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EFFECT OF INSECURITY OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ON THE ACADEMIC
PERFORMANCE OF JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the study
The importance of education has been adequately discussed in many fora
and in different literature (Nwanne- Nzewunwa, 2009; Ojukwu & Nwanma, 2015
and Ojukwu & Onuoha, 2016; Osanti, 2012). It is in realization of the
importance of education of the child that the government of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria in its 1999 constitution made a declaration of the right of
every Nigerian child to education, irrespective of gender, tribe, religion or
race. It makes sense to state that the lofty vision of education as enunciated
in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would be realized in a
serene and conducive school environment. According to Lehr (2014), the noble
goals of education can never be achieved in a vacuum. They would be achieved in
a conducive and peaceful school environment. If there is a feeling of
insecurity within and outside the school environment, both students and
teachers are likely to be deterred and this may inhibit academic performance of
the students.
The concept of school environment has been variously
defined by various researchers (Miller & Cunnighan, 2011; Obi, Johnson
& Lawani, 2004). According to Obi et al., (2004) school environment
connotes all human and material resources available in the school, in which a
child can see, hear, touch, smell, taste, feel and respond to. Also Miller and
Cunnighan (2011) maintained that the issue of school environment is
multi-dimensional. According to them it possesses the physical, social, and
academic demons. They listed the physical dimension to include the appearance of
school building and classrooms, libraries, laboratories, hostels, sporting
games and recreational facilities. Others according to them include
instructional materials, school size and ratio of student teacher in the
classroom. Others are the order and organization of classrooms in the school,
the position of chalk or whiteboard and the availability of resources to afford
safety and comfort. They also listed the social dimension aspect to include the
quality of interpersonal relationship between and amongst students, teachers
and administrators, equitable and fair treatment of students by teachers and
staff, the degrees of competition and social comparison amongst students and
the degree to which students and teachers contribute to the decision making process
of the school. Miller and Cunnighan (2011) also added that the academic
dimensions of the school environment include
the quality of instruction given to the students and the teachers
expectations for good achievements from students. School environment or climate
refers to the way students and staff feel about being at school each day. It
could be conceived as settings in which young people can learn a sense of
membership in and obligation to a group (Glew, Fan, Katon, Rivera & Kernic,
2005). In such environments and climates, we expect that people will be more
concerned about fellow students and more inclined to dissuade them from
engaging in behaviors that might endanger themselves or others. In this
respect, Mcevoy and Werner, (2000) concluded that feelings of trust and respect
for students and teachers influenced school environment and Glew et al., (2005)
reported that improving student behavior and academic performance generally
requires changing school climate. Also a sense of competency will often emerge
in an environment that is fair and consistent which will in turn provide
approximate academic support and expectations (Grifft, 1999). Besides, to
support students’ sense of belonging, the school climate must demonstrate
interest in individual students and include emotional support by teachers and
other students (Way, Reddy & Rhodes, 2007). Empirical studies have
suggested that student’s perceptions of academic support, behavior management,
teacher social support, and peer social support are strongly associated with
their behavioral adjustment (Wang, 2010). Academic support is the extent to
which the school emphasizes and creates a supportive learning environment with
huge academic expectations and many opportunities for reinforcement (Kuperminc,
Leadbeater & Blatt, 2001). Students who perceive strong academic support in
school are more likely to be accordingly motivated and have fewer behavioral
problems (Wang, 2010). Conversely, students who experience repeated failures in
academics are less inclined to perceive their school as academically supportive
and may reduce their commitment to student roles and their motivation to
perform well and increase school problem behavior (McEvoy & Werner, 2000).
Attention to the behavior management of students in
public school has been shown to be associated with lower levels of problem
behavior (Kuperminc et al., 2001). School behavior management involves the
extent to which the school provides clear and consistent rules and discipline
and adults treat students in a fair and equitable manner. Students who report
that their schools establish, communicate, and enforce a fair discipline system
with clear rules and consequences have fewer problem behaviors and avoid
victimization (Griffith et al., 2000). In essence, the quality of interpersonal
relationships in school including student teacher relationships and peer
relationships may be an essential role in the development of student problem
behaviors and academic performance. Students who perceive that teachers are
supportive, responsive and care about them have better academic performance and
fewer behavioral problems (Wang, 2010). It makes sense to state that school
environment where the situations above are positive may impact positively on
the academic performance of the students and vice versa. Hypothetically,
therefore, the above environment will have a positive impact on the performance
of students in schools (Ojukwu & Nwanma, 2015).
However, one of the major issues that seem to bother
students, parents and stakeholders in Nigeria today is the academic performance
of the students. According to Fehintola (2009), poor academic performance of
students in internal and external examinations is one of the problems and
challenges facing the educational system in Nigeria today. Education itself
helps individuals to adapt to a new environment (Ojukwu, 2016). In Nigeria,
education is seen as one of the means of getting to the top hierarchy in any
endeavor. Thus, poor academic performance usually brings about sadness and
frustration to the individual concerned and to his/her parents as well as other
members of the family. As a matter of fact, it gives parents and students
feelings of satisfaction and joy when children excel academically (Fehintola,
2009; Ojukwu, 2016).
Academic performance entails that students are
required to maintain a satisfactory academic record and meet the obligations of
the courses they are enrolled (Ojukwu, & Nwanma 2015). Academic performance
is the outcome of education, the extent to which a student achieved the
educational goals. Put in another way, good academic performance is the
personal comportment and commitment of the student to actualize his/her
academic purposes which may include concentrating on one’s studies, having
confidence to success oriented academic activities in school and so in other to
maximally actualize his life career or dream (Olofintoye, 2005).
Good or bad academic performance can make or mar the
goals of a student’s life as well as the national goals and development. A good
academic performance would bring about the motivation and enthusiasm the
student needs to attain a high academic standing when compared with his/her
mates. It brings about resilience and makes the student success-oriented
(Morgan, 2002).
The performance of Imo State Secondary School students
in external examinations such as the Senior Secondary School Certificate
conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National
Examination Council (NECO) appears to be poor, failing to meet the minimum
learning requirements of acquiring basic skills and competence. Poor academic
performance seems to be the order of the day as reflected in the students’
examinations. For example, the SSCE’S result for 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and
2014 reveals that only 24.94%, 30.99%, 25.99%, 29.27% and 31.28% respectively
of the candidates who sat for the examinations obtained five credits including
Mathematics and English language which are required for admission into the
Nigerian Universities.
Students’ poor academic performance has for some time
been attributed to teachers’ ineffectiveness, poor intelligent quotient of the
students and poor mental alertness of the students, with less or no reference
to the effect of insecurity of the school environment and its related factors. Nevertheless,
educators and psychologists have realized that many students perform poorly in
their academic work not because they do not possess the mental ability to do
well but because they may have been affected by the insecurity of the school
environment. In this line, Ojukwu and Nwanma (2015) as well as Ojukwu and
Onuoha (2016) have reported influenced respectively students’ behavior and
their psychosocial adjustment.
The concept of insecurity connotes the state or
quality of being insecure. Security in simple terms means protection of lives
and properties from destruction. According to Onifode, Imhonopl and Uorim
(2013) security is the dynamic condition which involves the relative ability of
a state to counter threats to its core values and interest and their primary
beneficiaries are the citizens. In addition, sharing the view Abraham Maslow,
Iyenger (1977) stated that an insecure person perceives the world as a life
threatening jungle, feels unsafe, unhappy, rejected, hostile, and pessimistic,
shows a sign of tension, conflict and guilt, and tends to be neurotic and
generally egocentric. It therefore seems that when a student studies in an
environment that is characterized by insecurity, the student may suffer
socially, mentally and emotionally and it makes sense hypothetically to state
that all these are likely to affect not only his behavior and psychosocial
adjustment but may also affect his academic performance.
According to Ojukwu and Nwanma (2015), insecure school
environment, including the dilapidated conditions and teachers’ negative
attitude to condone and accept the emotional needs of students, which will lead
to undue influences and clashes of a local community interfering with school
business. Also, they stated that in insecure school environments the
psychological problems of the students are never met or carelessly handled,
there are always segregations in the school community along religions, tribal
and sectarian lines as students may ignore teachers’ directives and may also
challenge the teachers on certain concepts and school properties may likely be
deliberately damaged by the students to show their disapproval of managements
decisions (Ojukwu & Nwanma, 2015).
Also Ojukwu and Nwanma (2015) reported that in a
school environment characterized by insecurity, lateness is the norm in school
and students are allowed to freely use handsets and phones. Annually, the
external results of the school are always bad as a result of poor teaching
climate of the school as having been shown by 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014
WAEC results cited above. Other instances of insecurity of the school
environment include that sometimes female staff and students complain of being
raped or impregnated leading to school dropout (Ojukwu & Nwanma, 2015).
Also, parents complain that their children are bullied and injured and the
classrooms are overcrowded, poorly ventilated and lit (Ghazi, Shahzada, Tariq
& Khan, 2013). The above painted school environment may most likely affect
students’ academic performance.
The levels at which the afore-mentioned variables can
positively or negatively interact with each other in the school environment
will usually help to make or mar teaching and learning which may affect
students’ performance. The end result is that it brings effectiveness in the
classroom, enhances students’ cooperation and learning, promotes love and
efficient planning by the school authorities where it is positive and vice
versa where it is negative (Ojukwu & Nwanma, 2015 and Ojukwu & Onuoha,
2016). Again the negative impact of the above painted variables may help to
encourage low academic performance. Because of the negative effect the
insecurity of the school environment may have on the academic performance of
the secondary school students, this study has become necessary. Therefore, the
focus of this study is to examine the effect of insecurity of the school
environment on the academic performance of secondary school students in Imo
state. The researcher with his students had in previous researches investigated
the influence of insecurity of school environment on the students behavior and
psychosocial adjustments in Abia and Imo states (Ojukwu & Nwanma 2015;
Ojukwu & Onuoha, 2016) respectively. This present study is in furtherance
of the former studies in this regard. The result of the findings will help
proffer possible solutions to the prevailing and nagging problems of academic
performance by our adolescents and students.
1.2 Statement
of the Problem
Recently major stakeholders in Education such as
government, industries, communities, parents, schools even students and many
others have been lamenting over the poor quality of Nigerian students in both
learning and character suggesting a poor academic performance. Researchers and
authors have speculated reasons for the failure on the part of the Nigerian
students in secondary schools including those in Imo state to acquire the
necessary social, psychological and academic skills to cope with demands of
life and living in and outside the school. Their findings and suggestions tend
to point at those issues which tend to waste students’ time and then have false
notions about true life situations. Others have focused on teaching and
learning materials as well as students themselves. An area that seems to have
been neglected by past researchers is the effect insecurity of school
environment will have on the academic performance of the secondary school
students. Educators have long emphasized that many students perform poorly in
their academic work not because they do not possess the mental ability to do
well. An area that seems to have been neglected by researchers is the issue of
insecurity of the school environment and the effect it could have on the
academic performance of the secondary school students.
According to Ojukwu and Nwanma (2015), since the
inception of democracy in Nigeria in 1999, insecurity has become a major issue
of concern to every citizen. On a daily basis the media has continued to
highlight and discuss incessant cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, bombings, abductions,
rape, cultic activities and a high rise in ethnic and communal clashes, which
have become regular occurrences and have characterized life in Nigeria
(Nwangwa, 2014). Media report are awash with the number of lives lost as a
result of terrorist, insurgent and other attacks that seem to be alarming. As
if some places in the country can be walled off from the negative impact of
violence, our academic (schools) institutions have also become hot spots where
cases of insecurity are recorded (Ojukwu & Nwanma, 2015). The main
interest, motivation and problem of this study therefor is to investigate the
effect of the insecurity of the school environment on the academic performance
of secondary school students in Imo state.
Considerable attempts may have been made at
researching on some variables or factors affecting students’ academic
performance but little or none has focused on the effect of insecurity of the
school environment on the academic performance of secondary school students.
Also, given the wide ranging effects of students’ poor academic performance and
its concomitant social and destructive emotional effects on the students,
parents, society and the nation It is appropriate and should be a welcome
development to investigate the effect of insecurity of the school environment
on the academic performance of secondary school students with the view of
proffering solutions for a better performance by students.
1.3 Objectives
of the Study
The objectives of the study were to:
1. Determine
the factors that constitute insecurity of the school environment that may
influence academic performance.
2. Determine
the effect of insecurity of the school environment on the academic performance
of secondary school students in Imo state.
3. Determine
the statistical significance of the difference between the environment of
insecurity of rural and urban secondary schools in Imo state.
4. Investigate the
statistical significance of the difference
between male and
female students academic performance due to insecurity of the
school environment in Imo state.
1.4 Research
Question
The following research questions were raised to guide
the study.
1. What are
the factors that constitute insecurity of the school environment t in Imo
state?
2. What
effect does school environment have on academic performance of secondary school
students in Imo state?
1.5 Null
Hypotheses
Insecurity of school environment does not
significantly affect the academic performance of secondary school students in
Imo state.
Ho1: There is no
significant difference in the insecurity of the school environment between
secondary schools in rural and urban areas in Imo state.
Ho2: There is no
significant difference between male and female students’ academic performance
due to the insecurity of school environment in Imo state.
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