The Effect of Poor Learning Environment on the Academic Achievement of Primary School Pupils
Chapter One
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study includes,
- To find out if pupils academic performance have any relationship with their school environment.
- To discover how poor learning environment affects pupils gender.
- Finally, to examine the level at which the school environment influences the academic performance of pupils in primary school in Nigeria.
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Theories on Learning
There are theories that talk about learning and what others have said about how environment affects pupil’s academic performance. These theories include: the motivation theory, the hierarchy of needs theory and the social learning theory as discussed below.
Motivation Theory
Motivation is the force that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. The forces that lie beneath motivation can be biological, social, emotional or cognitive in nature. There are several aspects of motivation theory such as instinct theory of motivation in which people are motivated to behave in certain ways because they are evolutionarily programmed to do so. An example of this is the seasonal migration of animals; a behavior pattern that is inborn. There is also the incentive theory of motivation that suggests that people are motivated to do things because of external rewards such as monetary rewards. The drive theory of motivation also states that people are motivated to take certain actions in order to reduce the internal tension that is caused by unmet needs. This theory is useful in explaining behaviors that have a strong biological component, such as hunger or thirst. The problem with the drive theory of motivation is that these behaviors are not always motivated purely by physiological needs. For example, people often eat even when they are not really hungry. The humanistic theory of motivation is based on the idea that people also have strong cognitive reasons to perform various actions 10 (Winslow, 2012). The current study will apply humanistic and incentive aspects to determine the extent to which the two variables have a significant impact of pupils’ academic performance
Hierarchy of Needs Theory
The motivation theory integrates well with Abraham Maslow’s of the hierarchy of needs. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs presents different motivations at different levels. First, people are motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and shelter, as well as those of safety, love and esteem. Once the lower level needs have been met, the primary motivator becomes the need for self-actualization, or the desire to fulfill one’s individual potential.
The hierarchy of needs theory posts that the needs at the bottom are the most urgent and need to be satisfied before attention can be paid to the others. The following table shows Maslow’s hierarchy of need categories: According to Maslow, lower needs such as physiological need take priority. They must be fulfilled before the others are activated. It is pointless to worry about education if one is dying of starvation, or if life is threatened. There are some basic things that take precedence over all else. In the context of Kaiti Division it appears that physiological needs of pupils are unmet and this has a negative impact on their academic performance because of their pre occupation with basic needs such as shelter and food (Maslow,1943).
The Social Learning Theory
The social learning theory is a perspective that states that people learn within a social context that is facilitated through modeling and observation. People, especially children, learn from the environment and seek acceptance from society by learning through influential models. The social behaviour is also influenced by being rewarded and /or punished for these actions. This takes live model in which an actual person demonstrates the desired behaviour, verbal instruction in which an individual describes the desired behaviour in detail and instructs the participant to engage in the behavior, and symbolic modeling which occurs by means of the media, including movies, television, internet, literature, and radio. The most critical element of the social learning theory is that for pupils to learn they must pay attention, retain what they have learnt; reproduce what they have learnt; and be well motivated. The theory will be applied to the area of study to determine these critical elements of successful learning are operationalized and the extent to which parents and teachers are good models to the learners (Bandura, 1977).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
In this chapter, we described the research procedure for this study. A research methodology is a research process adopted or employed to systematically and scientifically present the results of a study to the research audience viz. a vis, the study beneficiaries.
RESEARCH DESIGN
Research designs are perceived to be an overall strategy adopted by the researcher whereby different components of the study are integrated in a logical manner to effectively address a research problem. In this study, the researcher employed the survey research design. This is due to the nature of the study whereby the opinion and views of people are sampled. According to Singleton & Straits, (2009), Survey research can use quantitative research strategies (e.g., using questionnaires with numerically rated items), qualitative research strategies (e.g., using open-ended questions), or both strategies (i.e., mixed methods). As it is often used to describe and explore human behaviour, surveys are therefore frequently used in social and psychological research.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
According to Udoyen (2019), a study population is a group of elements or individuals as the case may be, who share similar characteristics. These similar features can include location, gender, age, sex or specific interest. The emphasis on study population is that it constitutes of individuals or elements that are homogeneous in description.
This study was carried to examine the effect of poor learning environment on the academic achievement of primary school pupils. Udi local government area forms the population of the study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the analysis of data derived through the questionnaire and key informant interview administered on the respondents in the study area. The analysis and interpretation were derived from the findings of the study. The data analysis depicts the simple frequency and percentage of the respondents as well as interpretation of the information gathered. A total of eighty (80) questionnaires were administered to respondents of which only seventy-seven (77) were returned and validated. This was due to irregular, incomplete and inappropriate responses to some questionnaire. For this study a total of 77 was validated for the analysis.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Introduction
It is important to ascertain that the objective of this study was to ascertain the effect of poor learning environment on the academic achievement of primary school pupil. In the preceding chapter, the relevant data collected for this study were presented, critically analyzed and appropriate interpretation given. In this chapter, certain recommendations made which in the opinion of the researcher will be of benefits in addressing the challenges of the effect of poor learning environment on the academic achievement of primary school pupil.
Summary
This study was on the effect of poor learning environment on the academic achievement of primary school pupil. Three objectives were raised which included: To find out if pupils academic performance have any relationship with their school environment, to discover how poor learning environment affects pupils gender and Finally, to examine the level at which the school environment influences the academic performance of pupils in primary school in Nigeria. A total of 77 responses were received and validated from the enrolled participants where all respondents were drawn from selected primary schools in Udi local government area. Hypothesis was tested using Chi-Square statistical tool (SPSS).
Conclusion
The study concluded that there were separate latrines for boys and girls in their schools. Therefore majority of the schools had a functional hygiene and sanitation system for both genders. This catered for the special needs of each gender as boys and girls had separate toilets to use. However the ratio of the latrines for the boys/girls to the number of boys/girls in the school was 1: 25. The ratio of the latrines for both genders was very high and therefore the hygiene and sanitation facilities were not adequate. The high ratio only served to worsen the cleanliness of the toilets rendering the school environment non conducive as the pupils faced challenges accessing the toilet facilities. The physical facilities hindered learning in their schools. The lack of good physical facilities hindered learning in schools, and led to poor grades, lowers mean score and pupils’ school drop-out. This imply that lack of the physical facilities hindered learning in schools and led to poor performance as well as wastage as some of the pupils dropped out of schools. The study further concluded that the majority of the classrooms were not fitted with windows and therefore the majority of the learning facilities were not conducive for learning as they were prone to changing weather conditions which negatively affected the learning process. The majority of the schools did not have library. Therefore the majority of the pupils did not have a serene area like the library to conduct their private studies and therefore resulted in performing poorly. The lack of library in most of the schools denied the pupils access to learning materials for further reference. In addition, the pupil text book ratio in the school was 1: 3. The findings illustrates that the pupils did not have adequate learning resources as reflected by high ratio of pupil-text book ratio in majority of the schools. The lack of learning resources contributed to poor performance of the pupils. Therefore the teachers were aware that lack of learning and teaching resources negatively influenced the pupils’ performance.
Recommendation
The study recommends that to avert the problem of declining pupils’ academic performance in schools the government and other stakeholders should invent new policies and strategies to improve the school environment. The study further recommends that the school management and other policy makers in the education sector should sensitize the parents and pupils on ways of improving the home environment and make it more conducive for learning.
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