INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL UTILIZATION AND PUPILS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
- INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Instructional materials are essential and significant tools needed for teaching and learning of school subjects to promote teachers’efficiency and improve students’ performance. They make learning more interesting, practical, realistic and appealing. They also enable both the teachers and students to participate actively and effectively in lesson sessions. They give room for acquisition of skills and knowledge and development of self- confidence and self- actualization. Ibeneme (2000) defined teaching aids as those materials used for practical and demonstration in the class situation by students and teachers. Ikerionwu (2000) saw instructional materials as objects or devices that assist the teacher to present a lesson to the learners in a logical and manner. In his own perspective, Fadeiye (2005) saw instructional materials as visual and audio-visual aids, concrete or non-concrete, used by teachers to improve the quality of teaching and learning activities in Social Studies. Agina-Obu (2005) submitted that instructional materials of all kinds appeal to the sense organs during teaching and learning. Isola (2010) also described instructional materials as objects or devices that assist the teachers to present their lessons logically and sequentially to the learners.Oluwagbohunmi and Abdu-Raheem (2014) acknowledged that instructional materials are such used by teachers to aid explanations and make learning of subject matter understandable to students during teaching learning process. In the same vein, Obanya (2004) asserted that several studies carried out in some areas in Nigeria indicated that the results of Senior School Certificate Examinations was completely bad in nearly all subjects offered by the students. He stressed further that only about 10% of candidates ‘meaningfully passed’ the examination. Abdu-Raheem (2011) asserted that non availability and inadequacy of instructional materials are major causes of ineffectiveness of the school system and poor performance of students in schools. Ahmed (2003) confirmed that in most secondary schools in Nigeria, teaching and learning take place under a most un-conducive environment without access to essential materials. Eniayewu (2005) posited that it is very important to use instructional aids for instructional delivery to make students acquire more knowledge and to promote academic standard.
