CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The importance of education for national development has placed upper basic schools at the centre of the efforts of governments to increase the rate of literacy at this level in Nigeria by boosting student’s academic performance. Students’ success at this level depends on their academic achievement through several method of preparation for the organized national examinations conducted by West African Examinations Council (WAEC) or National Examinations Council (NECO) in rounding up from all the Junior Secondary schools nationwide. The processes of globalization and technological revolution create greater demands for variation in the department of choice in the senior secondary schools (Benner and Mistry, 2007). Upper basic school students are the potential assets of these diversified educational disciplines. And only students with adequate academic skills and knowledge can score high enough in all the core subjects including social studies will be able to proceed to the senior secondary school. According to Akomolafe and Olorunfemi-Olabisi (2011), senior secondary schools are depending upon the potential academic skills and knowledge of upper basic school students after their completion of basic education. However, the authorities of schools on their own have decided to organize holiday classes for the students to reinforce most of the things that has been taught in their normal classes’ period. These extra classes are organized with the approval from the respective ministry and directorates of education in most cases based on the fact that they intend to improve the academic performance of upper basic school students as they are completing their basic education as specified by the new education curriculum in Nigeria.

These extra classes organized in holidays prior to this national examinations are called the extension classes as there will be no holiday for these set of students as their term has been extended thereby keeping students busy with academic activities throughout the holiday period prior to the examination (Alderman et al, 2001). This will however make the students to remember most of the things that has been taught very well till the national examination begin thereby boosting their performance (Tavani and Losh, 2003). Hence, stakeholders in education consider the students’ academic achievement at this level an important goal to produce the best quality candidates for the senior secondary schools. Intelligence is not the only determinant of the academic performance of the student, constant practice and consistency can increase knowledge and academic performance. Academic performance of a student is always associated with many components of learning environment (Hanushek, 2003). It is worth noting that students’ academic achievement is aected by numerous factors including gender, age, students schooling, father/guardian social economic status, residential area of students, and school factors (Hanushek, 2003).

Extension classes are a type of aer-school programs which are separate from the regular school hour. Some extension classes are run by the school management, employing regular teachers. Others are run by non-profit or for-profit organizations (Chawla, 2012). Aer-school programs can be oered for the purposes of providing extra academic support, enrichment, or a combination of both. Aer-school programs also can be oered to promote the well-being of “latchkey” children and to increase community safety by keeping children out of trouble. They can be targeted to specific populations that need extra support, or can be offered to all students. The nature and objectives of Social Studies as a core subject in Nigerian upper basic schools emphasize students’ familiarity with their physical and social environment; improved social relationships and interactions; skills and ability to think reflectively, critically, creatively and independently (Akomolafe and Olorunfemi-Olabisi, 2011)

Proponents of extension classes for upper basic schools generally propose it as a means of improving academic performance, although they identify other benefits that may or may not be related to academic performance. Some proponents argue that all students should be in school for longer days, due to the increasing demand for knowledge and skills in the global marketplace and Nigeria has been apparently educationally disadvantaged. The following were suggested by Weinberg (2007) as some of the benefits of extension classes: 1) More time on task; 2) Greater depth and breadth of learning; 3) More time for planning and professional development; 4) More time for enrichment and experiential learning; and 5) Stronger relationships between teachers and students. The Harvard Family Research Project identified a range of benefits associated with well-designed and well-run school-organized holiday classes and summer programs, including positive outcomes for academics, social/emotional health, risky behavior prevention, and health and wellness. However this study seeks to identify the relationship between extension classes and academic performance of the upper basic school students in social studies