Abstract
Students’ poor performance or low academic achievement, especially in the sciences, has been a source of concern for educationists and the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) in particular. This study is one of the attempts to seek ways of improving students’ learning so as to reflect in their academic achievement, especially in the sciences, through the use of metacognitive strategy of self-monitoring. The study involved manipulation of three independent variables of treatment, gender and school type (mixed sex and same sex) to see the effect on the dependent variable – students’ learning as reflected in their achievement in integrated science. Five research questions were asked and answered while five hypotheses were tested using analysis of covariance. A quasi-experimental design was employed using six intact non-equivalent class groups. The population for the study was 2500 junior secondary class two (JSII) students within Nsukka education zone while the sample was 233 JSII students drawn from six classes from six schools. The six classes were drawn, two each, from mixed sex schools; all boys schools and all girls schools with one serving as the treatment and the other as the control in each cluster. The treatment consisted of the detached content independent approach (DCIS), whereby the researcher explained to the students the steps involved in using self-monitoring and guided them to learn how to apply same in the course of learning. An instructional package on how to use self-monitoring as a strategy was designed and used while achievement test on JSII integrated science served as the instrument. It was found that the treatment involving use of self-monitoring strategy had significant effect on students’ achievement. School type also had significant influence on students’ achievement. However, gender was found not to have a significant influence on the achievement of those that employed self-monitoring. It was then concluded that equipping students with skills for using self-monitoring strategy facilitates their learning and so improved academic achievement in school.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The poor academic achievement of students, especially in the sciences in external examinations like Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), National Examination Council (NECO) and the Joint Admission and Matriculation Council Examinations (JAMB- UME and POLY JAMB) has been a source of worry to parents and educationists. Many research reports indicate that many students do not perform very well in these examinations especially in the sciences. Some of these reports include WAEC Chief Examiner’s Reports (1998, 1999 and 2000); Achimugu (1995); Ajayalemi (1987); Akubue in Achimugu (1995); Ale in Awodeyi (1997); Kosemani (2000); Lasebikan (2001); Lere (2003); Obanya (2002); Okebukola (1987); Okoli (1995) and Orisaseyi (1977). For instance, Okoli (1995) has observed that the poor performance of students in the basic sciences at the senior secondary school certificate examinations is at an alarming rate. Adeyegbe in Achimugu (1995) has also lamented that the SSCE results for years 1988–1990 showed consistent poor students’ achievement in sciences. Orisaseyi (1977) has equally stated that science teachers are worried over continued poor performance of students and dwindling enrolment in the sciences. Ale in Awodeyi (1997) equally has stated that the poor achievement in mathematics and the sciences in our secondary schools was a hindrance to the much desired technological leap of Nigeria.
This situation has led a good number of students to sit for the November /December General Certificate in Education or JAMB severally before they could get the required number of credits or pass mark respectively that would qualify them for the next level of education. It has been observed that even the results of students who sat for NECO examinations have started having signs of poor achievement especially in science subjects. Some candidates, in an attempt to meet up with the required number of credits or pass mark for admission into higher institutions of learning, have resorted to various forms of examination malpractice.
This worrisome condition has triggered off researches to unravel the
causes of poor performance and seek for ways of rectifying them (Igwue, 2002; Eze 1999; Ezeudu, 1998; Awodeyi, 1997; Okoli, 1995; Inyang and Jegede, 1991; Ikeotuonye, 1986 and many others). It has been shown that academic performance of students could be affected by a number of factors like the teacher factor, the school factor, the curriculum factor and the student factor. Each of these factors consists of a cluster of attributes or qualities that can influence students’ achievement in one way or the other. The factors interact with one another in a complex manner with the student at the centre to yield the end product – the student’s achievement in learning. The interaction of these factors can be illustrated as follows:
The student factor is a prominent determinant of students’ achievement (success or failure) in learning and it is the focus of this work. This becomes necessary because effective learning cannot take place even when all other factors are all right but the student factor is faulty. Thus, Aziude (1989) pointed out that many a time, the pedagogy is usually ideal but the fault for under-achievement lies with the students. This could be the case when the students are not using good learning strategies that could lead to proper processing of information and thereby ensure better understanding and recall of learnt materials.
The students’ factor comprises all the intrinsic characteristics of students like the gender, attitude, interest, thinking ability, learning style, self-confidence and emotional disposition and how these are properly harnessed for effective learning. In addition to these intrinsic characteristics of the learner, the learning strategies adopted by students play a significant role in the overall understanding of concepts as well as recall of the learnt materials. Thus, the issue of poor achievement in learning calls to question whether those students have not learnt well enough initially or whether the problem lies with their failure to recall what has been learnt? This is to say that the problem of low academic achievement or poor performance could have resulted from students’ inability to retrieve learnt materials because they were not even properly encoded in the first place due to non-use of good learning strategy or there were problems during the storage period. Anagbogu (1992) had posited that it is not how much one studies that is important but how well he/she does it that determines academic success. In the school system it has, personally, been observed that many students do not take their studies seriously until the examination timetable is out when they would sit up overnight so as to cover all the topics. Such a last minute approach to studying does not augur well for learning since it does not give room for proper processing of information, articulated thinking, and organization of thoughts.
With students at the center of learning, the degree of success depends on their ability to utilize strategies that would help in proper processing and recall of learnt materials. Eisten in Ebenebe (2000) had said that since everything has changed, humans require substantially new patterns of thinking if they are to survive. Commenting about poor performance of students, Ebenebe (2000) has lamented that in Nigeria, the transmissive mode of teaching has been most popular among teachers whereby a critical issue of developing a total learner – by improving on his metacognitive and problem-solving skills has not received adequate attention. She then proposed an education system in which the products will become thinking individuals with functional metacognitive and problem-solving skills to meet life demands. Presseisen (1986) had said that students could learn to think better if schools concentrate on teaching them how to do so. Similarly, Ristow (1988:23) had posited, “it is possible to increase students’ creative and critical thinking capabilities through instruction and practice”. And this researcher believes that if other aspects of thinking can be improved through training, then students can be trained in the use of metacognitive strategies that aid learning.
