Abstract
The study examined the perception of students and teachers on the cause of poor academics performance among secondary school students in Enugu North, Enugu State. Subjects for the study were fifty (50) students and fifty (50) teachers randomly drawn from four secondary schools in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu state. Questionnaire was used to collect relevant data for the study. Percentages and Chi-square were used to analyze the research questions. Responses of teachers showed that teachers’ qualification and students’ environment do not influence students’ poor performance but teachers’ methods of teaching influence poor academic performance. Students’ response on the other hand showed that while teaches’ qualification and students’ environment influence students’ poor performance teacher methods of teaching and learning materials do not. The implications of these findings for secondary school guidance counselors interested in counseling adolescents for good academic performance were discussed.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
The differential scholastic achievement of students in Enugu North has been and is still a source of concern and research interest to educators, government and parents. This is so because of the great importance that education has on the national development of the country. All over the country, there is a consensus of opinion about the fallen standard of education in Enugu State (Adebule, 2004).
Parents and government are in total agreement that their huge investment on education is not yielding the desired dividend. Teachers also complain of students’ low performance at both internal and external examination. The annual release of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination Result (SSCE) conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) justified the problematic nature and generalization of poor secondary school students’ performance in different school subject. For instance, the percentage of failure compared with students who passed English language and Mathematic between 2004 to 2008 is shown below.
Poor academic performance according to Aremu (2003) is a performance that is adjudged by the examinee/test and some other significant as falling below an expected standard, poor academic performance has been observed in school subjects especially Mathematics and English language among secondary school students (adesemowo, 2005). Aremu (2000) stress that academic failure is not only frustrating to the students and the parents, its effects are equally grave on the economy and politics.
Education at secondary school level is supposed to be the bedrock and the foundation towards higher knowledge in tertiary institutions. It is an investment as well as in instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economics, social, political, Technological, scientific and cultural development in the country.