AN EXAMINATION OF PERFORMANCES OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN GEOGRAPHY IN SOME SELECTED PRIVATE SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background To The Study
Secondary school is seen as a source of income in today’s age of science and technology. Based on this, Sofolahan’s Committee (1971) recommended geography as one of the basic subjects, which was agreed upon.
This geographic emphasis arose as a result of advances in science and technology in developed countries, which were then spread to developing countries such as Nigeria. When Fafunwa (1971) says, “we live in a world where science and technology have become an intrinsic part of life,” he admits this.
In response to the proposed general shift toward curricular unification, geography is taught at the Senior Secondary School level. This phrase implies that new trends should not be accepted without investigation, and that instructors should understand the implications.
The nature of geography and the necessity of combining the components that comprise geography, as well as linking geography or nature to man, which in this case is the study of geography.
The National Policy on Education mandated that geography be taught as a fundamental subject in secondary school.
The geography chosen is based on sound educational principles. It depicts science and social science as the inextricably linked and intellectually intertwined activities that they are.
A subject-centered curriculum does not promote the development of life perspectives, which is education’s primary goal. Aside from that, students at this level have psychological depositions that cause them to perceive events or phenomena coherently.
Furthermore, if geography’s primary function
Because the majority of students in the Senior Secondary School will not become geography majors, this function is best served by renewing social science in as broad a scope as possible; thus, when the term social science is used in the geography curriculum, it means that the course is designed and presented in such a way that the child:-
(a) Learns about the fundamental unit of geography.
(b) Adopts a communality approach to scientific issues.
(c) It aided in the development of an understanding of the role of science, technology, and social science in daily life and the world in which he or she lives. Geography has a distinct place in the Secondary School curriculum, serving as the foundation.
for students who wish to pursue a career in the social sciences, as well as a general introduction to the sciences for those who may wish to pursue either. Because humanity is built on vocational studies, geography education at the Senior Secondary level is critical.
A solid geography foundation will prepare millions of Senior Secondary School students for successful careers in the social sciences, thereby indirectly contributing to Nigeria’s much-needed scientific and technological growth.
Unintended consequences may result from a shaky foundation. For these reasons, students in Senior Secondary School should be adequately and successfully taught geography. To accomplish this, all components of the geography curriculum must be taught to students if they are to be successful.
to receive a balanced introduction to scientific and social science.
1.2 Problem Description
The Educational Resource Centre (ERC) develops questions, conducts exams, marks scripts, grades them, and awards certificates to examinees under their control, all under the supervision of the state ministry of education. They frequently ask secondary school teachers from various topics to set questions and send them to the ERC while the questions are being created. According to the Inspectors of Science’s annual reports, some questions are repeated multiple times on a single question paper, some have incorrect spellings, and other alternatives are missing or left blank. Many of the instructors from various schools who have been used to set these questions may lack the necessary expertise to develop acceptable answers. Questions covering all levels of the cognitive domain, with themes properly represented in the curriculum. These factors could explain why students performed poorly on state MOCK tests. In such cases, such questions may not adequately prepare students for national or even external exams like NECO, NABTEB, or WASSCE. This could also explain why students’ academic performance in Geography in the SSCE has been so poor, particularly in Ogun State. According to a review of previous state results, approximately 57 percent of senior high school students performed below average. As a result, students’ academic performance in Geography has been declining in Ogun State. The following were the trends in the rate of poor performance% pass at the state level: 39% of the time
in 2015, 40.6% in 2016, 30.6% in 2017, 28.6% in 2018, and 20.1% in 2019. As a result, neither the state nor the students in general benefit from this condition. As a result, there is an urgent need to address students’ poor performance and chart a course forward. According to the researchers’ review of the literature, several studies on the content validity of various courses offered at the senior secondary school level have been conducted, but no study has been conducted in Ogun State to investigate the content validity of ERC questions. As a result, a study on the content validity of Geography questions in Ogun State is required.
1.3 The Study’s Objective
The goals are as follows:
the study’s findings are:
i. To assess the performance of students in the selected schools.
ii. Determine the effects of teacher attitudes and qualifications on student geography performance.
iii. To determine the effects of students’ attitudes on their geographic performance.
iv. To investigate the impact of parents’ socioeconomic status on their children’s geographic performance.
v. To identify the environmental factors that influence students’ geographic performance.
1.4 Research problem
i. What is the level of performance of the students in the chosen schools?
ii. What are the effects of the teacher’s attitudes and qualifications on student performance in geography?
iii. What are the effects of students’ attitudes on their performance?
geography performance?
iv. What effect does the student’s socioeconomic status have on his or her geography performance?
v. What are the environmental factors that influence students’ geography performance?
1.5 The Study’s Importance
This initiative would benefit both the federal government and the Ogun State Government as a whole. However, Odogbolu Local Government must assess how far they have come in meeting their educational targets and objectives, with a focus on scientific and social science.
It will also aid in the resolution of problems that students may encounter. As a result, we must make certain that our future scientists have a solid foundation. This investigation was successful in identifying a number of issues affecting
geography performance?
iv. What effect does the student’s socioeconomic status have on his or her geography performance?
v. What are the environmental factors that influence students’ geography performance?
1.5 The Study’s Importance
This initiative would benefit both the federal government and the Ogun State Government as a whole. However, Odogbolu Local Government must assess how far they have come in meeting their educational targets and objectives, with a focus on scientific and social science.
It will also aid in the resolution of problems that students may encounter. As a result, we must make certain that our future scientists have a solid foundation. This investigation was successful in identifying a number of issues affecting
student performance in geography and provide long-term solutions to those problems and the variables that cause them.
1.5 Study Scope and Limitations
The appraisal was specifically a correlational study of the above-mentioned tested variable or factor in 1.2 or a sample of private Senior Secondary School Students achievements in geography in Odogbolu Local Government Area of Ogun-State.
As a result, the study’s conclusions were limited to the specific sample in question. The main limitation is that only six of the numerous identifiable variables that could influence student performance in geography are considered in this study.
1.6 Terms With Operational Definitions
(1) Evaluation: This denotes an investigation or discovery. It can also be called
as a wild guess to confirm.
(2) Performance: A person’s or something’s act or action.
(3) Data: Arithmetical form or order analysis of the appraisal.
(4) Geography: The term geography is derived from two Greek words, geo-meaning the earth and graph-meaning to describe, and it is defined as the study of people, their activities, places, and physical things within the earth.
(5) Discipline: To train and control someone’s mind and character, or to develop a self-control habit of obedience.
(6) Curriculum: A brief written account of one’s previous history or course of study in a school, college, or other institution.
(7) Subsidiary: Providing assistance or support but not as of
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