STUDENTS PERCEPTION OF BIOLOGY CLASS-ROOM ENVIRONMENT ON THEIR ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
The senior secondary level, which is also three years of training, focuses on developing the scientific skills learned in the JSS (junior Secondary School), whereas the four years of university education focus on adapting the skills learned. These are the skills that the individual uses in his daily life to fit into society.
The new biology education with the new curriculum began to be implemented in the 1998-1999 school year. The goals and objectives of the new biology curriculum were identified in such a way that students would not only grasp the subject in the best way possible, but would also apply the knowledge in daily life.
New curriculum aims to raise students’ awareness of health care, so topics are linked to human health. Each topic’s teaching learning strategies were thoroughly explained and supported by a variety of examples and questions. (Chalin and Manske, 2005)
Education is the most important instrument of social change, and any fundamental change in a society’s intellectual and social outlook requires education. The perceptions of both teachers and students in the biology classroom learning environment influence students’ achievement in biology education.
Researchers are well aware that a variety of factors contribute to students’ poor performance in biology, but one of those factors could be students’ perceptions of the biology classroom learning environment. According to recent research, the classroom learning environment has a significant impact on students’ achievement in biology learning.
Arguaye (2001) argues that students’ perceptions of the learning environment have a significant impact on their achievement in biology, and that knowing their perceptions will assist teachers in shaping their students’ class perceptions and, consequently, their achievement in biology.
Some researchers, for example, have carried out a number of research projects on the classroom learning environment over the years (Ben Ari, 2003; Carnegie1989; Jackson & Davis, 2000; Kaplan &Middleton, 2002; Manning, 2000; McCombs &Whisler, 2000; National Middle School Association, 1995; Payne, Conroy, & Racine, 1998; Stipek, 2002).
The study of the learning environment has grown in popularity as it has become clear that learning outcomes and students’ attitudes toward learning are inextricably linked to the classroom environment. The classroom environment refers to a setting of space where teachers and learners interact with each other and use a variety of tools and information resources in their pursuit of learning activities (Wilson 2002).
Because most learning takes place in the classroom, it has become an important location for educational research. Over the last 30 years, international recognition of the importance of the classroom learning environment has grown.
Wilson (2002) defines a classroom learning environment as a place where learners and teachers interact with one another and use a variety of tools and information resources to pursue learning activities. Education research focusing on classroom and school-level learning environments has yielded promising results, leading to an improvement in the teaching and learning process.
Teachers’ support, instructional materials, task orientation, study habit, classroom disciplinary climate and location of adequate laboratory facilities, teacher-student interaction, equality, method of teaching, and teacher qualification are all factors in the classroom learning environment.
Perception refers to how one thinks about something and one’s idea of what it is like; it is also the ability to understand the true nature of a subject, particularly as it relates to our environment. However, students’ perceptions of biology differ. The classroom learning environment influences students’ learning progress;
thus, learning is a process that results in a series of changes in behavior, or it is more or less a change in behavior that results from activities, training, or observation. Learning is confirmed by a change in behavior. According to Ajayi (2000), learning is a process that results in a progressive series of changes in behavior, or it is more or less a change in behavior that results from activity that occurs in the classroom environment.
According to Fraser (1986), when investigating the learning environment, student perceptions are extremely important (Wubbels&Brekelmans, 2004). Many learning environment studies have addressed the role of students’ perceptions of the classroom environment in influencing cognitive and affective outcomes, and many researchers have found strong relationships between student outcomes and their perceptions of their learning environment (Fraser & Fisher, 2000; Wubbels, &Brekelmans, 2002; den Brok, Brekelmans, &Wubbels, 2004).
Fraser (2001) emphasized that relationships between outcome measures and perceptions of the classroom environment have been replicated for a variety of cognitive and affective outcomes, using a variety of instruments, across different countries and grade levels.
Learning environment research has investigated these associations in a variety of classroom settings, including science laboratory classroom settings, constructivist classroom settings, and cross-national studies of science classroom settings (Fraser, 2002).
However, there have been a number of issues with the available classroom learning environment in Nigerian senior secondary schools that prevent effective learning from taking place.
Some of the issues with class room layout include tall students obstructing the short students in the back from seeing the chalk board and insufficient chairs and tables, which can cause discomfort to students. Another issue is a poorly ventilated classroom with little or no cross ventilation, poor interaction between students and teachers, a lack of teaching materials, a poor study habit, and so on.
1.2 SUMMARY OF THE PROBLEM
The classroom is the basic organizational unit of the educational system. The quality of science education can be improved with an understanding of students’ development and their perception of the learning environment by continuing to increase knowledge of the interactions that occur within the classroom.
According to Fraser (1989), the classroom environment is such a powerful determinant of students’ outcomes that those wishing to improve school effectiveness should not ignore it. He emphasizes that students spend a significant amount of time (over 15,000 hours) in the classroom. As a result, the quality of these classrooms’ environments has a significant impact on students’ learning (Fraser, 1989).
Over the years, the problem of underachievement of science students in biology has been a widespread issue. For example, many researchers in Nigeria have conducted a series of studies in the classroom learning environment to determine what could be causing the problem of poor performance of students in science subjects such as biology, physics, and chemistry.
Factors such as the lack of adequate laboratory facilities, teaching aids, ineffectiveness and lack of teaching proficiency of teachers, and teaching methods have been identified as causes of a poor classroom environment, resulting in students’ underachieving in science subjects.
Despite all of these efforts, students continue to perform poorly. However, little emphasis has been placed on the students’ perception of the biology classroom learning environment; thus, in order to improve students’ performance in biology,
more emphasis on this topic is required in order to determine some factors of the classroom learning environment. As a result, a study of the students’ perceptions of the biology classroom learning environment on their academic achievement in senior secondary schools is required.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The primary goal of this study is to look into students’ perceptions of the impact of the biology classroom environment on their academic achievement.
The following are the study’s objectives:
1. To ascertain the students’ perceptions of teachers’ assistance in the classroom
2. To ascertain students’ perceptions based on the availability of instructional materials.
3. To ascertain students’ perceptions based on their study habits?
4. Determine the level of involvement of students in the classroom.
5. To ascertain the students’ perceptions based on the classroom’s disciplinary climate.
1.4 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
1. How do students perceive teachers’ support in a biology classroom?
2. What is the students’ perception of the availability of instructional materials?
3. What are students’ perceptions based on their study habits?
4. What is the level of involvement of the students in the classroom?
5. What are the students’ perceptions based on the classroom’s disciplinary climate?
1.5 LIMITATION’S APPLICATION
The study will be conducted in Lagos state, in the Shomolu Local Government Area, in four different secondary schools for students in SS 1 and SS 2, and it will investigate the following variables:
In a biology classroom, students’ perceptions of teachers’ support,
Students’ perceptions based on the availability of instructional materials,
Students’ perceptions based on students’ habits
The level of participation of students in the classroom and
Students’ perceptions based on the disciplinary climate of the biology class room.
1.6 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
This study would be useful in improving students’ perceptions of biology learning at the secondary school level.
The study’s value also lies in its contribution to the body of pedagogical knowledge. It adds value to teacher effectiveness, academic development, and student performance.
It is also important to investigate student perceptions of biology class room learning environments in order to improve the development of a positive attitude toward biology and to understand how students perceive their biology learning environment in terms of its effect and achievement on the subject as well as its influence on students’ learning.
Understanding students’ perceptions of their classroom learning environments, as well as the factors that influence those perceptions, may assist teachers and educational researchers in identifying alternative ways to improve students’ learning.
This study provides information and also assists in identifying the shortcomings of some classroom determinants such as students’ habits, teachers’ support, classroom climate, availability of instructional material, and students’ involvement, which when addressed will improve students’ perceptions of their classroom learning environment.
The study will increase students’ active participation in class and also help teachers become aware of appropriate and required teaching methods that will promote teacher-student interaction in the classroom setting. It will also give teachers a reason to place more emphasis on giving students tasks in the classroom setting.
By improving the classroom learning environment, students are given actual control and self-direction of academic tasks in a student-centered learning environment.
As teachers and students actively participate in the teaching and learning process with the goal of resolving the challenges revealed, there will be an improvement in students’ academic achievement, thereby improving biology learning and preparing students for the future.
1.7 TERM DEFINITION IN APPLICATION:
SCHOOL LEARNING ENVIRONMENT:A student’s perception of the school learning environment is a summated score measured by a self-administered rating scale on parameters such as teachers’ support, study habits, students’ involvement, instructional materials, and laboratory facilities in the school.
ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT: The academic achievement is the average of the previous and current years’ grades.
ACADEMIC: It refers to school subjects, liberal arts fields, or the realm of ideas and abstraction (Chaudary, 2004).
ACHIEVEMENT: It was defined as knowledge gained or skills developed by students, typically in schools, and was measured by test scores or marks assigned by teachers (Chaudhary, 2004).
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