STUDY OF CLASSROOM PSYCHO-SOCIAL FEATURES AS A PREDICTOR TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN UPPER BASIC SCIENCE, FUNTUA ZONE, KATSINA, NIGERIA

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STUDY OF CLASSROOM PSYCHO-SOCIAL FEATURES AS A PREDICTOR TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN UPPER BASIC SCIENCE, FUNTUA ZONE, KATSINA, NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

This study investigated classroom psycho-social factors as a predictor(s) to slow learners‟ academic performance in upper basic science, Funtua zone, Katsina Nigeria. A correlation research design was used. The study population comprised of all co-educational Junior secondary II Basic Science students for 2017/2018 session in Funtua education zone with a total of 5044 students. A total of three hundred (300) of Junior secondary two (JSS 2) basic Science students took part in the study. The research instruments used for data collection were, Basic Science Performance Test (BSPT), Intelligent Quotient (IQ) Test and Questionnaire. BSPT was found to have reliability co-efficient of 0.79. The research questions were answered with the used of correlation analysis to determine the extent of relationships of independent variables with dependent variables. Regression analysis was used to test the null hypotheses of the study with the significant level fixed at0.05. The findings showed that there was a significant positive relationship between classroom psychosocial factors of parental influence, teacher-students interaction and academic performance, hence the hypothesis. Based on these findings, relevant recommendations were made. A major highlight of the recommendation is that parents should promptly pay the school fees of their childr5en and also ask the children the type of friends they keep during or after school hours.

TABLE OF CONTENT

Content                                                                                                                  Page

Title Page                                                                                                                    i

Declaration                                                                                                                 ii

Certification                                                                                                                iii

Dedication                                                                                                                   iv

Acknowledgment                                                                                                        v

Table of Contents                                                                                                       vi

List of Tables                                                                                                              x

List of Appendices                                                                                                      xi

List of Abbreviations                                                                                                  xii

Operational Definition of Terms                                                                                xiii

Abstract                                                                                                                       xv

CHAPTER ONE: THE PROBLEM

1.1       Introduction                                                                                                     1

1.1.1 Theoretical Framework                                                                                     6

1.2       Statement of the Problem                                                                               8

1.3       Objectives of the Study                                                                                   9

1.4       Research Questions                                                                                        9

1.5      Null Hypotheses                                                                                              10

1.6       Significance of the Study                                                                                11

1.7       Scope of the Study                                                                                          12

1.8       Basic Assumptions                                                                                         14 CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

2.1       Introduction                                                                                                     15

2.2       Teaching of Basic Science at Junior Secondary School                                 15

2.3       Classroom Psychosocial Factors and Academic Performance in

Basic Science                                                                                                 19

2.3.1 Social Control and Academic Performance among Basic Science

Students                                                                                                          21

 

2.3.2  Parental Influence and Academic Performance in Basic Science                    24

2.3.3 Teacher/Student Interaction and Academic Performance in

Basic Science                                                                                                 27

2.3.4 Student/Student Interaction and Academic Performance in

Basic Science                                                                                                 29

2.3.5 Classroom Management and Academic Performance in Basic Science           31

2.4       Classroom Psychosocial Factors in Rural and Urban

Junior Secondary Schools                                                                              32

2.5        Overview of Similar Studies                                                                              38

2.6        Implications of the Literature Reviewed for the Present Studies                       48

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1        Introduction                                                                                                      53

3.2        Research Design                                                                                               53

3.3       Population of the Study                                                                                      54

3.4       Sample and Sampling Techniques                                                                     55

3.5        Instrumentation                                                                                                 56

3.5.1 Observation and IQ Test                                                                                    57

3.5.2 Basic Science Performance Test (BSPT)                                                          58

3.5.3 Basic Science Classroom Environment Scale Questionnaire (BSCESQ)         59

3.5.4 Validity of the Instrument                                                                                 60

3.5.5     Pilot Testing                                                                                                     61

3.5.6     Reliability of Instruments (BSPT and BSCEQ)                                                 61

3.5.7     Item Analysis                                                                                                  62

3.6       Procedure for Data Collection                                                            64

3.7       Procedure for Data Analysis                                                                              64

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS

4.1       Introduction                                                                                                      67

4.2 Data Analysis and Results Presentation     67  4.3 Summary of Major Findings        81

4.4       Discussion of the Results                                                                                83

CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1        Introduction                                                                                                      90

5.2        Summary of the Study                                                                                       90

5.3       Summary of Major Findings                                                                          91

5.4        Conclusions                                                                                                      92

5.5        Recommendations                                                                                             93

5.6       Contributions to Knowledge                                                                           94

5.7       Limitations of the Study                                                                                    94

5.8       Suggestions for Further Studies                                                                      95

            REFERENCES                                                                                             96

LIST OF TABLES

Table                                                                                                                          Page

3.1:      Population of the Study                                                                                  55

3.2:      Sample for the Study                                                                                      56

3.3:   Item Specification Based on Bloom‟s Taxonomy of Cognitive Objectives 58

4.1:      Descriptive Statistics of Students‟ View of Classroom Psycho-social

Factors on Academic Performance in Upper Basic Science                          68

 

4.2:      Descriptive Statistics of Students‟ View Classroom Psycho-social Factors

and Academic Performance of Male and Female in Upper Basic Science    69

 

4.3:      Descriptive Statistics of Classroom Psychosocial Factors and

Academic Performance of Urban and Rural Academic in Upper

Basic Science                                                                                                 70

 

4.4:      Descriptive Statistics of Classroom Psychosocial Factors and Academic

Performance of Urban and Rural Male and Female Students                        72

 

4.5:      Multiple Regression Analysis Between Classroom Psychosocial

Factors and Academic Performance in Upper Basic Science                        73

 

4.6a:    Multiple Regression Analysis of Male Students‟ View of Classroom

Psychosocial Factors andAcademic Performance of Male and Female

Students in Upper Basic Science                                                                    75

 

4.6b:    Multiple Regression Analysis of Female Students‟ View of Classroom

Psychosocial Factors andAcademic Performance of Male and Female

Students in Upper Basic Science                                                                    75

 

4.7a:  There is no Significant Relationship between Classroom Psychosocial

Factors and Academic Performance of Urban Learners in Upper Basic

Science                                                                                                           76

 

4.7b:  There is no Significant Relationship between Classroom Psychosocial

Factors and Academic Performance of Rural & Urban Learners in

Upper Basic Science                                                                                       77

4.8a:  Multiple Regression Analysis of Psycho-socio Factors on Students‟

Academic Performance for Rural Male Learners‟ in Upper Basic

Science                                                                                                           78

 

 

4.8b:  Multiple Regression Analysis of Psycho-socio Factors on Students‟

Academic Performance of Rural & Urban Male & Female Learners‟

in Upper Basic Science                                                                                  79

 

4.8c:  Multiple Regression Analysis of Psycho-socio Factors on Students‟

Academic Performance for Urban Male Learners‟ in Upper Basic

Science                                                                                                           79

 

4.8d:  Multiple Regression Analysis of Psycho-socio Factors on Students‟

Academic Performance for Urban Female Learners‟ in Upper Basic

Science                                                                                                           79

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

             

LIST OF APPENDICES

Appendix                                                                                                                   Page

i:          Basic Science Classroom Environment Scale Questionnaire                        124

ii:         Basic Science Performance Test                                                                    127

iii         Marking Scheme For Basic Science Performance Test                                 130

iv:        Rating Scale For Observing Classroom Behaviours                                      131

v:         Kuder Richardson Test for Classroom Psycho-social Factors                       132

vi         Reliability Test For Basic Science Performance Test                                    133

vii:       Letters of Validation of research instrument                                                     135

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

BSPT                  Basic Science Performance Test

BSCEQ               Basic Science Classroom Environmental Scale Questionnaire

NERDC              Nigerian Educational and Research Development Council

IQ                        Intelligent Quotient

NCE                    National Council of Education

FGN                    Federal Government of Nigeria

EE                       Environmental Education

DAE                    Drug Abuse Education

MAN                   Mathematical Association of Nigeria

LEMS                 Life, Energy, Matter and Society

PFLE                  Population and Family Life Education

EPC                     Educational Policies Commission

NEA                     National Education Association

AASA                 American Association of School and Administration

UBE                    Universal Basic Education

SDT                     Self Determination Theory

SRI-MS              Students readiness Inventory-Middle school

GED                    General Education Degrees

PPMCC              Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient

ANOVA              Analysis of Variance

ANCOVA           Analysis of Covariate

FI                        Facility Index

DI                        Discrimination Index

 

 

 

OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following are operational definitions of terms as used in this study.

Psychosocial factors:  Are those factors relating to both the psychological and social

aspects of an individual (parental influence, student-student interaction, teacher-student interaction and classroom management).

Teacher-Student Interaction: Is the process by which teacher and student engage in a

reciprocal exchange of verbal or behavioral idea or opinion in the classroom; such that each of the two parties influence the others‟ ideas or opinions

Academic Performance: Is an outcome of educational programme that shows the extent

to which a student has achieved his or her educational goal(s) after being subjected to examination or continuous assessment.

Basic Science: It is the science taught in a way that boundaries between physics,

chemistry, and biology are broken down for the understanding of the students.

Classroom Management: This is a broad range of educational concept, including the

physical setting, the psychological environment created through social contexts, and instructional component related to teacher characteristics and behaviors.

Physical Environment: It is a classroom management, seating, black and white board

displays and the physical climate, lighting and temperature which may affect academic performance.

Psychological Classroom Management: This is the environment where learning takes

place in quantifiable and perceptible characteristics. Students are engulfed by environmental information specifically; these attract students‟ interest, choices, support, participation that enhances mutual

understanding.

Social Classroom Environment: this generates an intellectual environment where

support, respect and collaborations are central. Positive educational environment are necessary to facilitate optimal adaptive student outcome, including learning, motivation, school adjustment and achievement.

Predictors:              As stated in the work, predictors are social, physical and psychological

classroom environment.

 

CHAPTER ONE

THE PROBLEM

1.1       Introduction

Basic Science, formally known and tagged, as „integrated science‟ was originally conceived as a science subject that deals with the study of some few subjects amalgamated into one. In the context of Nigerian science, it originally included topics from Biology, Chemistry, Physics mainly and offered as general science. Later reviews have included other areas on earth sciences, geography and the solar system. The reviews particularly that of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (Fafunwa, (2015) cited in [STAN] (1973) have attempted to integrate all aspects or topics regarded necessary for giving science foundational knowledge and training to science discipline studies in secondary schools. Basic Science in its contemporary sense is the removal of boundaries between division, subjects of science to offer science as a fundamental unity, a problem solving strategy and introduction to specific science studies. The National Council on Education (NCE) at its meeting in Ibadan in December 2005 approved a new education curriculum structure namely: Lower Basic Education Curriculum, Middle Basic Education Curriculum and Upper Basic Education Curriculum listing relevant subjects for each level.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN, 2005) in her effort to transform the country accepts that we cannot do without universal education and we cannot re-order our social attitude to our country and reinvent our spirit of patriotism without inculcating in the people the right values through functional education. The FGN, therefore, convened a National Stakeholders Forum in October, 2010 to deliberate on the state of education in

Nigeria. The delegates at that summit observed that too many subjects were offered at the Basic Educational level and called for reduction. Also, many topics were repeated in many subject areas leaving them boring. Again, some of the subjects were given prominence in the curriculum just for their own sake. They were neither adapted to the needs of the learners nor crafted in the national interest. The Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC, was directed by the NCE to review, restructure and realigned the Basic Education curriculum to reflect global best practice and contemporary national interest. After a painstaking and fruitful effort to reduce, select and harmonize the 9-year UBE curriculum of 2009, the NERDC created the subject known as Basic Science and Technology, which is an umbrella embracing the previously autonomous subject of

Basic Science, Basic Technology, Physical and Health Education and Information

Technology, each of which now becomes a theme under the umbrella subject called Basic Science and Technology.

This 9-year Basic Science and Technology Curriculum is the production of a re-alignment and restructuring of the revised curricula for junior secondary school Integrated Science. In selecting the contents, three major issues shaping the development of nations worldwide, and influencing the world of knowledge today were identified. These are globalization information Communication technology and entrepreneurship education. The desire of Nigeria to be identified with contemporary development worldwide, called for the infusion of relevant contents of four approved curriculum invocation in the areas of;

Environmental Education (EE)

Drug Abuse Education (DAE)

Population and Family Life Education (POP/FLE)

Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI,) including HIV/AIDS (NERDC, 2009).

Infusion of content occurred in every class 1-9. Also some introductory topics have been introduced at the lower and middle levels, while leaving the upper with purely science topics. The overall objectives of this curriculum are to enable the learners to:

Develop interest in science and technology.

Acquire basic knowledge and skills in science and technology.

Apply their scientific and technological knowledge and skills to meet societal needs.

Take advantage of the numerous career opportunities offered by science and technology. Become prepared for further studies in science and technology. In order to achieve a holistic presentation of science and technology contents to learners, the mathematic approach to content organization was adopted. Consequently, four themes were used to cover knowledge, skills and attitudinal requirements. These are: 1. You and Environment. 2. Living and Non-Living Things. 3. You and Technology. 4. You and Energy.

At the Upper Basic Level however, theme „3‟ “you and technology” was changed to “Science and Development”. The topics under each theme were sequenced in a spiral form beginning with the simple to the complex across the 9-years of Basic Education in order to sustain the interest of learners and promote meaningful learning. The use of guided inquiry method of teaching and learning is implied in the activities prescribed under each topic in order to promote learning by doing and skills development. The theme “Science and Development” was added to expose students to developments in science and technology alongside skills that will enable them to face challenges, make informed decisions, develop survival strategies, and learn to live effectively within the global community. The teacher is the actor in the provision of quality education. Therefore, for the effective implementation of this curriculum, capacity building of the teacher should be ensured on a continuing basis (NERDC, 2005).

The study of Classroom environment has developed into an important field of educational research during the past 35 years. Vivid descriptions and images of schools through powerful movies and less powerful dramatizations such as Beverly Hills,(2010) cited in Sunanda &Srivastava, (2017) all attest to the centrality of the environment to the defining character of schools and Classrooms.

The Classroom is a basic structural unit of the educational system (Talton, & Simpson, 2007). It is a miniature community in which members‟ interest influences the behaviour of others. Hawkros and Panick (2013) describe classroom environment as the type of environment created as a result of subsequent interactions that occur in the Classroom during teaching and learning process. In the Nigeria setting the Classroom environment appears to be static, not changing with changes in time. The Classroom environment of a school is an embodiment of the physical, sociological, psychological and psychosocial conditions(Meyer, 2000). The physical Classroom environment has to do with the age of the Classroom building, colour, level of available furniture, desks and seats, ventilation, lighting, roof, ceiling and floor (Akubue, 2015). According to Akubune (2015), the sociological Classroom environment or climate is the feeling, which the teachers and the learners are able to generate in making the Classroom morale high or low.  The psychological Classroom environment refers to the level of the speed of teaching, cohesiveness, distractions, interests, motivations, anxieties, confusion and difficulty of the

Classroom learning activities (Haertel & Walbeg, 2014).The Psycho-social classroom environment is a type of Classroom that has to do with interactions in the Classroom.

According to Anyafulude (2016), these interactions involve; teacher and students‟ interactions, students and students interactions, students and instructional material interaction, and students, instructional materials and teacher interaction. It also refers to the extents the students perceive their Classroom environment and how they want it to look like. (Hong, 2013).In Nigeria Psycho-social Classroom environment, it appears that there is suppression of students by some teachers who claim to know everything, thereby giving students little or no opportunity to air their views (Nwabueze, 2016). The Psycho-social environment that students work in is very important. According to Fagbamiye, (2014), successful psycho-social environment is more likely to be a calm place rather than chaotic, to be task oriented and have an orderly climate.

Geographical location of schools Rural-Urban may bring about differences in academic performance of students depending on several factors. The potential Rural-urban difference in education is not limited to one country but rather it appears to be a global issue. Although several studies have not found any significant differences between Rural and urban studies. Monk and Haller (2012) found that students from rural schools achieved as well as students from urban schools. Ward and Morray (2015) looked at factors affecting academic performance of selected urban school students and found that those attending schools in rural areas perform as well as those in urban also Alsphaugh (2015) and Synder and West (2012) and Haller Monk and Haller (2013) in their studies failed to find any statistical significant difference between the urban and rural students.

Adewale (2012), McClerry (2015), and Downey (2010) have found, however that ruralurban differences exist. Downey (2010) found that the ACT scores of rural students were lower than urban students‟ scores in each of the categories of ACT in Kansas. Another examination of students‟ performance in Hawai public schools made by McCleery(2005) found sub-standard achievement to be pattern in rural areas. In Nigeria, Adewale (2002) studied the effect of parasitic infection on school performance, he found that in rural community where nutritional status is relatively known and health problem are prevalent, children academic performance is greatly hindered. In other studies however students from rural schools were found to have perform better than those from urban area (Alspaugh, 2005; Alsphaugh and Harting, 2019; Haller, Monk and Tein, (2012).

Some factors could be responsible for the potential rural-urban differences. One of them could be availability of resources like books, computers, art and science supplies and course offerings. The availability of fewer resources in many rural school than those in urban areas are often related to more limited curricula for these rural schools (DeYoung and Lawrence, 2013; Hall and Barker, 2018). Barker (2012) studied high schools and reported that smaller and rural high schools and significantly fewer art, data processing, calculus, psychology, sociology and advanced placement offerings. In Nigeria, rural schools may not have facilities to study like Computer science, Fine-Art, Music and French Language.

1.1.1    Theoretical Framework

The theoretical frame work for this study is based on Vygotsky (1978) social constructivist theory of learning, which postulated that development proceed from outside to inside in the process called internalization and also emphasis on the role of environment on children intellectual development is of the view that a child learns through interaction within the environment. This implies that social rather than biological influences are paramount to intellectual development. This is in the view that child‟s learning occurs through interaction with environment and this determined what the child internalized. There are many theories of learning that are relevant to this work. One of such is observational learning theory by Albert Bandura in 1965. This is one of social learning theories. The focus of the theory is social interaction. The theory strongly assumes that the learner is a member of a social group. The learner identifies the family as the first social group where learning starts; the child sees teachers and parents as a model to imitate. As the child grows, he interacts with peers, classmate. Bruner, (1968) also support this theory and move ahead to explained perception as a process by which we observed, think, feel about and issue concepts or ideas. Lawren (2006), the nature of Psycho-social secondary schools Classroom learning environment has been found to differ according to location this difference due to location may lead to students‟ different perception of their psychosocial Classroom in rural and urban schools, and may or may not result to difference in students‟ achievement in rural and urban schools. According to Murdock (2017), location influence social interaction and Classroom achievement cannot be divorced from the social fabric in which it is embedded.

From the aforementioned of the theory therefore, learning may be facilitated or retarded by classroom environment. If teachers are not aware of their role for the social and academic development of the students, then the academic performance will be affected because the environmental hypothesis state that variations in surrounding will produce predictable differences in intelligence in this study, Vygotsky (1978) social theory of learning is adapted. The study therefore investigates whether classroom psycho-social factors are predictors to academic performance in upper basic science in Funtua education zone

Katsina state, Nigeria.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

There are many factors that contribute to students‟ success or failure, and such factors may be social, economic and psychological in nature. Several researchers (Vasilia (2011), Hawkins, Barbour and Graham, (2010)) have carried out on how to improve the academic performance of students in Basic Science, but poor academic performance still exists. Saage (2015) reported that poor teacher-students interactions are some of the factors contributing to students‟ low performance in basic science. Studies such as Sabitu and Nuraddeen (2010), Korir and Kipkemboi (2014) pointed out that school environment, parents and teachers are responsible for students low performance in a particular subject.

In this study students were exposed to new information during discussion with peers. They were asked to resolved ideas between prior understanding of old information and new information by peers. They share ideas and help their peers to achieve the zone of proximal development learning by a more capable peer and teacher. The teacher plays an important role as a facilitator in assisting and explaining students. Social interactions among group members were crucial in students‟ acquisition of new knowledge and critical thinking skills Vygyostic (1997) as well as improving academic performance.

Hence, the problem of this study therefore is, to determine whether Classroom Psychosocial factors are predictor to academic performance in Upper Basic Science in Funtua zone Katsina State, Nigeria.

 

 

 

1.3       Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are to:

  1. Determine the relationship between Classroom Psycho-social factors which serves as a predictor to academic performance in Upper Basic Science in Funtua Education Zone Katsina State, Nigeria.
  2. Find out the relationship between classroom psycho social factors which serves as a predictor between male and female academic performance in upper basic science in Funtua Education Zone Katsina State, Nigeria.
  • Determine the relationship between classroom psycho-social factors which serves as a predictor to urban and rural academic performance in Upper Basic Science in Funtua Education Zone, Katsina State, Nigeria.
  1. Find out the relationship between classroom psycho-social factors which serves as a predictor among urban and rural, male and female academic performance in Upper Basic Science in Funtua Education Zone Katsina State, Nigeria.

 

1.4        Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated for the study

  1. What is the relationship to which classroom psycho-social factors serves as predictor to academic performance in Upper Basic Science in Funtua Education Zone Katsina State, Nigeria?
  2. What is the relationship to which classroom psychosocial factors serves as a predictor between male and female academic performance in Upper Basic

Science in Funtua Education Zone Katsina State, Nigeria?

  • What is the relationship to which classroom psychosocial factors serves as a predictor to urban and rural academic performance in Upper Basic Science in Funtua Education Zone Katsina State, Nigeria?
  1. What is the relationship of classroom psychosocial factors as predictor among urban and rural male and female academic performance in Upper Basic Science Funtua Education Zone Katsina, State, Nigeria?

 

1.5       Null Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide this study and were tested at

P<0.05 level of significance:

H01 There is no significant relationship between classroom psycho-social factors and
  academic performance in upper Basic Science in Funtua education  zone      Katsina,
  Nigeria.
H02 There is no significant predictive relationship between classroom psycho-social
  factors and academic performance of male and female in upper basic science in
  Funtua education zone Katsina, Nigeria.
H03 There is no significant predictive relationship between classroom psycho-social
  factors and academic performance of rural and urban in upper basic science
  in Funtua education zone Katsina, Nigeria.
H04 There is no significant predictive relationship between classroom psycho-social
  factors and academic performance of rural and urban male and female in upper
  basic science in Funtua education zone Katsina, Nigeria.

1.6       Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will hopefully uplift the standard of Basic science education in the following:

Curriculum Planners: The findings of this study will help the curriculum planners and developers on the information regarding the quality of psycho-social classroom environment in which Basic Science will be best taught in secondary schools, with a view to guiding them in recommending the ideal psychosocial environment for Basic Science, thereby in corporation it in the curriculum to enhance students‟ academic performance.

Basic Science Teachers and Educators: The findings of this study will provide information to the Basic Science teachers and educators on perception of classroom psychosocial factors and their academic performance in Basic Science. The work will also serve as a resource material to researchers who may be interested in the area.

The Government: The result will provide information to the government on the level of students‟ perception and academic performance in Basic Science in schools, knowing this will help improve the Classroom Psycho-social environment in Basic Science, by increasing educational conditions of schools that will enhance academic performance in Basic Science in Nigeria. The government, if aware of the Classroom Psycho-social factors, can make a rule for examining bodies to monitor Psycho-social environment. The School Administrators: The school administrators will not be left out. This work will help them in the sense that they will be able to guide their teachers in creating a better Psycho-social environment. Findings of this study will also help to increase the knowledge about psychosocial Classroom environment and also guide the teachers in providing conducive learning atmosphere by arranging and organizing the classroom in a way that the students will like. This will hopefully increase their interest and enhance their academic performance in Basic Science.

Educational Psychologists: The findings of this work will help the psychologist especially the environmental psychologist to analyze and understand the role of psychosocial factors in classroom environment.

Professional Bodies: Professional bodies like Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) and Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN) among others, can use the findings of this study to organize workshops and or seminars for teachers especially on how to improve classroom psycho-social environment, such that academic performance in Basic Science can be enhanced.

Researchers: coming researchers may use the outcome of this study to replicate, improve, verify falsify, replace or adopt it during their researchers. The outcome as well as the suggestion for further studies of this research may also serves as a basic for further studies. Educational Agencies such as NERDC:  the textbook writers may also use the finding to incorporate problem solving in teaching the content of their textbooks.

 

1.7       Scope of the Study

The aims of this study were to determine whether classroom psycho-social factors (i.e. motivation, social control, student-student interaction, teachers-student interaction and other organization in classroom environment) are predictors to academic performance in upper basic science in Funtua education zone Katsina, Nigeria. Funtua education zone was composed of three local government area, urban and rural, boys and girls, and twenty-two juniors secondary school. The study comprised of two variables, one independent and one dependent and is only restricted to slow learners.

The study was delimited to students of public Junior Secondary schools in Funtua zone, Katsina State Nigeria. This was because, the researcher does not want to use people in external Subjects classes because, they may not have the knowledge of Basic Science or  beginners because they might not have gotten enough knowledge of Basic Science  as the teaching of Basic Science starts from JSS I to JSS III. As such, the researcher considers it more appropriate to use JSS 2 while considering JSS 3 students as those preparing for their JSCE examination and this may affect their participation and corporation if they are to be involve in the this research, and the content scope is the Classroom Psycho-social factors as predictors academic performance of students in Funtua Zone, Katsina State. This study looked at the psychosocial factors which include: Motivation, social control, studentstudent interaction, teachers-student interaction and order & organization in classroom environment.

Five factors were used because they are very important in teaching and learning of basic science. The instruments to be used for this study are: Observation, IQ Test, questionnaire and Basic Science Performance Test (BSPT). All the data collected through these instruments will be analyzed using: descriptive and inferential statistics.

 

 

1.8        Basic Assumptions

The study was base on the assumptions that:

  1. Junior secondary school basic science teachers are aware of individual differences in academic performance
  2. Basic Science as a subject was taught at junior secondary school level and students perceived it as hard subject.
  3. Classroom as a learning environment is affected by a number of factors such as psycho-social, environment and sociological factors.

 

STUDY OF CLASSROOM PSYCHO-SOCIAL FEATURES AS A PREDICTOR TO ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN UPPER BASIC SCIENCE, FUNTUA ZONE, KATSINA, NIGERIA

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