Introduction
Background of the Study
The school environment which include the classrooms, libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teachers’ quality, school management, teaching methods, peers among others are variables that affect students’ academic achievement (Ajaji, 2001 and Oluchkwu, 2000).
A good school environment takes care of both teachers and students’ social, religious, psychological, educational and economic needs. School environment according to Thomas (2000) affects students learning outcomes. The management of the school environment is therefore an important means of improving students’ academic achievement by teachers. In the school system, principals are the managers saddled with the responsibilities of achieving educational goals by managing people, things and situations. Likert (1999) found out that the organizational environment experienced by a particular school is determined by the level of discipline. Consequently, the environment created by school administrators will have significant influence on the behavour of students’ level of discipline, school-community relations and academic achievement of student in our secondary schools.
Good interpersonal relationship among teachers makes the administrative work of the principal easier, more pleasant as well as provides a healthy environment for a successful academic exercise.
Statement of the Problem
The importance of social studies in the development of a nation cannot be over emphasized. However, it should be noted that in any teaching and learning situation, the students, the teacher, the curriculum and the school environment are the four main pivots that guide education system of a country to its destination; but is sad to note that these pivots are not well-managed or utilized to achieve its maximum function in the teaching and learning situation. This has resulted in a downward performance of students in all the subject especially social studies. This has manifested in areas such as indiscipline, unstable home environment as a result of separation of parents (through death or divorce) children loss the required guidance from their parents. Children cultivate loose habits from peer-pressure there is a saying ‘birds of a feather flock together’. They exhibit wrong value and carrying out dubious acts that constitute improper conduct. Consequently, these have become a source of concern to all the stakeholders, parents, religious bodies, law enforcement agent and the society at large. These have prompted many researchers to try solving these problems. But it was discovered from review that no research has been done specifically on the areas of school location and school library. The question therefore is, can this study be used to improve the persisting low academic performance of student in social studies in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State?
Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to examine the influence of school environment on the academic performance of Junior Students in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. Specifically, this study seeks to:
- examine how school location influence students academic performance in social studies.
- examine the influence of school library on students’ academic performance in social studies.
Research Questions
The study used the following research questions:
- how does school location influence students academic performance in social studies?
- how does school library influence students academic performance in social studies?
Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses are postulated to direct the study.
- There is no significant influence of school location on students’ academic performance in social studies.
- There is no significant influence of school library on students’ academic performance in social studies
Significant of the Study
The finding of this study will be beneficial to the following group of people; the government, school managers, school owners, researchers. The result of the study will provide information to enable the government to provide necessary and quality resource materials to schools, help create awareness among school owners about the role of the school location on students’ academic performance. Lastly, this study will serve as an empirical research material for other researchers on students’ performance and school environment.
Basic Assumptions
The basic assumptions that underlies this study is that school location and school library can affect learners’ understanding and application of the concepts taught in social studies.
Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined as used in the study.
Academic Performance: This refers to observed level of educational achievement of a learner in a subject as indicated by his or her score in a test or examination.
School Location: This refers to a site a school is situated. It may be in an urban or rural area.
School Library: This is one of the facilities holding educational materials like books, CDs, etc. required for raising the standard of education in any institution (Boluate, 2002).