1.1 Introduction
Teaching Integrated Science offers considerable challenges and teachers express concern and apprehension when dealing with the situation. Teachers’ lack of confidence when teaching topics outside their area of expertise is manifested in different ways such as when preparing lesson plans, choosing or devising activities and analogies to aid students’ learning, answering students’ questions, linking and applying various concepts and principles to everyday life situations, generating students’ interest and passion for the Integrated Science. In addition, to make science education effective teachers need to transform how students think to assist them to make meaning and apply scientific knowledge as scientists do. This transformation can be done if and only if science teachers can instruct science like a science (Wieman, 2008).
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
Over the years, there have been growing concerns about the attitude of students towards the study of integrated science in secondary schools. The need to adapt our education to the needs of the Nigerian society started before and after independence. Many educational elites began to recognize that the functional inadequacies of the educational system inherited from the colonial education failed to develop positive values, attitudes and habits in our society because the Integrated science they taught was British oriented and has nothing to offer to the Nigerian child.
Since Integrated Science was introduced into the syllabus in 1970 with proper study, so many problems like incompetent of the teachers, lack of teaching materials, improper teaching approach and the rest of them have evolved leading to non-learning interest by the students. The integration of these three main sciences courses and some others to bring about Integrated Science, a lot of problems arise during the process. The aim of teaching Integrated Science is to provide a student-centered learning environment that meets the needs of individual students through adopting differentiated instructional strategies and to deliver an outcome based curriculum with high pedagogical standards. Unlike the traditional didactic teacher-centered teaching approach that was adopted in schools, an approach that is active and child-centered was necessary to deliver the new curriculum that focused on developing critical thinking rather than rote learning (Davidson, 2010).
Teaching Integrated Science is no longer teacher-centered or dependent on memorization. In teaching, ADEC recommends using inquiry-based teaching approach to develop the students’ scientific knowledge and skills (ADEC, 2010). ADEC defines inquiry as “a process that encourages students to be self-directed learners, based on the students asking rich questions and developing their learning around those questions” (ADEC 2013, p. 12). The state of science education has been of interest to many governments and researchers over the years in the world’s school education system. Most governments in one way or the other focus on improving science education in order to affect the economy.
Anderman, Sinatra, and Gray (2012) pointed out that issues such as availability of appropriate science textbooks and classroom resources, preparation and training of pre-service and in-service science teachers, political and religious oppositions to the cutting-edge of science are some of the enormous issues confronted with science education.
Pryor and Ampiah (2003) explained that in Africa, teaching in a village school is not an easy task. This is because the poor results obtained by students from the final examinations conducted by International Institutions such as West African Examination Council (WAEC) make it difficult for teachers to maintain any sense of professionalism and pride. Teachers usually attribute village school students’ poor performance to the students’ lack of interest in schoolwork and indiscipline. Part of the blame is also attributed to parents/guardians’ neglect towards students’ learning. Thus the difficulty teachers face in teaching students from village junior high schools (JHS) in Africa in general and Nigeria in particular is the poor attitude of students and other community members towards schooling (Pryor & Ampiah, 2003).
Students’ poor attitude and interest towards school science is an issue identified across the world (Adu-Gyamfi, 2013; Fensham, 2008; Hallack & Poisson, 2001; UNESCO, 2010). In some instances, students’ lack of interest in science is associated with the use of science to select a small fraction of elite students at the early ages to become science specialists and in Malaysia, students’ lack of interest in science is associated with scarcity of well-paid jobs for science professionals (Hallack & Poisson, 2001).
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Factors Associated with Mass Failure of Students in Integrated Science in Secondary School.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the poor attitude of students towards the study of Integrated science in secondary schools in Nsukka Local Government is in an unsatisfactory state of affairs and imbalance in the educational sector in particular and the nation’s development in general.
Integrated science as a core subject in the junior secondary school level suggest the importance the government, parents and students themselves attach to the study. The phenomena increase in students’ attitude towards the study of Integrated science in junior secondary schools should not be allowed to remain for too long unattended to.
The need to motivate students to develop positive attitude towards the study of Integrated science in secondary school and to create a conducive environment for studying Integrated science is not disputable and cannot be over-emphasized.
The unfortunate thing is that students’ attitude towards the study of Integrated science in schools is fraught with a lot of problems. There is a general belief that whenever students perform poorly in their courses the teacher has not really taught them well. People hardly look at the problem from the point of view of the student’s attitude towards the courses; the problem of this study therefore is to ascertain why students have poor attitude towards the study of Integrated Science in secondary schools.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to investigate the Factors Associated with Mass Failure of Students in Integrated Science in Secondary School using Nsukka Local Government Area as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To identify the influence of teacher – student’s relationship on students’ performance in Integrated Science;
- To examine the influence of school management system on teaching and learning process in Integrated Science;
- To examine the influence of cultural backgrounds on students’ performance in Integrated Science; and
- To determine the nature of school environment where teaching is practiced in relation to student’s performance in Integrated Science.
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:
- Does teacher – student’s relationship influence on students’ performance in Integrated Science?
- Does cultural background affect students’ performance in Integrated Science?
- Does the nature of school environment affect student’s performance in Integrated Science?
- Does school management system influence teaching and learning process in Integrated Science?
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.
- H01: There is no significant influence of cultural backgrounds on students’ performance in Integrated Science.
- H02: There is no significant influence of teacher – student’s relationship on students’ performance in Integrated Science.
- H03: There is no significant influence of school management system on teaching and learning process in Integrated Science.
- H04: There is no significant impact of the nature of school environment where teaching is practiced in relation to student’s performance in Integrated Science.
1.7 Significance of Study
As Nigeria is still a developing nation, it is hoped that the findings of this research will encourage various governments to provide conducive environment, teaching aids and qualified teachers for effective study of Integrated science in secondary schools.
This study is of educational importance because it is believed that if Integrated Science teachers in secondary schools understand the factors which stimulate the growth of interest in Integrated Science, such knowledge may provide bases not only to make Integrated Science popular but also to make the teaching of Integrated Science humanizing.
Re-orient students with negative attitude towards the study of Integrated Science in secondary schools. Assist the government to identify students’ attitude towards the study of Integrated Science in secondary schools. Serve as a basis for other researchers who are carrying out investigation on similar problems facing the development of education in Nigeria. Help teachers and educational planners to acquire knowledge of solving problems associated with the attitude of students towards the study of Integrated Science in Secondary Schools.
1.8 Scope of Study
The scope of the research is focused on the Factors Associated with Mass Failure of Students in Integrated Science in Secondary School using Nsukka Local Government Area, Enugu 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:
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
Integrated Science: is a revolutionary programme provided by many universities of the world. The programme is devoted to providing a wide range of knowledge in various fields of science. There are no exclusive rights for this programme, and every institution can provide its own explanation.
Teacher: A teacher (also called a school teacher or, in some contexts, an educator) is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.
Junior Secondary School: The Junior school experience of the child culminates in the BECE (Basic Education Certification Examination). This is the final test that determines if the child will proceed to the senior school.
Influence: According to the Sun Mobile Dictionary, the term influence is the power to affect another. The Oxford Advanced learner’s dictionary defines influence as the effect that somebody or something has on the way a person thinks or behaves or on the way that something works or develops.
Academic Performance: This can be defined as the score a child or individual obtain in test or examination based on his or her learning experiences.
