Examine environment factors and examine environmental factors and academic achievement of secondary school students in English language in Uyo local government area of Akwa Ibom State.

INTRODUCTION

Success in an educational institution is measured by academic performance. Over the years, the importance of students doing well in school has become the common concern of parents, legislators, teachers, counselors and  psychologist.

According to Bell (2002), parents devote a lot of resources to their  children’s education because they believe that good  academic performance will provide a stable future for them. Also, Wilkins (2001) opined that many educational authorizes have sought to find out reasons for the down ward trend in the academic performance of secondary school students. Lentz (2000) claimed that the family environment  is the most powerful influence in determining a child’s academic achievement.

Environment according to Denek, described some  who to ready and able to learn and also  wants to learn, if this same person is kept in a room with books, pictures and has no one to talk to, such a person might not learn effectively. Thus for learning to take place and the performance of students be enhanced, the school surrounding must be stimulating and encouraging. The school environment must be inviting or welcoming, conducive and accommodating for adequate  and effective  learning to take place.

According to Grant (2003), school buildings should be a  suitable building punished and well equipped for habitation. As dilapidating buildings, lacking mental stimulating facilities that are characterized with low or no seating arrangement will also be destructive to students’ academic achievement.

It has been proud that students that are taught in stimulating environment with laboratory equipment, rich instructional aids, pictures and are allowed to demonstrate using their functional peripheral naves like eyes ,hands and  sense of taste performed better than those trained under theoretical and  canopy of abstraction. According to Bowers and Burkett (2000) found that  improper maintenance of fixtures can lead to  low academic performance of students in a school setting and it can lead to misinterpretation of written words especially on the chalkboard. Thus, teaching and learning should be done under an organized, planned and fortified environment with learning instructional aids to stimulate students’ sense of conception, perception and concentration in order to facilitate systematic understanding and requisition of knowledge in them.

Another factor found to exert influence on the academic achievement is the home environment of the students.

The home being the first and major agency of socialization has great influence and bearing on the development of the child. Most students who are successful great achievers and well adjusted come from families where sustaining wholesome relationship exist. It is the home which sets pattern for the child’s attitude towards people and society aids intellectual growth in the child and support his aspirations and achievement. A child’s home environment affects his/her degree of achievement academically. According to Morrison (1999), many of the distinctive characteristics of a child’s home in relation to his experience in school may be seen to influence his academic achievement. Students from home where books, magazines , newspaper, periodicals and other reading materials are bound to achieve more academically than the rest on his/her  mates who may not be opportune to such on enabling  environment and materials. Oladele (1998) supported this view by claiming that home should provide the opportunity for the child to show his interest and ability by providing an environment intellectually stimulating to the child. Looking closing at the enormous effects of environmental factor that influence students’ academic achievement, the researcher seeks to examine environmental factors and academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government  Area of Akwa Ibom State

Independent Variable

Environmental Factors

Dependent Variable

Academic achievement of secondary school student

Sub-variables

1. Home environment and academic achievement of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area
2. School Environment and academic achievement of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area.
3. Peer group influence and academic achievement of secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area

Objectives of the study

The objective of this study is to examine environment factors and examine environmental factors and academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State. The main objective of the study is divided into the following specific objectives.

1. To examine the influence of home environment on academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.
2. To examine the influence of school environment on academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.
3. To examine the influence of peer group pressure on academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

To actualize the objective of this study, the following research questions were raised.

1. How does home environment influence academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area?
2. How does school environment influence academic achievement of secondary school students in English Languages in Uyo Local Government Area?
3. Does peer group pressure influence academic achievement of secondary school student in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area?

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

To answer the research questions formulated in the course of the study, the following hypothesis were raised.

1. There is no significant influence of home environment on academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area?
2. There is no significant influence of school environment on academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.
3. There is no significant influence of peer group pressure on academic achievement of secondary school students in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area?