1.1 Introduction
The teaching of biology as a subject in secondary schools is faced with many problems. The poor academic achievement of students in biology as indicated in the report of WAEC and National Teachers Institute (NTI) as well as the result of state common entrance examination has come a persisted public outcry as regards the falling standard of biology education. Science subjects are already facing a problem. This is mostly in the area of availability of laboratories and other teaching facilities in their right number of students studying science. Biology is very important subject; it has to be given more priority. It enables one to understand himself and his intermediate environment. Nevertheless, the knowledge acquired in Biology subject is applied in many fields as Medicine, Biochemistry, Pharmacy, Microbiology and Agriculture among others.
As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitations of the Study and Definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Instructional materials are tools employed in the teaching-learning process that will increase the achievement of teaching objectives (Nwakonobi, 2014). Nwafor and Eze (2014) described instructional material as material that assists the teacher to impart or convey concepts without difficulties as they appeal to various senses simultaneously. Okwor and Ike in Uzowulu and Egbeama (2015) reported that instructional materials are real objects, pictures, charts, textbooks, television, radio, filmstrips and slide projector. Instructional materials are important and needed in the classroom for effective teaching and learning.
Gender factor in academic achievement has been the concern of educational researchers. Yang (2010) defined gender as the social imputes and possibilities related with being male and female. Gender linked factors have consistently receive serious concern as deduced from the series of studies done to that effect (Ezechi & Adukwu, 2018; Mishra & Yadav, 2013). Issue of gender and students’ academic achievement especially in biology has been inconclusive. Research works done on gender and academic achievement in biology exist with different opinions and findings. Some studies are of the opinion that male students achieve better than females, others do not concur with the opinion emphasizing that achievement is a factor dependent on different factors such as socio-economic background, teaching methods, school type among others (Madu & Ukah, 2016; Adesogun et al, 2016).
Specifically, Achimugu (2018) investigated the influence of gender, school location and school type on academic achievement of senior secondary school students’ in chemistry and found that gender had no significant influence on achievement. Hence, the issue of gender, particularly in relation to students’ achievement in biology has not been resolved. Likewise from the reviewed studies the non-utilisation and inadequate use of instructional materials by the biology teachers in teaching biology might be the cause of students’ poor achievement in senior secondary school biology, and that prompted this study. Thus, the need to ascertain if the utilisation of instructional materials in teaching the selected biology topics will in any way enhance students’ achievement in biology.
Students’ achievement in Biology subject in Senior Secondary Certificates Examination (SSCE) has been unsatisfactory over many years. Various reasons have been attached to this problem by scholars. Dinah (2013) concluded that, availability of text books, laboratory apparatus and other learning resources contribute significantly to the performance of students in Biology examination. He added that, students with positive attitude towards the subject register better performance than those who had a negative attitude. Those with positive attitude are motivates to work hard and this is reflected in the good marks scored in the examination. Suman B. (2011) conducted a research on influence of parents’ education and parental occupation on academic achievement of students. He concluded that education and occupation of parents positively influence the academic achievement of children.
Femi (2012) concluded that education qualification of parents and health status of students are significant factors that affect the academic performance of students. According to Akinsanya et al. (2014) parents’ education has the highest significant influence on the academic achievement of students. This is because the child from educated family has a lot of opportunities to study hard due to his/her access to internet, newspaper, television. They can also taught extra lessons at home. Students raised from an illiterate family have limited access to that. It has been observed that the falling academic standard and the influencing factors include the economic status of the parents. Just having a look at the present economic situation of the country, many poor parents do send their children to go and do pity house hold work before going to school.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to investigate the effects of instructional materials on achievement and retention of biology concepts among secondary school students.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that poor performance in the field of science is caused by the poor quality of science teachers, overcrowded classrooms and lack of suitable and adequate science equipment among others. Students perform poorly in biology because; the biology classes are usually too large and heterogeneous in terms of ability level.
Nigeria is rapidly developing her technological education, which has made the society more complex than it was in the past. The number of occupation has increased greatly and also there are many careers within one occupation. For instance, farming which was a simple occupation some years ago is now a very complex occupation within many careers to choose from.
A lot of researchers have conducted research on academic performance in Biology but only few has compared academic performance in two different school, however the main aim of this research is to compare the academic performance in biology of two selected secondary school in Rivers State.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the effects of instructional materials on achievement and retention of biology concepts among secondary school students. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To determine the utilization of instructional materials on students’ achievement scores in Biology.
- To examine the effect of instructional materials on students’ retention in biology.
- To determine the use of instructional materials enhances students’ participation in biology lessons.
- To identify current factors inhibiting students’ academic achievement in biology.
- To determine the effect of utilization of instructional materials on male and female students’ achievement scores in Biology.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- Are there factors inhibiting students’ academic achievement in biology?
- Does the use of instructional materials enhance students’ participation in biology lessons?
- What is the utilization of instructional materials on students’ achievement scores in Biology?
- What is the effect of instructional materials on students’ retention in biology?
- What is the effect of utilization of instructional materials on male and female students’ achievement scores in Biology?
1.6 Research Hypothesis
In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.
Hypothesis One
- H0: There are no significant factors inhibiting students’ academic achievement in biology
- H1: There are significant factors inhibiting students’ academic achievement in biology
Hypothesis Two
- H0: The use of instructional materials does not enhance students’ participation in biology lessons
- H1: The use of instructional materials enhance students’ participation in biology lessons
1.7 Significance of Study
This study will help to:
- Steer Government and Proprietors of schools to recognize the need to adequately equip their schools with current and appropriate instructional materials.
- Prove the worth of instruction materials in teaching learning processes.
- Inculcate in teachers the habits of using instructional materials appropriately in teaching learning process to arouse interest and determination among students.
This study will be of immense benefit to other researchers who intend to know more on this study and can also be used by non-researchers to build more on their research work. This study contributes to knowledge and could serve as a guide for other study.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the effects of instructional materials on achievement and retention of biology concepts among secondary school students using some selected secondary school in Rivers State as a case study.
1.9 Limitations of the Study
During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:
- Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
- Research material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
- Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
- Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
1.10 Definition of Terms
For clarity, the terms used in the study were clarified as follows:
Gender: not biological in nature but psychological, psychomotor feature or attributes associated to an individual weather male or female by sex.
Students: in this study, it refers to individuals who are officially admitted and registered in the secondary and non-secondary school system as full time candidates.
Teaching Principles: Are the set rules that guide the teaching profession.
Methods: Are the strategies the teacher uses to reach the set goals and objectives of an instructional process.
Career Choice: The broad opportunities that exist for lifelong vocations. These vocations are set out in a frame work of strategies moving towards personal goals.
1.11 Organization of the Study
Chapter one of the study, provides background of the study, stating the problem of the study and the research questions and hypotheses to be tested in the study. It also highlights the significance of the study and scope of the study.
Chapter two reviews related literature on the effects of instructional materials on achievement and retention of biology concepts among secondary school students.
Chapter three discussed the research methods to be used in designing the study which will include research design, population, sample size and sampling technique, data collection and data analysis methods.
Chapter four presents the data gathered in frequency and percentage tables. The data will also be analyzed and research hypotheses will be tested with chi-square statistical test.
Chapter five summarizes the outcome of the study, draw conclusions based on the findings of the study and make necessary recommendations.
