Challenges, Attitudes and Academic Performance of Agricultural Science Students in Public Secondary Schools of Ibadan North, Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, we considered challenges facing effective teaching and learning of Agricultural Science. Also, we examined whether there were differences in the mean achievement test scores of students in the subject in selected schools. Furthermore, we studied students' attitude to the subject and examined the relationship between their academic performance in Agricultural Science and their attitudes to the subject. The study was a descriptive survey design carried out at Ibadan North Local Government Area (INLGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria. Three public secondary schools were randomly selected from all the public secondary schools in INLGA in 2014. A total of thirty teachers and one hundred Senior Secondary School II (SSS II) students from the selected schools participated in the study. Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT), Constraints facing Agricultural Science in Public Secondary Schools Questionnaire (CASPSSQ) and Students' Attitude towards Agricultural Science Questionnaire (SAASQ) were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test of independence, one- Original Research Articleway Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison techniques. The major challenges confronting the teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in INLGA and their solutions were identified. The ANOVA test was significant (P=.00). Least Significant Difference, a multiple comparison technique, on the ANOVA showed that School 1 and School 2 ASAT mean scores; School 1 and School 3 ASAT mean scores were different from each other at 5% significance level respectively. A significant relationship was found between scores obtained by the students in the ASAT and the attitudinal variable of sustained students' interests in Agricultural Science (P=.02).The study therefore recommended innovative methods of teaching the subject so as to be able to sustain students' interest in the subject and obtain better academic performance.

Attitude and Academic Success in Practical Agriculture: Evidence from Public Single-Sex High School Students in Ibadan, Nigeria

“…This low interest could be attributed to the usual approach to teaching the practical oriented subject (mainly by teaching method which is commonly by writing notes in class with little or no periods for practical agriculture on the school farm/garden) which is no longer interesting and endearing to boost the required interest. The best way the students in schools can be taught agricultural science is by both theoretical aspect and practical work (physical activities) by "doing" in the practical sense of it and 'brains -on' activities (mental activities) inside and outside the laboratory and school farms [2,19,20].…”

“…Deegan et al [22], also opined that blended learning with emphasis on students taking charge of their own learning environment is effective in inculcating practical skills in agricultural science on students. Some recent studies for instance, [15] investigated the challenges involved in deploying project methods of teaching practical agriculture among Coeducational high school students in Ghana while [2] also revealed the challenges and attitudes of high schools students towards the teaching and learning of agricultural science in Nigeria (theoretical aspects alone). Baliyan and Nenty [25] studied the students attitudinal factors that predicted their willingness to enroll in agriculture with no correlation with their academic performance in that subject while [18] examined the level of influence of teachers' attitude to school farm on the teaching of agricultural science in the study area This study seeks to investigate the attitude and academic performance of high school students in practical agriculture in single-sex schools (Boys' and Girls' only) different from other studies that were carried out in the Co-educational schools.…”

“…In Nigeria, agriculture remained a major sector of the economy, providing food for her teeming population, provision of foreign exchange earnings, income for smallholder and commercial farmers and employment opportunities for about 70 percent of the population. Agricultural sector has started regaining its lost glory in recent time through a viable economic plan referred to as Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) in which Agriculture is one of the major sectors of the economy considered in the ERGP to help solve ravaging incidence of food insecurity, reduce unemployment, improve foreign exchange earnings and resuscitate industrialization [1,2,3]. Since the steady reduction in the revenue accruable from crude oil from the international market, educational and economic experts have been devoting a lot of attention to how best to bring agriculture back to its lost enviable position [2].…”

“…Moreover, this would boost Nigeria's food productivity and closer to attaining food sufficiency status as a nation. The specific objectives of introducing Agricultural Science in secondary schools as listed in [5] and cited in [6] and [2] are as follows:…”

Impact of Formative Evaluation Modes on Learning Outcomes among Senior Secondary Agricultural Science Students in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State

“…Performance is the glittering crown which reflects a sense of sincerity, candidness and perseverance on the part of achievers and also parents, teachers and all those helping to achieve it, and thus a result of bidirectional results. However, the findings of [20] in their work on Challenges, Attitudes and Academic Performance of agricultural science students in public secondary schools in Ibadan North, contradict this results as theirs found that majority of students obtained scores below 40%. Table 3 gives insight to the attitude of the respondents towards Agricultural science.…”