Full Project – FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREA COUNCIL

 A STUDY OF FIVE SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREA COUNCIL, ABUJA

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ABSTRACT

The study examined “factors affecting the effective implementation of agricultural science education in senior secondary schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council”. The study objectives are to: Insufficient numbers of qualified teachers affects students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subjects; Unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of Agricultural science subject affects students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subjects; The previous socio-economic backgrounds of the students affect them in studying Agricultural science subject; and the attitude and interest of students towards the nature of Agricultural science subject contribute deeply to their mass failure in SSCE. The study employed the descriptive survey design.  The nature of the problem was duly considered in the study.  The research design used for this study is the survey design. The reason why this design was adopted was because the researcher would make use of the primary data obtained through the questionnaire. The area of the study covers students of five selected secondary schools located within Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abuja, Abuja. The target population consists of public secondary school students in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abuja. Simple random sampling technique was adopted for the study. The researcher useD a total of one hundred (100) students from five (5) selected public secondary schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Abuja. The research instrument used was questionnaire. The data collected was analyzed using simple percentage while hypotheses were tested using Chi-Square Statistics. The study recommended that Government both at the federal and state levels should employ more qualified teachers for secondary schools to ensure efficiency and optimal performance in Agricultural science subject. The study also recommended that Teachers should develop positive relationship with students and stress classroom activities, that will involve active teaching-learning process and students participation in the class. The study concludes that insufficient numbers of qualified Agricultural science teachers and instructional materials for teaching affects Agricultural science subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    Background of the Study

The term agriculture is derived from two Latin words oger meaning field and culture meaning cultivation. Literally agriculture refers to the production of crops and rearing of animal for man use. Agricultural production involves series of activities which include the cultivation of other products into forms that could be used by man. The preparation of products include; processing, package, storage, marketing etc. agriculture is regarded as the live-blooded of a nations domestic economy and the mother of all other business occupations and professional. The development of agriculture in Nigeria will help minimize over dependence on crude oil, the market of which fluctuates. Types of agriculture are; subsistence agriculture and commercial agriculture.

The Subsistence Agriculture: As men advance from the hunting and gathering stage, they developed the art of cultivating certain plants and domesticating certain animals, this was a period of self-sufficiency which was the beginning of settled life and people began to group themselves in villages. They made crude implement to provide enough food for their family. This practice is found today in every isolated area where communication has been limited; the people have not been exposed to modern ways of forming and surplus capital for investment is not available.

The Commercial Agriculture: This is the type of farming which involve cultivation of large acres of land, because most operation is usually mechanized and yield term of money, skilled labour and management. It is mostly practice by very rich farmers. The practices also required application of agrochemical and may causes environmental pollution. It may also encouragement erosion and other ecological mishaps and special marketing strategies have to be planned for successful evaluation and marketing of farm produce.

1. In this scientific age, agricultural science has an important role to play in the school and also in the economic, social and political development of any nation. Infact the main distinction between the so called development and developing countries is due to the degree of scientific development in those countries. Virtually today, people everywhere are aware of the significant role that agricultural science and products of agriculture play in the society, because of the importance attached to the study of agricultural science right from the elementary school to university level. Agriculturalscience is also an applied science that make use of scientific theories and principles to bring about a product or an effect. It applied principles from among others, genetics, chemistry, biology, ecology and geography etc.
2. Agricultural science played an important role in secondary schools in Ovia North east Local Government Area. because many of our farmers have little or no scientific methods of the subject and they can only be enlightened by the young ones who must have studied the subject in schools.
3. Agricultural science in secondary school must involve theories and practices therefore it embraces the use of all the sense organs practically, agricultural science makes people very healthy and physically fit. It is vital to practice agricultural science in secondary school to check the migration of our people from rural areas to the urban areas.
4. Acquisition of skills is on other direct advantages of agricultural science in secondary schools students. Because the principles practice and appreciation of agriculture help to prepared them for after school paid jobs. The acquisition of skills is one of the domains entrenched in any good educational system. Therefore, agricultural science like other practical subject helps to develop the psychomotor domains in students.

Notwithstanding, it has been observed that there are many problems militating against the teaching and learning of agricultural science in Post primary schools as enumerated by many writers on problem of agricultural science in Nigeria. They attributed the high level of failures in agricultural science to lack of students concentration in the classroom, their view steamed from observed students performance in agricultural science.

Thus, observed failure could be as a result of inability of the students to understand economic terms, lack of finance to buy relevant textbooks, inadequate teachers, inability of the students’ to interpret agricultural science table and graph, inappropriate and ineffective method of teaching, lack of control over the attitudes of students and teachers and others which have contributed to low level of teaching agricultural science in secondary schools.

Okorie (1979: 152) suggested that for the effective teaching to take place, the skillful teacher needs to use the many effective method and techniques effectively because in them his success and failure depends. He further emphasized that the success in the use of methods depends on the intelligent analysis of educational purposes, pupil in the class and the curriculum content of the moment.

A few moment reflection is sufficient to reveal that every society faces crucial issues and problem in education which have very serious economic angles that cannot be overlooked easily for instance, the production of education as well as the acquisition of education both require the use of large qualities of scare resources (Production of education requires conducive classrooms, administrative blocks, personnel, librarians, laboratories while the acquisition of education requires expenditures on tuition fees, book, travels, uniform, lodging etc. and students time.

1.2    Statement of the Problem

Agricultural science is been taught in secondary schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council of Abuja State and it has been observed that students in government secondary school Ajah performed poorly in the 2012 May/June Senior Certificate Examination. It has also been observed that there are lots of factors militating against the effective teaching and learning of agricultural science in secondary schools in the study area.

poor performance in Secondary School Certificate Examination (WAEC) is caused by many factors such as; students ineffective study techniques, quality of teachers and method of teaching, the parents inability to provide useful materials like textbooks, exercise books and school fees and problem of inadequate instructional materials for teaching and learning of Agricultural science in schools.

However, the pivoting problems of agricultural science is complex and can minimally be solved if the teachers and students change their attitude towards teaching and learning in schools generally and to agricultural science in particular.

 1.3    Purpose of the Study

Study has been undertaken with a view to identify the problems involved in the teaching and learning of agricultural science in secondary schools and Abuja Municipal Area Council and factors responsible for these problems. Specifically, the study sought to find out if:-

1. Insufficient numbers of qualified teachers affects students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subjects.
2. Unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of Agricultural science subject affects students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subjects,
3. The previous socio-economic backgrounds of the students affect them in studying Agricultural science subject.
4. The attitude and interest of students towards the nature of Agricultural science subject contribute deeply to their mass failure in SSCE.

Research Questions

In assessing the purpose of the study, this research project will answer the following questions:

1. Does insufficient numbers of qualified Agricultural science teachers affects students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subject?
2. Does unavailability of instructional materials for teaching of Agricultural science subject affects students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subjects?
3. Does previous socio-economic background of the students affect them in studying Agricultural science subject?
4. How would interest of students towards the nature of Agricultural science subject contribute deeply to their mass failure in SSCE?

 

 Research Hypotheses

In carrying out this research work the following theoretical statements are buttressed to serve as a direction on which the work will be premised:

1. H₀: Insufficient numbers of qualified Agricultural science teachers does not affects students’ mass failure of students in Agricultural science subject

H₁:  Insufficient numbers of qualified Agricultural science teachers and instructional materials teaching affects Agricultural science subject.

1. H₀:There is no significant relationship between availability of instructional materials for teaching of Agricultural science subject and students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subjects.

H₁:   There is significant   relationship   between availability of instructional materials for teaching of Agricultural science subject and students’ mass failure in Agricultural science subjects.

 1.6    Scope of the Study

The research work seeks to examine the factors militating against effective teaching and learning of agricultural science in secondary. The study will be limited to five selected schools in Abuja Municipal Area Council, Nigeria.

 

1.7   Significance of the Study

There is need to apply knowledge from agricultural science to many area of our life in other to benefit the society. The achievements of the objective necessitates an understanding of the basic teaching of agricultural science. We cannot attain national objectives in the light of poor or average performances in examinations and lack of application of agricultural science to life students.

Without doubt, improved teaching and learning of agricultural science will spur us into greater heights. This study will help to make our educational administrators to see the need to have qualified agricultural science teachers to handle the subject effectively for the benefit of the students and society at large.

This study will help to sensitize the educational administrators to appreciate the need to make available the necessary materials, example, chalkboard, graphs, audio-visual materials etc. that will enhance effective learning of agricultural science if they are not available.

This study will if need be direct the agricultural science teachers’ attention to the need for them to adopt more appropriate teaching method in order to bring about the above mentioned desirable experience in the learners. This study will have a great significance because it is going to provide information to agricultural science teachers for formation and evaluation of their plans.

It will be useful to learners for through this, they will be able to identify the factors militating against the proper teaching and learning of agricultural science. This study will help to produce sound agricultural science students that will function very well in the economy such as:

(a) Knowing how to use scarce productive resources with alternative uses to meet prescribed ends and be able to apply the principles of agricultural science.

(b)  The product of agricultural science that should be able to pick employment within a limited employment opportunity in any economy.

This work will serve as a source of encouragement to students and teachers that will come across it. It is hoped that the findings of this study would also form the basis for further research work by future researchers on this issue.

 1.8 Definition of Terms

Agricultural science: Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture..

Instructional Materials: These are materials that are used to aid in the transference of information from one student to another in Education arena.

Teaching: the act or profession of a person who teaches.

Job Performance: This is the work related activities expected of an employee and how well those activities were executed.

Remuneration: Reward for employment in the form of pay, salary, or wage, including allowances, benefits (such as medical plan, pension plan), bonuses, cash incentives, and monetary value of the noncash incentives.

Condition of Work: Regulations governing on-the-job standards and conditions of work such as those affecting health and safety of workers.

 

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Full Project – FACTORS AFFECTING THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ABUJA MUNICIPAL AREA COUNCIL