The Impact of School Environment on Academic Achievement of Pupils in Social Studies

The Impact of School Environment on Academic Achievement of Pupils in Social Studies

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background to the Study

School is one of the social institutions that is responsible for the development and training of the mind and skill of man. It is also for the preparation of man for the challenges and responsibility in the society at large. School environment encompasses the factors within the school that may or may not provide suitable conditions for the promotion of effective teaching and learning. The school environment, which include the classroom, libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teachers, quality, school management, teaching methods, peers to mention a few, are variables that affect pupils’ academic achievement. Hence, the school environment remains an important area that should be studied and well managed to enhance pupils’ academic achievement.

The issue of poor academic achievement of pupils in Nigeria has been of much concern to the government, parents, teachers and even pupils themselves. The quality of education not only depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties, but also in the effective coordination of the school environment Ajao (2010).

School environment which also include instructional spaces planning, administration places planning, curriculum spaces planning, spaces for convenience planning, facilities planning, the teachers as well as the pupils themselves are essential in teaching-learning process. The extent to which pupils learning could be enhance depends on their location within the school compound, the structure of their classroom; availability of instructional facilities and accessories. It is believed that a well planned school will gear up expected outcomes of education that will facilitate good social, political and economic well being of pupils.

The physical characteristics of the school have a variety of effects on teachers, students/pupils, and the learning process. Poor lighting, noise, high levels of carbon dioxide in classrooms, and inconsistent temperatures make teaching and leaning default. Poor maintenance and ineffective ventilation systems lead to poor health among pupils as well as teachers, which leads to poor performance and higher absentee rates (Frazier, 2012). These factors can adversely affect pupils’ behaviour and lead to higher levels of frustration among teachers, and poor learning attitude among pupils.

Beyond the direct effects that poor facilities have on pupils ability to learn, the combination of poor facilities, which create an uncomfortable and uninviting workplace for teachers, combined with frustrating behaviour by pupils including poor concentration and hyperactivity, lethargy, or apathy, creates a stressful set of working conditions for teachers. Because stresses and job dissatisfaction are common pre-cursors to lowered teachers enthusiasm, it is possible that the aforementioned characteristics of school facilities have an effect upon the academic achievement of pupils.

The Impact of School Environment on Academic Achievement of Pupils in Social Studies

1.2     Statements of the Problem

The influence of school environment on academic achievement of pupils has been an issue of concern to all stakeholders in education. This is evident in the rate of mass failure of pupils in both internal and external examinations, as revealed by research studies. Despite the Akwa Ibom State Government’s effort toward the provision and renovation of infrastructures in primary schools, pupils performance in both internal and external examination such as national common entrance and state common entrance examinations and other  entrance examinations into secondary schools is still very low and below expectation.

The researcher has observed with dismay that the school environment in the stduy area is nothing to write home about. The school climate is not interesting for teaching and learning, instructional facilities are in dilapidated conditions, lack of trained teachers and other facilities that promote teaching and learning are also in short fall which tend to influence pupils’ academic achievement in school. It is on this premise that the researcher is motivated to appraise the impact of school environment on the achievement of primary school pupils in Abak Local Government Area.

1.3     Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of the study is to investigate the impact of school environment on academic achievement of pupils in social studies among pupils in primary schools in Abak Local Government Area.

Specifically, the study intends to:

(i) examine the influence of instructional materials availability/utilization on academic    performance of pupils in social studies.

(ii)  find out the impact of school location on academic performance in social studies among pupils in primary school in Abak Local Government Area.

(iii) assess the influence of school physical facilities on pupils academic achievement  in social studies in primary schools in Abak Local Government Area.

1.4  Significance of the Study

It is believed that this study will be of immense benefit to teachers, parents, educators and school administrators to reflect upon various factors that help pupils 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 pupils’ educational outcomes in schools. This study will also assist school administrators and curriculum planners to develop strategies that would reduce negative effects of poor learning environment on academic performance of pupils in primary schools. It will also be importance to pupils themselves as it will be made known to them the effects of school environment on their academic performance. Finally, the findings of the study will act as a reference point to other interested researcher interested in this area of research.

1.5     Research Questions

In order to guide the study the following research questions were formulated to guide the study

(i)  what is the difference in academic achievement of pupils taught with instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials  in social studies.

(ii)  what is the effect of school physical facilities on academic achievement of pupils in social studies?

(iii) in what ways do performance in social studies differ between pupils in urban  and those in rural school location ?

1.6  Research Hypotheses

 The following research hypotheses guided the study

(i)  There is no significant difference in academic achievement of pupils taught using instructional materials and those taught without instructional materials

(ii)  There is no significant effect of school physical facilities on academic achievement of pupils in social studies in primary school.

(iii) There is no significant difference in performance between pupils in urban school and rural school location social studies.

 1.7  Delimitation of the Study

This research work focuses on influence of school environment on academic achievement of primary school pupils in some selected primary schools in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa ibom State. This research work covers only all public primary schools pupils in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. However, ten public primary schools were selected for the study.

1.8     Limitation of the Study

The researcher encountered some difficulties in obtaining information for the study such as time-frame and shortage of finance. The research was also limited due to   the inability of the researcher to cover all the public primary schools in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State as the title suggest.

The Impact of School Environment on Academic Achievement of Pupils in Social Studies

1.9   Definition of Terms

School: A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or “pupils”) under the direction of teachers

School Environment: A school environment includes the school building and the surrounding.

Academic Achievement: Is a knowledge attained or skills developed in school subjects by test scores or examination.

Primary school­: Is an educational institution where the first stage of schooling, known as elementary and usually compulsory up to a specified age. It follows secondary education.

Pupils: This term is principally used to described individual or person who under go studies in primary or nursery school.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter of the research consists of summary, conclusion and recommendations.

5.1 Summary

This study was to make an in-depth examination on school environment and academic achievement of pupils   in social studies in Abak local government area. The main purpose of the study was to determine the influence of instructional material, physical facilities and school locations among others on the achievement of pupils in social studies.

From the review of relevant literature, it was establish that instructional materials availability and utilization by the teacher have to make teaching and learning real and concretize abstract concepts. Also good facilities in school does not add beauty to the school and does not make pupils to learn ease but also alleviate burdensome like in etching and learning process.

5.2 Conclusion

Based on the result of this study, it was concluded that instructional materials, physical facilities and school location has significant influence on academic achievement of pupils in social studies in Abak Local Government Area,

5.3  Recommendations    

Based on the findings of the study and conclusion, the following recommendations were made:

(i) Schools should great environment that facilitate pupils acquisition and development of cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills.

(ii)  Appropriate school authority should be able to provide a conducive school environment that has good climate for effective teaching and learning. Such environment should be safe, pupils treated fairly by teachers and happy to be in school as well as feel they are part of the school.

(iii) Effective school discipline should be encouraged by head teachers in controlling teachers behavior capable of jeopardizing pupils academic achievement in primary schools.

(iv) Government should provide adequate school facilities and instructional school materials in primary schools to enhance teaching and learning processes. The parent teacher association (PTA), philanthropist and other charitable organizations are also implored to complement the effort of the government to boost academic achievement of primary schools pupils.