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IDIALU JONATHAN OGBEIDE
PG/Ph.D/98/25222
INFLUENCE OF GENDER, SCHOOL LOCATION AND STUDENTS’
ATTITUDE ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC TECHNOLOGY IN DELTA STATE
DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHER
EDUCATION
EDUCATION
Julius Eloke
Digitally Signed by: Content manager’s Name
DN : CN = Webmaster’s name
O= University of Nigeria, Nsukka
OU = Innovation Centre
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TITLE PAGE
INFLUENCE OF GENDER, SCHOOL LOCATION AND
STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN
BASIC
TECHNOLOGY IN DELTA STATE
A RESEARCH PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE
DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION,
UNIVERSITY OF
NIGERIA, NSUKKA, IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE IN
INDUSTRIAL TECHNICAL EDUCATION
by
IDIALU JONATHAN OGBEIDE
PG/Ph.D/98/25222
JUNE, 2013
3
APPROVAL PAGE THIS RESEARCH HAS BEEN APPROVED FOR THE
DEPARTMENT OF VOCATIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA.
by
__________________________
__________________________
Prof. O.M. Okoro Internal Examiner
Supervisor
______________________________
__________________________
Prof. K.R.E OKOYE Prof. C.A. OBI
External Examiner Head of Department
__________________________________________
Prof. I. C. S. IFELUNNI
Dean, Faculty of Education.
CERTIFICATION IDIALU JONATHAN OGBEIDE, a Post graduate student of
Vocational Teacher Education with registration number PG/Ph.D/98/25222
has satisfactorily completed the requirements for research work for the
degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Technical Education. The work
embodied in project is original and has not been submitted in part or full for
any diploma or degree of this or any University.
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_________________________
___________________________
IDIALU JONATHAN OGBEIDE Prof. O.M. OKORO
Student Supervisor
DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the Almighty God for the grace of life and
to my wife, Pastor (Mrs.) P.E. Idialu and my beloved children for their love
and prayers.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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The researcher first of all wishes to acknowledge the Almighty God
for the grace of life, knowledge, strength and guidance throughout the period
of the programme. Researcher’s special gratitude goes to his Supervisor
Prof. O.M. Okoro, whom God used to direct and assist him to success. The
supervisor’s wonderful and excellent guidance, understanding throughout
the various stages of this study is highly appreciated. The researcher also
acknowledges the guidance and support of all the lecturers in the department
of vocational teacher education namely; Prof. C.A Obi, Prof Sir S.C.O.A.
Ezeji, Prof. S.O.Olaitan, Prof. E.O. Ede, Prof. C. Nwachukwu Prof (Mrs.)
E.U. Anyakoha, Prof. J.N Ogbazi, Prof. B.A Ogwo, Dr. E.O. Anaele, Dr. T.
C. Ogbuanya, and Dr John Oji, Dr. O.C Molua, Dr. O. C. Onwuegbu for
their warm reception and acceptance each time he sought their assistance.
Their roles contributed in no small measure to the completion of the study.
The researcher will not ignore the great support given to him by his
spouse Pastor (Mrs.) P.E. Idialu, his children and his special son Augustine
.C. Godswill. Their prayers, care and attention each time he called kept him
in shape throughout the study. Others, who may feel that specific mention of
their contributions should have been made, should please pardon the
omissions for want of space. Finally, the researcher also wants to thank the
computer operator, Mrs. Ejime Precious Emefiele for the wonderful and
excellent job done in typesetting this work.
Idialu, Jonathan O.
TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE
I
6
APPROVAL PAGE
II
CERTIFICATION
III
DEDICATION
IV
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
V
TABLE OF CONTENTS VI
LIST OF TABLES XI
LIST OF FIGURE XII
ABSTRACT
XIII
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1
Background of the Study
1
Statement of the Problem
7
Purpose of the Study
8
Significance of the Study
8
Research Questions
10
Hypotheses
11
Delimitation of the Study
12
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
13
Conceptual Framework
14
7
Schematic Relationship among key Variables
14
Achievement
15
Academic Achievement
17
Basic Technology and Its Teaching in Nigerian Schools
20
Gender and Students’ Academic Achievement
27
School Location and Students’ Academic Achievement
34
Attitude and Students’ Academic Achievement
43
Theoretical Studies
51
Theoretical Framework
53 Learning Theories
53 Theory of Achievement Motivation
63
Need Theory of Motivation
64
The Importance of Motivation as a Predictor of School
Achievement
66
Review of Related Empirical Studies
68 Studies Related to Achievement in Basic Technology
68
Studies Related to Gender and Students’ Achievement
69
Studies Related to School Location and Students’ Academic
Achievement
71
Studies Related to Students’ Attitudes and Students’ Academic
8
Achievement
75
Studies Related to Gender, School Location and Students’
Academic Achievement
80
Studies Related to Gender, Students’ Attitude and Students’
Academic Achievement
83
Summary of Review of Related Literature 86
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
89 Design of the Study
89
Area of the Study
90
Population for the Study
90
Sample and Sampling Techniques
91
Instrument for Data Collection
92
Validation of Instrument
94
Reliability of Instrument
95
Method of Data Collection
96
Method of Data Analysis
97
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
99 Research Question 1
99
Research Question 2
100
Research Question 3
101
Hypothesis 1
102
Hypothesis 2
103
9
Hypothesis 3
104
Hypothesis 4
105
Hypothesis 5
106
Hypothesis 6
106
Hypothesis 7
107
Findings of the Study
107
Discussion of Findings
110
Influence of Gender, (Male or Female) on Students’ Academic
Achievement in Basic Technology
110
Influence of School Location (Urban or Rural) on Students’
Academic Achievement in Basic Technology
111
Influence of Attitude (Positive or Negative) on Students’
Academic Achievement in Basic Technology
113
Interactive Influence of the Research Variables on Students’
114
Academic Achievement in Basic Technology
123
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Re-Statement of the Problem
118
Purpose of the Study
119
Summary of Procedures Used
120
Principal Findings of the Study
121
Implications of the Findings
122
Conclusion
125
Recommendations
126
Suggestions for Further Research
128
REFERENCES 129
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APPENDICES
Appendix
Page A: Statistics of Results in the JSSC Examination in Selected
Subjects (2002 – 2011)
142
B: Population for the Study
144
C: Sample for the Study
144
D: Distribution of Sample
145
E: Test Blue Print
147
F: SPSS Print out for reliability, Mean, Standard Deviation,
148
T – Test and ANOVA
H: Letter to School Authority Requesting for Assistance
150
I: Letter to the Ministry of Education
151
J: Letter from the Ministry of Education
152
K: Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT)
153
L Students Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ)
164
M: Model Answer for BTAT
167
N: SPSS Computer Print Out of Mean Academic Achievement
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of Gender and Test of Significance (RQ1 and Ho1)
168
O: SPSS Computer Print Out of Mean Academic Achievement
of School Location and Test of Significance (RQ2 & Ho2)
169
P: SPSS Computer Print Out of Mean Academic Achievement
of Students’ Attitude and Test of Significance (RQ3 & Ho3)
170
Q: SPSS Computer Print Out of Summary of Test of Interactive
Influence of the Variables (Hypotheses 4-7)
171
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LIST OF TABLES
Table
Page
1. Mean of Achievement Scores of Male and Female
Students in the Achievement Test of Basic Technology
100
2. Mean of Achievement score of Students in Urban and Rural
Areas in Basic Technology
100
3. Mean of Achievement scores of Students with Negative and
Positive Attitude in Basic Technology
101
4. Significance of Influence of Gender on Academic
Achievement in BT
102
5. Significance of Influence of School location on
Academic Achievement in BT
103
6. Significance of Influence of Students Attitude on
Academic achievement in BT
104
7. ANOVA summary Table for three independent Variables
and Students’ Academic Achievement in Basic Technology
105
13
LIST OF FIGURE
Figure
page
1. Schematic Relationship among the three independent variables
14
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Abstract This study was designed to investigate the influence of gender, school
location and students attitude on academic achievement in Basic Technology
in Delta State. The study adopted an Ex- post facto design (Causal-
comparative). Three research questions were posed and seven null
hypotheses tested at .05 level of significance guided the study. The
population of the study comprised 56,800 JSS111 Basic Technology
students in 826 secondary schools in Delta State. The sample size was 1,844
JSS111 students randomly sampled from 56,800 JSSIII students from the
826 State owned secondary schools in Delta State. The instruments used
were Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) and Students Attitude
Questionnaire (SAQ). Both instruments were validated by experts and the
reliability co-efficient of BTAT was calculated to be .76 using Kuder-
Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20); while the reliability co-efficient of the
SAQ was found to be .61 using Cronbach Alpha procedure. The data
collected were analyzed using Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test and Analysis
of Variance (ANOVA). The t-test was used to test the significant influence
of the independent variables for hypotheses one to three; while the ANOVA
was used to test null hypotheses four to seven at .05 level of significance.
The major findings were that gender influences academic Achievement in
BT since male students performed better than female students, School
location influences academic achievement in BT since urban students
performed better than rural students, Students’ attitude influences academic
achievement in BT since students with positive attitude performed better
than the students with negative attitudes in the BTAT. Also, there was
significant influence of gender (male and female) on the academic
achievement of students, there was significant influence of school location
(urban and rural) on the academic achievement of students and there was
significant influence of students’ attitude (positive and negative) on the
academic achievement of students in BT all tested at .05 level of
significance. In addition, there was no significant interactive influence of
gender and school location on students’ academic achievement in BT, there
was no significant interactive influence of gender and students’ attitudes on
students’ academic achievement in BT, there was no significant interactive
influence of school location and students’ attitude on academic achievement
in BT and there was no significant interactive influence of gender, school
location and students’ attitude on academic achievement in BT at .05 level
of significant. It was recommended among others that, qualified teachers of
Basic Technology should be employed by government of Delta State and
relevant facilities for effective teaching and learning of the subject should be
provided in secondary schools. Finally, suggestions for further research were
made such as the need to carry out studies on these independent variables in
other States and School subjects in Junior Secondary Schools so as to justify
further the findings of this study. In addition, a similar study should be
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carried out using samples from private schools and public schools with
population involving mixed secondary schools and their results compared.
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
In recognition of technology as the bedrock for economic
development, the National Policy on Education was reviewed in 1981. The
review gave birth to the 6-3-3-4 education system as contained in the
National Policy on Education (Federal Republic of Nigeria, FRN, 2004). It
was in response to this innovation from 6-5-4 to 6-3-3-4 that the pre-
vocational subjects of which Introductory Technology (that is now called
Basic Technology) is one, was introduced into the Junior Secondary School
curriculum in 1982 to equip students for effective living in the current age of
Science and Technology.
According to Okolie (2002) the greatest asset of the 6-3-3-4
educational system is the introduction of the pre-vocational subjects into the
mainstream of the Nigerian educational system. When the 6-3-3-4 system
was launched in September 1982, it was hoped that the programme would
have a deep and wide spread effect on society since it was innovative and
different from traditional education programmes. Infact, it was believed that
the 6-3-3-4 system would be relevant and functional and therefore, be a
basis for the technological take-off of the nation as a developing country.
Basic Technology as stated by the National Policy on Education
(FRN, 2004) is a compulsory pre-vocational subject at the Junior Secondary
School in Nigeria. The purpose of Basic Technology is to contribute to the
1
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achievement of the National Education goals. Therefore, Basic Technology
as a pre-vocational subject is designed among others to: “to provide pre-
vocational orientation in Technology, to provide basic technological
literacy for everyday living and to stimulate creativity” (p.30)
Basic Technology as a technology subject is based on the
understanding that the world is increasingly driven by technology. Infact,
this is the major reason why the Basic Technology curriculum was revised to
reflect the national policy orientation of teaching technology and the world
globalization trends in education. The responsibility of every nation and
school is to provide opportunities for all to acquire technological literacy
and this is in line with the current goals of the National Economic
Empowerment and Development Strategies –(NEEDS), ( NERDC, 2007).
According to the FRN (2004) and as stated by Okoeguale (2008),
Basic Technology is a foundation subject at the Junior Secondary School
(JSS) level meant to provide the basic knowledge and skills in technology.
Basic Technology as one of the pre-vocational subjects is a unique and
multi-disciplinary subject that covers very large area and draws from many
other disciplines in Technical Education. The revised Basic Technology
Curriculum covers the following nine themes: You and Technology (ICT
inclusive), Safety, Materials and Processing, Drawing Practice, Tools and
Machines, Applied Electricity and Electronics, Energy and Power,
Maintenance and Building. The major difference in the curriculum content
of the Introductory Technology and that of Basic Technology is the
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) that was introduced as a
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topic under “You and Technology” and also the conceptualization of the
themes as well as the change in the name from Introductory Technology to
Basic Technology (NERDC, 2007). The contents under each theme are
made to reflect the basic nature of technology; where the knowledge, skills,
creativity and attitude needed by the students are explained in details.
Whereas the objectives and the contents of the curriculum of Basic
Technology are laudable, there are numerous impediments affecting the
teaching and learning of the subject in Nigerian schools which are likely to
obviate the realization of the objectives. Some studies have tried to identify
the problems affecting the teaching and learning of Basic Technology, while
others have attempted to proffer solutions. Looking at the Nigerian schools
and how far the objectives have been realized, one must be concerned on
how best to attain the objectives of Basic Technology.
Over the years, the academic achievement in Basic Technology has
been lower than other subjects even Mathematics and English. One may
want to know the reasons why the achievement (results) of students in Basic
Technology that is a core subject, has been so low over the years at the
Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE) in Delta State.
Appendix A, (p.142) shows the statistics of results in the JSSCE in selected
subjects for a period of 10 years (2002 - 2011). Over these years, which is
the period under consideration, the academic achievement in Basic
Technology has consistently been lower than other core and other selected
elective subjects as reported in Appendix A (p.142). According to Ogbeide
(2010), the low academic achievement in Basic Technology needs to be
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investigated by educators if the nation must advance technologically.
Stressing the low academic achievement of students in Basic Technology,
Okonkwor (2004) said, the low achievement by students in Basic
Technology compared to the liberal arts and other pre-vocational subjects is
a matter of great concern to a developing nation like Nigeria. Okoeguale
(2004) equally observed that the low achievement in Basic Technology in
Nigerian school system is now a persistent problem. Contributing to the
disturbing situation of low academic achievement in Basic Technology,
Akinyede and Uwameiye (2010) stated that: the very low academic
achievement in Basic Technology by Junior Secondary School leavers
should worry everyone concerned with Science and Technology Education
in Nigeria. Akinyede and Uwameiye further pointed out that the JSS III
results in Basic Technology in recent years is 30 per cent failure or above on
the average.
The students’ academic achievement over these years (10 years) in
six selected subjects indicates that the highest percentage pass at distinction
level for Basic Technology was 12.4 per cent while the lowest percentage
pass at distinction level in the other five subjects including Mathematics was
14.7 per cent (This was in mathematics in 2005). This means that the highest
percentage pass at distinction level in Basic Technology is less than the
lowest percentage pass at distinction level in the other five subjects put
together. It is also disgusting to observe that, over these years, Basic
Technology has the highest percentage failure ranging from 20.70 per cent
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to 37.73 per cent compared to the other five subjects with percentage failures
ranging from 29.10 per cent to as low as 6.00 per cent.
The academic achievement of a school child in any school subject can
be attributed to many factors. Uwameiye, Guobadia, Olaitan and Obiaha’s
studies as cited in Nwachukwu, (2004) stressed that, the factors responsible
for this low achievement could be associated to socio-economic, gender,
school environment, poor teaching strategies and minimum equipment as
well as fund. These factors as expressed by these researchers could
contribute positively or negatively to the academic attainment of a school
child. Infact, three of these factors are of interest in this study, that is, the
gender of the students, the school environment (location) and the student’s
attitude.
Students irrespective of their sex attend school at different
geographical locations which is the place a school is situated. The location
of a school could be an urban or rural area. According to Funk and Wagnalls
(1993) urban areas are those thickly populated towns or cities with the basic
amenities and facilities that make life comfortable, while rural areas are
those places distinguished from towns and cities with little or no basic
amenities or facilities. Urban areas are places with high population density
of 10,000 to 1,000.000 people with basic amenities of life, such as: hotels,
recreational centres, big markets and good road networks, banks, and well
equipped schools; while rural areas are places with low population density
of 3,000 to 15,000 with little or no basic amenities.
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Reeves and Bylund (2005) do not see the relevance of school location
whether urban or rural, to the academic achievement of students. They
asserted that there is no clear evidence that rural school students are inferior
to urban school students though there may always be differences in student
academic achievement irrespective of where the school is sited. This means
that both male and female students in any school system irrespective of the
location vary. Looking at the attitude of students generally in Nigerian
schools today one begins to wonder the seriousness they accord to academic
achievement. This is because students’ attitude towards school subjects
measures to a great extent his attraction to or repulsion from the subject
matter and this is capable of influencing their achievement in any school
subject. Infact, the willingness or tendency of a student to act or react to a
certain stimulus depends to a large extent on the type of attitude developed
either positive or negative. In any educational setting, a student could have
positive or negative attitude towards the teacher, the subject, the school or
towards one another. If learning experiences are to be meaningful, the
attitude of student is important because students with negative attitude to the
learning of a particular subject are likely to face some difficulties in their
academics since negative attitude can lead to lack of attention, lack of
perseverance in studies, worries and day dreaming. In this regard, the
students’ attitude towards the school subject is likely to influence the
academic achievement in particular. Therefore, it means that the attitude of
students is a factor to reckon with in school subjects. From the foregoing, it
is likely that difference in gender, school location and student attitude are
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factors capable of influencing and causing disparity in academic
achievement in Basic Technology.
Statement of the Problem
Basic Technology is one of the pre-vocational subjects offered at the
Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Nigeria. Basic Technology which was
introduced in 2007 (NERDC, 2007) existed with the name Introductory
Technology (IT) from 1982 until 2007 (25 years). The understanding of the
Federal Government of Nigeria is that Basic Technology would contribute to
the national goal of education since the world was increasingly driven by
technology. The teaching of the subject has been faced with numerous
problems that can impede the realization of the objectives. One of such
problems is the low academic achievement in the subject. Over the years,
student achievement in Basic Technology has been so low that Basic
Technology has the highest percentage failure and the lowest percentage
pass at the JSSCE for the past 10years (2002-2011) compared to the other
core subjects at the junior secondary school level. Infact, how to achieve the
objectives of Basic Technology has been a major concern to educators.
Some researchers have tried to identify some of the problems affecting the
teaching and learning of the subject but it seems the problem of low
academic achievement is a persistent one and has reached a level that should
worry everyone concerned with the technological development of the nation.
It is, therefore, imperative that the state of the art in Basic Technology
should be re-appraised so that possible solutions could be adduced to
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remedy the present situation in the teaching and learning of the subject.
There are always differences in academic achievement of students in the
same class even when taught by the same teacher. This means that the rate of
achievement varies may be as a result of certain factors such as gender,
school location (urban or rural) and students’ attitude. Thus, it is possible
that there exist gaps or disparities in the academic achievement of students
based on the influences from these three variables - gender, location of the
school and students’ attitude on their academic achievement in the subject.
Influences resulting in low academic achievement do not favour national
development, and therefore, ought to be minimized. Therefore the study was
designed to investigate the influence of gender, school location and students’
attitude on academic achievement in Basic Technology so as to improve on
the academic achievement in the subject in Delta State.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of gender,
school location and students’ attitude on academic achievement in Basic
Technology at the JSS in Delta State. Specifically, the study sought to find
out the:
1. influence of gender on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology
2. influence of school location on students’ academic achievement in
Basic Technology
3. influence of students’ attitude on academic achievement in Basic
Technology
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Significance of the Study
The findings of the study will be of immense benefit to the
government, education planners and administrators, school guidance
counselors, educators and teachers, parents and students. The findings could
be useful to the government at both State and Federal levels in making
special provision to bridge the gap if any in the academic achievement that
may be resulting from differences in gender, school location and students
attitude. Findings will encourage government to devise means of improving
learning environment so as to motivate students to higher achievement
irrespective of the school location. If the findings are published in academic
journals and disseminated through academic conferences and properly
utilized by governments, it may go a long way to remedy any differences in
infrastructural facilities, staffing and instructional facilities which may be
affecting academic achievement in Basic Technology. Higher academic
achievement of students in Basic Technology will create a pool of available
human resources in engineering and technology occupations. Therefore, the
nation’s rapid technological and economic development would be enhanced.
The outcome of this study if published may be useful to the Ministry
of Education which is the organ of government in making decisions on
recruitment of Basic Technology teachers / technical staff as well as in the
provision of fund by government so as to make students achieve maximally
in Basic Technology examinations. To the curriculum planners, the findings
of this study may ginger them to produce better curriculum materials for
Basic Technology. For instance, the publicity will create awareness in the
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current existing situation in teaching and learning Basic technologies in
schools. Findings of the study if published or disseminated through
conferences and seminars could be of benefit to the school guidance
counselors. It will give better understanding to the school counselors on the
influence of gender, school location and students’ attitude on students’
academic achievement in Basic Technology. This knowledge/understanding
will place the school guidance counselors in better position to devise
improved counseling strategies, which in the long run will result in adopting
more appropriate strategies in counseling services towards achieving
maximally in Basic Technology.
To Basic Technology teachers, the findings of this study if
disseminated through teacher’s workshop will likely make them better
informed of the influence of gender, students attitude and school location on
the academic achievement of students in Basic Technology. Thus,
appropriate teaching methods and techniques will be employed in the
teaching and learning of the subject irrespective of their gender, attitude and
the location of the school for improved academic achievement. Both the
students and parents will benefit since the cumulative positive effect of the
responses from the government, school administrators and the guidance
counselors is to their own advantage.
Research Questions
This study was aimed at investigating the influence of gender, school
location and students’ attitude on academic achievement in Basic
25
Technology. The following were the research questions that guided this
study:
1. What is the influence of gender on the academic achievement of
students in Basic Technology?
2. What is the influence of school location (rural and urban) on the
academic achievement of students in Basic Technology?
3. What is the influence of students’ attitude (negative or positive
attitude) on the academic achievement of students in Basic
Technology?
Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of probability
guided the study.
H01: There is no significant influence of gender (male and female) on the
academic achievement of students in Basic Technology as measured
by the Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT).
H02: There is no significant influence of school location (Rural and urban)
on the academic achievement of students in Basic Technology as
measured by the Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT).
H03: There is no significant influence of students’ attitude (negative or
positive attitude) on the academic achievement of students in Basic
Technology as measured by the Basic Technology Achievement Test
(BTAT).
H04: There is no significant interactive influence of gender and school
location on students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology.
26
H05: There is no significant interactive influence of gender and students’
attitude on academic achievement in Basic Technology.
H06: There is no significant interactive influence of school location and
students’ attitude on academic achievement in Basic Technology.
H07: There is no significant interactive influence of gender, school location
and students attitude on the academic achievement in Basic
Technology.
Delimitation of the Study
The study is delimited to land area of 18,050km2 comprising of three
senatorial districts and population of about six million with 60 per cent
occupied by land. The study is also delimited to Basic Technology which is
one of the pre-vocational subjects in J.S.S. The study covered the 826 public
Delta State owned secondary schools, comprising 56,800 Junior Secondary
School students during the 2011 academic session. A total number of 1,844
students were the sample selected from only 42 secondary schools; only 540
single secondary schools were used out of the 826 public secondary schools.
27
CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The review of related literature is presented under the following sub-
headings: Conceptual Framework, Theoretical Framework, Review of
Related Empirical Studies and Summary of Review of Related Literature.
Conceptual Framework
• Schematic Diagram of Key Variables.
• Achievement
• Academic Achievement
• Gender and Students’ Academic Achievement
• Basic Technology and its Teaching in Nigerian Schools
• Students’ Attitude and Academic Achievement
• Environment (School Location) and Academic Achievement
• Motivation and Students’ Academic Achievement
Theoretical Studies
Theoretical Framework
• Theories of Learning
• Theory of Achievement Motivation
• Need Theory of Motivation
• Importance of Motivation as a Predictor of School Achievement
Review of Related Empirical Studies
• Studies Related to Achievement in Basic Technology
• Studies Related to Gender and Students’ Academic Achievement
• Studies Related to School Location and Students Academic
Achievement
28
School Location
Academic
Achievement
• Studies Related to Students’ Attitude and Students’ Academic
Achievement
• Studies Related to Gender, School Location, And Students’
Academic Achievement
• Studies Related to Gender, Students’ Attitude and Students’
Academic Achievement
Summary of Review of Related Literature
Conceptual Framework
In the conceptual frame work, the researcher presented
schematic diagram of the Relationship among the key variables and
discussed the concept of achievement and academic achievement,
the concept of Basic Technology and its teaching in Nigerian
Schools, the concept of gender and students’ academic
achievement, the concept of school location and students’
academic achievement as well as the concept of attitude and
students academic achievement
Schematic Diagram of the Relationship among Key Variables
Gender
Student Attitude
Qualification &
Male
Female
Nature of Home
Peer Group
Needs
Effort & Ability
Urban
Rural
Experience
Facilities + Amenities
School Environment
Teacher Factor
Positive
Negative
Self Confidence
Expectancy
Challenges
Motivation
Reinforcement
Aspiration
Belief + Value
High
Low
13
29
Figure 1: The Schematic Diagram of the Relationship among key Variables
30
Achievement
Achievement is accomplishment, attainment, completion, fulfillment,
performance or realization. The concept of achievement-motivation relates
to the desire to perform well in a certain area and to attain success. Males or
females have different reasons or motivation for positive performance in
school, work or business. The tendency or driving force to undertake an
activity is a product of motive, expectancy and incentive (Atkinson and
Feather, 1966). The two components of tendency are the tendency to achieve
success (Ts) and the tendency to avoid failure (Tf). The survey by Gisela
(2011) indicated that good salary and bonuses (incentives) motivate males to
perform well, while the driving force for female employees is healthy
interpersonal relations at work, flexibility to balance work and family and
proper treatment by other employees and the employer. This shows that
different factors inspire males and females to perform well in their area of
work, in school and in extracurricular activities. According to Franken
(2001) males are more motivated by “instrumental values”, such as
remuneration, compared to females. Male and female students tend to
perform differently in various subject areas of education. This gender gap in
specific subjects has prompted academics to examine the possible influences
that gender has on students’ motivation. According to Keightley (2011),
achievement and motivation are closely related since motivation is the force
that drives a person (male or female) toward wanting to achieve certain
goals and level of excellence. This driving force of the person is tied to
expectations, efforts and ability and self-efficacy.
31
Expectations
The beliefs and expectations held by parents, peers and the school
greatly influence the behaviour patterns of males and females. Society
grooms parents, peers and teachers to expect females and males to derive
motivation from different things and to have different levels of achievement
in certain areas. According to Rabideau (2004), teachers expect boys to
excel better than girls in mathematics and science while girls are expected to
excel better in languages. Children of both genders grow up and internalize
these expectations and beliefs with a certain perception that they are more
competent in certain areas than in others. This socialized view causes
females and males to derive inspiration in those different areas and thus they
may achieve success in these specific areas (Rabideau, 2004).
Efforts and Ability
Effort refers to application, endeavour, struggle or labour, while
ability means competence, power or talent of the individual. Effort and
ability explain how achievement and motivation in both male and female is
determined, that is, the difference in academic achievement in male and
female (gender) is attributed to effort and ability. For example, subjects like
mathematics, science, technology or Sports, achievement in male is
attributed to ability while achievement in female is attributed to their effort
in this field of study. In areas such as mathematics, science, technology or
sport, males attribute their achievement to ability while females may
attribute their success in these fields to effort (University of Michigan, n.d).
Unlike females, males are therefore able to show higher level of motivation
32
and attainment because their talents in these areas are natural attributes. The
differences resulting from attributing achievements to ability rather than
effort between genders are that males attribute their success in areas such as
mathematics, science and sport to ability and therefore show higher
motivation towards these areas. Females on the other hand, attribute their
achievements to effort and their failures in fields such as mathematics and
sciences to lack of ability and thus show lower motivation in these fields.
Self-Efficacy
According to centre for positive practices (n.d), Self-efficacy is the
belief in one’s capacity to achieve certain goals whether through effort or
ability. A strong sense of self-efficacy motivates a person to achieve highly
but lower self-efficacy dampens motivation and achievement. The level of
self-efficacy a person has is often influenced by parents, peers and teachers.
Self-efficacy towards subjects like mathematics is often higher in males than
females, whose self-efficacy is usually higher in subject areas such as
reading. This means that notable differences exist in how male and female
students choose their subjects in schools and colleges.
Academic Achievement
Students’ academic achievement can be interchangeably used as
academic performance. Academic achievement or (academic) performance
is the outcome of education, that is, the extent to which a student, teacher or
institution has achieved their educational goals. Academic achievement is
commonly measured by examination or by continuous assessment but there
is no general agreement on how it is best tested or which aspects are most
33
important, the procedural knowledge such as skills or the declarative
knowledge such as facts. Whichever knowledge and whatever aspect that is
being tested, academic achievement is the level of the individual attainment
on learning task which may be high or low. The high and low attainment is
due to individual differences and the individual differences influence
academic achievement (Stumm, Sophie, Hell & Thomas, 2011). Individual
differences in academic achievement have been linked to differences in
intelligence and personality. Students with higher mental ability as
demonstrated by Intelligent Quotient (IQ) test (quick learners) and those
who are higher in consciousness (linked to effort and achievement
motivation) tend to achieve highly in academic settings. Academic
achievement can also be referred to as a measure of how much an individual
has accomplished after a course of instruction or training. In school setting,
it may be measured by the score of the student in relation to others in the
class test or examination.
Academic achievement has become an index of child’s future in this
highly competitive world. It is one of the most important goals of the
educational process. It is also a major goal, which every individual is
expected to experience in all culture. Academic achievement is a key
mechanism through which adolescents learn about their talents, ability and
competences which constitute an important part of developing career
aspirations. Academic achievement and career aspirations in adolescence are
often correlated (Joshi, 2000).
34
With regard to academic achievement, observers assert that students
are learning less now than they did in the past. Some however assert that
learning has not declined that, infact, students are doing better than ever on
standardized achievement tests. Although views vary as to whether there has
been a decline in achievements, there is general agreement that students
achievement is too low for the demand of an advanced technological society,
that, more will need to be achieved as work becomes more technical and
knowledge based. There is also a growing consensus that the low academic
achievement of minority and poor students need to be improved greatly.
Some proposals have been made on how to raise the academic achievement
of elementary and secondary educators in the recent decades calling for
greater parents’ involvement, teaching and training, higher teacher salaries,
longer school year and school day, smaller school and small classes and
single sex school (Aluede & Onolemhemhen, 2001). Apart from these
proposals, there are other factors that influence academic achievement of
students.
Factors Influencing Students Academic Achievement
It has been found that the factors like parents’ education, parental
occupation, type of family, family size, ordinal position and even gender and
age of the students have their impact on the academic achievement of every
student. Studies dealing with the effect of family environment on students’
achievement suggest that several characteristics of family life are relevant
(Cherian, 2005). Other factors according to Charian include; Study habit or
35
attitude, Self-concept, Socio-economic status, Gender and Environment. In
this study only gender and school location were investigated.
Basic Technology and Its Teaching in Nigerian Schools
Basic Technology is one of the compulsory pre- vocational subjects
offered at the junior secondary schools (JSS) in Nigeria. The subject has
been existing, taught and examined at this level (Junior Secondary School
Certificate Examination, JSSCE) since 1982 as Introductory Technology
(IT). The Introductory Technology was reviewed, restructured and changed
to Basic Technology in 2007 (NERDC, 2007). The understanding of the
Federal Government of Nigeria was that, Introductory Technology as one of
the pre – vocational subjects would contribute to the nation education goal
of education since the world was increasingly driven by technology. After
25years, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the Nigerian
Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC, 2007) revised
the curriculum of the IT to reflect the national policy orientation of teaching
technology and the world globalization trend in education. Accordingly, it
became imperative that the existing curriculum of IT should be reviewed
and restructured to align and fit into the 9 – year Universal Basic Education
Programme (UBE) which gained legal status in 2004. This was necessary so
as to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, which is
the critical targets of the National Economic Empowerment and
Development Strategies (NEEDS), and it is summarized as value
orientation, poverty eradication, job creation, wealth generation and using
education to empower the people (NERDC, 2007). The review of the
36
curriculum of IT by the National Council on Education in 2005 that changed
the name from Introductory Technology to Basic Technology with little
improvement in the subject content by introducing information and
Communication Technology (ICT) to the content. The objectives of IT
remained the same for Basic Technology. From Appendix B (p.138-139) it
is clear from the Junior Secondary School Results (JSSCE) that the trend of
students’ academic achievement has remained the same. This is because
there are no major differences between Introductory Technology and Basic
Technology except for the change of the name and the introduction of ICT
as a topic. Therefore, for the purpose of this study, the concept of
introductory Technology (IT) and Basic Technology are the same in their
objectives and purposes.
Basic Technology as a subject is an integrated subject area
comprising of wood work, metal work, building technology, auto –
mechanic, electrical/electronic and technical drawing at their basic levels.
Basic Technology is a multi-disciplinary subject which covers very large
areas and draws from many other disciplines. It is the intention of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria in the National policy on Education (FRN,
2004) that Basic Technology should provide pre–vocational skills in the area
of technology. The reason is that a nation that does not take the development
of her technology serious is relegated to the back bench in the community of
nations even if that nation has all the resources in the whole world. A
student who has enrolled for Basic Technology is not expected to become an
expert in any of the trade since it is an integrated knowledge of various
37
technology areas. The objectives of Basic Technology as stated in the
National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004:30) are summarized as:
• To provide vocational orientation for further training in technology;
• To provide Basic Technology literacy for everyday living and
• To stimulate creativity (p.30)
To achieve these objectives, the syllabus and course books are structured
and written in a way that would require the use of tools and equipment in
appropriate environment such as laboratories or workshops. The curriculum
covers the following nine – themes: You and Technology, Safety, Materials
and Processing, Drawing Practice, Tools and Machines, Applied Electricity
and Electronics, Energy and Power, Maintenance and Building. The content
reflects the nature of technology, that is, knowledge, creativity and attitude.
It is recommended that the teaching and learning should be facilitated by the
use of the real life experience through industrial visits, use of Information
and Communication Technology (ICT), instructional materials and other
audio – visual aids (NERDC, 2007). According to NERDC (2007)
curriculum implementation of the Basic Technology will depend on the
availability of qualified teachers, equipment, teaching materials and
opportunities for excursion.
In Nigerian schools, Basic Technology is not treated as a multi-
disciplinary subject because according to Okoro (1993), Basic Technology
syllabus treats technology as a single subject. While highlighting the
imperfections in the Basic Technology syllabus, Okoro (1993) stated that,
the syllabus contains too much and that there is attempt to treat technology
38
as though it is a single indivisible subject. The question about these
imperfections is whether the delivery system is able to lay emphasis on
experimentation, discovery method, practical approach and exploratory
approach as expected (Okoro, 1993). In addition, Eze (1992) reported that
the teaching of Basic Technology has failed to attract more students to
develop interest in technology course and therefore recommended a re-
examining of the nature of Basic Technology and the current delivery
methods for bringing the subject to the children. However, Eze (1992) added
that:
Since the success of any educational endeavour
largely depends on the nature of the curriculum,
a very serious and professional input is required
in the development of the curriculum for this
integrated area of study. Specifically, serious
professional judgment is being called to
question, to ensure that selection of content for
the new subject matter satisfies the needs and
aspirations of the various subject matter involved
in the integration process. (Eze 1992 p.48).
In an attempt to address one of the challenges of the teaching of the
subject, the curriculum was revised to reflect the technological development
and national policy orientation to match with the teaching of technology as
an integral part of world globalization trend in Education (NERDC, 2007).
This is not the situation in the schools in Delta State today. As recommended
by the NERDC (2007) the curriculum implementation should depend on
availability of qualified teachers, equipment, teaching materials and
39
opportunities for excursion. Okoeguale (2004) asserted that the role of the
teachers in the teaching of Basic Technology should include:
• Orientating students to the subject
• Planning his course work to take into account individual
difference in ability and interest
• Helping and encouraging students, who show superior
ability in the subject
• Teaching the subject effectively so as to achieve its
objectives
• Treating all students with consideration and helping them
to get what they need and want from the lesson
• Helping students to know both the cultural and the
vocational use of Basic Technology
• Helping students revise past question papers and getting
ready for their JSS final examination (JSSCE)
Assessing the extent of implementation of Basic Technology
curriculum in Nigerian schools, Okonkwor (2004) reported that, there was
lack of Basic Technology teachers in quality and quantity and that the
needed materials to effectively teach the subject were in short supply.
According to Okonkwor, if the situation continues, the objectives for which
the subject was introduced into the Nigeria educational system would hardly
be achieved. With regards to the school environment, Okonkwor further
stated that the physical arrangement of every classroom is an important
factor for motivating student to learn or deter them from learning. Okonkwor
added that, since the physical environment of the school influence much of
what goes on within the school, stimulating and conducive school
40
environment will motivate the students to attend school, learn better and
work for high achievement in their subjects.
In addition to these limitations mentioned above, there are other
problems affecting the teaching and learning of the Basic Technology in
Nigerian schools, which may prevent the realization of the objectives of
Basic Technology. According to Olaitan (1996) one of the noticeable
problems in the teaching and learning of Basic Technology in Nigerian
schools is that, the teaching and learning activities recommended and used
by teachers are not stimulating enough to encourage the desired creativity in
students. He added that the practical activities are concerned with displaying
occupational skills and doing things the traditional way rather than solving
problems. He also stressed that the instructional strategies recommended and
used in the teaching / learning of the subject in schools is full of “showing”
“telling” and “observing” while practice and projects are few and hardly
employed. Olaitan (1996) further stated that, another limiting factor to the
teaching and learning of the subject as contained in its curriculum is that,
there is no list of minimum equipment and funds needed for the teaching and
learning of the subject in schools. As a result, some schools have equipment
that is not relevant while critically needed equipment for the subject are not
available in schools.
Ogbeide (2009) observed the inadequacies in the Nigerian school and
stressed that the material, financial and human resources are not sufficient to
cope with the educational undertakings for effective implementation of
Technology Education in Nigeria. He added that, this situation is evident in
41
schools with dilapidated and uncompleted school buildings, ill equipped
libraries, laboratories and workshops where they exist and lack of relevant
technology textbooks in schools. According to Ogbeide, it is common to
find 100 and above students in Basic Technology classroom, workshops or
laboratories designed and built for 40 students. This is the situation faced by
the teaching and learning of Basic Technology that is supposed to be
practical based. Ogbeide further stressed that, in these circumstances, it
would be hard to deny that teaching and learning of the school subject is not
compromised. In many cases students end up performing poorly in their
examinations. This is exactly the situation in Basic Technology in Nigerian
schools as reflected in the JSSCE result in Delta State. From the Appendix A
(p.137 ), Basic Technology that is supposed to be a core subject is not
treated with the seriousness it deserves. Consequently, the academic
achievement has been lower compared to other core subjects at the JSS.
Akinyede and Uwameiaye (2010) have equally stated that the very low
achievement in Basic Technology in Nigerian Schools should worry
everyone concerned with Science and Technology Education.
Uwameiye (1998) has asserted that, other problems affecting the
teaching and learning of Basic Technology includes economic background
and gender of the students. Akinyede and Uwameiye (2010) further stressed
that, Nigerian schools need considerable improvement in terms of the
recently revised curriculum, in the areas of staffing, instructional materials
and facilities, school environment (location) and school quality, if the
teaching and learning of Basic Technology will be effective. Not until the
42
present school conditions are improved, the objectives of teaching and
learning of Basic Technology would hardly be achieved.
Gender and Students’ Academic Achievement
Tischler, Whither and Hunter’s study (as cited in Keightley, 2011)
defined gender as socially learned patterns of behaviour that reflects
emotional expression of attitudes that distinguishes males from females.
There are many inhibitions posed by gender on students’ academic
achievement which relate to sex role differentiation in which certain
activities are recognized as masculine and others as feminine. Gender is
concerned with masculinity and femininity as categorized to each sex in the
society (Bronfenbrenner, 2005 and Keightley, 2011). The historical meaning
of gender has three common applications in contemporary society. Most
commonly, it is applied to the general differences between men and women.
Bronfenbrenner (2005) said gender refers to the social differences and
relations between men and women. A person’s gender is learned through
socialization and is heavily influenced by the culture of the society
concerned. Gender is socially constructed and it is therefore learned and can
be changed. According to Bronfenbrenner, gender differs and varies within
and across cultures overtime; results in different roles; responsibilities,
opportunities, needs and constraints for women, men, boys and girls. The
sex of a person is biologically defined and determined at birth.
The debate on gender differences in cognitive abilities has actually
evolved out of the debate on biological Vs social determinism. The
biological perspective on sex differences and cognitive achievement
43
considers social factors to be trivial or subordinate to biological factors like
brain structure. Lynn and Tse-Chan (2003) have asserted that, male have
larger average brain sizes than females and therefore would be expected to
have higher average intelligent quotients (IQS). Mackintosh (1998) claims
that there is no sex difference in general intelligence is nothing but the
reasoning ability in students.
The pattern of the influence of gender on school subjects has been
controversial. Some researchers have reported that boys are better than girls
in certain school subjects while girls are better in some others. Aremu
(1999) reported that boys are better than girls in mathematics and other
science subjects while Ton (2003) found that girls out performed boys in
some other school subjects. Some others found no difference in some
cognitive tasks involving boys and girls. Young and Fisher (2000) examined
scores of high senior school students and found males to be superior
academically to females. Bridgeman and Wendler (1991) have explained the
gaps by adhering to such factors as differences in subject taking, behaviour,
classroom experiences and cognitive processing.
Jacob, Lanza, Ospositive, Eccles and Wigfreld (2002) found that self-
concept of ability and task value in mathematics decline for both male and
female between first and twelfth grades but girls value mathematics more
than boys when controlling self-concept of ability in the subject. Though
women have made great strides in the law, medical, and social science
professions, very few can be found in graduate programmes or professions
in mathematics, computer science, physics, engineering or information
44
technology jobs (Eccles, 2001). Many ideas have been put forth on why high
achieving woman may not be entering these professions. They include;
discrimination, gender-typed socialization, self-concept or ability in these
areas and the value and interest that women have in these professions
(Eccles, 2001).
Keightley (2011) looking at the influence of gender identities on
achievement of boys and girls in school, maintained that, it is how people
identify to these socially constructed categories that mould and shape, how
gender identities emerge and are operated into the social world. Keightley
also added that gender identities can be shaped by many factors and that,
people are born with no innate abilities and that characteristics develop
through experience. Bronfenbrenner (2005) further asserted that the general
views are that boys and girls are suited differently to particular academic
subjects. There are statistical and historical patterns between the
achievement and prowess of particular genders and specific academic
domains.
Gisela (2011) looked at the influence of gender on achievement and
found that, male and female students tend to perform differently in various
subject areas of education. This gender gap in specific subjects such as
mathematics and reading has prompted researchers to examine the possible
influences that gender has on students’ achievement in other subject areas.
While most studies focus on isolated students’ populations, there are several
general tendencies that continually surface regarding gender and
achievement in school subjects. According to Gisela, mathematics, science
45
and reading are traditionally subjects that are prone to obvious achievement
gender gaps. Male students tend to be more motivated to achieve better in
mathematics and science subjects while female students perform well in
readings. With an increased awareness of gender-bias and stereotypes in
some countries, such as the US, the U.K. and Australia, educators have
worked to close these gender gaps. Although these countries have made vast
improvements to help both genders succeed, the gap continues to exist in
many school subjects. Gisela’s study on gender achievement and motivation
revealed that parents, peers and society all influence achievement of male
and female students. How students are encouraged and discouraged to
succeed in particular subjects, the expectations placed on them and learning
opportunities they are presented with, contribute to the gender achievement
gap in schools. According to Gisela, male students tend to receive more
encouragement in mathematics and science courses, while female students
are nurtured more in reading and the arts subjects. Reporting on the Gender
Bias at Home, Gisela further stressed that parents often inadvertently
practice gender biases which influence students’ achievement. At home,
gender-biased behaviour usually surfaces early in a child’s life. Parents
according to him tend to buy their sons and not their daughter toys and
books that are related to mathematics and science. Many parents will relate
their son’s achievement in mathematics subjects to his ability while their
daughters’ success in mathematics is related to effort. This seeming small
distinction influences their sense of accomplishment in school subjects. Still
on gender bias at school, the university of Michigan researchers have
46
reached a conclusion that educators are also strong influential factors in
determining achievement of their students. The University of Michigan
researchers according to Gisela (2011) found that many teachers
unknowingly call on male students more often than female students to
answer questions and give them more complex problems to solve, which
creates a competitive learning environment where males tend to thrive.
Mordi (2004), asserted males are trained for the superlative role,
while the females are trained for the subordinate role. This is because of the
relative importance of male child in the family setting; male children are
usually preferred to females. But, the conflicting views on the influence of
gender on academic achievement in school subjects do not support this idea.
Some educationalists are of the view that gender differences observed in
students’ academic achievement may be attributable to genetic factors. In
line with this claim, Okeke (2001) asserted that the constancy of gender
differences in achievement across different school subjects and
environments provide evidence for the importance of biological rather than
environmental factor in determining science achievement. It was suggested
that, the well established gender difference in spatial skills were the key to
understanding gender differences in science achievement.
The issue of gender and its influence on academic achievement in
school subjects is yet to be fully resolved due to conflicting research
findings arising from one school subject to another. Akinyede (2004) said
that gender of a student has great impact on the academic achievement in
school subjects and according to Adebayo (1999), gender is a strong factor
47
that influences students academic achievement in school subjects. Onibokun
(2001), Aigbomian and Umeoduagwu (2000) have indicated gender
differences in academic achievements in school subjects. Some findings
favoured males while others favoured females, indicating some conflicting
views on the influence of gender on academic achievement. Ahiarede (2002)
in his study found out that boys performed better than girls in electrolysis
problems and girls did better in Chemistry process skill test.
Falayojo (2003) reported that, some subjects are for boys while others
are for girls and that Mathematics for example is a subject for boys, while
Home Economics is for girls. Falayojo further asserted that, difference in
achievement exists between boys and girls at various stages of schooling and
that, it is the age of the pupil or student that is important in determining the
achievement and not the sex. Imador (2007), compared the academic
achievement of male and female Nigerian adults on the Wechsler Adult
intelligence Scale (WAIS) and found that males performed better than the
females in both full scale I.Q. and verbal sub-tests. Obioye (2002) in a study
reported that sex is a factor in school Mathematics achievement. On the
general trend in Nigeria, Obioye also asserted that male learners tend to
achieve higher in mathematics than their female counterparts. In a study
which was carried out in Anambra, Cross River State, Imo and River States
of Nigeria, Obioye further added that all factors of sex, state, school location
and school type were important factors in the mathematics deficiencies of
students. The study also reported that female learners were more
mathematically deficient than their male counterparts. In a similar study,
48
Hanna and Kuendiger (1999) reported a pattern of achievement result in
mathematics which indicated that girls were more successful than boys in
Belgium, Thailand, Finland, Hungary; but least in France, Nigeria, Israel
and the Netherlands.
The study by Ikechukwu (2006) found out two inconsistent results.
Boys exceeded girls in form five while the reverse was the case in form four
in some correlates of secondary school students in achievement in physics in
Imo State of Nigeria. In social sciences, Osakwe (2003) found that, girls
were superior to boys in spatial conceptualization in social studies at three
levels tested – classification, formal and use of concept level. In French,
Madu (2005) found that females tend to be more favourably disposed to the
study than the males. Inomiesa (1994) and Okwo (1991), showed no gender
differences in academic achievement in school subjects and Adeyemi (2000)
did not also establish any gender difference in achievement in physics. In
addition, Johnson (2006) revealed that there was no difference between the
achievements in Arithmetic of both sexes at the primary school level.
However, he found that at the secondary school level, girls could not
measure up with boys because girls abandoned their study of mathematics
before they enter the senior classes of secondary school. Johnson (2006) also
used primary school pupils and found no difference in the academic
performance of boys and girls in English language. In similar studies,
Okebukola and Inyang (1990) and Uwameiye (1998) are inconclusive
whether specific school subjects are male or female biased.
49
From these descriptive review so far, some scholars have tried to
explain this sex differential in achievement between boys and girls in
various ways. Many studies have shown gender influence on academic
achievement of students in school subjects while some have reported
contrary results. These diverse views are pointer to the fact that, researchers
have not reached a consensus on the issue of gender difference in academic
achievement in school subjects. The implication of these conflicting results
is that educational research studies are yet to arrive at satisfactory conclusion
as regards the influence of gender on students’ academic achievement. More
empirical evidence on gender and students’ academic achievement may
resolve this issue to a considerable level.
School Location and Students’ Academic Achievement.
School location refers to the community in which the school is
located, such as a village, hamlet, or rural area (area fewer than 3000
people), a small town (3,000 to about 15,000 people), a town (15,000 to
about 100,000 people), a city (100,000 to about 1,000,000 people)
(Education at a glance, 2003). School location is the geographical location
of a school or the place a school is situated. Whether a village, hamlet, small
or big town, or a city, school location is categorized into urban and rural
areas. Funk and Wagnalls (1976) classified urban areas as locations or
communities in thickly populated towns or cities with basic amenities and
facilities that make life comfortable while rural areas are those communities
or locations that are not thickly populated with little or no basic facilities and
amenities. Urban locations have basic amenities such as Hotels, recreational
50
centres, big markets, adequate road network, banks and well equipped
schools, while rural areas have little or no such basic amenities (Ojoawo,
2004).
Ojoawo (2004) found that school location is one of the potent factors
that influence the distribution of educational resources. Throwing light on
locational influence, Ezike (2004) conceptualized urban location as those
places which have high population density containing high variety and
beauty and common place views. That, rural location on the other hand is
characterized by low population density containing low variety and isolated
places. Lipton (1999) corroborated that, rural community is characterized by
low population and subsistence mode of life. Owolabi (2001) asserted that,
highly qualified teachers prefer to serve in urban areas rather than the rural
areas and that teachers do not accept postings to rural areas because their
conditions are not up to the expected standard as their social life in the areas
is virtually restricted as a result of inadequate amenities, facilities are
deficient, play ground are without equipment, libraries are without books
while laboratories are glorified ones. Hallack (2001) summarized that,
provision of education in rural areas is normally fraught with difficulties and
problems; qualified teachers refuse appointment in isolated villages;
villagers refuse to send their children to school because they are dependent
on them for help; parents hesitate to entrust their daughters to male teachers;
some villages have few children for an ordinary primary school; lack of
roads; books and teaching materials not available. Balogun (1998) lamented
that unfortunately in Nigeria, where there is a preponderance of poverty
51
among the populace and a wide gap between the rich and the poor, disparity
in the distribution of resources and social amenities on the part of the
government, the population has polarized into two of those favourably
affected and those who are disfavoured. Sub-geographical locations to a very
large extent determine what amenities and or facilities are made available to
such location or area. The situation of Delta state is not different from the
above, rural schools probably become progressively poorly staffed arising
from refusal of teachers to serve in remote locations. In such locations
schools are characterized by dilapidated building, lack of equipped libraries
and laboratories, insufficient teaching and technical staff to lack of
electricity. It is hard to believe that teaching and learning is not
compromised in this type of school location.
Assessing the relationship and the effect of school location on
students academic achievement, Zappala (2002) found out in Australia that,
there was locational influence on students’ academic achievement was
observed. There was difference in urban-rural achievement in mathematics.
Obikun (2008) reported difference in urban – rural achievement in primary
six school finalist on the aptitude – test of the (Nigeria) National Common
Entrance Examination (NCEE) in secondary schools. In the study tagged
scholastic aptitude test, it was found out that children from urban schools
were superior to the rural counterparts. (Scholastic Achievement Test (SAT)
have been described as a broad based achievement measure.
Okojie (2004) pointed that there exist some differences between
urban and rural settings in terms of facilities and or amenities and academic
52
achievement by students in school subjects. Ajayi (2004) also found
differences in academic achievement of students in urban areas. Omodiale
(2009) found significant positive relationship between size and location of
school and achievement in examination in Edo State. Large schools in urban
areas tend to perform better in examination than small schools in rural areas.
Nelson (2004) asserted that students from rural areas performed better than
their urban counterparts in verbal aptitude, English language and total score
using the National Common Entrance as a base. It was further observed that
pupils from small rural schools, not only that they were well prepared
academically than pupils from other schools, but they generally had a better
attitude to work. Similar view was expressed by Gana (1997) when it was
observed that the effect of using designed visual teaching models on the
learning of mathematics at Junior Secondary level of Niger State resulted in
difference in Mathematics achievement scores of urban and rural students.
Students from urban areas performed better than their rural counterpart.
Miller (2005) has also stated that the school location of educational
institutions is important in determining students’ ultimate achievement in
school subjects. According to Ewezu (2003) the location of school, urban or
rural influences a child’s ability to study and to perform at the level expected
of him. Ezewu (2003) added that, the implication of this is that a stimulating
school location arouses the students’ interest to learn and consequently
achieve better.
Nduka (2009) observed that every school location had environmental
factors which include the quality of pupils, available infrastructural facilities
53
and even the quality of teachers and that these factors influences the
academic achievement of students in school subjects. Nduka also asserted
that, there was a remarkable difference between the urban and rural areas in
terms of standard of living, the kind of experiences provided, and standard
of teaching and learning. Nduka further stressed that, these variables were
enough factors that could significantly influence the overall well being of
the student on their academic achievement in school subjects. It was
therefore stated that, urban children understood more and consequently
achieve more in science concepts than their rural counterparts. In the same
vein, Emina’s study (as cited in Ezewu (2003) reported that, children
residing in rural areas had scientifically lower entry behaviour in physical
geography than their urban dwelling counterparts.
Johnson (2006) found that, the typical youth who had stayed in a
geographical region that is not very stimulating has a lower aspiration level
than those students who are in urban areas. Johnson, further stressed that,
those youths that migrated from the rural areas to the urban centres have
higher educational aspirations and that, the location where a school is
situated is one of the determinants of students’ academic achievement.
Johnson therefore added that, urban and rural location of schools does have
significant effects on students’ academic achievement contrary to the view
of Onyeagu (2000) that there is no locational influence on the achievement
of students. Ngwoke, (2005) shares the same view with Johnson that
physical factors; the physical setting; human aggregate; instructional
materials and the social climate of the school influence teaching and learning
54
and this in-turn, influences the achievements of students in school. Ngwoke
also determined the factors responsible for the differences in achievement of
students between the urban and rural settings. The differences were
attributed to the students’ negative attitude to life, poor conditions in the
rural areas and poor staffing of rural schools. Ngwoke further observed that,
students in the urban areas operate in more stimulating environment than
those in the rural areas and that, better teachers and facilities are found in
urban areas than in rural areas. A visit to urban and rural schools shows that,
there are sharp contrasts between the two categories of schools with regards
to staff quality, infrastructural and instructional facilities. Daramola (1999)
also observed that, children in the urban schools most times are taught by
qualified and experienced teachers and have all the laboratory / workshop
facilities to make them achieve well, while the rural schools hardly
experience these opportunities. Consequently, their achievement level will
continue to be low if not remedied.
Reeves and Bylund (2005) studied the effects of school location on
Mathematics and Science achievement trends. They reported that, the effects
of school location on mathematics and science learning was currently an
important policy issue in the United States and many other countries, such as
Australia. Reeves and Bylund used a 5-year series of Mathematics and
science achievement data from the state of Kentucky to determine the effects
of school location on learning of these two subjects. The result of the
analysis did not support the common contention that there is lower rural
achievement in Mathematics and science. One implication of this finding is
55
that, if policy makers wish to enhance Mathematics learning, they will
accomplish it more effectively by intervention and with programmes that
will increase the motivation and opportunity to learn among low-income
students regardless of school location. The findings of Reeves and Bylund’s
study did not support the claim that rural students achieve less than their
counterparts in non-rural areas in mathematics and science. Reeves and
Bylund (2005) asserted that schools in rural areas are less inferior than those
in urban areas is not true. The debate about education and achievement in
rural school being less than or equal to those of urban schools is ongoing,
that some believe that education in rural schools is better than education in
urban schools while others disagree. For those who believe an urban
education is better, ‘recent research does not provide clear evidence that
rural schools are inferior to urban schools’ and analysis reveals that rural
schools achievement better than their urban counterparts’ (Reeves and
Bylund, 2005, p. 360).
Fullwood, Gates, Pancake and Schroth (2001) have stressed that
schools in urban and rural locations are characterized by unique strength and
weaknesses. “Rural and urban schools are much the same when it comes to
resources, learning environment and achievement” (Full wood et al 2001, p.
5). According to them, there are so many variables that affect students
achievement in school subject and the variable may not be directly related to
whether a school is considered a rural or an urban school. Greewald, Hedges
and Laine (1996) said that rural schools have some advantages over urban
schools because of the tendency of smaller classes. Due to population
56
density, class size is generally more manageable for teachers. Often teachers
are able to spend more time with individual students and provide more
assistance to students having difficulties, which results in higher students
achievement “When looking at pupil / teacher ratio it was found that
achievement was greater in smaller schools with smaller classes”
(Greenwald, Hedges and Laine 1996, P. 369). On the basis of this fact, New
York City schools saw great benefit in reducing class sizes in some of their
schools. In fact, “during the Clinton administration, the Department of
Education championed small schools as an antidote to low student
achievement and safety problems” (Duke and Trautvetter, 2001, p. 1). The
result were amazing “As a result of being subdivided in to houses, New
York City’s Dewith Clinton High School, for example, went from being one
of America largest and most troubled high school to one of President
Clinton’s 96 outstanding high school”. (Duke and Trautvetter, 2001, p.2).
Results tend to show that smaller class sizes which are characteristics
of rural areas make a real and measurable difference but why? This
according to Achelles and Finn (1990) is because “first, teachers enthusiasm
and satisfaction may be enhanced when there are fewer students to teach;
this may be perceived by the students and influence their motivation and
achievement. Second, reduced class size may directly impact teacher-student
interactions, allowing for more individual attention in particular; third,
smaller classes may increase the extent to which individual pupils attend to
and become involved in learning activities”. Achelles and Finn, 1990, p.
(575). In both urban and rural schools there are many variables such as job
57
security and family stability that affect students achievement employment
and changes in family structure / life affect students behaviour and academic
achievement in school. “Formal educational institutions assumed a function
that in previous history was primarily a function of the family. Changes in
the home and family structures have a significant impact on the achievement
of children in schools” (Fullwood et al, 2001 p.5). Sometimes, due to parents
who are unavailable, because of their choice or circumstances, schools
become the sole provider of instruction in moral and ethics. Unfortunately,
this creates a barrier for students and teachers alike to overcome and thereby
making students to achieve less compared to their counterpart in urban rears.
From the foregoing arguments, it is uncertain whether students achieve
better in rural schools.
From the various reports on school location and academic
achievement, the locational influence on academic achievement by students
is not the same. While some maintain that urban students achieve better in
examination than their rural counterparts, others have found that rural
students achieve better. Some have submitted in their findings that no
particular set up (urban or rural) can claim superiority over the other because
their performances are the same. In view of these conflicting findings in
many school subjects, it is necessary to carry out further research especially
in the area of Basic Technology where few studies have done so as to take
stand with empirical data on the influence of location (urban / rural
dichotomy) on academic achievement in Basic Technology of secondary
school students with particular reference to Delta State, Nigeria.
58
Attitude and Students’ Academic Achievement
Funk and Wagnalls standard dictionary (1990) defines attitude as the
“position or posture of a person; manner or action towards an object or
person as suggesting some thought or feeling; the state of mind, behaviour
or conduct regarding some matter as indicating opinion or purpose fitted or
suitable” (p.41). Thurstone, as cited in Bolaji ( 2005) said that attitude is the
sum total of man’s inclination and feelings, prejudice or bias, preconceived
notion, ideas, fear, threat and conviction about any specific topic. Explaining
the concept of attitude, Sarwar (2002) said, attitudes are functions of what
people think and what they feel. That is, attitudes are the product of related
beliefs and values. If one believes that his teacher is consultative, and he
values consultation, one might have a favourable attitude towards the
teacher. One can represent this relationship in the form of simple syllogism.
For example
If the teacher is consultative, (belief)
And consultation is positive, (value)
Then the teacher is positive. (Attitude)
Belief + Value → attitude → behaviour
Parents, peers, media and teacher play a very important role in the
development of attitudes. Beliefs and values are learned from the above –
mentioned agents of change. Attitude is the state of readiness or the
tendency to act or react in a certain manner when confronted with certain
stimuli, that is, it is the positive or negative feelings that students have
towards their study (Kpangban, 2004). According to Onibokun (2001),
attitude is present in everybody but it is dormant until a stimulus triggers it
59
off. There are many components of attitude as a psychological construct.
Bolaji, (2005) identified three: cognitive, affective and behavioural
(psychomotor) components of attitude. Attitudes are measured by the use of
questionnaire and interview method.
Research on attitudes has been popular in many disciplines. However
the construct is considered more central to social psychology. The study of
attitude has been an important area of interest to psychologists, and
educators have been interested in attitude because of their strong impact on
learning, and achievement. Thomas and Znaniecki (1918) defined attitude
as a mental and neural state of readiness, organized through experience,
exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to
all objects and situations with which it is related. More recently, Zimbardo,
and Leippe (1991) defined attitude as an evaluative disposition toward some
object based upon cognitions, affective reactions, behavioural intentions,
and past behaviours. Attitudes are latent and not directly observable in
themselves, but they act to organize or provide direction to actions and
behaviours that are observable. Attitudes are related to how people perceive
the situations in which they find themselves and attitudes vary in direction
(either positive or negative), in degree (the amount of positivity or
negativity), and in intensity.
Attitude Systems
Attitude positions are the summary aggregation of four components:
(a) affective responses, (b)cognitions, (c) bahaviours, and (d) behavioural
intentions (Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991). The affective component of attitude
60
is said to consist of a person’s evaluation of, liking of, or emotional
responses to some situation, object, or person. Affective responses reflect
one’s attitude with sensations of pleasure, sadness, or other levels of
physical arousal. The cognitive component of an attitude is conceptualized
as a person’s factual knowledge of the situation, object, or person, including
oneself. In other words, the cognitive component refers to how much a
person knows about a topic. The behavioural component of an attitude
involves the person’s behaviour directed towards a situation, object, or
person.
Finally, the behavioural intention component involves the person’s
plans to perform in a certain way, even if sometimes these plans are never
acted upon. These four components of attitude form an attitude system. The
components are not isolated but are interrelated and produce an organizing
framework or mental representation of the attitude construct.
Attitude Formation
Situational stimuli or events in the environment directly influence
behaviour and the formation of attitudes. Strict behaviourists would argue
that internal events that form attitudes are the result of observable actions. A
change in attitude or beliefs occurs as a result of actions that have been
influenced by reinforcers. Social-learning theory expands this principle and
according to social-learning theorists, it is not essential to learn behaviours
directly through actions and reinforcement, as traditional behavioural
psychologists would propose. Indirect learning through observing model and
receiving verbal instructions has a powerful impact on behaviour and
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attitude formation (Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991). Situations that include a
change in the behavioural component of attitude lead to changes in attitudes,
but there is also a reciprocal action. Since the components of attitude system
are interrelated, a change in liking may result in a change in behaviours
(Smiths, 1982).
Importance of Attitude
Traditionally, when instruction is designed, there are two categories
of outcomes in mind: those directed toward cognitive goals, and those
related to the attitudes of the learner. There is little necessity to argue the
importance of the acquisition of knowledge by a student as a result of
instruction. Achievement is the paramount objective of most instructional
activities,. However, it may also be important to recognize the need for
establishing attitudinal goals and for planning activities designed to facilities
affective outcomes in learners as a consequence of an instructional situation.
As a matter of fact, it has become increasingly apparent to those involved in
educational technology research that one of the major and possibly unique,
consequences of instructional situations involving media is the likelihood of
the development of positive attitudinal positions in students. The most
powerful rationale for the need to promote attitude positions in learners
would be to demonstrate a direct relationship between attitudes and
achievement, or liking and learning. Numerous researchers have identified
such a relationship (Fenneman, 1973: Zimbardo & Leippe, 1991). Attitudes
are thoughts to “predispose” persons to have positive attitude towards a
topic and orient the person in a positive manner toward that idea, but may
62
not predict actions directly because of intervening forces that are likely to
influence the relationship.
The impact of attitude on learning is only one reason for interest in
attitudes. While the strength of the relationship between attitudes and
achievement is not very clear, it seems logical that students are more likely
to remember information, seek new ideas, and continue studying when they
react favourably to instructional situations or like a certain content area.
Students, who like chemistry for example, will tend to stay after class to
work on experiments, read about chemistry outside of class, and be more
likely to elect to take a chemistry course than will those who do not like
chemistry. Learners tend to do what they like, not what they do not like.
They gravitate toward their interests and do better in chemistry because of
interest. Also, there are some instances when influencing students’ attitudes
is not desirable, so educators should be aware of which techniques affect
attitudes. In this way, possible bias can be recognized and eliminated. The
gender biases found in textbooks are considered partially responsible for
gender biases in people. Equally, student attitudes towards a situation can
tell the teacher a great deal about the impact of that situation on the learning
process. Obviously, attitudes need to be measured in order to know if they
have been influenced.
Measuring students’ attitude towards school subject is somehow
difficult because people tend to hide their feelings for so many reasons.
However, the attitude of a student towards school subject is positive when
there is an attraction to learn or to do something on the part of the individual
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in a given situation. On the other hand, it is negative when there is repulsion
or having low interest in any learning task on the part of the individual. The
type of attitude a student possesses in a given situation influences his
academic achievement (Kpangban, 2004). Students’ attainment in learning
situation or his academic achievement in any school subject may be high or
low. A student’s attainment or academic achievement depends to a large
extent on the type of attitude developed (either positive or negative attitude)
toward any school subject (Adesokan, 2002). Okorodudu’s study (as cited in
Bolaji 2005) stated that: “When attitudes are positively directed in any given
situation there is always harmony between the individuals or persons or
objects in that environment. However, the reverse is the case when
negatively directed” (p.17).
Bolaji further explains that, those whose attitudes are negatively
directed need help to attain equilibrium state in order to promote adequate
adjustment to the environment. Bolaji, in his conclusion added that, when a
student develops a positive attitude towards learning any school subject, the
student is likely to perform well in that subject. The reverse is the case when
the attitude or behaviour is negatively directed. He stated that “negative
attitudes lead to the development of dislike or aversion for stimulus being
presented while positive attitudes lead to the development of favourable
response” (p.24). Ewezu (2004) asserted that students’ attitudes towards
school subject could be positive or negative and that, the attitude of a student
towards a school subject is measured by the degree of the students’
attraction to or repulsion from the subject. This according to him influences
64
the students’ attendance at lessons and his behaviour towards the learning
activities in the subject. Ewezu (2004) further stated that, students’ attitude
towards the teacher, the subject, the school and other students, are important,
if learning experience are to be successful. This is also the view of Emala
(2002) that, students’ attitude towards a school subject influences his
academic achievement or his attainment in the particular subject. Favourable
attitude towards school subjects maximizes the possibilities that students
will willingly learn more, remember better and use what they have learned,
(Adesokan, 2002). Fright and mental poisoning affects the attitude of
students. This is because before a student steps into the school, he acquires
impression through discussions with other students, peers and relations that
some particular subjects are difficult subjects. Thus, on getting to school, the
idea continues to influence him; he develops a type of phobia and becomes
so frustrated that he avoids the subject and even the teacher at the earliest
opportunity (Adesokan, 2002). Science, Technology and Mathematics
(STM) are widely acknowledged in Nigeria as very important subjects. They
are the subjects that people hate and dislike most. This is because students
are made to believe that Science, Technology and Mathematics are difficult
subjects ever before they come to the college (Umeduagwu, 2001).
Keeves (1999) asserted that, attitude towards science are known to
decrease as students progress through their schooling years. He further
submitted that attributes such as enthusiasm, respect for students and
personality traits have influenced students’ attitude towards science as well,
as in other subjects. The implication of Keeves finding is that attention
65
should be given to science teaching early so as to enable students have
favourable disposition towards science later in life. Assessing the attitude of
some science students towards modern orientation in science Keeves said,
student’s attitude towards science is negative. Nigeria schools have come a
long way from no science in schools to almost compulsory science
programme at all levels and yet the younger generation does not particularly
want to study science, (Akayode, 2005). The reason for this view is not far-
fetched. The social values in the country nowadays have diverted students’
attention and interest from learning to wealth acquisition
In a comparative study of factors influencing mathematics
achievement Burstein (1992) reported there is a direct link between students’
attitudes towards mathematics and learning outcomes. He said that 25
percent in England and 26 percent in Norway accounted for the variation in
students’ attitude towards mathematics were due to students’ gender,
maternal expectation, expectations of the students’ friends and belief about
success in mathematics. Students’ belief and attitudes have the potential to
either facilitate or inhibit learning. The above claims indicate that there are
conflicting reports concerning the relationship of students’ attitudes and
academic achievement. It is against this background that this study is
focused to establish among other things, the influence if any, between
students attitudes and academic achievement in Basic Technology and the
possible interactive effects with student gender and school locations.
66
Theoretical Studies
The gender of a student has great impact on the academic
achievement of students in school subjects. (Akinyede, 2004). Some
researchers have reported gender differences in school achievement in
favour of boys; others claim that the reverse is the case, while some believe
that gender differences do not exist in the Sciences. Saunders’s study as
cited in Wale, (2002) did express the point that, boys in certain societies are
usually expected to study subjects like Mathematics and Science-related
subjects, while girls are to study subjects like Modern languages, Music and
Arts, which are perceived as feminine in nature. This expectation makes the
girls not to give adequate attention to Science and Science-related subjects.
Collins (2005) was of the view that females tend to be more favourably
disposed to the study of French than males and that the males perform better
in Science and other related school subjects and certainly not in the Liberal
Arts.
Other researchers, however, claimed that gender differences do not
exist as far as achievement in school subjects is concerned. Inomiesa (1994)
showed that gender has no influence on the achievement of pupils in primary
schools. On the other hand, Aigbomian and Umeoduagwu (2000) found only
a weak overall gender difference in attitude to Science with males displaying
only marginally attitudes. Okebukola and Inyan (1990) have said that, the
issue of gender difference in achievement in school subjects is far from
being resolved and the inconclusiveness of studies conducted to date
provides no solid basis on which changes can be made in teaching and
67
learning. Uwameiye (1998) in his study on sex differences in Basic
Technology did not clearly indicate greater male students’ achievement over
their female counterparts.
Olueh (2006) surveyed the works of different researchers on school
location and achievement and found that there were sharp contrasts between
urban and rural schools in terms of staff quality and instructional facilities.
Olueh (2006) further added that, while children in urban schools are taught
by qualified and experienced teachers with adequate laboratory and
workshop facilities to make them do well, the rural schools hardly have
these opportunities. Guobadia’s study (as cited by Ogbeide, 2004) stressed
that it would be hard to deny that teaching and learning are not compromised
in schools with dilapidated and uncompleted buildings, ill-equipped
libraries, laboratories and workshops. Ogbeide (2004) stated that there was
crisis in the education system and that there were numerous problems in the
teaching and learning in schools, ranging from negative learning
environment, lack of qualified and experienced teachers, insufficient
teaching and technical staff to shortage of functional equipment. The
differences between the urban and rural school settings in terms of the basic
requisites for effective teaching and learning of a school subject may bring
about disparity in the achievement of urban and rural students. Okoro (1984)
asserted that school location is an important factor capable of influencing the
child’s academic achievement and attitude in school subjects.
According to Anazia (2007), when an individual develops a positive
attitude towards learning, such person is likely to perform well in his / her
68
studies. The reverse is the case when the bahaviour is negatively directed.
Hence Ojo, (2003) stated that: Negative attitudes lead to the development of
dislike and aversion for subject being presented to a student; while positive
attitudes lead to the development of favourable responses.
Theoretical Framework
In this section, learning theories, Maslow’s need reduction and
Atkinson’s need achievement theories relevant to this study are presented.
Learning Theories
Before discussing learning theories, it is essential to understand the
concept of learning. Psychologists and other educationists have not agreed
on a common definition of learning. However, most of them accept a
definition of learning as a process by which a learner or student profits from
past experiences. Learning results in a more or less permanent change in
behaviour of individual traceable to exposure to conditions in the
environment experienced or practiced. The evidence that learning has taken
place can be inferred from a change in the individuals’ behaviuor or
performances as exhibited (Idialu, 2010). Similarly, Siann and Ugwuegbu
(1980) defined learning as a change in human behaviour, disposition or
capability which persists over a period of time and which is not simply
ascribable to processes of growth. Learning is a change in capability and has
to be measured or assessed at a time or another in some way to ascertain if it
has taken place or not. The school is concerned with the process of changing
behaviour , capabilities skills, perceptions concept formation, and reasoning
of the student.
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In the development of psychological foundations, significant
explorations and researches revolve around the theories of learning. A theory
represents general laws or principles or cause of observed or known events.
The theories of learning are as a result of long years of study and research by
a number of scholars. It consists of a set of assumptions from which endless
hypotheses may be drawn for testing. A theory of learning can be used as a
guide for curriculum design, curriculum activities etc, for both the teachers
and learners in the classroom and outside. A teacher needs a profound
understanding of the learning process in order to carry out his teaching
responsibility effectively (Oladele, 1998).
Hulse, Egeth and Deese (1984) defined theories of learning as
fundamental ideas and notions held by philosophers and psychologists about
the description of learning which have been handed over into the society
over sometime now. Many of the present day theories of learning have their
roots from early philosophers like Aristotle, Plato, etc. The theories of
learning as an area of psychology of education concern all forms of
relatively permanent behavioural change that results from experiences in
school. Studies in theories is an important factor in teaching and learning
since education under the guidance of schools modify behaviours of learners
in planned directions by careful exposure to experiences.
Ochepa (1999) observed that to characterize the whole field of
learning theories and to say where they are leading to, especially as they
concern teaching and learning is a task that is next to impossibility. This is
in view of the enormous nature and diversity of theories of learning as
70
available and discussed by philosophers, psychologists and others in
literature. Similarly, Okoro (2002) said there are so many theories of
learning competing. These theories are not necessarily contradicting or
mutually exclusive but each postulates a view or views of the basic nature of
man and the factors that lead to learning. As many as the theories, there are
several classifications.
Stimulus – Response Theory of Learning
Stimulus – Response Learning theory is one of the theories developed
and has been adjudged to have direct implications for classroom teaching. It
is also called association theory. Stimulus is any event, which could be a
visual event, a sound, a taste, a touch, a smell or any combinations of these
which elicit a response. Stimulus is also seen as something that helps a
process to develop more strongly which can result in a reaction. Response
on the other hand is something that has been done as a reaction to another
thing or event that has happened (Stimulus). Response is an event or process
which is elicited by or as a result of a situation (stimulus). Some responses
are purely reflexive (innate) in nature and other are developed as a function
of learning (Oladele, 1998). There are various versions of the stimulus –
Response theory of learning. The two (2) main versions are the Stimulus-
Response with reinforcement and the stimulus – Response without
Reinforcement. The popular adherents of Stimulus – Response with
reinforcement are E.L. Thorndike, B.F. Skinner and Clark L. Hull.
Edward Thorndike (1874-1949) in the United States of America
investigated learning in animals by using cats. A hungry cat was confined in
71
puzzle box with food visible on the outside. The cat had to escape to get
food through a release mechanism. Thorndike in this study concluded that
animals learn through active behaviour, accident and through chance to
succeed. This theory of learning was also known as trial and error, since the
stimuli of the puzzle box was connected with the response which resulted
into food. Thorndike’s experience of problem solving approach as a
description of learning were pioneering efforts that established learning with
motivation, repetition and reward. Thorndike also established laws that
governed learning like; laws of effect, law of readiness and law of exercise.
Skinner (1968) an American psychologist said that learning is a series
of experience, each of which influences behaviours in the same way that
conditioning responses are learned or acquired. Skinner, in an experiment
constructed a box called ‘skinner box’. The box contains a lever that releases
a pellet of food into a tray and at the same time automatically registers the
responses on a time chart. A hungry rat is kept in the box and the rat press
the bar and a pellet of food falls into the dish. The food reinforces the bar
pressing (response). This theory is applicable in Basic Technology because
when a student is reinforced for answering a question correctly he would
want to continue answering more questions for continued reward. For
instance, if a student is given a circuit to wire a point of light, success in this
influences his attitude to learning. Such student is inspired or motivated to
move on to the next level in installation program. This could as well explain
hierarchy of needs. Here the Skinner box is regarded as the circuit
Cognitive Field and Gestalt Theory of Learning
72
Behavioural psychologists view learning as the association of stimuli
and responses. Cognitive theorist on the other hand view learning as what is
or may be going on mentally regarding learning. The cognitive theory of
learning considers learners not just as receivers of stimuli and makers of
responses but they process what they receive and their responses are
determined by the processing.
Gestalt theory and insight of learning is a type of the cognitive
theories of learning and developed by Gestalt psychologist. Some of the
advocates of cognitive theories of learning are All-port, Bigge, J.S. Brunner,
John Dewy, Kurt Koffka, Edward C. Tolman, Max Wertheimer and
Wolfgang Kohler (Oladele, 1998). The Gestalt theory of learning had its
origin in Germany between 1912-1917 by Max Wertheimer and colleagues
who were dissatisfied with all other descriptions of learning. The Gestalt
theorists recommended that, educational procedure emphasizes the
organization of materials so as to stimulate insight into relationship
(Encyclopedia Americana International, (1989). Oladele (1998) said, the
most well known experiments which underline the views of Gestalt
psychologists are those carried out by a German Scientist, Wolfgang Kohler
with Ape and banana.
According to Oladele (1998), Gagne’s and Bloom’s types of learning
are generalist. Both believed that all learning cannot be explained by just
one theory. Gagne attempted to evolve a theory or model of learning
involving different learning processes at different levels, yet building on
work of classical and operant conditioning. According to Gagne’s model,
73
new learning occurs through the combinations of previously acquired and
recalled learned entities as well as their potentialities for transfer. Also, rate
of cognitive development depend on the mastery of simpler requisite skills
and habits. Gagne categorized learning into eight as follows:- signal
learning, stimulus-Response, chain (motor), chain (verbal), multiple
discrimination, concept, principle and problem solving learning (Oladele,
1998).
Implications of the Theories of Learning on Teaching and
Learning
All theories of learning provide their concepts of the best way
teaching and learning can take place and how the knowledge and skills
learned can be retained. Theories of learning are useful in teaching and
learning processes for some important purposes like, to guide and determine
the best method to be adopted for instruction of a course or lesson,
determine the amount of course materials to be learned and determine how
and when the learners will be examined, tested or evaluated. Also identify
the various ways students learn best and retain knowledge and skills for
future use.
Thorndike’s theory of learning has implications for teaching and
learning as follows:
i. Since human organisms react readily when the action is satisfying, the
classroom experience should be satisfactory and pleasant to achieve
learning.
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ii. Learning will not occur unless practice is reinforced. Learning will only take
place when there is practice of the knowledge and skills which is
accompanied by a reinforcer in form of stimulus.
iii. The repetition of satisfying actions strengthens learning. There is high
tendency for a similar set of circumstances to produce the same reaction
each time it is repeated over a long time. Like any other school subject,
repetition of satisfying actions strengthens learning in the teaching and
learning of Basic Technology since questions answered correctly will
always be rewarded by the teacher as a motivational reward towards
better achievement.
iv. For learning to be effective, practice must occur periodically. This is very
important in the learning of some tasks like practical skills in Basic
Technology.
v. The teacher must wait till the learners are ready to learn and should give
those experiences which help to enhance readiness. Preparatory
experiences that will hasten the growth of readiness can be provided in
elementary classes (Oladele, 1998). For example, in preparing students
for readiness to learn the properties of a magnet and subsequently
reinforcing them through reward, make available magnetic materials like
new razor blades and different types of magnet, ask the students to bring
like poles together and then unlike poles together. Ask the students to use
the magnet to magnetize the razor blade. This will create excitement and
readiness in the students before teaching them the properties of a magnet.
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At the end of the lesson, reward the student by asking them to go home
with the new razor blades for their personal use at home
The implications of Skinner’s theory of learning for teaching and
learning is that, learning is likely to occur if we make reward contiguous
(close in time) upon the behaviour that we want the students to learn. In the
classroom wherever the teacher makes reinforcement or reward regular,
learning will continue to take place.
Gagne’s theory of learning also postulates that, learning is best when
one moves from mastery of the smallest conceptual units of knowledge to
the more general and more inclusive knowledge. This is referred to as the
theory of learning by hierarchy (Adigun, 1997). It holds that instructional
materials in a teaching process will only be meaningfully and easily learned
if they are so organized in hierarchical order from simple to difficult or from
concrete to abstract. These theories of Gagne have implications for the
teaching and learning of Basic Technology since they are practical skills-
based courses. Gagne’s theory of learning also emphasized the importance
of feedback, that, every act of learning requires feedback to be completed.
This necessitates communication to the learner about his / her performance
in form of result. The implications of this theory for teaching and learning
are the immediate release of results after each learning. The Palvovian
model of the stimulus-response learning theory can be used for developing
good habits such as cleanliness, respect for elders and punctuality in classes
and lessons. The model has implications for teaching and learning in the
affective domain. This can be achieved in the classroom through classical
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conditioning. In the teaching of Basic Technology, the need for the Basic
Technology teacher to always prepare the classroom environment in an
attractive condition such that the students would always be stimulated to be
in the class and learn with new and exciting instructional materials cannot be
overemphasized.This approach condition student to develop good habit such
as punctuality to the classes and lessons in Basic Technology.
Problems of Theories of Learning
There are no universally dependable or agreed principles or ideas of
the most effective interpretation of what learning is, how it can take place, or
how it can be retained or even the best method to be used to attain learning.
Psychologists and philosophers have succeeded in formulating many ideas
and laws guiding teaching and learning and many have been accepted at a
time or another by various people. There are various obstacles to the
practical applications of these theories to solve problems of teaching and
learning in schools at all levels. The greatest problem in applying these
theories of learning is that of dealing with the many different conditions
under which learning take place or fails to take place. Those conditions or
factors are mostly school (environment), students (learners) and teachers
(trainers) factors which sometimes cannot be controlled in the teaching and
learning process. Examples of these factors are personality, adjustments,
health conditions, academic aptitude, personal values, motivations, socio-
economic background, teacher-student relationship, classroom climate,
environmental distractions, physical and mental maturity etc. Since these
factors cannot be effectively controlled or managed by the teacher or the
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school, it becomes difficult or impossible to implement all the learning
theories in teaching and learning.
Learning, according to Bloom, (Adigun, 1997) can be classified into
three main domains namely, cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains.
Cognitive domains deals with knowledge, principles, facts and other
intellectual abilities, affective domain deals with attitudes, interests, values,
emotions, appreciations, love etc and psychomotor domain deals with
physical action like skill. The three domains are important to the teaching
and learning of Basic Technology courses but difficult to apply some
learning theories to teach and learn all the three learning domains at the
same time.
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Skinner’s views grew out of observations of the performance of
animals in a /device that he invented. It consisted of a small box with a lever
at one side. Wherever the animals depressed the lever, a pellet of food
(positive reinforcement) was delivered. This came to be known as Skinner
box, and has been widely used in learning studies for more than 50 years.
Skinner concerned himself in the early years predominantly with the
study of low-level behaviour of animals, and as a result contributed
significantly to our knowledge of how simple behaviours are both learned
and weakened (extengiushed). Skinner then applied these concepts to
complete behaviour and its modification. His assumption was that high-level
behaviour, when properly analyzed, could be interpreted in terms of the
complex interplay of elementary concepts and principles. He entirely
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rejected cognitive explanations of behaviour as well as any explanations
attributing behaviour to internal factors within human kinds or animals.
Skinner’s later years were concerned with testing his theories concerning
complex behaviour through the study of learning in human subjects. He
developed teaching machines and programmed learning based on his
response / reinforcement model that can guarantee effective teaching and
learning of any school subject. Skinner (1968) strongly emphasized positive
reinforcement throughout his writings. Early studies indicated that
punishment only temporarily suppressed behaviour. Later studies did
indicate that punishment can be effective. In general, a combination of
strong positive reinforcement for a correct response and mild punishment for
an incorrect response has been found to provide optimal support for learning
and improved achievement. The implication of this is that, if achievement
must improve in Basic Technology, then the use of mild punishment for
incorrect response and strong positive, reinforcement for correct response
must be properly understood.
Theory of Achievement Motivation
From Atkinson Theory of Achievement Motivation, educators have
come to agree that a major variable affecting classroom achievement is
motivation. The theory is useful and important as motivational variables in
understanding, predicting and controlling classroom bahaviour. The
situation in schools is not without hope because several theories have shown
promise of evolving postulates and hypothesis relevant to the teaching and
learning process. Prominent among these is the theory of achievement
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motivation particularly formulated by Atkinson (1957) and Atkinson and
Feather (1966). This theory has provided a productive approach to a variety
of behavioural phenomena; thus it has been suggested (Atkinson and
Feather, 1966) that it may also give direction to educational relevant
research. It can serve toward theory of academic motivation.
Need Theory of Motivation
The theory of achievement motivation which is also called need
achievement, by Atkinson and McClelland was first initiated in 1940s by
McClelland and was first summarized in the 1953 publication by Atkinson,
Clark, Lowell and McClelland in the achievement motive (Atkinson &
Feather, 1966). Achievement motivation is a theoretical model intended to
explain how the motive to achieve and the motive to avoid failure influence
behaviour in a situation where performance is evaluated against some of
excellence (Atkinson, 1957). Hoppe (1930) also found that the achievement
level needed to arouse feelings of success changed overtime for each
individual. That a score which was initially judged a success might well be
considered unacceptable on a later practice trial. Covington (2000) noted
several factors of motivation, derivable from Hoppe’s findings. They
include: level of aspiration: judgments of success or failure depend less on
actual levels of achievement, and more on the relationship between
individual’s achievement and aspiration. Feeling of success comes when
goals are achieved while a feeling of failure comes when they are not.
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Self-Confidence
Self confidence reflects the extent to which individuals believe
themselves above enough mentally to win the prize, strong enough to turn
back the foe or possessing sufficient hand to toss enough rings correctly.
Expectancy
The term expectancy generally refers to perceived estimates of
eventual success, how sure individuals are of doing well in the end, but not
necessarily that they themselves are the cause of their success.
Realistic Challenges
The key to sustained involvement in learning requires that a realistic
match be established between the individuals’ present capabilities and the
demands of the achievement task.
Self-Generated Goals
Subjects set their own achievement goals and altered them as
necessary. The result was that their aspirations moved upward just ahead of
current achievement levels but not so far ahead that their temporary goals
could not be reached. In this manner Hoppe’s subjects were constantly
achieving at their current maximum.
Control of One’s Own Progress
The feeling of control of one’s progress that came by way of setting
one’s goals generated a positive dynamics that sustained involvement in the
task, explaining how the motive to achieve and the motive to avoid failure
influence behaviour in situation where achievements are evaluated. Atkinson
(1960) said, more specifically that achievement-oriented activity is activity
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undertaken by an individual with the expectation that his achievement will
be evaluated in terms of some standard of excellence.
According to Atkinson and Feather (1966), it is presumed that any
situation which presents a challenge to achieve by arousing expectancy that
action will lead to success, must also pose the threat of failure by arousing
an expectancy that action may lead to failure. Thus achievement-oriented
activity is always influenced by the resultant of a conflict between two
opposed tendencies, the tendency to achieve success and the tendency to
avoid failure. Normally, achievement-oriented activities are also influenced
by other extrinsic motivational tendencies, which are attributable to other
kinds of motive and incentive. The theory of achievement motivation
focuses primarily upon the resolution of the conflict between the two
opposed tendencies that are inherent in any achievement-oriented activity,
but it also emphasizes the importance of extrinsic sources of motivation to
undertake an activity, particularly when the resultant achievement-oriented
tendency is negative(Atkinson & Feather, 1966).
The Importance of Motivation as a Predictor of School Achievement
Spinath and Steinmayi (2009) in a study examined the extent to
which different motivational concepts contributes to the prediction of school
achievement among adolescent students independently from intelligence.
Beyond intelligence, different motivational constructs incrementally
contributed to the prediction of school achievement. In the light of this view
some researchers have equally discussed the importance of motivation and
how motivation influence students in the classroom. Gok and Silay (2010)
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looking at the different motivational concepts said that while schools are in
place to educate students, students may not always feel up to the task of
learning. In other cases, students may be extremely eager to embrace the
curriculum. Various factors outside intelligence influence students’
motivation and they include:
Instructor Feedback
Positive feedback may increase students’ motivation by raising their
elf-confidence. When a teacher consistently offers negative feedback,
students may feel discouraged and frustrated – emotions that lead to lack of
motivation. In addition, the teacher should demonstrate enthusiasm about the
subject matter to foster an overall positive classroom climate.
Personal Application
When learning a new subject, students will wonder how they can
apply this knowledge to their personal lives. Students may feel motivated to
participate in lessons that seem to hold no practical application. To increase
motivation, the teacher should explain how the material relates to life
outside the classroom.
Course Difficulty
Lessons that are too difficult or demanding may lower student
motivation. When teaching difficult subjects, the teacher must be careful to
present the information in a way that is both organized and easy to
understand. Concrete examples can help make abstract concepts easier to
understand. It is well established from Atkinson (1966) theory of
achievement motivation that general school achievement is related to general
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intelligence. This explains only about 25 percent of the variance (Kuncel,
Hezlett and Ones, 2004).
Review of Related Empirical Studies
Some researchers have attributed the disparity observed in academic
achievement in school subjects to gender differences, school location (urban
or rural), students’ attitude and many other variables. This section therefore,
deals with the empirical studies done only on the variables: gender, school
location and students attitude towards school subjects.
Studies Related to Achievement in Basic Technology
Uwameiye (1998) conducted a study on the influence of socio-
economic background, gender and school type on the achievement of female
students in Basic Technology in Nigeria. The research sample for the study
consisted of 1152 Junior Secondary School (JSS III) students, selected
through a multi-stage sampling technique. The design used for the study was
the survey method of a descriptive research. The hypotheses were tested at
0.05 level of significance. Using students mean scores and analysis of
Variance (ANOVA), the study revealed that socio-economic background;
gender and school type individually and collectively influence students’
academic achievement in Basic Technology. Uwameiye (1998) in the study
found out that, the mean score of students from single boy’s school was
higher than that of mean score of students from single girl’s school. But for
the mixed schools, there was no significant sex difference in their academic
achievement in Basic Technology. This significant achievement of students
in mixed secondary schools over the single sex secondary schools raises a
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fundamental issue in the teaching – learning process. According to
Uwameiye (1998), the implication derivable from the findings is that the
interaction of male and female students within the same school location /
environment could lead to a significant academic achievement. However, the
final result of the study did not clearly indicate more male students’
achievement over their female counterparts in Basic Technology. Uwameiye
(1998) therefore, concluded that, the issue of sex differences in academic
achievement in Basic Technology was inconclusive because the study could
not establish whether Basic Technology is male or female biased. The
design, population and sample in Uwamiaye’s study is similar to this study.
The independent variables in Uwamiaye are different except for gender.
Studies Related to Gender and Students’ Academic Achievement
Umeoduagwu (2005) conducted a study in Delta State, Nigeria. The
study investigated the main and interactive effects of cognitive style, gender
and instructional strategy on students’ performance in integrated science.
One hundred and sixty (160) Junior Secondary School students of analytic
and global cognitive styles were used. Three hypotheses were formulated
and were tested using the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) statistics at
0.05 degree of confidence and it was established that gender has significant
effect on students’ achievement in integrated science. In the study, girls
performed better than the boys. This finding contradicts that of Okebuokola
and Inyang (1990). They found out that the general pattern for JSS classes 1,
2 and 3has always been that males obtained a higher mean score than the
females in integrated science subject. Umeoduagwu’s study used similar
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population with this study but with different data analysis technique.
However one major finding similar to both studies is that gender has
significant effects on students’ achievement. Mkpughe (2002) in her study
examined the interaction effect of two independent variables (gender and,
socio-economic status) on one dependent variable (academic performance)
in Home-Economics at the Junior Secondary School level in Cross-River
State.
Three hypotheses were formulated by the researcher and tested at .05
level of significance. The two instruments that were used for this study were
(i) the 1995 Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination result in
Home – Economics and (ii) Socio-Economic questionnaire which was
developed by the researcher. The reliability of the instrument was
established by the split-half method and using the Spearman Brown
prophesy formula, it was found to be 0.76. The t-test and the Analysis of
Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses. The Scheffe Multiple
range test was used for comparison of different mean scores where
significant f-ratios were obtained. The hypotheses were rejected. The
findings revealed that:
1. Female students performed significantly better in Home-
Economics than male students
2. Students from high socio-economic background (well-to-do
families) performed significantly better in Home-Economics than
students from low socio-economic background (less privileged
families).
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3. There is a significant interaction effect of gender and socio-
economic background of students on academic performance in
Home Economics.
Mkpughe’s study is similar to this study in some areas such as: design
and population as well as data analysis technique employed with the use of
t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA), but her study was carried out in
Cross-River State with slightly different independent variables and her
findings different from this present study.
Studies Related to School Location and Students’ Academic
Achievement
Onyeagu (2005) found no significant difference between urban and
rural physics students in (i) achievement in physics and (ii) interest in
physics. In the study, Onyeagu (2005) investigated the interaction effect of
cognitive style, gender and attitude on students’ achievement in physics. The
study employed “2x2x2” factorial analysis of variance with three
independent variables and one dependent variable. Three hypotheses were
formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significant. A sample of 158 senior
secondary school students was selected from four secondary schools in Ika
South and Ika North East Local Government Areas of Delta State. Three
instruments were constructed and used for the gathering of data for the
study.
The analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) statistics was used in
analyzing the data for significant interaction effect of the independent
variable on students’ achievement in physics. The main findings were that
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(a) there was no significant difference between urban and rural physics
students in (i) achievement in physics and (ii) interest (attitude) in physics
(b) there was no significant interaction effect of gender and attitude on
achievement in physics
The design, population and sample characteristics of Onyeagu’s study
are similar to this study. The three independent variables and one dependent
variable investigated in physics as school subject are also the variables being
investigated in this study. Onyeagu used Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA)
statistics to analyze the data but in this research, analysis of variance
(ANOVA) was used along with t-test to test the hypotheses. Analysis of
covariance is not suitable in this study because there is no covariate since the
design is not a pre- test post test design.
Owoeye and Yara (2011) in their study looked at the location of
schools as it relates to academic achievement of students in Ekiti State of
Nigeria between 1990 and 1997. The study population was results of the
West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) conducted between
1990 and 1997 in 50 secondary schools in both rural and urban areas of the
state. The research design was ex-post facto type. The population was 50
secondary schools comprising four Federal Unity schools and 46 public
schools. The schools were those that sat for the West African School
Certificate Examination (WASCE) between 1990 and 1997 and the
respondents were the final year students of these schools from the rural and
urban areas of Ekiti state, Nigeria. One research hypothesis was formulated
and tested. There was no significant difference in the achievement of
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students in rural and urban secondary schools in whether they are in small or
large classes. The instrument used was Student Location Questionnaire
(SLQ) designed by the researcher. The instrument had two sessions A and B.
In section A, six items dealing with the profile of the respondents such as
gender, age, school type (rural / urban), grade among others were
highlighted. Section B had items that measured the opinion of the
respondents and the respondents were asked to respond to the items on a
four point scale of strongly agree, agree, disagree, and strongly disagree. The
data analysis technique was by the use of standard deviation and t-test to
determine the significance or otherwise of the difference between the mean
of students’ academic achievement of rural and urban schools. The result
showed a mean of 1.7207 and standard deviation of 0.201 from 29 rural
schools compared with a mean of 1.9619 and standard deviation of 0.0414
from 21 schools in urban location. With 48 degree of freedom (df) the result
showed that the part of the community in which the schools are located had
effect on the achievement of the students in SSCE (t = 2.73; significant at
0.05). The hypothesis was therefore not accepted.
This study of Owoeye and Yara is similar to the present research.
Both studies were carried out in Nigeria. Both employed ex-post facto
design and the population for the studies were secondary school students.
The instruments were different as well as the findings though both studies
employed similar data analysis techniques. While Owoeye and Yara
employed mean, standard deviation and t-test, the present study used mean,
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standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA for the research questions and the
hypotheses.
Akagbogu (2004) in his study investigated the effect of location of
school on secondary school students’ achievement in reading comprehension
in Enugu State of Nigeria. The study area was Enugu education zone of
Nigeria, which included the Enugu North, Enugu South, Enugu East and Isu-
Uzo local government areas. Schools used were drawn from these local
government areas. The sample for the study was made up of 260 senior
secondary class 2 students (SS II), drawn from two boys and two girls
school from Enugu North and South local government areas and two girl’s
and two boy’s schools from Enugu East and Isu-Uzo local government
areas. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used to draw the
samples used for this study. For the experimental group a total of 133
subjects were used (74 males and 59 females), and for the control group127
student were used (70 males and 57 females). Data for the study was
collected through the use of written test called Reading Comprehension
Achievement Test (RCAT), whose reliability index was 0.87 using the
Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation. The instrument used was a written
test of two sections, reading, and comprehension and vocabulary
identification test. The first section consisted of 13 questions derived from
two reading comprehension prose passages. The second section consisted of
multiple – choice questions. All the questions were adapted from WAEC,
SSCE / WASSCE past examination questions in English language paper I. A
marking scheme was used for scoring the answer scripts. The same
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questions were reshuffled and used for the post-test. The study was guided
by one research question and one hypothesis and the study employed a non-
equivalent control group quasi-experimental design. The data collected were
analysed using mean, standard deviation and analysis of co-variance. The
findings revealed significant difference between the mean scores of the
urban, and rural groups and the hypothesis which stated that there is no
significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students in urban
and rural locations was not accepted at 0.05 alpha level. The result also
provided answer to the research question that sought to know if school
location has any effect on academic achievement. Urban students performed
better than their rural counterparts in reading comprehension. There was
significant effect of location of school on students’ achievement in reading
comprehension.
Though the design, instrumentation and method of analysis of
Akabogu’s study were different from this present study, both studied urban
and rural populations of secondary school students.
Studies Related to Students’ Attitudes and Students Academic
Achievement
Kpangban (2004) conducted a study on the relationship between
students’ attitude and achievement in mathematics as well as relationship
between gender and achievement in mathematics. The study was a
descriptive study of ex-post facto design. Two hypotheses were formulated
and tested by the researcher at .05 level of confidence. One main instrument
was constructed by the researcher, validated and the reliability coefficient
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established. The instrument is called “Students’ Attitude Test (SAT) Scale”.
The instrument consisted of 18 Likert type items. The researcher used three
experts selected from Delta State University, Abraka to validate the
instrument. The reliability of the Student Attitude Test Scale was determined
using 60 students randomly selected from 3 secondary schools in Abraka. A
Cronbach Coefficient Alpha of .78 was obtained. The instrument was
administered to 200 senior secondary school students (SSI) randomly
selected from 10 secondary schools in Ethiope Local Government Area of
Delta State. The 1996 Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination
results for Mathematics were used with data collected with the instrument.
The t-test statistical analysis tool was used in comparing the mean difference
in Mathematics on the basis of attitude and gender. From the analysis, it was
found that, there was significant relationship between students’ attitude and
their achievement in Mathematics. Kpangban’s study employed a design and
population (secondary school students) similar to this study. The
instrumentation and validation and hypotheses are also similar to this study.
Kpangban employed mean and t-test for data analysis while this study also
used mean, t-test and ANOVA for data analysis.
Anazia (2007) conducted a study on the relationship between
students’ attitude and academic achievement in technical education at the
technical colleges in Edo and Delta States. The population for the study was
608 students from six technical colleges in Edo and Delta States of Nigeria.
Total respondents of 300 were randomly selected from the six colleges,
comprising 50 students from each school and 10 students from each trade
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namely, Auto-mechanics, electrical installation, building construction,
metalwork and woodwork. Three hypotheses were formulated by the
researcher and tested at .05 level of significance. Two separate instruments
were used. They were:
i. Technical Education Achievement Test (TEAT) and
ii. Student Attitude Test (SAT) scale. Both instruments were
validated and a reliability coefficient of .7763 and .821
were obtained respectively, using Pearson Product Moment
Correlation Technique.
The data were analysed using the t-test statistic of significance to compare
the mean difference on the basis of gender and attitude. The main findings
were that:
(1) The attitude of males towards Technical education was positive
compared to their female counterparts
(2) The female performed better than the male, female having a
higher mean compared to the males.
(3) There was no significant positive relationship between students’
attitude and achievements in academics
Anazia’s study though investigated the relationship between students’
attitude and academic achievement, the population was different. The
instrumentation was also different from this present study but the same data
analysis techniques using mean and t-test statistical analysis tool to compare
mean values was employed.
Yara (2009) in his study to investigate students’ attitude towards
mathematics and academic achievement in some selected secondary schools
in south western Nigeria discovered that Attitude of students can be
influenced by the attitude of the teacher and his method of teaching. He also
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revealed that students’ attitude towards mathematics were positive. Three
research questions were formulated and investigated. The research questions
answered in this study were (1) what is the relationship between students’
attitude towards mathematics and academic achievement? (2) Do students
love mathematics for the sake of the subject? (3) Why do students hate
mathematics? The study adopted the descriptive survey design using
frequency and percentage for the analysis. The instrument used was
Students’ Attitude Scale (SAT) which was adapted from the modified
Fennemasherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales. The instrument had two
sections. Section A was demographic while the section B was opinion
questions using a four point scale in which students were expected to agree
or disagree. The instrument was administered to 50 SS II students in three
different schools who were not part of the targeted population and the
Cronbach Alpha value obtained was 0.82 which showed that the instrument
was reliable.
The results showed that 1458 students representing 83.3 per cent
agreed that they liked solving mathematics while 84 students representing
16.7 per cent did not agree that they like solving mathematics. These results
showed that majority of the students liked solving mathematics while very
few students do not like solving mathematics. On the questions “Knowing
mathematics will help me earn a living”, 1366 students representing 78.0 per
cent agreed with this view while 173 representing 22.0 per cent did not agree
with this question which indicates that without mathematics they can earn a
living. On the question “I don’t think I can do well in mathematics”, 301
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students representing 17.2 per cent did say that they strongly agreed while
1241 representing 82.8 per cent said that they did not agree with this view.
This showed that most of the students believed that they can do well in
mathematics since only 301 students agreed with this view. 303 students
representing 17.4 per cent agreed that mathematics will not be important to
them in future while 1239 students representing 82.6 per cent did not agree
with this view which is an indication that mathematics will be very
important to them in their future endeavours.
On the question of mathematics being a very difficult subject, 569
students representing 32.6 per cent did agree with this view while 973
students representing 67.4 per cent did not agree with this question. This
implies that to the students under review, mathematics is not a difficult
subject. Majority of the students (1291) representing 70.4 per cent agreed
that there are too many facts to learn in mathematics while 251 students
representing 29.6 per cent did not agree with this view. This implies that to
learn mathematics, one must be ready to learn a lot of things and be attentive
while learning these facts. Majority of the students (1342, 76.7%) believed
that mathematics helped them to develop positive reasoning ability. Most of
the students (1291, 73.7%) did not agree that attending mathematics class
was a waste of time while few of the students (228, 26.2%) did strongly
agree that it was a waste of time to attend mathematics class. 1231 students
representing 70.4 per cent agreed that mathematics teachers help them to be
logical in thinking while 258 students representing 29.6 per cent did not
agree. 1005 students representing 65.2 per cent did not agree that
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mathematics is too technical for them to understand while 537 students
representing 34.8 per cent agreed that the subject is too technical for them to
understand. From the findings of this study it is obvious that those students
with negative attitude to Mathematics that showed dislike for the subject,
regarding Mathematics as too technical and difficult to understand
performed poorly in the subject. This was also the case in this study where
students with negative attitude towards Basic Technology irrespective of
school location and gender performed poorly. This appears to be a common
problem of students towards Mathematics and Basic Technology as revealed
in the studies.
Studies Related to Gender, School Location And Students
Academic Achievement.
Olueh (2006) conducted a study in Nigeria to determine the effects of
gender and school location on students’ achievement in Agricultural Science
at the Junior Secondary School in Ogun State. The study was causal –
comparative research which is also referred to as ex-post facto research. The
population was senior secondary school students from which 396 student
was randomly sampled for the study. The sample was made up of 200 male
and 196 females. Two hypotheses were formulated for the study as follows:
I. There is no significant difference between the performance of
male and female students in Agricultural Science at the Junior
Secondary School level.
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2. There is no significant difference between the performance of
students living in urban areas and those living in rural areas in
agricultural Science at the Junior Secondary School level.
The hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance. One
instrument was used to test the hypotheses – The Agricultural Science
Achievement Test. The instrument consisted of 50 multiple choice items in
Agricultural Science. The instrument was administered on 200 male and
female students drawn from 10 secondary schools in Ogun State,
purposively selected on the bases of geographical spread around the state
and urban and rural locations. Analysis of results of the means of students’
performances with the t-test showed the following main findings:-
1. Students based in urban centres achieve significantly higher in
Agricultural Science than rural based students.
2. Male students do not achieve significantly higher than female
students in Agricultural Science.
Olueh’s study is similar to this research in terms of design, population
and hypotheses. Ughamadu (2002) in his study investigated the interaction
effects of cognitive style, gender and school location on students’
achievement in Social Studies at Junior Secondary School (J.S.S) level. For
this study, 788 Junior Secondary School students from 6 secondary schools
in Anambra state were selected and used. The subjects were made up of 306
boys, 442 girls; 409 urban students and 379 rural students and also 408
analytic students against 380 global students. Two instruments the Cognitive
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Style Test (CST) and Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT) was used for
gathering the required data.
The study was a “2x2x2” survey design with gender (male and
female), school location (urban and rural) and cognitive style (analytic and
global) as independent variables and achievement in Social Studies as the
dependent variable. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) statistic was used
for the data analysis All the seven hypotheses formulated were tested at .05
level of significance. Findings indicated that, there was no significant
interactive effect of gender and school location on students’ achievement in
s Social Studies. The interactive effects of gender and cognitive style, school
location and cognitive variable (gender, cognitive style and school location)
were also not significant.
Ughamadu’s study in terms of research design, population and data
analysis technique using ANOVA is similar to this research. Two
independent variables school location and gender and students achievement
as dependent variables are the same for both studies.
Eriakhuemen (2003) investigated the influence of two independent
variables (Gender and School Location) on achievement. The study was
designed to examine the influence of Gender and School location on the
mathematics achievement of senior secondary school 11 (SS 11) students.
The sample for the study consisted of four hundred and three (403) SS II
students randomly selected from twelve senior secondary schools in four
local Government area of Edo South Senatorial zone. The instrument of
research is a sixty (60) multiple choice items mathematics achievement test.
98
Three hypotheses were formulated to direct the study. Data collected were
analysed using a 2x2 Analysis of variance (ANOVA). The result indicated
that: there is a significant difference in the academic achievement of male
and female. There is a significant difference in the academic achievement of
urban and rural students. There is a significant interaction influence of
gender and school location on the academic achievement of students. Based
on the research findings it is concluded that male students perform better
than female students in senior secondary school mathematics. Also urban
students perform better than rural students in senior secondary school
mathematics.
The study of Erikhuemen is similar to this study in terms of variables,
design and partly the data analysis techniques. Erikhuemen used two
independent variables while this study used three. Erikhuemen employed a
2x2 Analysis of Variance but this study used a 2x2x2 analysis of variance.
Studies Related to Gender, Students’ Attitude and Students’
Academic Achievement
Ayoola and Falaye (2006) in their study examined the influence of
some home variables, gender and attitudes on secondary school students’
academic achievement. The study adopted ex-post facto research type. The
study was designed to assess how student’s variable (parent’s education,
parent’s occupation, parental supports, social-economic status, parental
interaction, family type, family size, family structure and educational
facilities available at home), attitudes and gender can influence achievement
99
in secondary school economics. Based on the stated problem, the study
provided answers to the following research questions:
1. To what extent would students variables, attitudes and gender jointly
influence their achievement in Economics and
2. What is the relative contribution of each of the home variables,
attitudes and gender in (dependent variables) to influence students’
achievement dependent variable in Economics? The study sample
included three hundred students (148 males and 152 females) in the
second year (SS II) of the Senior Secondary School Education. The
sample was selected using a multi-stage sampling procedure. Three
administrative zones were selected out of the six zones which make
up Osun State in Nigeria; five local government areas were selected
from the three administrative zones. Ten secondary schools were
chosen, two from each of the five local government areas. The
instruments used for the data collection which were developed by the
research included
1. Students’ Home Background Questionnaire (SHBQ)
2. Students Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) and
3. Economics Achievement Test (EAT)
The student home background questionnaire (SHBQ) consisted six
sections and it was trial tested on 30 secondary school (SS I) students from
another school not involved in the study, Cronbach Coefficient Alpha
yielded validity and reliability indices of 0.80 and 0.78 respectively. The
Student Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) consisted of nineteen (19) items to
100
measure students’ attitude disposition towards Economics. A 4-point likert
scale of Strongly Agree (SA) = 4, Agree (A) = 3, Disagree (D) = 2 and
Strongly Disagree (SD) = 1 was used. However, items worded negatively
were scored in a reversed order. The items were also trial tested on the same
30 students. The Cronbach Coefficient Alpha of 0.77 indicated that the SAQ
was valid. The Economics Acheivement Test (EAT) consisted of 50
multiple choice items with four options. The Kuder Richardson formula 20
(KR-20) yielded a reliability value of 074 for test. The influence of gender
on academic achievement was ascertained using t-test while multiple
regression analysis was used to analyze the data collected to determine the
extent to which the independent variables influenced achievement in
secondary school Economics. The multiple regressions were also used to
determine the relative contribution of the independent variables to the
influence. The findings from the study, revealed that home variables,
attitude and gender jointly and significantly influence student achievement
in Economics
The study also revealed that out of the home variables, family
structure and parents’ socio-economic status made significant contributions
to influence students’ achievement in Economics. The study of Ayoola and
Falaye and this present study are similar in design sample and sampling
procedure and instruments except that the statistics used to analyse data
were different as well as the number of instruments used for data collection.
Ayoola and Falaye used three instruments while this present study used two.
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The dependent variable for both studies is the same while one of the
independent variables is different.
Summary of Review of Related Literature
This review looked at the teaching of Basic Technology in Nigerian
schools and the interactive influence of three variables on students’
achievement in school subjects with particular reference to Basic
Technology. The variables considered were gender, school location and
students’ attitude towards Basic Technology. Basic Technology is a pre-
vocational technical subject taught at the junior secondary schools in
Nigeria. It is a multi-disciplinary subject that covers very large area and
draws from many other disciplines such as: You and Technology (ICT
inclusive), Safety, Materials and Processing, Drawing Practice, Tools and
Machines, Applied Electricity and Electronics, Energy and Power,
Maintenance and Building. There are numerous impediments influencing the
teaching and learning of the subject in Nigerian schools. The review on
gender has indicated the influence of gender on academic achievement of
students in school subjects.
From the review, gender is considered a strong factor that influences
students’ academic achievement in school subjects. From the review also,
school location, urban or rural has been perceived as an important
influencing factor on students’ academic achievement in school subjects. It
is clear from the review that there exist some differences between urban and
rural settings and hence the disparity in urban and rural schools. It has also
been revealed that urban and rural location of schools does have significant
102
effect on students’ academic achievement by many researchers why some
other researchers did not support this common contention that rural students
achieve less than their counterparts in urban areas. The disparity in academic
achievement between students from urban and rural schools reported by
some researchers have been attributed to factors such as quality of students,
available infrastructural facilities, the quality of teachers, nature of the
instructional materials and facilities and the stimulating nature of where the
school is located. In all, some studies on school location and academic
achievement have shown significant and non-significant influence on
students’ academic achievement in school subjects.
On the issue of students’ attitude on academic achievement in school
subject, it has been shown that students’ academic achievement in any
school subject may be high, positive, average, negative or low depending on
the type of attitude developed (either positive or negative attitude) by the
students towards the subject. Therefore, when a student develops a positive
attitude towards learning any school subject, the student is likely to achieve
well. The reverse is the case when the attitude or behaviour is negatively
directed. There seems a contradiction in the report of the studies reviewed on
the relationship of students’ attitude and academic achievement in school
subjects. This situation calls for further studies on the possible influence of
students’ attitude on academic achievement in school subjects. The diverse
and conflicting views regarding the influence of gender, school location and
students’ attitude on academic achievement in school subjects are pointer to
the fact that, researchers have not reached a consensus. In the case of Basic
103
Technology, the influence of gender on academic achievement is
inconclusive. There seems also a contradiction on the relationship of
students’ attitudes and academic achievement in school subjects.
Though studies on school location have shown significant and non-
significant influence on students’ academic achievement in school subjects,
there has not been any study reported on school location and academic
achievement in Basic technology. There has not been any study on the
influence of the three variables, gender, school location and students’
attitude as well as their interactive influence on academic achievement in
Basic technology. Therefore, this study is an attempt to determine the
influence of these variables, gender, school location and students’ attitudes
and their interactive influence on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology at the Junior Secondary School (J.S.S) in Delta State
104
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY
This chapter presents the procedure that was used in carrying out the
study under the following sub-headings: Design of the Study, Area of the
Study, Population of the Study, Sample and Sampling Technique,
Instruments for Data Collection, Validity of instruments, Reliability of
Instruments, Method of Data Collection, and Method of Data Analysis.
Design of the Study
This study was a non experimental research because it did not involve
the manipulation of variables. Specifically, the study was ex-post facto
design which is also called causal-comparative research. It is ex-post facto
design (causal comparative) because the researcher’s aim was to determine
the existing differences in the attitude of group of individuals and their
locations. Ex-post facto design according to Peretomode and Ibeh (1995)
and Gay (1981) is one in which the researcher investigates possible cause-
and -effect relationship about the current status of the phenomena under
investigation by observing an existing state of affairs and searching back
through the data for possible causal factors. In this type of design, both the
effect and alleged causal factors have already occurred and are studied
retrospectively. Ex-post facto design is most suitable for this study since the
researcher has no direct control of the independent variables because their
manifestations have already occurred. Therefore, only inferences about the
variables were made without direct interventions from expected variation of
the independent and dependent variables.
89
105
Area of the Study
The area covered by this study is Delta State of Nigeria. Delta State is
in the South – South zone of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It has
boundary with Edo, Anambra and Bayelsa States. The State comprised three
senatorial districts, namely Delta North, Delta Central and Delta South
Senatorial Districts. The State has 25 Local Government Areas with a
population of about three million. The Seat of the government of Delta State
is Asaba, which is the capital of the State. Delta State has 826 secondary
schools spread across the three senatorial districts and located in both urban
and rural areas. The urban areas comprised the state capital, local
government headquarters and other major towns; while the rural area
comprised the villages or locations outside the urban areas.
Delta State is a region with a land mass of 18,050km2 with more than
60 percent being land. It is inhabited by indigenes with diverse ethnic
groups, culture and religion, whose major occupations are farming and
fishing. The state is an oil producing state and also blessed with other solid
and natural resources. The presence of natural resources in the state
especially oil deposit attracts many oil firms. It is therefore expected that
many activities associated to technology education and practices go on in the
state. In this justification, the study was conducted in the state.
Population for the Study
The population of the study comprised all the 826 Delta State owned
public secondary schools with a total of 56,800 JSS III students for 2011
session drawn from both the urban and rural areas of the state. The 56,800
106
JSS III students is made up of 14,200 girls and 15,800 boys from 420 urban
schools and 14,230 girls and 12,570 boys from 406 rural schools. The 826
schools comprised 286 mixed and 540 single sex secondary schools. Out of
the total population of 56,800 JSSIII students for the study, 28,370 students
are boys and 28,430 are girls from both the urban and rural areas across the
three senatorial districts of the state (See Appendix B, p.144).
Sample and Sampling Techniques
The sample for the study was 1,844 JSSIII students randomly
sampled from 56,800 JSSIII students from the 826 state owned secondary
schools in Delta State. According to Peretomode and Ibeh (1992), a sample
size of 5% of a population is desired if the population is about 50,000
subjects. Therefore 5% of 56800 equals 2840 students. The researcher
adopted Peretomode and Ibeh procedure considering the large number of
schools and subjects. The average number of students per school is the
population (56,800) divided by the number of schools (826). That is, 56,800
divided by 826 is equal to 68 approximately. The total number of schools
needed equals the sample size (2,840) divided by the average number per
school. Thus, the number of schools needed for this study is 2840 divided by
68 and this gave 42 schools approximately. Therefore, 42 out of the 826
schools were randomly selected.
On the basis of the above, the sample for the study was 1,844 JSSIII
students randomly selected from 21 urban secondary schools and 21 rural
secondary schools. 11 of the 21 urban secondary schools sampled were
boys’ secondary schools while 10 were girls’ secondary schools. Also, 11
107
out of the 21 rural secondary schools sampled were boys’ secondary schools
while 10 were girls’ secondary school. Mixed secondary schools were not
sampled. It was considered better to restrict the study to single sex
secondary schools since according to Uwamieye (1998), the influence of
gender on academic achievement is better determined in single sex
secondary schools than in mixed secondary schools. All the JSSIII students
in the 42 sampled schools were made to choose ballot papers of yes or no.
The final sample and the distribution of the sample are as shown in
Appendix C (p.144) and D (p.145).The final Sample was made up of 1,044
JSSIII students from urban schools and 800 JSSIII students from rural
schools which gave a total sample size of 1,844.
Instruments for Data Collection
Two instruments were used for the collection of data for the study. They
are:
- Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) and
- Students Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ)
The BTAT consisted of 60 questions adapted from the Junior
Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE) past questions (from
2002 to 2011 academic sessions). This procedure was employed because
according to Akagbogu (2004) and Hernerson, Morris and Fitz – Gibbon
(1997) past questions for examination such as JSSCE are regarded as
standard measures for instructional situations and are regarded as valid and
reliable. The BTAT instrument covered the content of Basic Technology as
contained in the JSS Basic Technology curriculum. The test Blue print
108
(Appendix E, p.147) guided the researcher in the compilation of the test
items and the items selected were of the knowledge and comprehension
level of the cognitive domain of the taxonomy of education objectives. The
Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) consisted of two sections A
and B. Section A was demographic requesting the respondents to indicate
their sex, name of school, and school location (whether urban or rural) while
section B was 60 multiple choice questions in which respondents were
required to circle the best alternative from a to e that correctly answer the
question given in each item
The Students’ Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) was developed by the
researcher after a careful study of the literature review and the attitude scale
by Kpangban (2001) in Mathematics and that of Onyeagu (2002) in Physics
and the Scaling Technique for Measuring Data (STMD) gathered from
respondents by Kelozin (2000). Since both were published attitude tests,
they were modified by the researcher and submitted for validation and
reliability processes to produce SAQ for this study. The SAQ instrument for
this study consisted two sections A and B. Section A was demographic
questions where the respondents indicated their sex, name of their school
and the location (urban or rural). Section B consisted of 22 items, the five-
point Likert scale type in which respondents were required to indicate their
level of agreement or disagreement against each questionnaire item as
follows: For the responses to the 22 items of the Students’ Attitude
Questionnaire, the Likert response scale was used as shown below. For
positive statements, the scale was ranked as follows:
109
Strongly agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
(SA)
(A)
(U)
(D)
(SD)
5
4
3
2
1
But for the negative statements, values were reversed, thus;
Strongly Agree
Agree
Undecided
Disagree
Strongly Disagree
(SA)
(A)
(U)
(D)
(SD)
1
2
3
4
5
Validation of Instruments
The two instruments used for this study; Basic Technology
Achievement Test (BTAT) and Students Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) were
validated as follows: The content validity of the BTAT was carried out by
the researcher using five Basic Technology (BT) graduate teachers at JSS
level in Delta State and three experts in Industrial Technical Education from
the Department of Vocational Teacher Education, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka. They were all requested to review the test and make comment on
the suitability. They helped to ascertain the representativeness, clarity,
appropriateness and how relevant and related the BTAT instrument was to
the content of BT syllabus. There were no negative reactions but based on
the validator’s comments minor corrections were made before the
instrument was finally produced and administered to the respondents.
The SAQ instrument was validated by the researcher using six
experts, three from the Department of Educational Psychology and three
110
from Industrial Technical Education in the Department of Vocational and
Technical Education, Delta State University, Abraka. The experts
individually scrutinized and made their comments on the suitability of the
items. The aim was to ascertain the representativeness of the content and
construct of the instrument in measuring the attitude of students towards
Basic Technology. In doing this, the experts were requested to delete any
item they considered irrelevant or to add any other item they considered
important but not reflected in the instrument. On the basis of their comments
and corrections, the instrument was modified and produced for use.
Reliability of the Instruments
The internal consistency reliability of BTAT was established using
Kuder – Richardson formula 20 (KR-20) because the BTAT was a multi –
choice achievement test that was scored dichotomously (correct or wrong).
This procedure is used for establishing the reliability of a test score obtained
from a single administration of a single test form. The estimated KR-20
reliability is a measure of the internal consistency just like the case of split
half method. In situations where test items are scored correctly or wrongly,
the problem of how to split a test is resolved with the use of KR -20 formula
and the reliability coefficient for this study was therefore calculated and it
was found to be 0.76. (Appendix F, p.148)
The reliability of the Student Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) was
established using Cronbach Alpha formula. Cronbach Alpha is a useful
means of estimating reliability when items are not scored dichotomously
(opinion items, not scored as right or wrong). The instrument was trial-tested
111
using 50 students that were not used for this study but with similar
characteristics with the subjects used for this study. The coefficient
reliability and yielded 0.61 (Appendix G, p.149). This value was considered
high enough to establish that the instrument was reliable.
Method of Data Collection
Both instruments - Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) and
the Students’ Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) were administered to the 1,844
JSS III students sampled from the 42 selected secondary schools for the
study. The co-operation of the school authorities in each school was solicited
and obtained through a letter (see Appendix H, p.150). The researcher
solicited the Junior Secondary School examination results (JSSCE) for the
period of 2002 – 2011(see Appendix I, p.151) and the list of all State
owned/public schools in Delta State from the Ministry of Education, (see
Appendix J, p.152). All teachers of Basic Technology in the sampled
schools were requested to assist in the administration of the instruments. The
teachers were given sufficient information on the administration of the
instruments. The teachers were also asked to co-opt other teachers so as to
effectively conduct the Basic Technology Achievement Test, thereby
avoiding any examination malpractice. Both BTAT (Appendix K, p.153)
and SAQ (Appendix L, p. 164) were administered to the respondents in the
42 schools on the same day that was agreed upon and that was on June 09,
2011, barely one month to the Junior Secondary School Certificate
Examination (JSSCE) held between July 04 and 11, 2011. This procedure
was adopted and made easy through phone calls. It also helped to remove
112
inter-school interaction among the respondents. As soon as the
administration was over the teachers forwarded the parcels to the researcher
under seal the following day being June 10, 2011.
Method of Data Analysis
The Mean ( X ) was used to categorize the attitude of the students
toward Basic Technology into positive or negative attitude. Since the SAQ
was developed in such a strict procedure the responses were scored and
summed to yield a single score representing one attitude. Favourable
responses (agree) were regarded as positive attitudes; while unfavourable
responses (disagree) were termed negative attitudes. Decision point was put
at 3.0. This is an average of the arithmetic mean of five plus four, plus three,
plus two, plus one divided by five which is equal to three. That is
5+4+3+2+1 = 15÷5 =3. This implies that a Mean rating of less than 3.0 was
regarded as “disagree”, that is, negative attitude; while a Mean rating of 3.0
and above was regarded as “agree”, that is positive attitude. For the BTAT,
the model answer is as shown in Appendix M, (p.167) and the scores of the
respondents were graded over 60 to determine the Mean. On the basis of the
mean, the researcher was able to calculate the standard deviation and test of
significance of the influence of Gender (male and female), School Location
(urban and rural) and Students’ Attitude (positive and negative) on Basic
Technology. Details of this is reported in chapter four.
For Research Questions 1, 2 and 3 simple Mean was used. The
gender (male and female) on students’ academic achievement, the influence
of school location (urban – rural) on students’ academic achievement and the
113
influence of students’ attitude on students’ academic achievement were
determined. The t-test analysis was used to determine the significant
influence of gender, school location and students’ attitude on academic
achievement for hypotheses 1, 2 and 3. The t-test is more appropriate for the
test of significance when two Means are being compared. To test for the
significant interactive influence in the null hypotheses four, five, six and
seven, the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used for the analysis at .05
level of probability.
114
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
This chapter presents the results of the data analysis for the study.
The presentation was organized according to the research questions and null
hypotheses that guided the study and presented in tables.
Report on Demography of the Respondents
Section A of the instruments, BTAT and SAQ was on the
demographic data of the respondents. From the 540 single secondary schools
used for this study, 281 secondary schools were from urban area (156 urban
boys secondary schools and 125 urban girls secondary schools) while 259
secondary schools were from the rural area (138 rural boys secondary school
and 131 of rural girls secondary schools). In all, 294 boys secondary schools
and 246 girls secondary schools made up the total of 540 single secondary
schools used for this study. The population of boys in the 294 secondary
schools gave 28,370 Basic Technology JSSIII students, while the population
of girls in the 246 secondary schools gave a population of 28,430 Basic
Technology JSSIII students. The total sample used for this study was 1844
JSS students comprising 1044 boys and 800 girls.
Research Question 1
What is the influence of gender (male and female) on the academic
achievement of students in Basic Technology?
99
115
Table 1
Mean Academic Achievement scores of Male and Female Students
in Basic Technology Achievement Test
Groups N SD Mean scores ( X ) Mean Difference
Male 1044 4.67 31.35
3.74 Female 800 7.15 27.61
The data presented in Table 1 showed that the male students had a
mean achievement score of 31.35 in the Basic Technology achievement test
while the female students had 27.61. With this result, the male students
performed better in the Basic Technology achievement test than the female
students. This means that gender influences academic achievement and for
this study the influence is measured by the mean difference of 3.74 in the
academic achievement of male and female measured by the BTAT.
Research Question 2
What is the influence of school location (urban and rural) on the
academic achievement of students in Basic Technology?
Table 2
Mean Academic of Achievement of Students Scores of students
from Urban and Rural Areas in Basic Technology Achievement
Test
Groups N SD Mean scores ( X ) Mean Difference
Urban Students 1116 7.21 27.36
3.34 Rural Students 728 7.17 24.02
The data presented in Table 2 showed that the students from urban
area had a mean academic achievement score of 27.36 in the Basic
Technology achievement test while students in rural area had a mean
116
academic achievement score of 24.02. With this result, the students from
urban areas performed better in the Basic Technology than their counterparts
in rural areas of Delta State. This means that school location influences
academic achievement of students and for this study the influence of school
location is seen from the mean difference of 3.34 in the academic
achievement of students from urban and rural areas in the BTAT.
Research Question 3
What is the influence of Students’ Attitude (positive or negative) on
the academic achievement of students in Basic Technology?
Table 3
Mean Academic Achievement scores of Students with Negative and
Positive Attitudes in Basic Technology Achievement Test
Groups N SD Mean scores ( X ) Mean Difference
Students with
Positive Attitudes
1176 5.90 30.81
4.08
Students with
Negative Attitudes
668 8.09 26.73
The data presented in Table 3 showed that, students with positive
attitudes in Basic Technology had a mean academic achievement score of
30.81 in the Basic Technology achievement test while those with negative
attitude in Basic Technology had mean score of 26.73. With this result, the
students with positive attitude performed better in the Basic Technology
achievement test than the students with negative attitudes in Basic
Technology. This means that the attitude of students influences academic
achievement and in the study, the influence of students’ attitude on
117
achievement in Basic Technology is reported as the mean difference
between students with positive and negative attitudes. This mean difference
of 4.08 is the influence of students’ attitude on academic achievement as
measured by the BTAT.
Testing of Hypotheses
The test of significant influence of the independent variables
(gender, school location and students’ attitude) on the dependent
variable (academic achievement) in Basic Technology was carried out
on hypotheses one, two and three using the t-test analysis.
Hypothesis 1
The null hypothesis I stated that, there is no significant influence
of gender (male and female) on the academic achievement of students in
Basic Technology as measured by BTAT.
Table 4
Test of Significance of the influence of gender (male and female) on
Academic Achievement of Students in BTAT.
S/No
Groups
N
X
SD
df
t cal
Sig
p.
Remark
1. Male Students 1044 31.35 4.67
1841
13.57*
.00
Sig 2. Female
Students
800 27.61 7.15
P<0.05 From Table 4, the t-calculated value using t-test analysis is 13.57 at a
level of .00. This observed level of significance is less than the probability
level of .05 (t=13.57*, P < .05). With this finding, there was significant
influence of gender (male and female) on the academic achievement in Basic
118
Technology. Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant influence of
gender is not accepted at .05 level of probability. This means that there is
significant influence of gender on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology.
Hypothesis 2
Hypothesis Two stated that, there is no significant influence of school
location (Urban and Rural) on the academic achievement of students in
Basic Technology as measured by BTAT.
Table 5
Test of Significance of the influence of school location (urban and
rural) on Academic Achievement of Students in BTAT.
S/No
Groups
N
X
SD
df
t cal
Sig
p.
Remark
1. Students
from Urban
1116 27.21 7.21
1842
9.20*
.00
Sig
2. Students
from Rural
728 24.20 7.17
P<0.05
From the t-test analysis in table 5, the t-calculated value is 9.20 at
a level of significance of .00. This value is less than the probability level of
.05 (t = 9.20*, p < .05). This finding indicated that there was significant
influence of school location (urban and rural) on student academic
achievement in Basic Technology. Therefore the null hypothesis of no
significant influence of school location on students’ academic achievement
is not accepted at .05 level of probability. This means that there is significant
influence of school location on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology.
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Hypothesis 3
The null hypothesis three stated that, there is no significant
influence of students’ attitude (positive or negative) on the academic
achievement of students in Basic Technology as measured by the BTAT.
Table 6
Test of Significance of the influence of students attitude (positive
or negative) on Academic Achievement of students in BTAT.
S/No
Groups
N
X
SD
Df
t cal
Sig
p.
Remark
1. Students with
positive attitude
1176 30.81 5.90
1842
12.43*
.00
Sig
2. Students with
Negative
attitude
668 26.73 8.09
P<0.05
The t-test analysis in Table 6 showed t-calculated value to be
12.43 at a level of significance of .00. This observed level of significance is
less than the probability level of .05 (t = 12.43*, P < .05). With this finding,
there was significant influence of attitude (positive or negative) on students’
academic achievement in basic technology. Therefore, the null hypothesis of
no significant influence of students’ attitude on academic achievement in
Basic Technology is not accepted at .05 level of probability. This means that
there is significant influence of students’ attitude on students’ academic
achievement in Basic Technology.
120
Table 7
Summary of 2-way and 3-way Analysis of Variance of the three
Independent Variables and Students’ Academic Achievement in BTAT
Source Type III Sum of
Squares Df Mean
Square F Sig. of F
Corrected Model
Intercept
Sex
Location
Attit
Sex* location
Sex* attit
Location*attit
Sex *Location*
attit
Error
Total
Corrected Total
44182.131a
13030553.969
22421.338
459.738
8242.912
5.300
5.611
6.128
3.560
47372.752
1678410.000
91555.883
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1836
1844
1843
6311.733
13030553.969
22421.338
459.738
8242.912
5.300
5.611
6.128
3.560
25.802
244.620
5.050E4
868.972
17.818
319.466
.714
.701
.349
2.317
.000
.000
.000
.000
.000
.356
.399
.550
.341
Hypotheses four, five, six and seven testing the significant
interactive influence of the independent variables (gender, school location
and students’ attitude) on the dependent variable (academic achievement) in
Basic Technology were analyzed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is
as shown in table 7 above. Table 7 showed F-calculated values for test of
significant interactive influence of gender and school location (sex*
location), gender and students’ attitude (location* attitude) and gender,
school location and students’ attitude (sex* location* attitude) on students’
academic achievement in Basic Technology.
Hypothesis 4
Hypothesis four stated that, there is no significant interactive
influence of gender and school location on students’ academic achievement
in Basic Technology. From the analysis of variance (ANOVA) in Table 7
the calculated F-ratio is .714 at a level of significance of .356. This observed
value is greater than the probability level of .05 (F1,1843 = .356, P>.05).
121
With this finding there was no significant interactive influence of gender and
school location on students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology.
Therefore, the null hypothesis of no significant interactive influence of
gender and school location on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology is accepted at .05 level of probability.
Hypothesis 5
The null hypothesis five stated that, there is no significant interactive
influence of gender and attitude on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology. Table 7 showed the Analysis of Variance with calculated F-
ratio value of .701 at a level of significance of .399. From this finding the
observed value is greater than the probability level of .05 (F1, 1842 = .399, P
> .05). This means that there was no significant influence of gender and
attitude on students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology. Therefore,
the null hypothesis of no significant interactive influence of gender and
attitude on students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology is accepted
at .05 level of probability.
Hypothesis 6
Hypothesis six stated that, there is no significant interactive influence
of school location and students’ attitude on students’ academic achievement
in Basic Technology. Table 7 also showed that the F-ratio value for this
hypothesis is .349 at a level of significance of .550. This observed value is
greater that the probability level of .05 (F1, 1843 = .550, P > .05). This
means that there was no significant interactive influence of school location
and attitude on students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology.
122
Therefore, the hypothesis of no significant influence of school location and
attitude on academic achievement in Basic Technology is accepted at .05
level of probability.
Hypothesis 7
Hypothesis seven stated that, there is no significant interactive
influence of gender, school location and students’ attitude on students’
academic achievement in Basic technology. Again, Table 7, the ANOVA
showed that the calculated F-ratio for this hypothesis is 2.32 at a level of
significance of .341. This value is greater than the probability level of .05
(F1, 1843 = .341, P>05). This means that there was no significant interactive
influence of gender, school location and students attitude on academic
achievement of students in Basic Technology. Therefore the null hypothesis
of no significant interactive influence of the three variables is accepted at.05
level of probability.
Findings of the study
On the basis of the data collected and analyzed, the following are the
principal findings of the study.
1. Male students performed better in the Basic Technology achievement
test than their female counterparts. This can be seen from their mean
scores and mean difference given as 31.35, 27.61 and 3.74
respectively as shown in Table 1.
2. Students in urban areas performed better in the Basic Technology
achievement test than their counterparts in rural areas of Delta State.
This can be seen from the mean scores of 27.36 which is higher than
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that of 24.02 mean achievement score for the rural students with
mean score difference of 3.34 as shown in Table 2.
3. Students with positive attitude performed better in the Basic
Technology achievement test than the students with negative attitudes
in Basic Technology. This can be seen from the mean score of 30.81
which is higher than that of 26.73 mean achievement score for the
student with negative attitudes with the mean score difference of 4,08
as shown in Table 3.
4. There was significant influence of gender (male and female) on
students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology test. The t-test
analysis showed t- cal 13.57 with significance at .00< .05. With this
finding, there was significant influence of gender on students’
academic achievement in BTAT.
5. There was significant influence of school location (urban or rural) on
students’ academic achievement in BTAT. Students from urban areas
performed significantly higher than their counterparts from rural
areas. The t-test analysis showed t- cal 9.20 with significance at
.00<.05. With this finding there was significant influence of school
location on students’ academic achievement in BTAT.
6. There was significant influence of students’ attitude (positive and
negative) on academic achievement by students in Basic Technology.
The t-test analysis showed that t-cal 12.43 with significance at
.00<.05. With this finding there was significant influence of school
location on students’ academic achievement in BTAT.
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7. There was no significant interactive influence of gender and school
location on students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology.
The ANOVA showed that for groups (gender*school location) F-
ratio is .714 with significance of F at .356 > .05. With this finding
there is no significant interactive influence of gender and school
location on students’ academic achievement in BTAT.
8. There was no interactive influence of gender and students’ attitudes
on students’ academic achievement in Basic Technology. The
ANOVA showed that for groups (Gender*attitude) F- ratio is .701
with significance of F at .399 > .05. With this finding there is no
interactive influence of gender and students attitude on academic
achievement in BTAT.
9. There was no interactive influence of school location and students’
attitude on academic achievement in Basic Technology. With
ANOVA, the F-value for groups (school location*students’ attitude)
is .349 with significance of F at .550 > .05. With this finding there is
no interactive influence of school location and students’ attitude on
academic achievement in BTAT.
10. There was no interactive influence of gender, school location and
students’ attitude on academic achievement in Basic technology. The
ANOVA showed that for the groups (gender*school
location*students’ attitude) the F- value for groups is 2.32 with
significance of F at .341 > .05. With this finding there is no
125
significant interactive influence of gender, school location and
students’ attitudes on academic achievement in BTAT.
Discussion of Findings
Influence of Gender (Male & Female) on Students’ Academic
Achievement in Basic Technology
Question one sought to know the influence of gender (male and female)
on academic achievement of students in Basic Technology. Findings
revealed that male students performed better in the Basic Technology
achievement test than the female students. The mean scores for male and
female were 31.35 and 27.61 with mean difference of 3.74. This finding has
shown influence of gender on students’ academic achievement in BTAT.
The mean scores for both male and female are low scores for a test of
multiple choice tests of 60. This finding agrees with the findings by
Akinyede and Uwameiye (2006), Ogbeide (2010) and Okonkwor (2004)
who reported that the low achievement by students at the JSSCE result in
Delta State should worry everyone concerned with science and technology
in Nigeria. The JSSCE Result between 2002 to 2011 in Appendix A, (p.150)
is confirmed by the low mean scores obtained in this study.
The t-test analysis was used to test hypothesis one which states that,
there is no significant influence of gender on the academic achievement
score of male and female students in Basic Technology. There was a
statistically significant influence of gender (male and female) in Basic
Technology Achievement Test. The implication of this finding is that, male
students understand Basic Technology and achieve better than their female
126
counterparts. This finding is similar to the findings of Gisela (2011) who
found out that, there was a significant influence of gender on mathematics
achievement test; that, male and female students tend to perform differently
in subject areas of education. In Gesela’s study, the male students performed
better than the female students which shows an obvious achievement gender
influence. The finding is also similar to that of Olueh (2006), who found out
that male students achieved significantly higher than female students in
agricultural science. The findings also agrees with that of Umeoduagwu
(2005) who found out that the general pattern of JSS I, 2, and 3 was that
males obtained higher mean scores than their female counterparts in
integrated science. The finding of this study contradicted that of Ton (2003)
and Mpkughe (2002) whose findings showed that girls significantly
outperformed boys in school subject .
Influence of School Location (Urban & Rural) on Students
Academic Achievement in Basic Technology
Question two sought to know the influence of school location (urban and
rural) on the academic achievement in Basic Technology. Findings revealed
that students in urban area performed better in Basic Technology
achievement test than their counterpart in rural areas of Delta State. The
findings of this study agrees with that of Zappala (2002) who found in
Australia that school location influenced students’ academic achievement.
This finding is also similar to that of Obikun (2008) who reported the
influence of urban-rural environment on achievement in primary schools.
Okojie (2004) attributed these differences between urban-rural achievement
127
to the facilities and amenities found in urban areas while Nduka (2009) and
Daramola (1999) attributed the differences in students’ achievement of
urban-rural locations to the availabilities of infrastructural facilities,
qualified and experience teachers and laboratory / workshop. These factors
influence the urban students achieving better than the rural students. Rural
schools in Delta State are in poor state in terms of facilities and equipment
for the study of Basic Technology.
The null hypothesis two states that, there is no significant influence of
school location (urban and rural) on academic achievement in Basic
Technology. The finding revealed that, students in urban schools performed
significantly better than their counterparts in the rural areas. This means that,
urban area influences achievement positively in Basic Technology than the
rural area. The finding agrees with those of Ajayi (2004), Obikun (2008) and
Johnson (2006) who found out that, urban and rural locations do have
significant influence on students’ academic achievement. Ajayi attributed
this difference to many facilities for instruction found in urban locations that
are not available in the rural areas. Daramola (1999), Nduka (2009), Ojoawo
(2004) and Johnson (2006) advanced reasons for this difference in
achievement of students from urban and rural locations. They found out that
urban schools operate in more stimulating environment than those in rural
areas and that urban schools have qualified and experienced teachers, good
laboratory / workshop facilities to make students achieve well while the
rural schools hardly experience these opportunities hence their achievement
level will continue to be low if not remedied. That, rural schools are
128
progressively negatively staffed arising from personal refusal of teachers to
serve in remote locations and that schools in rural areas are characterized by
dilapidated buildings while urban schools enjoy conducive school
environment such as physical setting of the classroom, teaching facilities
and the available infrastructural facilities. These variables are enough factors
that could significantly influence the overall well being of the students and
their academic achievement in any school subject. The finding of this study
which supports the common contention that there is lower rural achievement
contradicts the findings of Reeves and Bylund (2005) which did not support
the claim that rural students achieve less than their counterparts in urban
(non-rural) areas.
Influence of Attitude (Positive or Negative) on Students’ Academic
Achievement in Basic Technology
Question three sought to know the influence of attitude (positive or
negative) on the academic achievement of students in Basic Technology.
The result revealed that, the students with positive attitudes performed better
in the Basic Technology achievement test than the students with negative
attitudes towards Basic Technology. This finding shows that students with
positive attitude performed better than students with negative attitude in
Basic Technology. This means that students’ attitude influences academic
achievement in Basic Technology. This finding agrees with those of Bolaji
(2005), Olatoye (2002) and Kpangban (2004) who found out that students
attitude towards school subject have significant direct effect on the students’
achievement in the subject. With this result, there was influence on the
129
academic achievement of students with negative and positive attitudes
towards Basic Technology. The findings of this study is in line with that of
Kpangban (2004) in Delta State, Anazia (2009) in Edo State and Yara
(2009) in south western Nigeria who found out that students with positive
attitude performed better than students with negative attitude in school
subjects. This means that there is a positive relationship between attitude and
achievement in school subjects. That is, students with positive attitude
perform better than students with negative attitude in school subjects.
Hypothesis three states that there is no significant influence of
attitude (positive or negative) on the students’ academic achievement in the
BTAT. The result of this finding was that, students with positive attitude
perform significantly better than those with negative attitude in BTAT. That
is, positive attitude influences academic achievement positively in Basic
Technology. This finding is similar to the study of Kpangban who found
significant positive relationship between students’ attitude and their
academic achievement in mathematics and that students with positive
attitude perform better than those with negative attitude.
Interactive Influence of the Research Variables on Students’
Academic Achievement in Basic Technology
Hypothesis four stated that there is no significant interactive influence of
gender and school location on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology. Results from this study showed that there was no significant
interactive influence of gender and school location on students’ academic
achievement in Basic Technology. This finding is in line with that of
130
Ughamadu (2002) who found out that there was no significant interactive
influence of gender and school locations on students’ academic achievement
in social studies.
The null hypothesis five stated that there is no significant interactive
influence of gender and students’ attitudes on academic achievement in
Basic Technology. Finding indicated that there was no significant interactive
influence of gender and students’ attitude on students’ academic
achievement in Basic Technology. This finding affirms that of Onyeagu’s
(2005), who reported that there was no significant interaction effect of
gender and students’ attitude on academic achievement in Physics. Though
Onyeagu’s study was concerned with three independent variables; cognitive
style, gender and students’ attitude and their interactive influence on
academic activities in physics, only two of the variables; gender and
students’ attitude is comparable with this study. Why Onyeagu used
ANCOVA statistics, this present study used ANOVA to test the significant
interactive influence of the independent variables on student academic
achievement in Physics and in Basic Technology respectively.
Hypothesis six stated that there is no significant interactive influence
of school location and students attitude on the academic achievement in
Basic Technology. Findings indicated that there was no significant
interactive influence of school location and students attitudes on academic
achievement in the BTAT. There is no previous research finding on the two
independent variables; school location and students’ attitude on academic
achievement, therefore, there is no findings of interactive influence of these
131
variables from previous studies with which this present study can be
compared.
Hypothesis seven stated that there is no significant interactive influence
of gender, school location and students attitude on the academic
achievement in Basic technology. A test of significance of the three
independent variables (gender, school location and students’ attitude) on the
academic achievement in Basic Technology using ANOVA showed in the
finding that there was no significant interactive influence of the three
variables on academic achievement in the BTAT. This study is partly similar
to that of Ughamadu (2002) in population, design and data analysis
technique but different in instrumentation and in the number of the
independent variables. The findings of both study are also similar though
this study used three independent variables while Ughamadu used two
independent variables. This study is also similar to that of Ayoola and
Falaye (2006) in terms of design, population and analysis technique but
different findings. The study of Ughamadu (2002) which investigated the
interactive influence of three independent variables; cognitive style, gender
and school location had two of the independent variables (gender and school
location) on academic achievement similar to two of the independent
variables of this present study. One of Ughamadu’s (2002) finding is
confirmed by this present study that, there is no significant interactive
influence of gender and school location on students’ academic achievement
in Basic Technology. In Ayoola and Falaye (2006) study, three independent
variables (home variables, gender and students’ attitude) on students’
132
academic achievement were also investigated. Two of the independent
variables (attitude and gender) of Ayoola and Falaye is similar to two of the
independent variables in this present study but the findings are different.
Ayoola and Falaye found that attitude and gender significantly influenced
students’ academic achievement but this present study found no such
significant interactive influence of gender and students’ attitude on academic
achievement on Basic Technology
133
CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Re-Statement of the Problem
Basic Technology is one of the pre-vocational subjects offered at the
Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Nigeria. Basic Technology which was
introduced in 2007 (NERDC, 2007) existed with the name Introductory
Technology (IT) from 1982 till 2007 (25 years). The understanding of the
Federal Government of Nigeria is that Basic Technology would contribute to
the national goal of education since the world was increasingly driven by
technology. The teaching of the subject has been faced with numerous
problems that can impede the realization of the objectives. One of such
problems is the low academic achievement in the subject. Over the years,
students’ achievement in Basic Technology has been so low that Basic
Technology has the highest percentage failure and the lowest percentage
pass at the JSSCE for the past 10years (2002-2011) compared to the other
core subjects at the junior secondary school level. Infact, how to achieve the
objectives of Basic Technology has been a major concern to educators.
Some researchers have tried to identify some of the problems affecting the
teaching and learning of the subject but it seems the problem of low
academic achievement is a persistent one and has reached a level that should
worry everyone concerned with the technological development of the nation.
It is, therefore, imperative that the state of the art in Basic Technology
should be re-appraised so that possible solutions could be adduced to
remedy the present situation in the teaching and learning of the subject.
118
134
There are always differences in academic achievement for students in the
same class even when taught by the same teacher. This means that the rate of
achievement will vary more giving certain differences in people such as
gender, school location (urban or rural) and students’ attitude which are
factors that can possibly influence students’ academic achievement in basic
technology. Thus, it is possible that there exist gaps or disparities in the
academic achievement among students based on the influences from these
three variables - gender, location of the school and students’ attitude on their
academic achievement in the subject. Influences resulting in low academic
achievement do not favour national development, and therefore, ought to be
minimized. That is, if the influence of these three variables (Gender, School
Location and Students’ Attitude) on academic achievement in Basic
Technology is determined and their consequent effects on academic
achievement are remedied, it will go a long way to improve the academic
achievement in the subject. Therefore the study was designed to investigate
the influence of gender, school location and students’ attitude on academic
achievement in Basic Technology so as to improve on the students’
academic achievement in the subject in Delta State.
Purpose of the Study
The major purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of
gender, school location and students’ attitude on their academic achievement
in Basic Technology in junior secondary school (JSS) level in Delta State.
Specifically, the study sought to find out the:
135
1. influence of gender on students’ academic achievement in Basic
Technology
2. influence of school location on students’ academic achievement in
Basic Technology
3. influence of students’ attitude on academic achievement in Basic
Technology
To fulfill these specific purposes, three research questions were formulated
as well as seven null hypotheses developed by the researcher and the
hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance.
Summary of Procedures Used
The researcher adopted Ex-post facto design in the study to determine
the influence of gender, school location and students’ attitude on academic
achievement in Basic Technology in Delta State. The population of the study
comprised 56,800 JSS III Basic Technology students in 826 secondary
schools in Delta State. The sample for the study was 1,844 JSSIII students
randomly sampled from 56,800 JSSIII students from the 826 state owned
secondary schools in Delta State. Basic Technology Achievement Test
(BTAT) and Students’ Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ). To ensure content and
construct validity of the BTAT, a test blue print /table of specification in
appendix G,( p.142) was built from the standardized past questions of the
JSSCE, giving due consideration to the emphasis placed on each objective
and topics in the Basic Technology syllabus for JSS. Based on the test blue
print, a total of sixty multiple choice items were drawn for the BTAT. The
SAQ was drawn up after the review of literature to find out students’ attitude
136
towards the subject. Both BTAT and SAQ were validated by experts and
their reliability coefficients were determined using Kuder-Richardson
formula 20 (KR-20) and Cronbach Alpha formula. The reliability
coefficients were found to be 0.76 and .61 for BTAT and SAQ respectively.
The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation (SD), t-test
analysis and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for the research questions and
the seven null hypotheses at .05 level of significance.
Principal Findings of the Study
The following findings emerged from the study based on the data
collected and analysed and hypotheses tested.
1. Male students performed better in the BTAT than the female
students in Delta State. This means that gender influences
academic Achievement in BT.
2. Students in urban areas performed better in the BTAT than their
counterparts in rural areas of Delta State. With this finding, it
means that school location influences academic achievement in
BT.
3. Students with positive attitude performed better in the BTAT than
the students with negative attitudes in Basic Technology. This
means that students’ attitude influences academic achievement in
BT.
4. There was significant influence of gender (male and female) on
the academic achievement of students in BT at .05 level of
significance.
137
5. There was significant influence of school location (urban and
rural) on the academic achievement of students in BT at .05 level
of significance.
6. There was significant influence of students’ attitude (positive and
negative) on the academic achievement of students in BT at .05
level of significance.
7. There was no significant interactive influence of gender and
school location on students’ academic achievement in BT.
8. There was no significant interactive influence of gender and
students’ attitudes on students’ academic achievement in BT.
9. There was no significant interactive influence of school location
and students’ attitude on academic achievement in BT.
10. There was no significant interactive influence of gender, school
location and students’ attitude on academic achievement in BT.
Implications of the Findings
From the findings of this study, it implies that gender (male or
female), school location (urban or rural), and the attitude of the student
(positive or negative) influence his or her academic achievement in basic
technology. Male students will achieve better than the female counterparts in
Basic Technology, also students in urban areas will achieve better than the
counterparts in the rural areas in Basic Technology and students with
positive attitude will also achieve better than students with negative attitude
irrespective of the school location and gender.
138
In Basic Technology examinations, the gender, school location and
attitude of the students is of significant influence on the overall academic
achievement of the students. Though gender, school location and students’
attitude may have interactive influence on the academic achievement of the
students in school subjects, but interactive influence may not to be
significant in Basic Technology in Delta State. In addition, the findings of
this study might be of immense benefit to the government, education
planners and administrators, school guidance counselors, educators and
teachers, parents and students. The findings could be useful to the
government at both State and Federal levels. It would assist them in making
efforts towards reducing the achievement variations in students. The
information gained from this study could also be of great assistance to the
government in making special provision to bridge the gap in achievement
that may be resulting from differences in gender, school location and
students attitude. It might make government to source for ways and means
of improving learning environment so as to motivate students to higher
achievement irrespective of the school location. If the findings are published
in academic journals and disseminated through academic conferences and
properly utilized by governments, it may go a long way to remedy any
differences in infrastructural facilities, staffing and instructional facilities
which may be adversely affecting academic achievement in Basic
Technology. Higher academic achievement of students in Basic Technology
will create a pool of available human resources in engineering and
139
technology occupations. Therefore, the nation’s rapid technological and
economic development would be enhanced.
The outcome of this study if published may be useful to the Ministry
of Education which is the organ of government in making decisions on
recruitment of Basic Technology teachers / technical staff as well as in the
provision of fund so as to make students achieve maximally in Basic
Technology examinations. To the curriculum planners, the findings of this
study may inspire them to produce better curriculum materials for Basic
Technology that could take care of the differences in students’ gender,
attitude and location of school, towards teaching and learning situations in
Basic Technology.
Another implication of this study is that if published or disseminated
through conferences and seminars it will be of benefit to the school guidance
counselors. It might give better understanding to the school counselors on
how gender, school location and students’ attitude influence academic
achievement in Basic Technology. This information can possibly place the
school guidance counselors in better position that will bring about improved
counseling strategies. It will enable them to adopt new and more appropriate
strategies in counseling services towards achieving maximally in Basic
Technology.
To Basic Technology teachers, the findings of this study if
disseminated through teacher’s workshop will likely make them better
informed of the fact that, the child’s modes of learning, school location and
gender are factors capable of influencing achievements in Basic Technology.
140
Thus, appropriate teaching methods and techniques will be employed in the
teaching and learning of the subject irrespective of their gender, attitude and
the location of the school for improved academic achievement.
Conclusions
Basic Technology is one of the pre-vocational technical subjects
offered in JSS. It is a foundation subject that exposes students to basic
knowledge and skills on which future technology will be based. The
objectives of Basic Technology are quite laudable but there are numerous
problems that may impede the realization of the objectives. Actualizing
these objectives has been of major concern to educators, and investigations
have been made by some researchers to attain them. Some have tried to
identify some of the factors affecting the teaching and learning of Basic
Technology. But a glance at the academic achievement in Basic Technology
at the JSSCE in the state for an upward of 10 years reveals students’ low
achievement relative to other core subjects. This situation of low academic
achievement in Basic Technology is a persistent one and has reached a level
that should worry everyone concerned with Vocational and Technical
Education. This study was carried out to investigate the possible influence of
gender, school location and students’ attitude on academic achievement in
Basic Technology. Three research questions and seven null hypotheses at
.05 level of significance guided this study. Based on the findings, the
following conclusions can be made:
• Male students performed better than female students, therefore gender
(male and female)influences academic achievement in BT.
141
• Students from urban areas perform better than their counterpart in
rural areas. This means that school location (urban-rural) influences
academic achievement in BT.
• Students with positive attitude perform better than those with
negative attitude. This means that students’ attitude influences
academic achievement in BT.
• There was significant influence of gender (male*female) on academic
achievement in BTAT.
• There was significant influence of school location (urban-rural) on
academic achievement in BTAT.
• There was significant influence of students’ attitude (positive-
negative) on academic achievement in BTAT.
• There was no significant interactive influence of the three
independent variables on academic achievement i
Recommendations Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations
are made:
1. Qualified teachers of Basic Technology should be employed by
government of Delta State for teaching in secondary school.
2. Relevant equipment and facilities for teaching Basic Technology
should be provided to secondary schools for effective teaching
and learning
142
3. Special attention should be given to the academic achievement of
female students in Basic Technology through workshop and
seminars.
4. Qualified technical teachers of Basic Technology in Delta State
should adopt the use of the effective methods such as reciprocal
peer tutoring, cognitive apprenticeship, reflective inquiry,
demonstration, project etc for teaching.
5. Delta State government should provide well equipped technology
laboratories and workshop in all the secondary schools.
6. Delta State Ministry of Education and principals of secondary
schools should organize seminars, conferences and workshops to
sensitize technical teachers in the use of computer for teaching
Basic technology.
7. Special study should be conducted by the state government on
strategies for stimulating studies.
8. Government should make sure that electricity reach every school
for the purpose of powering Basic technology.
9. School administrators and Basic Technology teachers as a matter
of practice introduce ways and means of motivating and
reinforcing achievement through incentives.
10. The ministry of education should carry out regular supervising
and monitoring inconjuction with school principals to ensure
effective implementation of the Basic Technology curriculum.
143
11. Regular seminar and workshop should be organized by the
Government and school heads where the importance of
technology will be discussed so as to create interest in our
students.
Suggestions for Further Research The followings are suggested for further research
1. This study should be replicated in order geo-political zones in
Nigeria.
2. Effects of teaching methods on academic achievement and
retention of students in Basic Technology should be investigated.
3. A similar study should be conducted using other States and their
result compared with this study.
4. The study should be carried out in private schools, public schools
with population involving mixed secondary schools and their
results compared.
5. The study should be carried out using this independent variable in
other subjects areas in Junior Secondary Schools so as to justify
further the findings of this study.
144
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APPENDIX A
Table 2 Statistics of Results in the J.S.S.C. Examination in Selected Subjects (2002 – 2011) YEAR Subject ENG. LANG MATH BASIC SCI BASIC.
TECH BUS.
STUDIES AGRICS
2002 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
15,692(31.0)
19,134(37.8)
5,720(11.3)
9,921(19.6)
7,441(14.7)
23,133(45.7)
7,846(15.5)
10,630(21.0)
8,453(16.7)
25,107(49.6)
8,757(17.3)
8,301(16.4)
3,391(6.7)
20,956(41.4)
98,70.(19.5)
16,400(32.4)
8,251(16.3)
21,159(41.8)
12,908(25.5)
8,605(17.0)
7,997(15.8)
25,512(50.4)
14,072(27.8)
3,037(6.0)
2003 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
9,714(18.51)
26,381(50.27)
15,271(29.10)
7,814(14.89)
7,803(14.87)
20,829(39.69)
9,708(18.50)
15,261(9.08)
9,000(17.13)
22,277(42.45)
13,277(25.30)
12,658(24.12)
3043(5.80)
9902(18.87)
5038(9.60)
19800(37.73)
7,877(15.01)
25,027(47.69)
15,182(28.93)
11,928(22.73)
9,714(18.51)
18,924(36.06)
7,814(14.89)
15,271(29.10)
2004 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
10,590(21.1)
28,608(57.0)
4,567(9.1)
6,022(12.0)
7,930(15.8)
20,477(40.8)
14,956(29.8)
6,825(13.6)
8,331(16.6)
20,527(40.9)
11,142(22.2)
10,188(20.3)
2,911(5.8)
8,984(17.9)
19,473(38.8)
18,771(37.4)
8,231(16.4)
26,500(52.8)
11,443(22.8)
4,152(8.0)
9,586(19.1)
19,925(39.7)
13,049(26.0)
7,578(15.1)
2005 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
11,056(20.0)
28,413(51.4)
6,578(11.9)
8,900(16.1)
8,955(16.2)
23,162(41.9)
15,810(28.6)
7,296(13.2)
10,171(18.4)
21,946(39.7)
12,106(21.9)
11,056(20.0)
4,754(8.6)
12,548(22.7)
20,674(37.4)
17,302(31.3)
8,070(14.6)
26,921(48.7)
13,875(25.1)
6,357(11.5)
11,000(19.9)
20,785(37.6)
14,759(26.7)
8,678(15.7)
2006 Dist Credit Pass Fail
11,485(20.4) 29,163(51.8) 7,825(13.9) 7,825(13.9)
8,557(15.2) 23,308(41.4) 14,300(25.4) 1,007(17.9)
10,978(19.5) 21,957(39.0) 11,316(20.1) 12,048(21.4)
5630(10.0) 13906(24.7) 19142(34.0) 17621(31.3)
8332(14.8) 16946(30.1) 13568(24.1) 9176(16.3)
10246(18.2) 20493(36.4) 13962(24.8) 11597(20.6)
158
YEAR Subject ENG. LANG MATH BASIC SCI BASIC.
TECH BUS.
STUDIES AGRIC
2007 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
10,846(20.5)
24,232(45.8)
10,370(19.6)
7,481(14.4)
8,042(15.2)
19,788(37.4)
11,587(21.9)
13,439(25.4)
10,423(19.7)
21,904(41.4)
11,693(22.1)
8,835(16.7)
5978(11.3)
16296(30.8)
14867(28.1)
15767(29.8)
9,100(17.2)
16,137(30.5)
11,058(20.9)
1,269(2.4)
10,529(19.9)
19,999(37.8)
12,063(22.8)
10,317(19.5)
2008 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
11,931(20.5)
26,656(45.8)
11,407(19.6)
8,229(14.14)
8,846(15.2)
21,767(37.4)
12,746(21.9)
3,142(3.4)
11,465(19.7)
24,095(41.4)
12,862(22.1)
9,719(16.7)
6,576(11.3)
17,925(30.8)
16,354(28.1)
17,343(29.8)
10,010(17.2)
21,243(36.5)
12,164(20.9)
14,783(25.4)
11,581(19.9
21,199(37.8)
13,269(22.8)
11,349(19.5)
2009 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
12,892(20.1)
7,517(11.7)
11,930(18.6)
9,043(14.1)
10,390(16.2)
25,399(39.6)
14,688(22.9)
13,661(21.3)
13,276(20.7)
27,580(43.0)
14,623(22.8)
8,658(13.5)
7,953(12.4)
20,843(32.5)
18,279(28.5)
17,061(26.6)
11,994(18.7)
24,758(38.6)
14,752(23.0)
12,635(19.7)
13,533(21.1)
26,104(40.7)
14,816(23.1)
9,685(15.1)
2010 Dist
Credit
Pass
Fail
10241(18.8)
26747(49.1)
8933(16.4)
8552(15.7)
8,007(14.7)
21,626(39.7)
13,455(24.7)
11,385(20.9)
9,805(18.0)
21,408(39.3)
11,276(20.7)
11,930(21.9)
5,937(10.9)
13,673(25.1)
19,665(36.1)
15,144(27.80
7,844(14.4)
23,914(43.9)
11,875(21.8)
10,786(19.8)
10,077(18.5)
24,840(45.6)
12,256(22.5)
7,299(13.4)
2011 Dist Credit Pass Fail
11,019(19.4) 29,592(52.1) 12,723(22.4)
3,408(6.0)
8,974(15.8) 21,981(38.7) 16,528(29.1) 5,680(10.0)
11,303(19.9) 24,651(43.4) 12,041(21.2) 8,804(15.5)
6,077(10.7) 15,676(27.6)
2,272(4.0) 11,757(20.7)
11,132(19.6) 24,253(42.7) 12,496(22.0) 8,860(15.6)
10,848(19.1) 25,048(44.1) 13,177(23.2) 7,724(13.6)
Source: Ministry of Education, (Exams, Statistics and Standards Division) Asaba.
Note: Computation of the Percentage performance is by the Researcher (Figures in brackets represents the
percentage that passed or failed)
159
Appendix B
Population for the Study
School
Location
No of Boys
Sec Schools
No of Girls
Secondary
Schools
No of Mixed
Secondary
Schools
Total No of
schools
Total No of
students
Urban
Rural
156
138
125
121
139
147
420
406
30,000
26,800
TOTAL 294 246 286 826 56,800
Appendix C
Sample for the Study
School
Location
No of
Schools
No of Boys
Schools
Sampled
No of Girls
Schools
Sampled
Total No of
schools
Sampled
No of JSS III
Students in
Sampled Schools
Urban
Rural
281
259
11
(640)
11
(404)
10
(476)
10
(324)
21
21
116
728
TOTAL 540 1044 800 42 1,844
(Numbers of students are in brackets)
160
Appendix D
Distribution of Sample
S/N0 Name of School Sex Location Total No of
Subjects
1 Marymount College, Agbor Female Urban 45
2 Our Lady’s High School, Warri Female Urban 52
3 St Bridges’ College, Asaba Female Urban 50
4 St Itax Girl’s Grammar School, Sapele Female Urban 43
5 St Roses’ Girl’s Grammar School, Ogwashi-
Uku
Female Urban 40
6 Baptist Girls High School, Agbor Female Urban 52
Nana Model Girls College, Warri Female Urban 55
8 Anglican Girls Grammar School, Ozoro Female Urban 50
9 Pilgrims Baptist Grammar School, Issele-Uku Female Urban 48
10 Emiye Girls Secondary School, Oleh Female Urban 41
11 Igbenoba Grammar School, Agbor Male Urban 65
12 Urhobo College, Warri Male Urban 60
13 Ika Grammar School, Agbor Male Urban 72
14 St Patricks College, Asaba Male Urban 66
15 Hussey Boys Model Secondary School, Warri Male Urban 55
16 Anglican Grammar School, Ubulu -Uku Male Urban 52
17 Government Model School, Bomadi Male Urban 50
18 Ede Grammar School, Ummunede Male Urban 60
19 St. Michael College, Oleh Male Urban 51
20 Utagba - Ogbe Tech College, Kwale Male Urban 53
161
21 Osadenis High School, Asaba Male Urban 56
22 Kokori Girls’ School, Kokori Female Rural 30
23 Eku Girl’s Grammar School, Eku Female Rural 34
24 Olona Girl’s Grammar School, Olona Female Rural 32
25 Girl’s Secondary School, Abavo Female Rural 38
26 Isiokolo Girls Secondary School, Isiokolo. Female Rural 23
27 Emede Girls Secondary School, Emede. Female Rural 31
28 Kokori Girls Secondary School, Kokori. Female Rural 28
29 St, Mary Magdalenes Secondary School,
Ashaka
Female Rural 46
30 Girls Secondary School, Ndemili Female Rural 32
31 Agbon Girls College, Okpara Irland Female Rural 30
32 St Charles College, Abavo Male Rural 41
33 St Anthony’s Grammar School, Ubulu-Uku Male Rural 40
34 Olona Boys Model School, Olona Male Rural 38
35 Okpara Boys Grammar School, Okpara Island Male Rural 42
36 St Georges, Obinoba Male Rural 40
37 St. Pius Xth Grammar School, Onicha - Ugbo Male Rural 31
38 Abraka Grammar School, Abraka Male Rural 39
39 Comprehensive High School, Igbodo Male Rural 33
40 James Welch Grammar School, Emevor Male Rural 44
41 Ase Grammar School, Ase Male Rural 26
42 St. Peters Clevers Model College, Aghalokpe. Male Rural 30
162
Appendix E
Test Blue Prints
S/NO Content Area Knowledge Comprehension Total
1 You and Technology 4 3 7
2 Safe 3 3 6
3 Material and processing 4 3 7
4 Drawing practice 3 3 6
5 Tools and machines 3 3 6
6 Applied electricity and electronics 4 4 8
7 Energy and power 3 4 7
8 Maintenance 3 3 6
9 Building 4 3 7
TOTAL 31 29 60
163
Appendix F
SPSS Print out for reliability, Mean, Standard Deviation, T – Test and ANOVA
Reliability
[DataSet0]
Scale: ALL VARIABLES Case Processing Summary
N %
Cases valid
Excluded
Total
50
0
50
100.0
.0
100.0
a. Listwise deletion based on all variables in the procedure
Reliability Statistics
Kuder –
Richardson(KR-
20)
N of
items
.76 60
164
Appendix G
SPSS Print out for Reliability, Mean, Standard Deviation, T-Test and
ANOVA
165
Appendix H
Faculty of Education,
Department of V.T.E,
University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
The Principal,
……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..
……………………………………………………..
REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
I am a post graduate student of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka currently
conducting a research to determine the influence of school location, gender and students’
attitude on the academic achievement in Basic Technology in Delta State.
Your kind consideration and approval to allow me use your students, teachers, as
well as your personal effort to supply the relevant information that will help find solution
to the research problems will be highly appreciated.
All information elicited through the instrument / questionnaire will be used along
with others in strict confidence and for the purpose of this research work only.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Yours faithfully,
IDIALU, J. O.
166
Appendix I
Faculty of Education,
Department of V.T.E,
(Industrial Technical Education)
University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
13/08/2010
The Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Education,
(Basic and Secondary Education),
Asaba.
Sir,
APPLICATION FOR JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (JSS) EXAMINATION
RESULTS AND LIST OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN DELTA STATE
I bring you greetings in the precious Name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
May the Lord God be gracious unto you and His joy and peace fill your heart now and
always.
I am a Post graduate student of the University of Nigeria Nsukka and a Chief
Lecturer at the College of Education Agbor. I am presently carrying out a survey that
required the JSSCE Result for the period of 2002 to 2011 as well as the current list of the
public / state owned secondary schools in the state.
Your kind consideration and approval will be highly appreciated and I assure you
that every information released to me will be handled in strict confidence.
I can be reached at the College of Education Agbor and with GSM 08037180441
and 08183102091.
Thanks for your prompt response.
Yours faithfully,
Rev Idialu, J. O.
167
Appendix J
Letter from the Ministry of Education
168
Appendix K
BASIC TECHNOLOGY ACHIEVEMENT TEST (BTAT)
SECTION A
General Information
In the space provided, fill in your sex, name of school and school location
1 Sex: Male or Female: …………………………………………………
2. Name of school: …………………………………………………….…
3. School location (urban or rural): ……………………….……………..
SECTION B
Instruction Answer All questions (Time: 40mins) Please, you are required to circle the best
alternative from “a” to “e” that correctly answers the questions given in each item.
1. Lubricants are used to ……. Frictional force
a. Aggravate
b. Compensate
c. Facilitate
d. Increase
e. Reduce
2. The gas lamp converts ……. Energy to heat energy
a. Chemical
b. Electrical
c. Light
d. Mechanical
e. Solar
3. The greasing and oiling of an assembly is called ……. Maintenance
a. adjustment
b. Corrective
c. Preventive
d. Renewal
e. Resurfacing
169
4. The type of transformer installed in a consumer’s premises is …….
Transformer
a. Combined
b. step-down
c. Step-in
d. Step-out
e. Step-up
5. Which of these food items can be preserved through smoking?
a. Beans
b. Kola-nut
c. Meat
d. Milk
e. Yam
6. A load of 400N requires an effort of 40N to make it move smoothly. Fine
the mechanical advantage
a. 10.1
b. 360.1
c. 440.1
d. 1600.1
e. 1644.1
7. The replacement of a broken down part of an assembly is referred to as
…….. maintenance
a. Avoidable
b. Corrective
c. Periodic
d. Predictive
e. Preventive
8. What is the function of lintel in a building?
a. Beatifies the walls
b. Bridge opening in walls
c. Prevents dampness in walls
d. Retains vertical perpends
e. Strengthens the blocks
9. In technical drawing, inclined lines are drawn using Tee-square in
conjunction with ………
a. Compassed
b. Dividers
c. French curve
d. Protractor
e. Set-square
170
10. Which of these metals will corrode easily?
a. Alluminum
b. Copper
c. Iron
d. Tin
e. Zinc
11. Screws are known to have more holding power than nails because they are /
have ……….
a. flat heads
b. Made of brass
c. Thicker
d. Threads
e. Very strong
12. Cooking and kitchen utensils are produced from………..
a. Aluminium
b. Copper
c. Lead
d. Tin
e. Zinc
13. When two UNLIKE electric charges are brought together they …….
a. Attract
b. Distract
c. Dispel
d. Diverge
e. Repel
14. Rubber products are used in electrical installation as ………
a. Conductors
b. Inductors
c. Insulators
d. Magents
e. Stabilizers
15. Compression moulding is a method used in producing
a. Blocks
b. Ceramics
c. Metals
d. Plastics
e. Rubber
16. Grains include the following EXCEPT …………..
a. Beans
b. Kola-nut
c. Maize
d. Millet
e. Rice
171
17. Yams are stored in …………..
a. Barns
b. Clay pots
c. Roof space
d. Sacks
e. Silos
18. ………….. can be commonly identified by shattering into pieces when
dropped
a. Ceramics
b. Metals
c. Plastics
d. Rubber
e. Wood
19. The diode differs from the triode because it has …… electrodes
a. 2
b. 3
c. 4
d. 5
e. 6
20. The diagram below represents a three pin plug. Name the terminal T.
a. Earth
b. Live
c. Negative T
d. Neutral
e. Positive
21. A method of reducing moisture content in wood is known as ……….
a. Conversion
b. Drying
c. Frying
d. Sapping
e. Seasoning
22. Which of these tools can be used when cutting a piece of iron with a
hacksaw?
a. Chisel
b. Hammer
c. Reamer
d. Scraper
e. Vice
172
23. The gutters provided at the sides of new road is a form of ……
maintenance
a. Annual
b. Corrective
c. Periodic
d. Permanent
e. Preventive
24. The brakes of a car work BEST when friction is …..
a. Average
b. Fairly low
c. High
d. Low
e. Totally absent
25. …….. is widely used in the making of battery terminals
a. Aluminium
b. Corper
c. Iron
d. Lead
e. Tin
26. ……………. Produces a louder sound than other metals
a. Brass
b. Bronze
c. Gold
d. Silver
e. Steel
27. The liquid substance in a car battery is known as ………..
a. Electrode
b. Eletrolysis
c. Electrolyte
d. Lubricant
e. Refrigerant
28. The advantage of alternating current over direct current is that …..
a. a.c can be converted to d.c.
b. a.c. cannot be converted to d.c.
c. a.c. is cheap
d. a. c. is not dangerous
e. d. c is hard to generate
173
29. If the primary voltage of a transformer is 10 volts with a winding of 20
turns, what will be the number of turns of the secondary winding if the
secondary voltage is 50 volts?
a. 100.
b. 80.
c. 60.
d. 50.
e. 25.
30. The instrument which records the electrical energy consumed in a house is
called
a. watt-hour meter
b. Ohmmeter
c. Voltmeter
d. Wattmeter
e. Ametter
31. The energy released when fuels are burned is ……. energy
a. Electric
b. Chemical
c. Heat
d. Mechanical
e. Solar
32. While traveling from Benin to Warri, Okojie had a flay tyre at Sapele. He
had to suffer because he had no……
a. Spanner
b. Screw drivers
c. Spare tyre
d. Feeler guage
e. Steering spanners
33. One of these is not a concrete material
a. Cement
b. Sand
c. Stone
d. Clay
e. Water
34. Motar is produced from ………
a. Cement, sand and water
b. Concrete, gravel and water
c. Gravel, concrete and sand
d. Gravel, sand and water
e. Cement, gravel and water
174
35. Friction and heat between meshing gears would be reduced to normal level
if they are:
a. Watered
b. greased
c. Separated
d. Readjusted
e. Meshed
36. The purpose of a thermostat in an electric kettle is to ll
a. Control temperature
b. produce heat
c. increase temperature
d. disconnect power
e. open circuit
37. Indicate which of the following groups is needed for fitting a door.
a. screw, hammer, chisel
b. Screw driver, nail, soldering iron
c. Screw driver, screw hinges
d. Hinges, G-clap, F-clap
e. Screw driver, mallet, bolt
38. Name two locations in a motor vehicle where oil seals are fitted
a. by the radiator and flywheel
b. by the oil pump and axle
c. by the gear-box and radiator cashing
d. by the kick casing and oil filter casing
e. by the clutch plate and steering rack
39. The volume control on a radio receiver is operated by the use of ……
a. Triode
b. fixed resistor
c. capacitor
d. diode
e. variable resistor
40. the line used for making an outline in technical drawing should be
a. Thick
b. Thin dash
c. Thick waxy
d. Thin chain
e. Thin
41. Two main systems of cooling the engines of motor vehicles are by
a. air and oil
b. petrol and diesel
c. heat and pressure
d. hot water and ice block
e. cold water and ice water
175
42. Technical drawing is regarded as a language because
a. Everybody can understand it
b. Technicians can communicate with it
c. it is spoken by everybody
d. it is pictoral in nature
e. scales are used to interpret the language
43. Landscaping in site preparation means
a. crapping the site
b. beautifying the site
c. nature of the land
d. surveying of the land
e. grubbling and soil
44. You observed that the screw holding one or the handles of your eye glasses
is loose. What will you do to make it positive for you to wear?
a. knock the screw down with a hammer
b. use a malict to drive the screw in
c. use a screw driver to drive the screw in
d. use a knife to drive the screw in
e. punch the screw in with a chisel
45. Technology is best associated with which of these statement?
a. it will make us richer in futire
b. it makes us sensible
c. it is the best of all known subjects
d. it provides basic applied science
e. it causes a lot of accidents
46. Which one of the following information is not included in a title block?
a. title of drawing
b. the scale used
c. the time
d. the date
e. the name of the person making drawing
47. Which of these is not a function of wall?
a. enclose a space
b. divide space in the form of a partition
c. carry load and provide support for roof doors and windows
d. exclude enemies such as thieves reptiles and wild animals
e. support foundation
176
48. The total resistance (RT) of FIG 2 is calculated to be
15Ω
5Ω
10Ω
15Ω
E = 250V
Fig. 2
a. 45
b. 33.3
c. 300
d. 22.5
e. 7.5
49. The cleaning of components in an electronic gadget is best done with
a. Cotton wool
b. tissue Paper
c. soft brush
d. Sponge
e. Damp cloth
50. A voltage stabilizer functions to safeguard appliances against the danger of
…….
a. Overloading of circuits
b. too low a voltage
c. too high a voltage
d. too high or tool low a voltage
e. Electric shock from appliances
51. Drawing a straight horizontal line requires movement of the pencil from
left to right
a. Top to bottom
b. Bottom to top
c. Right to left
d. Diagonally
52. All materials including human bodies which occupies space and have
weight are referred to as
a. molecule
b. mass
c. matter
d. element
e. atom
177
53. When water does not circulate in the radiator, it causes what?
a. engine overheating
b. slow running of the vehicle
c. mal-functioning of the speedometer
d. scheeching of gear
e. it cools the engine
54. A man who wants to build his own private house must first consult a / an
a. Architect
b. Electrician
c. Welder
d. Carpenter
e. Plumber
55. Which of the following process can be used to reduce the moisture content
of yam?
a. freezing
b. cooking
c. drying
d. canning
e. smoking
56. Suddenly the bulb in your room went off. What will you do to rectify the
problem?
a. put off the control switch
b. measure the current in the circuit with an ammeter
c. measure the energy in the circuit
d. change the bulb to a new bulb
e. trace the continuity of the circuits
57. Which of the following materials below breaks easily when dropped ?
a. metal
b. wood
c. ceramics
d. plastic
e. rubber
58. It is important to check instruction manual of an appliance before using it in
order to …………
a. ensure that the appliance is handle properly so that it can function
well and last longer
b. know the type of material used in manufacturing the appliance
c. know the company that manufactured it
d. handle the appliance properly so that it can not be snatched from us
e. Find out how beautiful the appliance is
178
59. Which of these manufacture their food through the action of sunlight and
air?
a. roots
b. branches
c. leaves
d. stem
e. trunk
60. Food is preserved for all these reasons except to
a. keep it dry
b. keep cool
c. make it stay for a long period
d. kill the spoilage organism
e. keep it form decaying
179
Appendix L
STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES QUESTIONNAIRE (SAQ)
Dear Respondent,
I would like to thank you most sincerely in advance for filling out a copy of
this questionnaire. The questionnaire is intended to elicit your attitudes towards
Basic Technology. The survey is only an academic exercise, purely for research
purposes. So, feel free to express your attitudes towards Basic Technology as
frankly as possible. Confidentiality of your responses is guaranteed, you do not
even need to give your name.
SECTION A
General Information
In the space provided, fill in your sex, name of school and school location
1 Sex: Male or Female: …………………………………………………
2. Name of school: …………………………………………………….…
3. School location (urban or rural): ……………………….……………..
SECTION B
The Attitude Statements
Indicate your opinion on each item by checking (√) against one of the
options provided as follows:
SA - Strongly agree
A. - Agree
U - Undecided
D - Disagree
SD - Strongly Disagree
180
S/N0 QUESTIONS / STATEMENTS SA A U D SD
1 I can never be good in Basic Technology
2 I easily get bored studying Basic Technology
3 I always look forward to our Basic Technology
periods.
4 Basic Technology is very difficult to understand
5 My Basic Technology teacher is always very fast
in the class
6 Basic Technology deals with abstract concepts
which are not related to real life situations
7 Given the option, I would like to drop Basic
Technology textbooks
8 I do not always like to buy the recommended
Basic Technology textbooks
9 Basic Technology is more difficult to me than any
other subject
10 I have enough time to study Basic Technology at
home
11 No matter how hard I try to learn Basic
Technology, I still do not perform well in it
12 I will never be good at Basic Technology
13 I refuse to spend a lot of my time studying Basic
Technology
14 I feel challenged and excited when I am given a
difficult problem in Basic Technology to solve
15 Solving Basic Technology problems with my
classmates and peers makes me happy
16 Basic Technology is not necessary in most
occupations
181
17 Basic Technology helps one to think according to
strict rules
18 My Basic Technology syllabus requires me not
only to master the tasks of solving problems, but to
understand the reasoning involved in the subject
19 My Basic Technology syllabus requires me to
think more thinking about the methods of solving
problems than memorization of rules and formulae
20 My Basic Technology teachers always explain the
basic ideas; that we are expected to develop than
methods of solution for ourselves.
21 There is little room for originality in Basic
Technology
22 Almost all students can learn Basic Technology if
it is properly taught.
182
Appendix M
Model Answer for BTAT
1. E 21. E 41. A
2. A 22. E 42. B
3 C 23. E 43. A
4 B 24. C 44 C
5. C 25. D 45. D
6. A 26. A 46. C
7. B 27. C 47. E
8. B 28. A 48. D
9. E 29. A 49. C
10. C 30. A 50. D
11. D 31 D 51 A
12. A 32. C 52. C
13. A 33. D 53. B
14. C 34. A 54. A
15. A 35. B 55 E
16. B 36. A 56. D
17 A 37. C 57. C
18. A 38. D 58. A
19. A 39. E 59. C
20. A 40. A 60 B
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Appendix N
SPSS Print out of Mean Academic Achievement of Gender and Test of
Significance (RQ1 & Ho1)
184
Appendix O
SPSS Print out of Mean Academic Achievement of School Location and
Test of Significance (RQ2 & Ho2)
185
Appendix P
SPSS Print out of Mean Academic Achievement of Students’ Attitude
and Test of Significance (RQ3 & Ho3)
186
Appendix Q
SPSS Print out of Summary of Test of Interactive Influence of the
Variables (Hypotheses 4 – 7)