Learning Enviroment and Its Effects on Student Academic Performance in Integrated Science
BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
In Nigeria, secondary education is the education children receive after primary education and before the tertiary stage. Consequently, the broad goals of secondary education are geared to prepare the individual for useful living within the society and to progress to higher education (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2004).
The school at this level is established so that students can learn in order to be able to transmit knowledge from one generation to another for the continuity and well-being of the society.
Learning as a hypothetical construct can only be inferred from observable behavior. Psychologists usually define learning as a relatively permanent change in behavior due to past experience or the process by which relatively permanent changes occur in behavioral potentials as a result of
Experience (Gross, 2010)
In fact, secondary school education is an investment and an instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic, social, political, technological, scientific and cultural development in the country. The role of secondary education is to lay a solid foundation for better academic performance of students in their pursuit of university education and in other higher institutions with the aim of producing competent manpower for the growth and development of the nation. Recent trends in this tier of education in Nigeria show poor academic results from our children. The preponderance of mass failure in the final examinations conducted by various examination bodies (WAEC, NECO NABTEB) has led to the hue and cry by all and sundry over students’ poor academic performance.
It is clear that this tier of education is now seriously threatened by total near collapse as evident by students’ abysmal performance in 2011 examination results in Nigeria.
Dissenting groups have passed the blame of students’ poor performance on teachers, parents and government policy somersault. According to Aremu and Sokan (2003), and Aremu and
In Nigeria, secondary education is the education children receive after primary education and before the tertiary stage. Consequently, the broad goals of secondary education are geared to prepare the individual for useful living within the society and to progress to higher education (Federal Government of Nigeria, 2004).
The school at this level is established so that students can learn in order to be able to transmit knowledge from one generation to another for the continuity and well-being of the society.
Learning as a hypothetical construct can only be inferred from observable behavior. Psychologists usually define learning as a relatively permanent change in behavior due to past experience or the process by which relatively permanent changes occur in behavioral potentials as a result of
Experience (Gross, 2010)
In fact, secondary school education is an investment and an instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic, social, political, technological, scientific and cultural development in the country. The role of secondary education is to lay a solid foundation for better academic performance of students in their pursuit of university education and in other higher institutions with the aim of producing competent manpower for the growth and development of the nation. Recent trends in this tier of education in Nigeria show poor academic results from our children. The preponderance of mass failure in the final examinations conducted by various examination bodies (WAEC, NECO NABTEB) has led to the hue and cry by all and sundry over students’ poor academic performance.
It is clear that this tier of education is now seriously threatened by total near collapse as evident by students’ abysmal performance in 2011 examination results in Nigeria.
Dissenting groups have passed the blame of students’ poor performance on teachers, parents and government policy somersault. According to Aremu and Sokan (2003), and Aremu and