence academic performance of students in two location? This study therefore sought to unravel the effect of school location and students’ academic performance in Physics in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area.
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of school location on students’ academic performance in Physics in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom local Government Area. Specifically, the study intends to:
- Determine the influence of urban and rural schools locations on students’ academic performance in Physics in secondary in Nsit Ibom local Government Area.
1.4 Significance of the Studies
It is hoped that this study will provide information for parents, educators and school administrators to reflect upon various factors that help students in achieving their academic goals. In so doing, they can investigate the possibility of introducing those factors to their schools which may consequently lead to enhancing students’ educational outcomes in school.
In addition this study will provides a valuable reference for other researchers to reflect upon the school environment as it affect the academic performance of student in secondary schools.
1.5 Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide the study:
- What is the influence of urban and rural school locations on students’ academic performance in Physics in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom Local Government Area?
1.6 Statement of Hypothesis
In order to guide the study, this hypothesis was postulated:
- There is no significant influence of school location on students’ academic performance in Physics in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom local Government Area
1.7 Delimitation of the Study
This research work focuses on the effect of school location and students’ academic performance in Physics in secondary schools in Nsit Ibom local Government Area. Only Public secondary schools were considered for the study.
1.8 Limitation of the Study
The researcher encountered some limitation to the scope of the study
- Availability of research materials:
The research material available to the researcher was insufficient, thereby limiting the study.
Time: the time frame allocated for the study could not enhance wider courage as the researcher has to combine other academic activities and examinations with the study.
Finance: the finance available for the research work could not allow wider coverage as resources were very limited as other academic bills to cover.
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
1.9 Operational Definition of Term
School location: school location refers to the community in which the school is located, such as a village, hamlet rural, or urban area.
Rural Area: refers to those areas with no or inadequate social amenities.
Urban Area: refers to those areas with proximity to social amenities.
School Resources: these are instructional materials which are produced for the purpose of teaching and learning in school.
Availability: these are those things which are obtaining and ready to be used
Utilization: to make use of something for a particular purpose
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
The Effect of School Location on Students Academic Performance in Physics
