CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1Â Â Â Â Â Â BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Education’s enormous contributions to the growth of any society in the globe cannot be overstated. One of the most significant parts of human resource development is education. As a result, every kid has the chance to reach his or her full academic potential. Despite the primary goal of education, it is disheartening to see that low academic performance has grown increasingly prevalent, particularly among students with physical and mental disabilities (Levi, 2001). Physical impairments and health disabilities are considered separate and special education categories for individuals with such disabilities by the Nigerian Federal Government. To that purpose, the Disability Education Act of 2004 uses the term orthopaedic impairment to refer to what we commonly refer to as physical impairments. Students with physical impairments have issues with their bodies’ structure or function. Similarly, the federal government uses the term “person with health impairment” to refer to a group of disorders and diseases that require specific health care for students with disabilities (Sittlington, 2005). As a result of the foregoing, low academic performance is recognized as a key underlying problem among children who have physical and mental disabilities. The consequences of this poor performance are not just low self-esteem in the kid, but they have also become a severe cause of anxiety and stress for parents, educators, and the government. For example, Frank (2009) discovered that one year after high school graduation, only 6.5 percent of the 50 students with physical and mental challenges who had enrolled were still in school. Many of the students with physical and mental problems who had dropped out of school were also unemployed. According to Ellis and Cramer (1995), 62 percent of physically and mentally handicapped students were unemployed one year after graduation. Other numbers given by the authors revealed the significant implications of the situation, demonstrating the scope of the problem and the cost to society if better solutions are not developed. According to a study, 50 percent of adolescents who were tested and found to be abusing drugs have physical or mental problems. Furthermore, individuals with mental illnesses who drop out of school are more likely to face financial and social problems (Barga, 1996). Adults with disabilities who are unemployed become consumers of public resources rather than contributors (Fass, 2000). As a result of the above, this research is critical in order to scientifically and experimentally analyze the underlying cause(s) of low academic performance among these students and, eventually, identify a solution.
1.2Â Â Â Â Â Â STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Students with physical and mental disabilities have been shown to do poorly in both internal and external assessments. This dismal performance raises concerns among special educators, parents, and researchers about the causes of this terrible performance (Ckay, 2008). Medical problems, below average intelligence, specific learning disability, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, emotional problems, poor, psychiatric disorders, hormonal abnormality, abnormal brain growth, or other forms of medical disorder have all been investigated as reasons for physical and health impaired students’ poor performance at school (sittlington, 2005). While the above studies focus on the medical causes of poor performance, few empirical studies have been conducted on other institutional factors such as the availability of qualified trained teachers, teaching aids and laboratory facilities, student attitudes, parental guidance, and government support, to name a few, that have the potential to affect the learning of physically and health impaired students and, as a result, their academic performance (Cliff, 2003). As a result, the goal of this study is to close that gap.
1.3Â Â Â Â Â Â OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
The general goal of this research is to find out what causes physically and mentally handicapped students to do poorly in their exams.
This study aimed to:
i. Determine whether a shortage of qualified teachers contributed to the poor performance of physically and mentally ill students.
ii.Determine if insufficient instructional aids and laboratory equipment contribute to low performance among students with physical and mental disabilities.
iii. Determine if a lack of parental supervision contributes to the poor performance of physically and mentally ill kids.
iv. Examine if student attitudes contribute to the bad performance of physically and mentally handicapped students.
v. Determine whether a lack of government assistance is to blame for the poor performance of physically and mentally handicapped students.
