CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Education is a vital instrument in every country in the world, and Nigeria is no exception. The Nigerian government stated clearly in the National Policy on Education that, education as an instrument could be used to meet the needs of people and determine the kind of society which would evolve. Furthermore, incorporated in the manual are the following aims and objectives for secondary education, which include: “to inspire students with a desire for self improvement and achievement of excellence; to provide trained manpower in the applied science; to raise a generation of people who can think and contribute to the development of the society” (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004:18). Specifically, science education is the bedrock of a realistic national development.
The term science links with nature. It is derived from the Latin word “Scienta” which means, “what is known, what is a fact, truth or certain”. Science involves the process of arriving at truth in nature (Onyishi, 2004). Okwunodulu (2008) explained that science helps to equip an individual with the basic qualities such as curiosity, objectivity, initiative and honesty required for survival and contribution to the development of society. The study of science in secondary school equips students with useful concepts, principles, theories and knowledge which enable them to face challenges of life after secondary school education. This is in accordance with the broad aims and objectives of secondary education which is to prepare individual for useful living within a society (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004:18).
These aims and objectives cannot be actualized if students are not interested in learning science in secondary schools and in performing well in both internal and external examinations. The governments at State and Federal level have been making effort to enhance the laerning of science in secondary schools. Her effort in the provision of science equipment, training and retraining of science teachers are geared towards promoting students’ motivation and achievement in science.
The word achievement is what someone has done successfully, especially using ones own effort and skill. Students’ achievement tests are used to describe students’ strength and difficulties at the time the test was given. For example, students’ achievement in science can be measured by the number of science courses enrolled in and the grade point average achieved at the end of the exams. Meanwhile, the effort a student puts in scientific study usually determines the level of achievement therein.
Science achievement is paramount in determining the relative position or rank of students with respect to their science performance. Anekwe (2006) defined science achievement as a test for measurement and comparison of skills among students. This is proficiency and knowledge demonstrated by an individual after learning has taken place. Students’ achievement in science is the degree of ability which they can attain in science subject and their will to achieve perfectly in those courses enrolled in and grade point average attained. Operationally, science achievement can be defined as how well a child accomplishes work in the science setting. It is becoming obvious that without a high level of students’ achievement in science, both the educational system and technology development in Nigeria stand to suffer.
In recent time, however, much concern is being expressed over the consistent poor achievement of students in science subjects in Nigeria and Enugu state in particular with special reference to secondary school students in Nsukka Education Zone of Enugu State. The annual results of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination result (SSCE) conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) in 2010, 2011 and 2012 provided evidence of poor students’ achievement in science. For instance, the percentage of students’ failure in some science subjects like mathematics, chemistry and biology between 2010 and2012 are stipulated thus: In 2010, only 39.27% had A1-C6 in chemistry while 23.54% had only passes and 37.19% failed. In 2011 May/ June WAEC,411,356 students sat for the exam, only 36.50% passed at credit level, while 22.23% had only passes and 41.27% fail in mathematics. Then in 2012 WAEC, a total number of 324,998 sat for exam, only 20.04% passed at credit level in biology, while 25.17% had ordinary pass and 26.60% failed woefully (Research and Statistic unit WAEC 2012).
A close observation of the statistics above reveals that a trend of poor achievement has not changed for better in science subjects. This recorded poor achievement is consistent despite the attention given to science education in the state by the government and some professional bodies. To this effect, the researcher has traced the cause of this consistent poor performance of students in science and attributed it to a number of factors. Some factors which are often teacher- related can be attributed to non-use of reinforcement strategy; attitude of some teachers to their job; poor attendance to lessons; lateness to school and poor method of teaching among others (Morakinyo, 2003). Student factors are attributable to low level of science achievement, which are viewed from various angles like students low retention; lack of adequate preparation before exams; inadequate coverage of the science subject syllabus; inability to understand questions during exams and these eventually led to poor achievement of students in science subjects (Aremu & Sokan, 2003). Student-related factors are sometimes psychological which include anxiety. Nwankwo (1990) stated that anxiety among other factors result in secondary school students’ truancy. Nwankwo pointed out that anxiety constitutes a big nuisance to some students.
Anxiety is an unpleasant emotional experience varying in degrees from mild unease to instant dread, associated with the anticipation of impending or future calamity or disaster. It is related to a feeling of threat, which has often little or valid external cause (Edebor, 2002). It is an emotional component in form of worry and restlessness. When this kind of unpleasant emotional experience manifests with regards to a test or assessment condition, it is regarded as test anxiety.
According to the Teigen (1994) test anxiety is the uneasiness, apprehension or nervousness felt by students who have a fear of failing an exam. It involves a combination of physiological over-arousal, worry and dread about test performance, and often interferes with normal learning and lowers test performance. This shows that observable anxiety behaviours can be noticed during examination, especially if one is not prepared for it. Characteristic of those behaviours might include perspiration, excessive movement and questioning of instructions. Every one becomes anxious from time to time (Haligin and Whitbourne, 2000).
Operationally, test anxiety is a fear that students encounter in the school environment especially during examination. Sometimes, it is normal and often helpful to keep the students mentally and physically alert. There are different factors that contribute to the development of test anxiety. One factor is self-concept, which is the overall sum of self-referent information that an individual has processed, stored and organized in a systematic manner (Freeman &Bendas-Jacob,1997). The self-concept can be viewed as an image of oneself. Another factor that contributes to the development of test anxiety is self-awareness. It is the feeling of being observed or evaluated by others. People’s perception of an individual, influences the individual’s performance. A more commonly recognized factor of test anxiety is the class room climate. Generally, people have the need to manipulate and control their surroundings to produce a comfortable environment. In a classroom setting, however, there may not be the opportunity to control the surroundings. This opens the door to the possibility of different levels of anxiety. The degree of arousal in relation to one’s adaptation level determines the manifestation of the positivity or negativity of an experience (Spielberg & Sarason, 1985).
Indeed, for many students, test anxiety is anxiety towards classroom test and examination; it is often extended to all evaluative tasks such as laboratory and workshop task. Such anxiety is very prominent among students (Nwankwo, 1996). In tests, anxious children are more likely to perform poorly on task requiring new learning and on those administered in a highly evaluative manner (Billed, turner & Karan, 1994; DeRosa and Patalano, 1991). Anxiety over test performance has also been related to low self-esteem, and dependency (Yilodirim & Ergene 2003, Yildirin, Genctairim, Yalkin & Baydon, 2008). Students with low self-esteem and dependence tend to dwell on unfavorable attribute, rather than focusing on their strengths. Eysenck cited in Keoghi (2004) that test anxiety, especially worry, has an impact on science performance. This is because students who get pre-occupied with worries and task-irrelevant thoughts about test especially during exam period, may or may not perform creditably well to the best of their abilities in science subjects. Moreover, Kheled and Haman (2009) conducted a similar research and found that students with low achievement in science have high test anxiety scores. Students who are anxious, bored and fearful towards science examination usually perform poorly in science. Generally, test anxiety can create a vicious circle; the more a person focuses on difficulties the stronger the feeling of anxiety becomes. This anxiety would affect the psychological state of mind of a candidate about a test as expressed by the level of worry, fear, uncertainty, concern and helplessness expressed before, during or even after a test. Though test anxiety pre-occupied students with worries and task-irrelevant thoughts about test especially during exam period. Researchers found that in examination preparation, a little dosage of anxiety is a motivator to students’ achievement in science (Salkind, 2008). Reasoner (2005) noted that in an educational setting the perception students have about themselves and their capabilities are vital motivating forces to their successes and failure in school. Thus students’ motivation has substantial bearing on how they approach their studies. However, motivation is the learner’s overall target or orientation, involving attitude and emotions that influence the degree of effort invested in acquiring a goal. It is a psychological factor that positively influences students’ achievement. It is quantified by learner’s persistence in striving for achievement (Crooks and Schmidt, 1991). Motivation comes in different ways, Dilworth (1991) explained that motivation could come from within (intrinsic motivation) and from without (extrinsic motivation). Motivation from within can come from inward ambition to pursue a career in future. Motivation from outside can be due to desire to satisfy one’s peer or because of encouragement, prize and reward associated with goal performance. It is a driving force which makes people achieve a goal. Motivation explains for example, why some students swot to pass their examination, while some students wait for manna from heaven. It explains why an individual perseveres and deprives oneself of some pleasures in order to achieve a goal (Ngwoke, 2004). It is never an isolated occurrence within an individual. Thus, the way teachers structure their science teaching in the classroom can motivate the student to achieve a goal in science subjects. Motivation for science examination is active engagement in science- related task for achieving a better understanding in science (Lee & Brophy, 1996). Students’ motivation for science examination could naturally be influenced by students’ desire to participate in exam process and achieve success in science subjects. However, students’ high expectation and thought of perfection may lead to test anxiety. It could make the best student who of course always strives for the first position always perceive any other position, even the second position as failure (Oliver, 2005). When students are motivated for science examination, it gives them the power to attain a goal in it.
Students are motivated to do well in examination for many reasons. The reason for taking examination may be to master the subject (mastery-goal orientation), to perform well and get good grades (performance- goal orientation) or to rank well among peers and to impress others (social goal orientation) (Dilworth, 1991). Motivation for students to engage in a test can also come from extrinsic factor such as reward from school, award of prizes, praise and encouragement (Dilworth, 1991). Operationally, motivations for science examination include various factors which constitute or negate confidence in students towards science subject achievement. One of which is students’ zeal to learn and perform well in science examinations. Specifically, if students are motivated for science examination, they feel more optimistic with respect to their chances of academic success in science. Though, motivation for science examination increases the desires of students to achieve success in science, researchers have it that males and female students differ in their perception. For example the National Research Council (2006), established that female students, as well as parents, have the view that science is a male-dominated field. This discourages the female students from seeing the benefits in science career discipline.
Gender is the psychosocial aspect of maleness and femaleness (Unger & Crawford, in Edebor, 2002). Gender does not simply refer to women and men, but also to the way their qualities, behaviours and identities are determined. Gender is a socially constructed word based on culture, used in distinguishing between male and female folks. Operationally, gender, culturally constitutes masculinity and femininity in a society. As a factor in science achievement, gender has remained inconclusive because the magnitude of gender difference and similarities in science achievement vary according to subject- matter; males having significant advantage in science knowledge than females (O’ Reilly & McNarmara, 2007). However, Schroeder, Scott, Tolson, Huany, & Lee (2007) found that females and males do well in science course achievement. One of the major objectives of science is to equip both male and female to have equal participation in the development of technology in the nation, but the issue of gender bias and sex stereotyping seem to mar the effort. Gender biased classroom practice had been shown to negatively affect the performance of females in science, when more attention is given to male students, during science instruction. Teacher attitude and behaviour may vary depending on the gender of the student; possibly creating classroom climates that are biased towards males (Sandler, Silverberg & Hall, 1996).
The manner in which a science subject is taught by teachers in the classroom had been highlighted as an important factor affecting science achievement. For instance, Schroeder, Scott, Tolson, Huany, & Lee (2007), found several strategies on the negative impact of science achievement among students. These strategies include; not relating learning to students previous experience, teachers not varying the level and type of questions asked during lessons, and also not employing a variety of assessment methods during lessons. These variations cause differences in science achievement of students and hence the need for a new study to contribute in resolving the issue of gender.
The way students prepare themselves during science examination could facilitate or hinder their success towards science achievement. Salkind (2008), emphasized that in a small amount, anxiety can serve as motivator to student and lead to optimal performance in science subjects. In spite of all these problems, that have every likelihood to deter a successful science academic achievement among students, the researcher is worried that no study has seemingly investigated the problem. This problem, however, prompted the researcher to investigate the relationship among students’ motivation for science examination, test anxiety and achievement in Nsukka Education Zone. The problem of the study therefore stated in question form is: What is the relationship among students’ motivation for science examination, test anxiety and achievement in Nsukka Education Zone.
Statement of the problem
Studies carried out by different researchers in education have shown that students’ achievement in science subjects is poor. This is reflected in the performance of students in West African school certificate conducted by West African Examination council (WAEC). The result of the examinations shows a poor students’ achievement in science subject. Several factors had been found to be responsible for students’ poor achievement in science. These factors include, teachers related factors, students’ related factors and psychological factors, among others. However, it has been observed that students lack the motivation to take science subjects in examination; therefore they experience a high level of apprehensiveness whenever it is the time to take science examination. What could be the relationship between students’ motivation for science examination and science achievement? Is students’ test anxiety related to students’ science achievement? Does gender relate to students’ motivation for science examination, test anxiety and achievement? These questions underlie the problem of this study.
Purpose of the study
