Learning Enviroment and Its Effects on Student Academic Performance in Integrated Science Essay

In Nigeria, supplemental rearing is the raising children get after primary champaign and originally the tertiary stage. Consequently, the broad goals of collateral didactics argon ge atomic number 18d to prepare the soul for useful living within the rules of order and to progress to higher raisingal activity (Federal disposal of Nigeria, 2004). The civilize at this level is completed so that savants provide learn in order to be able to point knowledge from one generation to new(prenominal) for the continuity and well-being of the society. instruction as a hypothetical construct stool only be inferred from observable behavior. Psychologists ordinarily define instruction as a relatively per macrocosment change in behavior due to past hold out or the process by which relatively permanent changes occur in behavioural potentials as a result of take care (Gross, 2010)In fact, standby prepare education is an investment and an instrument that dismiss be used to contact a much rapid economic, sociable, political, technological, scientific and cultural study in the country. The role of secondary education is to lay a solid psychiatric hospital for violate faculty member instruction execution of students in their pursuit of university education and in other higher institutions with the aim of producing competent workforce for the growth and development of the nation. Recent trends in this tier of education in Nigeria charge poor people faculty member results from our children. The preponderance of wad failure in the final mental tests conducted by motley examination bodies (WAEC, NECO NABTEB) has led to the riddle and cry by all and sundry(prenominal) over students poor takeman process. It is out-of-doors that this tier of education is now ill threatened by total faithful collapse as evident by students abysmal implementation in 2011 examination results in Nigeria.Dissenting groups collapse passed the load of students poor surgical procedure on teachers, parents and disposal policy several(prenominal)rsault. According to Aremu and Sokan (2003), and Aremu and Oluwole (2001), secondary school students poor performance may be hinged on students because of their low retention, parental factors, connectedness with wrong peers and need. Previous re hunt club examine showed that poor schoolman performance at the secondary school level of education is a product of teacher, school and the category surroundings. According to Morakinyo (2003), the falling level of schoolman performance of secondary school students is traceable to teachers non-use of verbal reinforcement.Also the stead surround or family background of learners affects their faculty member performance (Ajila & Olutola, 2007) The sharp decline in the schoolman performance at various levels of our educational system in Nigeria is largely attributed to the poor conditions in our educational institutions. These include need of mode rn instructional technology, poor schoolroom conditions and lack of adequate training programmes for teachers. Similarly, split uproom takeing environss and school factors exert some dominant influence on learners, since man is a product of his milieu. The importance of cultivation purlieu to a successful academic achievement cannot be overempha sized.The teaching purlieu includes school location and physical constructions, science laboratory equipment, library services and materials, instructional assist and legal classroom management. Intelligence is not the only determinant of academic achievement. Learning purlieu affects the academic achievement of a student. According to Basque and Dore (1998), learning and article of faith environs ought to implement six functions inform, communicate, collaborate, produce, scaffold and manage. They added that conceptually speaking, the learning environment refers to the whole swan of components and activities within which lear ning happens.Learning environment that is free from barriers or distraction such as noise, gas/smoke contaminant and so on, will promote students concentration or perceptual focus to learning (Sprinthall, 1987). Similarly, the entire unattractive physical body structure of the school building could demotivate learners to achieve academically. This pair promotes poor academic performance. Danesty (2004) stated that dilapidating building lacking mental stimulating facilities that are characterized with low or no sit down arrangement, will also affect students learning. tell size has also been identified as a determinant of academic performance. Schools with littler class size perform better academically than schools with larger class size.kraft paper (1994) in his study of the ideal class size and its executions on effective teaching and learning concluded that all class size above forty (40) has negative effects on students achievement. Generally, levelheaded teaching is be st done in classes with small numbers that allow for undivided attention. Teachers do make a unlikeness to motivate students in learning, working in tandem with parents who are the first teachers to children. Noordin, Azizi, Jamaludin, Shahrin and Zurihanmi (2010) opined that teachers can make school life down(p) or appealing by choice the classroom with excitement and hope. disciples will put out in their learning and even search for more knowledge under the confidential information of enthusiastic teacher (Wlodkowski & Jaynes, 1990). Atkinson (2000) found a positive likenessship between teachers motivation and the students performance.The availability and use of teaching and learning materials affect the effectiveness of a teachers lesson. The use of a manikin of media increases the probability that the students would learn more and that primal days children are capable of understanding overturn ideas if they are provided with sufficient materials and concrete pose wi th the phenomena that they are to understand. Adu and Olatundun (2007), Adediwura and Tayo (2007), and Star (2002) suggested that effective teaching is a meaningful predictor for students academic achievement. In short, poor academic performance of students has been linked to poor teachers performance in terms of accomplishing learning tasks (Ofoegbu, 2004 Asikhia, 2010).The home environment or family background of students affects their academic performance (Ajila and Olutola 2007 Nzewuawah, 1995 Ichado, 1998). The home environment sharpens the childs initial view of learning. Parents beliefs, expectations and attitudes about education have a profound early meet on students conceptions of the place of education in their life. Children in poverty a good deal face problems at home and at school that compromises their learning (Ceballo and McLoyd, 2002, Evans and English, 2002). At home, they skill have parents who do not determined high educational standards for them, who are incapable(p) of reading to them, and who do not have enough money to pay for educational materials and experiences such as books and trips to zoos and museums.They might be malnourished and live in areas where offence and violence are a sort of life (Santrock, 2004). The home environment is as important as what goes on in the school. The home factors include parental occasion in childrens education, how much parents read to young children how much television children are allowed to watch and how often students change schools. Phillips (1998) also found that parental education and social economic location have an impact on students achievement.Students with parents who were both educated tended to achieve at the highest levels. Income and family size were moderately cerebrate to achievement (Ferguson, 1991). Thus from the analysis of academic achievement, home environment (including family income) and educational activities, it can be concluded that home environment and educatio nal activities explained the greatest amount of variability (Peng and Wright, 1994 Kamaruddin, Zainal, Aminuddin and Jusoff, 2009)The performance of secondary school students in science and non-science results in NECO, WAEC and JAMB calls for proper investigation. Student low performance in those subject can be traced back to the effect of their learning environment. Although, several scholars have proposed various factors responsible for the poor performance of students, some research have been dedicated to the correlation between student learning environment both at school and home and academic achievement of students. Thus, this study communicate those learning environment factors that hinder student from performing better in incorporate science.The main purpose of this study is to analyze the effect of learning environment on secondary school student academic performance in integrated science. Specifically, the study will Examine1.How do secondary school students perceive the quality of learning environment in relation to their academic performance? 2.How do secondary school students perceive teachers teaching methods in relation to their academic performance? 3.How do secondary school students perceive parents economic status in relation to their academic performance?1 How do secondary school students perceive the quality of learning environment in relation to their academic performance? Ho 2 How do secondary school students perceive teachers teaching methods in relation to their academic performance? Ho 3 there is no significant difference between class size and student academic performance in integrated science?