THE EFFECT OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF PUPILS IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Classroom management is a significant part of effective teaching and learning process. Due to an effective classroom management, pupils flourish in a positive class climate and a compassionate environment. From a pupils’ perspective, effective classroom management provides them the opportunities to socialize themselves while learning. From a teacher’s perspective, effective classroom management involves precautionary discipline and fruitful teaching. Okoli (2008) concluded that physical environment of the classroom and seating arrangement is interrelated with management. For the classroom to serve its purpose, the teacher must be able to establish order. This requires him/her to have the knowledge, attitude and skills necessary. He/she must be able to establish rapport with the pupils and their parents, involve pupils in the processes of establishing ground rules for behavior and being accountable for their actions, manage transitions during instructions, and motivate pupils to maximize time-on-task. The teacher also supervises pupils in their learning activities and lastly deals with pupils’ misbehavior eectively. However, the phenomenon of over- crowded classroom as well as poor quality and inadequate furniture in the classroom due to unlimited expansion has taken its toll on the educational system. Thus, only few people will deny that the quality of teaching and learning is on the decline at all levels of the educational system. Hassan (1995) In the same vein, Ajayi (2000) opines that the poor result of the senior primary school examination (SSCE) in almost all subjects in recent years is one potent indicator. The increase in examination malpractices cannot be divorced. From poor seating arrangement in classroom.

Furthermore, classroom management is the process of organizing and conducting the business of the classroom, many perceive it as the preservation of order the through teacher control. Classroom management is much more than that; it also involves the establishment and maintenance of the classroom environment so that educational goals can be accomplished (Savage & Savage 2010). Effective classroom mangers create orderly, safe environments where pupils feel valued and comfortable. Thus, setting the stage for teaching and learning, to achieve classrooms space to support a variety of independence, small and large group activities (Crane, 2001). Elementary teachers also designate a large area of floor space where pupils can gather for read aloud, demonstrations and class meeting. Hence, in all classrooms, there should be no “blind” area in the room where pupils can be out of view. To structure “traffic flow” and minimize disruption, teachers separate high-traffic area such as group work areas, learning centers, pupils’s desk and teacher’s desk. Supporting this view, Adeyinka (2012) stressed that effective classroom managers provide a structured, caring environment that meets pupils’ personal and academic needs. Such teachers are perceived as authority figures in the classroom. They share high behavioural expectation, designing implement development appropriate lessons, and establish and enforce behavioural guidelines, because eective teachers respect pupils as individuals with rights values and feelings, they carefully choose their words and actions to protect pupils’ dignity. They actively engage pupils in meaningful, challenging educational experiences and provide plentiful positive feedback. In short, they set their pupils and themselves up for success.

However, ineffective teachers are poor planners. They do not start class on time, become sidetracked easily, use limited, low interest teaching strategies, and create a disorganized expectation, (Adeyemo, 2012): furthermore, they avoid their responsibility in helping pupils to make good behavioral choices by trying to be the pupils’ friend instead of their teacher. When that approach generates misbehaviors, ineffective teaches use ridicule, sarcasm, and put-down to put pupils in their place. Pupils disrespect for these teaches is evidenced through increasingly frequent classroom disruptions and exceeding poor behavioural choices.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Classroom management is the heart of any educational system. No curriculum Planning is complete without implementation and evolution, both of which are mainly carried out in the classroom. Most of the class activities take place while pupils are seated. The seating arrangement is therefore too important to suer the kind of neglect being experienced by many primary school pupils in the country today. As rightly observed by Cohen and Manion (1983): A careful attention of seating arrangement contributes effectively to classroom management and control of overall success of the classroom. Observation reveals that in recent times, there has been astronomical rise in class size due to increase in environment of pupils in public primary schools. Some schools have as many as eighty (80), hundred (100) or above per class as against the teacher pupils ratio of 1:25 recommended by the National Policy on Education (FGN 2004) which can affect pupils’s academic performance if classroom is not properly managed by the class management. This situation has multiple negative eects on teaching and learning as well as pupils academic outcome. This is evidenced in the failure rates recorded by pupils in external exams like W.A.E.C in core subjects like English Language between 2004 to date (Osin 2009). Apart from this, pupils no longer have confidence in writing exams on their own without examination mal practice (Mgbikem 2004). However, this research tends to take a look into how classroom management has affected the performance of pupils in primary schools.