1.1 Introduction
History is a distinct discipline in the school curriculum. It has been given a lot of prominence since the attainment of Nigeria’s independence in 1960. According to Bolaji (2005), History is not just an object of human curiosity, but a source of emotional security that gives maturity, stability and self confidence. History as observed by Fishbein and Ajzen (2005) is a fundamental Art that is necessary for understanding of most other fields in education. Fishbein stressed further that no other subject forms such a strong force among the various branches of Arts. According to Barrow and Woods (2006), History competence is a critical determinant of the Post-Secondary educational and career options available to young people (Barrow and Woods, 2006).
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, Limitation of the study and Definition of terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Education is a process of acquiring desirable changes in ones behaviour or character. The school is a formal institution set up primarily to inculcate the desirable character in children and improve their knowledge in order to be useful to themselves and the society at large. Students’ attitude towards History and History learning and their implications for History instruction have long been a common interest among History educators. Attitude towards History has been considered an important factor in influencing participation and success in History subject. Jaji (2002) state that investigation into student History attitude and perspective not only informs teachers, parents, and administrators about students needs, but also serves as a catalyst for reform in History education.
In support of Fishbein, Ford (2001) affirmed that the knowledge of Arts remains superficial without History. It is therefore means that, the position of History in school curriculum in Nigeria is important for scientist. In Nigeria, both primary and secondary teacher training colleges have ordinary level History as requirement for enrolment to prospective teachers.
History is one of the subjects in the curriculum that help in achieving the aims and goals of education. The comparative educational study and adaptation centres (CESAC) 1968, defined history as “the study of man and his society with his interplay between him, his environment and effect of science and technology. He went on to state that the usefulness of history is enhanced when it is seen as a way of looking at the society in order to understand social problems and thereby help to seek solution to them.
Affective factors such as attitudes also have profound impact on students’ History achievement. Karp (2001) in a comparative study of factors influencing History achievement found out that there is a direct link between students’ attitudes towards History and student outcomes.
Jaji (2002) supports this by propounding that resource shortage, teacher quality, poor teaching, repeated subject failure, peer influence, inadequacy of textbooks, cultural background and language also contribute to poor performance in History. Adesokan (2002) articulated that attitudes play an important role on students’ History achievement. Those who lack confidence in History academic skills envision a low grade before the beginning of an examination (Adesokan, 2002).
History offer us important opportunities to know what is happen in, where, when and how, making our understanding positive value, history help in promoting, travelling experience and clearly show the inter-relationship and interdependence between man and places above all, it is clearly shown the world is dynamic rather than a static, history as a subject seek to solve the problems of the society and give clear insight into the problems of man and his environment.
History was introduced to Nigeria schools in 1963 in view of satisfying the urge of children who are always curious and want to know where, when of various events takes place in their environment, since the introduction of the history into Nigeria education system several questions has been raised about the teaching and learning of history. They ask such questions as what a learner who is exposed to history sought to find out.
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Factors Affecting the Performance of History Students in Senior Secondary Schools.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that despite the relative importance of History, it is very disappointing to note that the student’s performance in the subject in both internal and external examinations has remained consistently poor (Bolaji, 2005).
History educators have put up noble and spirited efforts aimed at identifying the major problems associated with learning of History in the nation’s schools. Despite all these noble efforts, the problem of poor achievement in History has continued to rear its head in the nation’s public examinations and History is part of it.
Adesokan (2002) asserted that in spite of the recognition given History, it is evident that students still show negative attitude towards History thereby leading to poor performance. Bolaji (2005) in a study of the influence of students’ attitude towards History found out that the teachers’ method of History teaching and his personality greatly accounted for the students’ positive attitude towards History.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to determine the Factors Affecting the Performance of History Students in Senior Secondary Schools. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To examine the influence of classroom environment on students’ attitudes towards History;
- To identify the effect of teachers’ personality and behavior on students’ attitudes towards History;
- To ascertain the effect of gender differences on students’ attitudes towards History; and
- To investigate the effect of social background on students’ attitudes towards the learning of History.
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:
- How does classroom environment and students learning style influence on students’ attitudes towards History?
- How does gender differences, affect students’ attitudes towards History?
- How does social background influence students’ attitudes towards the learning of History?
- What is the effect of teachers’ personality and behavior on students’ attitude towards History?
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 is no significant relationship between the attitude of students and the learning of History
- H1: There is a significant relationship between the attitude of students and the learning of History
Hypothesis Two
- H0: Teachers’ personality and behavior towards History students does not affect their academic performance
- H1: Teachers’ personality and behavior towards History students affects their academic performance
1.7 Significance of Study
The school administrators may use findings from the study to understand the prime factors affecting students’ attitudes toward learning of History in secondary school. Also aid teachers to identify deficiencies and limitations as regards the teaching and learning of History and make necessary adjustment where necessary.
Also, the study enables secondary school principals to be able to plan systematically for staff retention that enhance students’ attitude towards the learning of History. Other stakeholders of education (parents, students, teachers, support staff, donors) use the findings of the study as a checkpoint to happenings of the same nature.
Finally, the study alerts the students on both positive and negative effects of attitude and perception towards History at the present level and future career.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Factors Affecting the Performance of History Students in Senior Secondary Schools using Warri-South Local Government Area, Delta 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.
- 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).
- Lack of Initial Cooperation from Respondents: A particular limitation of this work came as a result of the respondent refusal to offer their cooperation at the initial time they were contacted. This contributed in making the success of this research study difficult.
1.10 Definition of Terms
Attitude:
It is a predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation.
Classroom:
A room or place especially in a school in which classes are conducted.
Influence:
Influence is the action or process of producing effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of another or others.
History:
It is the study of the measurement, properties, and relationships of quantities and sets, using numbers and symbols.
Student:
A person formally engaged in learning, especially one enrolled in a school or college; pupil
Choice:
It refers to the students’ preference over one science subject as compared to the other science subjects the study focused on identifying the critical factors that influenced students’ choice on the subjects.
Secondary Schools:
This is the education level that precedes primary education and succeeds the tertiary education.
