Learning Environment as Correlate of Students’Academic Achievement in Junior Secondary School Integrated Science (Published)
Environment plays an important role in the learning of integrated science. Environment means all the classroom conditions that facilitate teaching student’s perception in their classroom and their academic achievement in integrated science. Both human and material resources as well as interaction and attitudinal behaviors in the classroom setting make up the classroom learning environment. In order to carry out this study, two research questions were posed and a null hypothesis was formulated. The design of the study is a correlation survey. The population comprised the entire JS2 integrated science students from five secondary schools drawn randomly from the entire schools in Ogba-Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State. Mean, standard deviation, Pearson’s product moment correlation and t-test statistical techniques were used in analyzing the data. The result revealed that there is low mean perception of students of integrated science on their classroom environment. There is also positive significant relationship between their mean perception and their academic achievement. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made which include that integrated science teachers should be made to be aware of the influence of their environment on the achievement of students through seminars and workshops.
Keywords: Academic Achievement, Correlate of Students’, Integrated Science, Learning Environment, junior secondary school
Social studies teachers and students attitudes toward cooperative learning method in junior secondary schools in Port Harcourt (Published)
The study investigated social studies teachers and students attitudes toward Cooperative Learning Method (CLM) in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) in Port Harcourt Local Government Area (LGA) of Rivers State, Nigeria. The quasi-experimental design was used. A total of 240 JSS II students with an average age of 12 years and 11 social studies teachers participated in the study. Two validated 10-item instruments, Students Attitude towards Cooperative Learning Method Scale (SATCLMS) and Teachers Attitude towards Cooperative Learning Method Scale (TATCLMS) were used for data collection. The test-retest method was used to determine the reliability of the instruments to obtain reliability indices of 0.78 and 0.86 for SATCLMS and TATCLMS respectively. Two research questions guided the exploration. Percentages and frequency were used to answer the research questions. The findings of the study were that both teachers and students had positive attitudes towards CLM, however, teachers had more positive attitudes toward CLM than the students. It was recommended among others that teachers of social studies should adopt the CLM in their instructions in the classroom so as to impact on the attitudes of the students.
Keywords: Cooperative learning method, Social Studies, Student, Teacher, attitude, junior secondary school