ABSTRACT

The study examined the effect of availability of instructional materials on student’s academic performance in agricultural science in Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State. The population for this study comprised of all Agricultural Science Teachers and all SS II students who offered Agricultural Science in all secondary schools within the study area. A multi-stage sampling technique of stratified, purposive and simple random techniques was used to select 236 respondents for the study. A researcher structured questionnaire of Liker rating scale forma was used to gather information from the respondents. The instrument was validated by three experts in the field of measurement and evaluation in the Faculty of Education, University of Ilorin. The reliability of the study was established through test re-test method using pearson product moment correlation. A correlation of 0.75 was obtained. The instrument was administered by the researcher and four trained research assistants. The data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of frequency count and percentage for personal data of the respondents while inferential statistics of chi-square X² was used to test the postulated hypothesis set for the study at 0,05 alpha level.  The results of the findings revealed that appropriate utilization of instructional materials have significant effect on student performance in agricultural science, characteristics of instructional materials, importance of instructional materials and factors affecting the use of instructional materials have significant effect on student performance in agricultural science. Based on the findings of this study, the researcher recommends that Agricultural Science Teachers should endeavour to improvise instructional materials so as to enhanced students performance, school management needs to encourage Agricultural Science Teachers to always utilize the use of instructional materials for effective teaching and also to organize seminars and workshops for them in order for them to know the importance of using instructional materials o enhance students performance in Agricultural Science.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1. Background to the Study

                The role of Agriculture in the development of the economy cannot be underestimated. It is important to note that with adequate and effective training in agriculture as a field of study, there will be high prospect of sustainable food security and economic advancement in the country. In order to guarantee this goal, there is need to provide top quality education services to the students particular in secondary schools. Hence, there is need for the subject to be taught thoroughly if it is to meet the educational and economic development goals.

The effect of instructional materials in promoting students’ academic performance in teaching and learning in educational development cannot be underestimated. The curriculum content of the senior secondary school levels consists of three major concepts of production, protection and economics. Learning by doing was emphasized in the curriculum so that the students should be able to produce food and other agricultural products for themselves and their community. Therefore, for effective and positive production in any establishment, there must be enough working tools to be used by the personnel (Oyedun 2000).

It is inarguable that the teacher alone cannot provide all the needed condition for an effective teaching and learning process, other supporting materials should be provided. The students learn better when most of the senses are appealed to the instruction and use of instructional materials in agriculture science education has added a new dimension in the positive promotion of the teaching and learning process. It provides the much need sensory experiences needed by the learners for an effective and meaningful behavioural change.

Instructional materials are designed to improve the quality of education for effective academic performance of agricultural science students in schools. It has been observed that teachers normally dodge the use of instructional materials in most of their teaching topics, while they try to do all they could during their practical teaching in their course of study; even though some of these materials are not usually available in the schools for teachers’ use.

Secondary schools are educational institutions below tertiary level established to inculcate in learners the societal needs and values, and make them skillful. These needs, values and teachable skills are designed into bodies of knowledge and taught to learners, such as Agricultural Science. Agricultural science is largely the application of scientific principles for successful production of crops and livestock and other uses for man’s benefit (Talathi, Naik, & Jalgaonkar, 2011; Onu, Ugwoke, Agboeze, & Ikehi, 2014).

Agricultural science, as a subject in secondary schools, seeks to teach the students the principles of using scarce resources to produce crops and animals to feed the world’s population and to service other related uses (Ikehi, Ifeanyieze, & Ugwuoke, 2014). The teaching and learning of vocational studies as well as skilled based sciences such as Agricultural Science, have often called for the use of instructional materials during content delivery to aid learners’ learning pace and retention (Onu & Ikehi, 2013).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Several school managements have developed lackadaisical attitudes towards the provision of needed tools, equipments, and farm inputs required for effective agricultural science, especially practical in secondary schools. This negative and unconcerned attitude poses great threat to genuine efforts of some teachers of agricultural science in the secondary schools. In spite
of the emphasis being placed on agricultural science as one of the subjects in secondary schools, there is usually not enough time provided in the time-table for a meaningful agricultural science work (Adeyemi, 2000).

It has been observed that most teachers in secondary schools in the state did not fully make use of instructional materials in the teaching of agricultural science to their students. The negligence of the effective use of instructional facilities and materials in teaching and learning of agricultural science is common to both the trained and untrained teachers; this has been affecting the successful academic performance of students in agricultural science in secondary schools.

The desire to embark on this research study therefore, stemmed from the fact that there is problem of poor performance of secondary school students in agricultural science in the state. The appropriate utilization of instructional materials and teaching of agricultural science by experienced and qualified teachers, may probably be the main solution to poor performance in Agricultural Science. It was observed that students usually fail in examinations owing to improper teaching methods and lack of essential teaching aids for instructional delivery (Afolabi, 2009). This study therefore deemed it necessary to look specifically into the effect of instructional materials on academic performance of secondary school students in agricultural science.