School Type and Students Academic Achievement in English Language

School Type and Students Academic Achievement in English Language

 

ABSTRACT

This study investigated school type and academic achievement of students in English Language in secondary schools in Uyo Local Government Area. The need for the study was the observation that the rate of poor achievement in  English Language in the study area is related to the school type: either the student attended public or private schools, boys or girls schools, boarding or day schools and as related to the availability of both physical and human resources in the study area. The variables selected for the investigation were public/private schools, boys/girls schools and boarding/day schools.

The population of the study consisted of two thousand six hundred and eighty (2680) senior secondary school students in Uyo Local Government Area. The sample size of the study consisted of a total of two hundred (200) students drawn from four (4) selected public secondary schools in the study area. The instrument used for the study was titled “English Achievement Test” (EAT). The data collected was analyzed using independent t-test statistical computation. The result showed that school type greatly influence students academic achievement in the learning of English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.

 

School Type and Students Academic Achievement in English Language

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1  Background to the Study

English language as the only medium of classroom instruction in Nigerian schools has affected students’ academic achievements greatly because the language is foreign to the students. Student who has problem in communication skill may likely not do well academically (Aina, Ogundele and Olanipekun, 2013) that is why English language is very important in Nigerian educational system.

In the Nigeria educational system, irrespective of ownership, secondary schools are expected to function to achieve the national educational objectives. To this end, students are expected to perform brilliantly in both internal and external examinations as this determine the quality of output of secondary schools. This is supported by Ameteron, cited in Udofia & Ikpe (2012) who sees quality of output of schools as one of the cardinal parameters used to measure the effectiveness of a school system. They further discovered that, ensuring teachers’ welfare is the key to effectiveness.

 However, they noted that, principals of both public and private schools in Nigeria do not care about teachers’ welfare as they are always selfish on any money that comes out of the school. This means that the better the achievements of the students, the more effective the system is assumed to be (Akinsolu , 2010).

 In every educational system, the issue of students’ academic achievement is very crucial in the sense that the quality of school, teacher and every other input determines the output which is students’ academic achievement. Education has recently been included among the basic needs of individuals. This was why the government of Nigeria in 1999 declared education as basic, free and compulsory for its entire citizen. In addition, individuals and organizations have made concerted effort to ensure that the best is derived as output from the educational system.

Schools are established for the purpose of teaching and learning. It is important that teachers and learners in these schools be properly accommodated to facilitate effective teaching and learning that suppose to take place in the schools throughout the nation (Akinfolarin, 2018). The idea of proper accommodation is explained in the content of the provision of adequate infrastructural facilities (Alimi, 2014). Therefore school facilities are the space interpretation and physical expression of the school curriculum.

In Nigeria, it is the general opinion of people that there is a serious gap between private and public schools in terms of availability of human and physical facilities and consequently students’ achievement. There is this opinion that the location of secondary schools also determine the availability of both human and physical facilities and this consequently influence students’ achievement (AlimiEhinola and Alabi, 2018). Poor achievement is noticeable in rural schools in most subjects such as English and Mathematics (Cynthia and Morgan, 2018).

This disparity in the availability of materials and the consequent effect on the achievement of the students in both internal and external examination in major students is not in the interest of those Nigerian students in such rural environment. This is due to the fact that the child’s right out emphasizes “sound education to every Nigerian child irrespective of tribe, location or state of origin” (Odey, 1993). These efforts notwithstanding, a great disparity in students’ academic achievement between public and private schools is a matter of concern to all stakeholders in education in Nigeria.

A conducive learning environment, the physical setting of a school, quality of teachers and learning materials could boost a students’ academic achievement in English Language. It is against this backdrop that this study is carried out to determine whether school types influence secondary students’ academic achievement in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.

School Type and Students Academic Achievement in English Language

1.2   Statement of the Problem

The issue of poor academic achievement of students in English Language has been of much concern to all and sundry, the problem is so much that it has led to the widely acclaimed fallen standard in education in Uyo Local Government Area in particular, and, other stakeholders in education have condemned the high rate of poor academic achievement of students in external and internal examinations, yet the findings does not really indicate the major problems, hence the researcher suggested that the type of school one attends determines the academic achievement of that child. This poor achievement is not limited to public schools alone; private schools were also involved.

Reasons range from poor teaching personnel and non-availability of school facilities. Therefore, this study would direct attention to whether schools types (private and public, boarding and day schools) influence academic achievement of students in English Language.

 

1.3   Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study was to examine school type and students’ academic achievement in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area. The specific objectives were:

1. To examine the influence of public/private schools on students’ academic achievement in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.
2. To assess the influence of girls/boys schools on students’ academic achievement in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.
3. To ascertain the influence of day/boarding school on students’ academic achievement in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area.

School Type and Students Academic Achievement in English Language

1.4   Significance of the Study

The study which aimed at finding out the effect of school types on academic achievement of secondary students in English Language is or will be significant to: Students, Parent, government, shareholders in the following ways:

1. To help students in the choice of school and also aid them to see the effect of school type on the study of several subjects not in English Language only.
2. To open the eyes of the parents and cause them to send their child or ward to a well equipped schools as this is where sound education can be acquired.
3. To create government awareness on the need to avoid lopsided distribution of facilities since no sound learning and teaching can take place in poorly equipped schools.
4. To enable stakeholders to partner with government in the provision of facilities in schools in their area since government alone cannot do that.

 

1.5   Research Questions

To guide this study, the following research questions were formulated:

1. To what extent does public/private school influence students’ academic achievement in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area?
2. Boys/girls do not significant influence students’ academic achievement in primary schools in English Language.
3. Is there any significant influence between day/boarding schools and students’ academic achievement in English Language?

School Type and Students Academic Achievement in English Language

1.6   Research Hypotheses

1. There is no significant influence between public/private schools and students’ academic achievement in English Language in UyoLocal Government Area.
2. There is no significant influence between girls/boys school and students’ academic achievement in primary schools in UyoLocal Government Area.
3. There is no significant influence between day/boarding schools and students’ academic achievement in English Language.

1.7   Delimitation of the Study

This research work intends to cover school types and students’ academic achievement in English Language in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State.

 

1.8   Limitation of the Study

In writing a research study like this, certain limitations are bound to occur. This include among others:

1. The time giving for the completion of this study as the researcher scarcely had enough financial resources to enable him expand the scope of the study.
2. Financial constraint also exerted pressure on the study as the researcher scarcely had enough financial resources to enable him expand the scope of the study.

Equally, the inaccessibility of the administrators of schools during the period under study restricted the researcher to information derived from journals, textbooks, periodicals and questionnaires.

 

1.9   Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined as they are used in the study:

Public schools: These are schools owned and managed by the government.

Private schools: These are schools owned and managed by individual, mission, and community but not the government.

Academic achievement: This is regarded as the display of knowledge attained or skills, shown in the school subjects such achievements are indicated by test scores or by marks assigned by teachers.

Boarding school: This is the type of school whereby school students are accommodated and feed within the school compound during the term only for them to go home during holidays.

Day school: This is the type of schools whereby students come from outside to attend classes and go back at the close of the school hour.