INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC ELECTRICITY IN GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN NIGER STATE

0
703

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE                                                                                                      i

APPROVAL PAGE                                                                                            ii

CERTIFICATION                                                                                                   iii

DEDICATION                                                                                                      iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS                                                                               v

TABLE OF CONTENTS                                                                                 vi

LIST OF TABLES                                                                                        ix

ABSTRACT                                                                                                          x

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study                                                                             1         

Statement of the Problem                                                                        8

Purpose of the Study                                                                                                 10

Significance of the study                                                                               10

Research Questions                                                                             11

Hypotheses                                                                                                                 12

Delimitation of the Study                                                                  12

CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Conceptual Framework                                                                      14       

Basic Electricity in technical colleges                                                             16       

Classroom learning environment                                                     17

Teacher-Student Relationship                                                                   18

Students-Students Relationship                                                                 23       

Student Involvement                                                                             25

Basic electricity Task Orientation                                                       27

Student Competition                                                                           28

Classroom Managements                                                                     30

Concept of Achievement                                                                   38

Theoretical Framework                                                                        41

Cognitive leaning theory                                                                        41

Social learning theory                                                                        42

Review of Related Empirical Studies                                                 44

Summary of Reviewed of Related literature                                             54

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Design of the Study                                                                         56

Area of the Study                                                                                                       56

Population of the study                                                                         57       

Sample and Sample Techniques                                                              57

 Instrument for Data Collection                                                            57

 Validation of the Instrument                                                                            58

Reliability of the Instrument                                                                 58

Method of Data Collection                                                                   59

Method of Data Analysis                                                                   59

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

Research Question 1                                                                      60

Hypothesis 1                                                                                                               61

Research Question 2                                                                             62

Hypothesis 2                                                                                                               63

Research Question 3                                                                          64

Hypothesis 3                                                                                                               65

Research Question 4                                                                                 66

Hypothesis 4                                                                                                               67

Research Question 5                                                                        68

Hypothesis 5                                                                                                               69

Research Question 6                                                                            70

Hypothesis 6                                                                                                               71

Summary of Findings                                                                           71

CHAPTERFIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Discussion of Findings                                                                      73

Conclusions                                                                                                                 77

Implications of Findings                                                                   79

Recommendations                                                                              80

Limitation of the study                                                                     81

Suggestions for Further Study                                                          81

Summary of the study                                                                              82

References                                                                 85                                                                                 

APPENDICES

Appendix A: Numbers of Technical College                                                         94

Appendix B: Questionnaire                                                            95

Appendix C:   Results of Analysis                                                   98

List of Tables

Table                                                                                                                           Page               

  • Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis between Teacher and

Student Relationship on Student Academic Achievement                            60

  • Correlation Analysis of Teacher and Student Relationship on Student

Academic Achievement                                                                                  61

  • Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis between Student and

 Student Relationship on Student Academic Achievement                           62

  • Correlation Analysis of Student and Student Relationship on Student

Academic Achievement                                                                                  63

  •  Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis between Teacher and

Student Involvement on Student Academic Achievement                           64

  • Correlation Analysis of Teacher and Student Involvement on Student

Academic Achievement                                                                                  65

  • Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis between Teacher and

Student basic electricity task orientation on Student Academic Achievement 66

  • Correlation Analysis of Teacher and Student basic electricity task

Orientation on Student Academic Achievement                                            67

  • Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis between Student and

Student Competition on Student Academic Achievement                            68

  • Correlation Analysis of Student and Student Relationship on Student

Academic Achievement                                                                                  69

  • Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Analysis between Teacher and

Student classroom management on Student Academic Achievement           70

  • Correlation Analysis of Teacher and Student Classroom Management

On Student Academic Achievement                                                             71

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to investigate the Influence of Psychosocial Environment on Student’s Academic Achievements in Basic Electricity in Government Technical Colleges in  Niger State. Six research questions guided the study while six null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Population of the study comprised  all the teachers and students of Basic Electricity in Government Technical Colleges in Niger State. The sample of the study consisted of 295 made up of 29 teachers and 266 students. The researcher selected the respondents through simple random sampling technique. The study adopted ex-post facto research design. The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire. Three experts validated the instrument. Internal consistency of the questionnaire was determined using Cronbach alpha reliability method and reliability coefficient values of 0.92, 0.93, 0.93, 0.95, 0.94 and 0.89 were obtained for section A, B, C, D, E, and F respectively, while overall reliability coefficient 0.98 was obtained for all  sections. Pearson’s Correlation  were used to analyze the data for answering research questions while correlation Analysis was used to test the hypotheses of no significance difference at 0.05 level of significance. The study found that, there is direct positive teacher – students’ relationship , high positive students’-students’ , direct negative teacher- students’ involvement, high positive Teacher- student Basic Electricity  Task orientation, direct negative students’- students’ competition, direct negative Teacher- students classroom management  as an influence on academic achievement in Basic Electricity. It was recommended thatmore task orienting exercises should equally be organized for Basic Electricity students to keep them more socially related as well as up competing. This could be achieved organizing quizzes, group work, individual and group presentations.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study 

Effective teaching and learning is the only means through which technical college students can acquire knowledge and develop skills for employment. There are many factors which contribute to effectiveness of learning. Such factors, Abe (2005) mentioned as physical environment, psychological environment, sociological environment and psychosocial environment. Among these factors the author stated that psychosocial environment is considered the most important factor. Psychosocial environment is used to emphasize the close connectivity between psychological aspect of human experience and the wider social experience (Pekka, Mel, and Ecro, 2009). According to Haertel and Walbeg (2007)  psychosocial environment is a type of environment that has to do with interaction in the classroom. These interaction involves teacher and student interaction, student and student interaction, teacher student and instructional material interaction. In the opinion of Anderson (2007) psychosocial environment is the interpersonal relationship among students, between students and their teacher, between students and subject matters studied and method of learning in the classroom. Therefore, psychosocial environment is a type of environment that promotes desirable patterns of social   interaction and communication as well as psychological comfort and stability among technical college students, their relationship with the environment and their teachers. Abe (2005) noted that it is possible to perceive the totality of human as being guided by psychosocial environment. Apart from supporting human functioning, the psychosocial environment must also accommodate the equipment, tools and materials for effectiveness of teaching and learning in technical colleges.

Technical colleges also known as trade schools are educational institutions that prepare students for career in a specific fields. Alade, Ayodele and Ayodele (2010) described technical college as institution where students are trained to acquire relevant knowledge and skills in different occupations for employment in the world of work. Technical colleges are institutions that provide students through training  relevant and adequate knowledge, skills and attitude for employment, (National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), 2003). In other words, Technical College is one of the  post primary educations where learners are prepared with appropriate skills, knowledge and attitude. Technical colleges in Nigeria are established to produce craftsmen and master craftsmen at the advanced craft level. The courses offered at the technical colleges lead to the award of National Technical Certificate (NTC) and Advanced National Technical Certificate (ANTC). In contemporary Nigeria, greater emphasis is placed on industrial and technological development. As such, one subject that cuts across the entire engineering and related technical subjects is Basic electricity. 

 Basic Electricity in technical colleges is a subject that prepares students with entry level knowledge to enable them to do better for all subject offers in the field of electricity/electronics. According to Shepherd, Morton and Spence (2000) Basic Electricity is a physical science course which deals with the study of charged elementary particles and the energy associated with them. Similarly, Ogbu (2010) described Basic Electricity as a process that deals with all the fundamental issues of current electricity static-electricity and electronics, studied in the school and colleges. Therefore, Basic Electricity is the fundamental subject of study in the field of electricity and electronics that is taught in technical Colleges. Omosewe (2008) ascertained that in science and technical education programmes, students need to be encouraged to learn not only through their ears, but should be able to use their eyes and hands to manipulate equipment, devices to acquire skillful knowledge through the use of classroom and laboratory.                               Classroom is an important place in the operation of a school. It holds students together and offers them the opportunities of achieving the purpose of education. Talton and Simpson (2004) described classroom environment as a miniature community in which member’s interest influences the behavior of others. The Author further stated that classroom environment is a types of environment created as a result of subsequent interactions that occur in the classroom during the teaching and learning process. Willen (2007) asserted that a greater part of education activities of any school occurs in the classroom. This shows that classroom environment teacher/student relationship is very important. According to Dewey (2006) the poor students/teacher relationship may lead to poor achievement while good teacher/ students relationship leads to better educational achievement.

Teacher-Student relationship is a form of relationship that occur between the teacher and student which can be expressed as friendship, affection, co operation and open communication. According to Hughes and Chen (2011) Teacher-student relationship forms the basis of the social context in which learning take place. In the same vein Liberante (2012) stated thatTeacher-student relationship is not only efficacious but it forms the basis of social context in which  learning occur. Literature is replete with evidence that strong and supportive relationship between teachers and students are fundamental to the healthy development of all students in school (Hamre and Pianta 2004).  Therefore, teacher student-relationship contributes to both academic and socio-emotional development. As such, teacher student- relationship provides a unique entry point for educator and others working to improve the social and learning environments of schools and classrooms. Teacher-student relationship provides the foundation for successful adaptation to the social and academic environment (Mucherah 2008).The author further explained that, from the first day of school, students must rely on teachers to provide them with the understanding and support that will enable them to perform very well in basic electricity. Students who form close relationship with teachers enjoy school more and get along better with peers (Ryan 2009). Positive relationships with teachers can also serve as a secure base for student. Hence, the teachers-student relationships help maintain students interest’s in academic and social pursuits, which in turn lead to better grades and more positive student-student relationship.

Students relationship refers to the influence exerted by a peer group, it encourages a person to change his/her attitudes, values in order to conform to group norms. According to Sher (2009) Student-student relationship is a relationship that deals with exchange of information and ideas that occurs among students. Similarly, Mgboro and Omebe (2010) stated that student-student relationship is a form of relationship that involves the peer group. Sher (2009) explained further that peer group is a group of individuals who are of approximately equal size, age and status with whom the student find him in the same class. According to Kirk (2009)  peer group  is small group of similarly age, fairly close friends, sharing the same activities. The peer group is the first social group outside the home in which the child attempts to gain acceptance and recognition. According to Onyehalu (2004) a child relies on peers for social acceptances support and solidarity. Therefore, it can be inferred from the definition that student-student relationship can be experienced through group discussion, group assignments and collaborative knowledge where students become more analytic in conversation particularly when teachers involve students in learning.

Student involvement in the basic electricity is the act of sharing in activities of lessons in the classroom. The more teachers involve students in a lesson the higher the expectation of learning outcome (Teoh and Mille, 2013) Students involvement in basic electricity is a key component of educationally relevant activities for the attainment of learning outcomes. In these vain Kuh (2008) stated that student involvement in educationally purposeful activities is positively related to the academic outcomes. According to Krause, Bochner and Duchesne (2006), when teachers are able to involve the students, then learning becomes enjoyable experience taking place in balanced atmosphere. In line with this assertion, Chikering and Gamson (2014) stressed the importance of student involvement for good practice in technical education. Teachers who involve their students are more likely to have higher levels of career success, occupational competency; task oriented and better educational outcomes.

Teacher task orientation is a key behavior that refers to how much classroom time the teacher devotes to the task of teaching. Task orientation is a process that focuses on the particular lesson that involves goals and activities that are prepared to enhance student comprehension of identified concept, skill or value (Thomas and Dynneson 2009). They further stated that the more uninterrupted minute spent concentrating on a learning task, the higher the possibility of learning success. In these vain Hammer; Grigsby and Woods (2010) stated that task orientation focus on the particular task as a measure of success. This means that task orientation is an important aspect of effective teaching because it relates to how much time the teachers actually spend on a designated instructional task. To Thomas (2011), task orientation is not a simple matter and it relies on some factors. The first factor the Thomas stated is to capture the attention of students. Another factor in task orientation mentioned is to keep student attention and to heighten their interest and competition in the classroom.

Student competitions are a type of competition that provides a forum to stimulate the students ‘natural curiosity about leaning new things. Student competition can teach students how to succeed and also how to fail, that is, how to face their failure, learn from their failure and subsequently, grow as a person and improve in performance. According to Davis and Rim (2004) Student competition can promote high level of achievement and productivity. The author further stated that some students need to compete with one another in order to push themselves to produce at high level. Therefore, Bishop and Walters (2007) stated that students competition increase their abilities to be leader in the classroom. This means that student competition can provide motivation for students to study and learn new information or strengthen previously learned material so that they will be ready to compete with their peers in their classroom and outside the classroom. Bishop and Walters (2008) stated that student’s competition teach the students how to study, how to communicate, and how to effectively manage classroom challenges.

Classroom management is the process by which teachers and schools create and maintain appropriate behavior of student in a classroom setting. The purpose of classroom management is to enhance prosocial behavior and increase student academic engagement (Emmer and Saborine, 2015). According to Duchesne (2003) classroom management refers to all those decisions that teachers take to facilitate the learning process and to provide the students with maximum opportunity for learning. Similarly, Hinson and SardoBrown (2003) stated that classroom management refers to all those essential activities which are highly necessary not only to create but also to maintain a supportive and orderly atmosphere. It includes planning and preparation of teaching and learning materials, organization of materials, decoration of the classroom, creation of expectation, establishment and enforcement of rules and routines in the classroom. However, Froyen and Iverson (2007) stated that classroom management will increase teacher efficacy, improved students’ behavior and contribute to enhanced academic achievements of students.

Student achievement has become a hot topic in educational circle, especially with increased accountability for classroom teachers. Hornby (2010) stated that achievement is the ability of somebody to gain or reach a set goal through effort, skill or courage. It implies the art or process of finishing something successfully. Success then, in the area of academics is what is referred to as academic achievement, usually assessed with achievement tests. Schnitzer (2005) defined achievement test as test designed to assess current performance in academic area. In other words achievement test is designed to measure a person’s level of skill, accomplishment or knowledge in a specific area.  Therefore, student achievement in basic electricity is systematic and purposeful qualification of students’ cognitive learning outcomes. This systematic qualification of acquired knowledge and skills is based on taught curriculum content either for the end of each term, each year or for the end of the three-year   programme. At the end of the three- year programme, a systematic and purposeful skill and cognitive knowledge is acquired or achieved that is, final achievement test or examination is always conducted by the National Business and Technical examination Board (NABTEB).The examination for basic electricity and other electrical trade subjects is specifically called National Technical Certificate (NTC) Examination by NABTEB.

Unfortunately students’ academic achievement in the certificate examination at the Niger State Technical Colleges has been consistently poor since the year 2005 in basic electricity and other electrical/electronic subjects (NABTEB, 2006). Aina (2006) confirmed that this failure rate had persisted for the past ten years. Stakeholders such as Parent Teacher Association (P T A), old student association have advanced reasons for this negative development in education in the state among which, improper classroom interaction among teacher and student, teacher aggressiveness, bullying on the part of the student and basic electricity task orientation have been examined to be the major factor responsible for persistent failure in basic electricity (Babasale 2009).

            Although many factors could be responsible for students’ poor academic performance in any subject, it is a known fact that the instructional system headed by a teacher is the chief factor which can encourage or hinder learning and the attendant academic achievement. Teacher being the head of instructional system is the focal point of the teaching – learning scene and his/her role is capable of improving or retarding students learning and academic achievement. Formerly teacher experienced used to count as factor in enhancing students’ achievement. Unfortunately the blame for poor students’ achievement has not exempted the highly experience teachers. Being that there had been loud cry against commonly observed improper classroom interaction between teachers and students in technical colleges (Oyelami, 2008);, there is need to investigate the influence of psychosocial environment on student achievement in basic electricity.

Effective teaching using psychosocial environmental patterns is a disposition whereby the teacher consciously and skillfully plans and executes every one of his lesson so that interaction patterns are plausibly and effectively applied in each lesson delivery. By this disposition, the teacher ensures that only the advantages of each classroom interaction pattern is fully tapped skillfully skipping their disadvantages. The question is; can psychosocial classroom environment influence student academic achievement in basic electricity? 

Statement of the Problem        

INFLUENCE OF PSYCHOSOCIAL ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC ELECTRICITY IN GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN NIGER STATE