Factors Responsible For Academic Performance Of Junior Secondary School Students In Business Studies In Oshimili South Local Government Area Of Delta State

ABSTRACT

This study investigated Factors Responsible for Academic Performance of Junior Secondary School Students in Business Studies in Oshimili South Local Government area of Delta State. Four research questions guided this study. A descriptive survey design was adapted for the study. The population of the study comprised all public junior secondary schools business studies teachers in the study area. The sample for this study consisted of 126 junior secondary schools teachers of business studies, which were drawn from one hundred and fifty eight (158)business studies teachers in public junior secondary schools in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire which was validated by two lecturers in school of business education. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that attitude of business studies teacher, shortage of teacher, lack of student’s interest and family background influence the academic performance of studies in business studies. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that business studies teacher should amend their attitude towards business studies students in teaching and learning process and also government should employ sufficient number of business studies teachers in public secondary schools to help reduce shortage of business studies teachers which will improve the academic performance of students in business studies.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Education as the key to development has the capacity to upgrade teaching effectiveness as well as learning efficiency among learners. Efforts by have been made by school administrators to improve the performance of junior secondary school students. The school environment, which include the classrooms, libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teachers’ quality, school management, teaching methods, peers, etc are variables that affect students’ academic achievement (Ajayi and Oluchukwu, 2011).  Hence, the school environment remains an important area that has to study and well managed to enhance students’ academic performance.

Business is any activity performed or service rendered which provide goods or services to satisfy human needs and desires  Olatunji (2015) asserted that it should be noted that any business activity must be legal and must bring a reward or profit.  The goods and services provided in any business activity must result in the provision of tangible or intangible goods. Tangible goods are products you can see physically or hold e.g biro, shoes, dresses etc while intangible goods are what cannot be seen or touch, it involves service rendered by teachers, doctors, engineer, etc.

According to Olatunji (2015), stated that business studies can therefore be seen as an academic subject that embraces areas such as accounting, marketing and economics.” Mostly, business study is the study at an academic level of how businesses operate in the various global marketplaces, both at a practical and theoretical level.

Jam (2009) opined that academic performance is the ability to study and remember facts and being able to communicate your knowledge verbally or on paper. In other words, academic performance refers to how students deal with their studies and how they cope with or accomplish different tasks given to them by their teachers.  Academic performance generally refers to how well a student is accomplishing his or her tasks or studies. There are quite a number of factors that determine the level and quality of students’ academic performance.

These factors according to Hussain (2006) argued that secondary school students in junior schools often come from economically poor and average income families. These families face various problems causing emotional disturbance among their children. This singular factor has caused serious damage to the achievement status to secondary school students. Performance/achievement is generally a pedagogical terminology used while determining learners’ success in formal education and which is measured through reports examinations, researches, and ratings with numerous factors of variables exerting influence. Essentially, the National Policy on education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004) has identified school achievement contents according to school subjects which are classified as core or elective subjects. Although studies abound on the causative and predictive nature of factors of study habit on students academic achievement. all factors or variables tend to focus on poor study habit while the effects are yet to be fully accessed on the nations educational development (Cheo 2013).

The issue of poor performance of students in junior secondary schools in Nigeria has been of much concern to the government, parents, teachers and even student themselves. The quality of education not only depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties, but also in the effective coordination of the school environment (Ajao, 2001). The issue of poor performance of students in junior secondary schools has been of much concern to all and sundry. The problem is so much that it has led to the widely acclaimed fallen standard of education in Delta State and Nigeria at large. The quality of education depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties. Over time pupils’ academic performance in both internal and external examinations had been used to determine excellence in teachers and teaching (Ajao, 2001). Teachers have been shown to have an important influence on students’ academic performance and they also play a crucial role in educational attainment because the teacher is ultimately responsible for translating policy into action and principles based on practice during interactions with the students (Afe, 2001). Both teaching and learning depends on teachers; no wonder an effective teacher has been conceptualized as one who produces desired results in the course of his duty as a teacher (Uchefuna, 2001). Considering governments’ huge investment in public education, its output in terms of quality of students have been observed to be unequal with government expenditure.

In Nigeria, there are so many factors influencing the ability of students to cultivate effective and efficient study habit. Ozmert (2005) emphasized the importance of environmental influence as a major factor in the development of students studying habit. In the same vein, Adetunji and Oladeji (2007) submit that the environment of most children is not conducive for studying; it is in the light of this that made some parents to prefer their children to go to boarding school for proper discipline and to inculcate better reading habit.

Statement of the problem

Despite the importance of academic performances in all stages of education, so much emphasis is being made on the academic performances of students. As regards the performances of business studies students. It is nothing to write home about, due to the adverse effect of both the teachers and student towards students performance in business studies. Hence the researcher prompted the following reasons that can be responsible for academic performance of business studies students such as; incompetence or poor teacher’s performance in accomplishing teaching task as well as their negative attitude to work and poor teaching habits, lack of instructional materials and teaching aids, over population or overcrowded classroom, and regular movement of parent from one geographical area to another as a result of work transfer.

However, the researcher through discussion with some of the business studies teachers in secondary schools and through interaction with some of the students at secondary school level realized that business studies has not recorded a remarkable success. Many of the students that offered the subject in JSCE have failed woefully as a result of some factors, such as school environment, teachers attitude, teachers qualification, teachers method of teaching are the major factors influence students performance in business studies.

It is as a result of this problem that the researcher intends to investigate on the factors responsible for academic performances of Junior Secondary School Students in Business Studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Purpose of the Study

The major purpose of this study is factors responsible for academic performances in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State. Specifically the study is:

1. To examine how the attitude of business studies teacher influences the academic performance of students in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
2. To examine whether shortage of teacher influence academic performance of students in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
3. To determine whether students lack interest in learning business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.
4. To examine how family background influences academic performance of students in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Research Questions

The study was guided on the following research questions:

1. To what extent does the attitude of business studies teachers influence the academic performance of students in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?
2. To what extent does shortage of teacher influence academic performance of students in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?
3. To what extent does lack of student interest influence the learning of business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?
4. To what extent does family background influence academic performance of students in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State?

Significance of the Study:

The importance of the study could be beneficial to the students, the teachers, the school authorities, and the government. The result of the study would help the students to discover how they contributed towards they academic performance in business studies  and it would help them to change.

The result of the study could help the teachers to know the areas they need extra effort for maintaining effective teaching and learning of business studies and improve in such situations which will enhance the academic performance in business studies.

The school authorities from the result of the study could know those areas that contribute to the challenges encountered by students in the learning of computer studies and would work towards improving the situation.

The result of the study could also help the government to know the challenges senior secondary school students encounter in learning computer studies in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State. Such knowledge would help the government in the provision of infrastructures and laboratory facilities to improve the teaching and learning of computer studies.

Scope of the study:

The scope of the study focuses on factors responsible for academic performance in business studies in Oshimili South Local Government Area of Delta State.

Based on the study it restricted to determine the factors responsible for academic performances of students in business studies and does factors are incompetence or poor teacher’s performance in accomplishing teaching task as well as their negative attitude to work and poor teaching habits, lack of instructional materials and teaching aids, over population or overcrowded classroom, and regular movement of parent from one geographical area to another as a result of work transfer.

Pages:  67

Category: Project

Format:  Word & PDF               

Chapters: 1-5                                          

Source: Imsuinfo

Material contains Table of Content, Abstract and References.