The Impact Of Instructional Media On Students’ Academic Performance In Senior Secondary Schools

Project and Seminar Material for Education

Abstract

The purpose of this research work is to examine the impact of instructional media on student’s academic performance in senior secondary schools. The study adopted a cross sectional survey design. The study population involved all community secondary schools in Enugu state. Out of 38 community secondary schools in Enugu state5 schools were randomly selected for data collection. In each school, 5 teachers and 20 students filled semi- structured questionnaire. The following were findings of the study: first, instructional materials are the key to teachers’ and students’ performance. Secondly, most community secondary schools in Enugu statesuffer shortage of essential teaching and learning materials. Thirdly, the study revealed that teachers used different strategies to minimize the challenges of attaining and using quality instructional materials like borrowing books and improvisation. The study recommends that the government should budget sufficient funds for improving the availability of instructional materials in all secondary schools. For further research, this study proposes that aspects of how teachers and students use instructional materials for effective teaching and learning processes need to be examined.

Table Of Content

Preliminary Page(s)

Title Page
Declaration
Approval
Dedication
Acknowledgement
Abstract
Table of Content

Chapter One

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background To The Study
1.2 Statement Of The Problem
1.3 Research Objectives
1.4 Research Questions
1.5 Research Hypotheses
1.6 Significance Of The Study

Chapter Two

2.0 Literature Review

2.1 Conceptual Review
2.2 The Extent To Which Instructional Media Affect Student Performance
2.3 Challenges That Teachers Face In Accessing Instructional Media
2.4 Strategies To Minimize The Challenges Of Attaining And Using Quality Instructional Media
2.5 Theoretical Framework
2.5.1 Instructional Material Theories
2.5.2 Sociocultural Theory Of Teaching, Learning, And Development

Chapter Three

3.0 Research Methodology

3.1 Research Design
3.2 Sampling Procedure
3.3 Sample Size
3.4 Instrumentation
3.5 Data Analysis And Presentation

Chapter Four

4.0 Results And Discussion

4.1 Results

Chapter Five

5.0 Conclusion And Recommendation

5.1 Conclusion
5.2 Recommendations
References
Appendices

Chapter One

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background Of The Study

Instructional media have been observed as a powerful strategy to bring about effective teaching and learning. The importance of quality and adequate instructional media in teaching and learning can occur through their effective utilization during classroom teaching. Instructional media here include all the tools that the teachers can use to make the learning more interesting and memorable.

According to Farombi, (1998), instructional media include books, audio-visual, software and hardware of educational technology. He further opines that the availability, adequacy and relevance of instructional media in classrooms can influence quality teaching, which can have positive effect on students’ learning and academic performance. The insight from Farombi on linking instructional resources to students’ academic performance serve critical in the provision of quality education. The title of this thesis, role of instructional media in academic performance in community secondary schools in Enugu state originates from such ideas. Efficiency and high productivity in teaching and learning transaction. In my views, start from the access to quality and adequate instructional media, and these should be prepared well before the class interaction.

According to Oni (1992), instructional resources are teachers’ strategic factor in organizing and providing education. This is so because they help to elaborate a concept that the teacher could not, without an instructional material. This allows students to learn more comfortably therefore influencing positively their academic performance.

Writing on the role of instructional media in teaching and learning, Balogun (1982) commented that science education programmes cannot be taught effectively without the existence of equipment for teaching. This is because instructional media help those who learn to develop problem-solving skills and scientific attitudes. Elaborating further on the same point, Ajayi and Ogunyemi (1990) emphasize that when instructional media are provided to meet relative needs of teaching process, students will have access to the reference materials mentioned by the teacher, and also each student will be able to learn at his or her own pace. The overall result is that students will perform much better.

Before the coming of missionaries in Nigeria, traditional societies in Nigeria had their own means of providing education to the new generation, which was growing up. There was no for education however the young ones were taught through story telling, and also through tribal traditions. Under this system of education, the youth grew to become brave and skilled men and women; men became hunters, soldiers and craft workers, while women became good mothers and food gatherers and craft workers.

The beginning of formal education is traced to 1876 when the missionaries came to establish their mission stations. The first mission station was the Free Church of Scotland at Cape Maclear, and this group opened the Livingstonia Mission (Pachai, 1973). In the mid 1920s, government appeared on the education scene with more assistance and policy formulation. The department of education established in 1926 worked hand-in-hand with the missions, and more schools were introduced.

Community secondary school program in Nigeria started in 1970s when the government decided to take over all private secondary schools for the aim of ensuring that all the children had an equal chance of getting education. Further development of community secondary schools in Nigeria took place in 1980s and 1990s; during this era some major changes took place in the history of community secondary education in Nigeria. The first major change was the re-introduction of community secondary schools as a response to the unforeseen increase requirement for secondary education. This demand came into being following the implementation of Universal Primary Education (UPE) (URT, 1995).

The implementation of UPE created unparalleled social demand for secondary education. The increase in the enrolment in primary schools resulted in the expansion of Secondary education through a strategy of constructing community secondary schools in each ward in Nigeria. A circular was issued by the government in 1984 to initiate a ten year programme for the expansion of secondary education. The programme was not implemented until in 1986 when it started and was to be completed by 1995 with the construction of 79 secondary schools which were to be distributed in such a way that each region was to build three schools. Essentially, community secondary schools are government schools in which both local communities and the central government have the responsibility to run the schools (URT, 1995).

The government through Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT), with the help of foreign donors, members of the community, development partners, contributions from local government, government through internal and external sources took the initiative to start building community secondary schools all over the country in each ward as pointed earlier. To the large extent, community secondary schools supported by government, community contributions, development partners and local government contributions have provided education to children from poor families, who are mostly found in rural remote areas, while government provided schools with financial and technical support such as paying teachers’ salaries.

Secondary school education in Nigeria refers to that full time program of education provided in accordance with Government approved curricula and availed to students who have completed primary education (URT, 1995). According to the Education Policy of 1995, this level of education consists of two sequential phases; ordinary level secondary education which last for four years and a two-year of advanced level secondary education (URT, 1995). The standards that the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training (MoEVT) has stipulated, selection of students to be enrolled into community secondary schools are made on the ‘basis of a pre-set national standard cut-off point of performance’ in the National Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) (URT, 1995). Students enrolled in community secondary schools need to have a minimum of 100 scores in their Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE).

On the other hand, selection and enrollment into community secondary schools is the same as that which is done in other secondary schools. The selection is done after students’ attainment of appropriate credits in the final secondary examination. In all cycles the emphasis has been on development in terms of access and improved quality of teaching and learning (URT, 2004).

Instructional media are considered important in teaching and learning in all levels of education because textbooks and other resource materials are basic tools. Absence or inadequacy makes teachers handle subjects in an abstract manner, portraying it as dry and non-exciting (Eshiwani, 1984). For example, textbooks, charts, maps, audio- visual and electronic instructional media such as radio, tape recorder, television and video tape recorder contribute much in making learning more interesting (Atkinson, 2000). The importance of instructional media is also evident in the performance of students (Adeogun, 2001).

According to Adeogun, schools, whose teachers use more instructional resources perform better than schools, whose teachers do not use instructional media. This corroborated the study by Babayomi (1999) that private schools performed better than public schools because students and teachers are provided with sufficient and quality teaching and learning resources. From this importance, schools at all levels of education have been advised to have quality and adequate instructional facilities to raise academic performance of their students.

The advice emanated from the fact that instructional facilities have a potent factor to qualitative education. The dictum is that “teaching is inseparable from learning but learning is separable from teaching.” This means that teachers do the teaching to make the students learn, but with quality and adequate instructional facilities, students can learn without the teachers. According to Akande (1985), learning can occur through one’s interaction with one’s environment. Environment here refers to instructional facilities that are available to facilitate students learning outcome.

Instructional media such as the size of classroom, sitting position and arrangement, availability of tables, chairs, chalkboards, shelves on which instruments for practicals, are important in the teaching transaction (Farrant, 1980 and Farombi, 1998). According to these scholars, availability of instructional media can work best if other conditions are met such as the quality of classroom. I would add, the quality of teachers to use these resources. While acknowledging the importance of instructional media, there is little agreement on their roles on academic performance and this difference in understanding, is the focus of this study.

Studies have been conducted mainly focusing on pedagogical and curriculum trends. However, studies on the role of instructional media in academic performance for a country like Nigeria are highly needed due to the importance discussed above and the challenges facing the education system. Academic performance according to the Cambridge University Reporter (2003) is frequently defined in terms of examination performance. Academic performance is normally measured by the examination results because this is one of the major goals of a school. Hoyle (1986) reiterated that schools are built in order to provide knowledge and skills to those who go through them and behind all this is the idea of enhancing good academic performance. In this study, academic performance was characterized by performance in classroom tests, in course work and performance in the final examinations.

In this study, I explored conceptions from teachers’ on understanding of the importance of instructional media in improving teaching and learning in secondary school education in Nigeria. In conducting this study, I have been interested in a reciprocal availability of instructional facilities, where the number of schools and enrollments are increasing while instructional media are inadequate or in sorry state (see MoEVT, 2010). This reciprocal relationship is creating inefficiency gap between the governmental intentions stipulated in the Secondary Education Development Program (SEDP) and the realities existing in community secondary schools. The gap has led to the emerging criticism that community secondary schools are not effective, as a large number of students do not acquire required skills and hence perform poorly in their final examinations.

A research carried out by Sumra and Rajani (2006) indicated that a number of learners finish secondary education without acquiring essential skills that are needed in life. This shows that increase in number of students has been prioritized over the number and quality of instructional media (Hakielimu, 2007; Makombe et al, 2010). Some studies have specifically shown that teaching in community secondary schools is poor as these schools lack necessary teaching facilities such as furniture for staff and students, books, science equipment, games and sport equipment (Benell and Mukyanuzi, 2005).

Moreover, teachers lack essential skills to make quality teaching and learning aids. According to a National Audit report, some schools are completely lacking material resources such as textbooks, charts, maps, audio-visual and electronic instructional media such as radio, tape recorder, television and video tape recorder.

From these facts on the ground, efforts to improve the quality of provision of education in community secondary schools in Nigeria have appeared to slow down, as some of these challenges were not prioritized in the SEDP 2004 – 2009 (Sumra and Rajani, 2006). More studies are needed in Nigeria to expose this situation. If the country aims at producing a competitive economy to meet global market demands, as stipulated in the vision of the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEVT, 2010), availability of quality and adequate instructional facilities in community secondary schools should be given a high priority. In this study strategy for making quality instructional media available are suggested as an attempt to narrow efficiency gap in the provision of education in community secondary schools in Nigeria.

Inadequacy of quality instructional media is not confined to Nigeria, as this is a worldwide phenomenon. Even in developed countries for example, United States of America especially in schools whose majority of population are the poor and minority students are less funded and lack essential quality instructional media. In addition, policies associated with school funding, resource allocations, and tracking leave minority students with fewer and lower-quality books, curriculum materials, laboratories, and computers (Post and Darling, 2000).

A study conducted in the District of Columbia school system found, after controlling for other variables such as a student’s socioeconomic status, that students’ examination results were lower in schools with poor building conditions. Students in school buildings in poor condition performed badly, that is, 6% below schools in fair condition and 11% below schools in excellent condition (Edwards, 1991). The situation is more critical in less developed countries. For instance, studies done by Carron and Chau, (1996) in India, and Willms (2000) in Latin America indicated acute shortage of school facilities such as classroom materials and inadequate library which led to poor academic performance in the areas most affected by this problem in these countries. A survey which was conducted by UNICEF/UNESCO in 1995 in 14 least developed countries showed that the size of classes ranged from fewer than 30 students in rural and urban Bhutan, Madagascar, and the Maldives, to 73 in rural Nepal and 118 in Equatorial Guinea (Postlewaithe, 1998).

In most African countries there is an endemic lack of adequate instructional media most especially in rural areas. A research done by Gogo (2002) on the input of cost sharing on access, equity and quality of secondary education in Rachuonyo district in Kenya indicated that the quality of education had not changed much for a number of years due to inadequate teaching and learning materials and equipment. Further, studies done in other parts of Africa reveal the same problem.

For example in Nigeria Farombi (1998) did a study on resource concentration, utilization and management as correlates with students learning outcomes in Oyo State. He discovered that instructional facilities in some schools were very poor. He cited examples of schools without chalkboard, absence of ceiling, some roofing sheets not in place, windows and doors removed among others, a situation which the researcher regarded as hazardous to healthy living for the learners. Another study done by FEMSA on the availability of teaching and learning resources for mathematics and science in four African countries, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria andUganda revealed that there was critical shortage of instructional facilities mostly for teaching science and mathematics.

1.2 Statement Of The Problem

Most studies that look into the state of instructional resources in schools, rarely do scholars attach poor performance with lack of, or inadequacy of these materials. As the studies above indicate instructional media are important in teaching and learning and are inadequate in many schools (Kerr, 2003). Although studies in Nigeria (see for example those of Sumra and Rajani, 2006; Hakielimu, 2007; Makombe et al, 2010) have lamented on poor performance, they did not link this situation with inadequate quality instructional resources. These studies are clear that there is a strong link between adequate and quality instructional media and quality teaching and learning process (Blair, 1998) but have not shown this link with students’ academic performance. Other studies conducted by researchers such as Earthman and Lemasters (1996) have shown that learners who are provided with safe, modern and environmentally controlled situation learn much better and their academic performance are high.

School finance trends in Nigeria have shown a notable decrease in funding for educational facilities (MoEVT, 2014). However, studies are needed to draw a clear comparison between the quality of instructional media in community secondary schools and academic outcomes. In order for the government to support educational reform that will boost student performance, they will need to understand the level of relationship between instructional media and academic performance.

1.3 Research Objectives

The general objective of this study was to examine the impact of instructional media on student’s academic performance in senior secondary schoolsin Enugu state. The study was guided by the following research objectives:

To explore the views of teachers and students on the extent to which instructional meida affect student performance.
To examine the challenges that teachers in community secondary schools face in accessing instructional media.
Assess the strategies that teachers use to minimize the challenges of attaining and using quality instructional media.

1.4 Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions:

What are the views of teachers and students on the extent to which instructional media affect students’ performance?
What are the challenges that teachers in community secondary schools face in accessing instructional media?
What are the strategies that teachers use to minimize the challenges of attaining and using quality instructional media?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

HO: There is no significant relationship between instructional media and academic performance in secondary schools
HA: There is a significant relationship between instructional media and academic performance in secondary schools

1.6 Significance Of The Study

This study intended to find the impact of inadequate instructional media in community secondary schools in Enugu state. The knowledge obtained would help the government most especially local government and educators to reflect and make evaluation on the requirements of other instructional media apart from class-rooms alone. Since the beginning of community secondary schools, the government and local communities have been putting more emphasis on the construction of new class-rooms, and recently, construction of laboratories. However, provision of quality secondary school education requires more than just class-rooms and laboratory buildings. The evaluation of instructional media, along with other reform movements, allows educators and planners to plan for appropriate environment for teaching and learning so as to provide quality secondary school education.

The study would also influence education planners to consider appearances of physical structures such as classrooms and availability of other teaching and learning materials as some of the important factors that can influence parents to send their children to particular schools, which have attractive physical appearance and variety of other facilities. Attractive environment and the availability of other learning resources can influence students to stay in schools and stimulate learning. This study would be helpful for fulfilments of the requirement of Masters of Education degree in Administration, Planning and Policy studies.

Also the knowledge acquired from this study would be very important to other researchers who have interest in demographic dynamics of school age going children in relation to planning of school facilities. If the study concludes that students in community secondary schools perform poorly due to the lack of sufficient instructional media, this knowledge will enable education planners to re-think the range of services the government and local communities can provide to school-aged children, and the wider community, and to find creative ways of improving school facilities that would otherwise be ineffectively utilized due to funding pressures.

Chapter Five

5.0 Conclusion And Recommendation

5.1 Conclusion

From the study findings it is apparent that many schools in the study area do not use appropriate instructional media. They do not have instructional media that the schools need to buy, nor do they improvise their own. Although all the teachers agree that instructional media are important in contributing to students’ academic performance, they do not show a need to have these materials in their classrooms.

This implies that, although the teachers have the knowledge about the importance of instructional media, they are not inclined to develop them. This may have many reasons. One could guess that teachers do not care whether the students perform or not, and this from the management point of view, may emanate from low morale and motivation towards their teaching. Another explanation may be, poor supervision from their heads of schools.

Normally, heads of schools are supposed to be instructional supervisors, to ensure that instructions are going on and students are provided with quality education coupled with quality instructional resources. Lack of supervision may be the reason for the situation found by this study.

5.2 Recommendations

Basing on the findings from this study the following are the recommendations;

The government should strive and set aside a reasonable amount of education budget which will be directed to improve and construct libraries in schools like what it did to promote laboratories in schools. The heads of schools should rise their voice to be heard by parents as well as the government on the importance of improving and promoting good instructional media in community schools and that success or failure of a student will not only depend on the content that the students receive in class as well as access to materials for further review by his or her own.

The parents should not sit down and wait for the government to effect on the availability of libraries and other valid learning materials and facilities in schools. The parents should consider the problems of lacking facilities as a challenge that needs to be redressed by them. So the study urges parents to effectively participate physically and financially where possible for the development of the schools.

The study investigated on the role of instructional media in improving student’s performance to include among others accessibility to these materials in schools. But for the materials to be effective depends on how the material is used. This study did not cover the aspect of how teachers and students use instructional media for effective teaching and learning process.

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