FACTORS INFLUENCING REASONING ABILITY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
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FACTORS INFLUENCING REASONING ABILITY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to investigate the elements that influence the reasoning ability of secondary school students in Ezeagu Local Government Area (LGA) in Enugu State, Nigeria. The overall goal of the study was to examine the impact of demographic, attitude, and environmental factors on students’ reasoning abilities.
A survey research approach was used due to the nature of the research aims. A cross-sectional data set was constructed using a study questionnaire and a convenient sample of pupils from Aguobu-Owa high school in Ezeagu LGA. Prior to distributing the questionnaire to the respondents, it was face and content validated.
The study enlisted the participation of 255 of the school’s 332 students. Only 137 of the 225 completed surveys were suitable for further analysis. Data analysis tools such as descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used. SPSS version 15.0 was used to conduct all of the analyses.
Male responses outweighed their female counterparts, according to the findings. It was also discovered that demographic parameters such as gender and family economic level have no beneficial correlation with reasoning ability. Aside from affect, the findings demonstrate that every other attitude and belief aspect (i.e. cognitive competence, value, difficulty, interest, and effort) linked with reasoning ability.
Finally, it was discovered that an ideal learning environment had a good relationship with reasoning ability. Based on the findings, it was advised that both male and female children, as well as children from both poor and wealthy families, be provided equal access to formal education.
To close the opportunity gap between the rich and the poor, it was suggested that the government properly equip public schools and make school fees more affordable to the poor. It is also recommended that teachers work hard to get students interested in science subjects by increasing students’ perceptions of the value of pursuing a science career; continuously measuring students’ cognitive competence to determine performance; and deciding whether to change teaching and instructional materials.
It is also critical to increase students’ effort in science disciplines by including them in a series of formative assessments. The notion of the difficulty of science courses can be alleviated by engaging industrious and qualified professors who will teach science subjects in a way that students would understand. Finally, there is an urgent need to develop a positive learning environment for science topics in secondary schools.
The government should renovate public schools and properly equip science laboratories to enable good learning and enhance students’ logical and creative reasoning.
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The urge to increase pupils’ academic achievements is a common concern in education. This worry is supported by a significant body of studies on student achievement (Babalola, 1979; Fakunle, 1986; Okoye & Okecha, 2008). This is due not only to the fact that higher achievement, particularly in the field of science, is the foundation for technical skills that are in short supply, but also to the fact that higher achievement is particularly valued in a society that places a high value on academic success as a stepping stone to entry into more prestigious occupations.
Students must, however, be able to reason well in order to score well in science disciplines. According to Piraksa, Srisawasdi, and Koul (2014), “scientific reasoning ability is determined as an important factor for fostering student performance in science learning” (p. 486), “as scientific literacy is currently considered the central goal for development of 21st century citizens, scientific literacy is determined as an important factor for fostering student performance in science learning.” Scientific thinking capacity is thus a vital talent for students aspiring to become professional scientists.
Acquiring new knowledge and applying it in novel ways results in a constant evolution of our cultural, social, and political contexts. Existing knowledge is rapidly being reviewed and, in some circumstances, rendered outdated. As a result, it is evident that the methods and processes by which new knowledge is gained are critical to successfully dealing with the excess of knowledge and its resulting technological applications (Valanides, 1997).
This viewpoint assumes a broadening of learning objectives beyond subject matter and discipline-specific notions. He went on to suggest that the only suitable response to the current exponential expansion in knowledge is to emphasise the development of students’ reasoning abilities and the attainment of procedural/operative knowledge.
Thus, one of the primary goals of education is to create settings that promote the development of students’ reasoning abilities. As a result, schools must do more than simply teach collections of discipline-specific information and concepts.
The Nigerian Ministry of Education in general, and the Enugu State Ministry of Education in particular, have gradually implemented, among other improvements, a new science curriculum that emphasises laboratory work and scientific processes.
The new curriculum and teaching methodologies are expected to improve students’ reasoning ability. This expectation is consistent with research on strategies to accelerate pupils’ cognitive growth.
Jindal-Snape, Davies, Collier, Howe, Digby, and Hay, 2013; Hyde and Mertz, 2009; Okoye and Okecha, 2008; Tempelaar, Schim van der Loeff, and Gijselaers, 2007; Valanides, 1997). Regardless of the outcomes of these research endeavours and the resulting theoretical discussions, interest in the exploration of students’ reasoning abilities and the process of their growth will continue.
These efforts have the potential to generate evidence that will improve our understanding of how reasoning abilities develop and how curricula and teaching interventions can promote their development, particularly in a grossly underdeveloped educational system like the one found in most Nigerian schools (particularly in rural areas).
Studying the factors that influence the reasoning ability of science students from underdeveloped academic backgrounds, such as Ezeagu Local Government Area in Enugu State, will provide the state’s Ministry of Education, as well as teachers, with a blueprint of what to emphasise to enable the students to improve their reasoning ability.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
“…’To know’ science is a statement that one understands not only what a phenomenon is, but also how it relates to other events, why it is significant, and how this particular worldview came to be.” Knowing any of these elements in isolation is meaningless. As a result, when learning science, students must be given the opportunity to learn about science’s epistemology, practises and methodologies, and nature as a social practise, in addition to learning about the principles of science…” (Driver, Newton, and Osborne, p. 297).
The scientific field is rapidly expanding. Students who choose a science major need and expect the courses and laboratory work that will prepare them to become scientists. This work contains the knowledge and abilities required to design a strong experiment, interpret the results, and apply the findings to future work within and beyond disciplines.
However, without strong thinking skills, students will struggle to create a successful career in science. According to Coletta, Philips, and Steinert (2007), student reasoning ability can be utilised to identify students who are likely to fail their tests. Furthermore, Lawson (2004) asserted that scientific thinking is critical to scientific literacy.
Okoye and Okechi (2008) discovered that Nigerian students’ reasoning ability correlates positively with their achievement in biology. Secondary school science students are freshmen who enter the profession unprepared in terms of both content and cognitive aptitude.
Furthermore, Ojerinde’s (1998) study on a survey of applicants’ performance in science disciplines in Nigeria throughout the years found a detectable deterioration. This ongoing reduction has long concerned scientific educators (Nnaka and Anaekwe, 2004). It is uncertain whether demographic, attitude and belief, and environmental factors influence the reasoning ability of science students in secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria’s Ezeagu Local Government Area.
Another challenge for science majors in secondary school is just sticking to their declared major. One probable explanation for this troubling tendency is that science is widely seen as a tough subject. However, being weak in one area does not always suggest that a person is less intellectual (Pimsleur Approach, n.d.). This highlights the need of researching the primary factors impacting thinking abilities.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
This project work, elements impacting pupils’ reasoning abilities in Nigerian secondary schools: A study on Enugu State’s Ezeagu Local Government Area focuses on three important aspects: demographic factors, attitude and belief factors, and environmental factors. In terms of scope, the research was focused on one secondary school in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria.
1.4 IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
In numerous nations, scientific literacy is now seen as a core goal and critical learning result for science education standards (Dani, 2009). This is because science education provides students with access to a wealth of knowledge and information that will contribute to an overall understanding of how and why things work the way they do because science is able to explain the mechanics and reasons behind the daily functioning of complex systems ranging from the human body to sophisticated modern modes of transportation (Centre for Education in Science and Technology, 2009).
However, accessing the performance of scientific majors, particularly those in high school, may be challenging without understanding the components that influence their reasoning abilities. As a result, the investigation of the elements influencing the reasoning capacity of science majors at secondary schools in Enugu State’s Ezeagu Local Government Area is noteworthy in the following ways:
To begin, the significance of this study would be to examine the components required to improve the reasoning abilities of science majors in secondary schools in Enugu State’s Ezeagu Local Government Area.
Second, solutions to challenges faced by educational sectors in establishing appropriate study curricula that will boost students’ reasoning abilities of science majors in secondary schools in Enugu State’s Ezeagu Local Government Area will be proposed.
Finally, this study will provide science professors with firsthand information on what to emphasise in their teaching strategies to help students develop their thinking abilities.
1.5 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The general goal of this study is to investigate the elements that influence the reasoning ability of secondary school students majoring in science subjects in Enugu State, Nigeria’s Ezeagu Local Government Area. The precise goals are as follows:
1. To determine whether demographic factors influence the reasoning abilities of secondary school students in Enugu State.
2. To assess the impact of attitude determinants on the reasoning capacity of secondary school students in Enugu State.
3. To analyse the impact of environmental influences on the reasoning abilities of secondary school pupils in Enugu State.
1.6 QUESTIONS FOR RESEARCH
This study’s overarching research question is: What factors influence the reasoning ability of secondary school students majoring in science courses in Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State, Nigeria?
1. What is the impact of demographic characteristics on the reasoning ability of secondary school pupils in Enugu State?
2. What effect do attitude factors have on secondary school pupils’ reasoning ability in Enugu State?
3. What effect do environmental influences have on secondary school pupils’ reasoning ability in Enugu State?
1.7 HYPOTHESIS OF RESEARCH
The hypotheses that will be tested in this study are listed below. At the 0.05 threshold of significance, the hypotheses are tested.
HO1: In Ezeagu, there is no statistically significant difference between demographic characteristics and secondary school pupils’ reasoning ability.
In Ezeagu, there is a considerable discrepancy between demographic parameters and the reasoning ability of secondary school pupils.
HO2: In Ezeagu, there is no statistically significant difference between attitude characteristics and secondary school pupils’ reasoning ability.
In Ezeagu, there is a considerable discrepancy in attitude characteristics and secondary school pupils’ reasoning abilities.
HO3: In Ezeagu, there is no substantial relationship between environmental conditions and secondary school pupils’ reasoning abilities.
In Ezeagu, there is a considerable disparity between environmental conditions and the reasoning capacity of secondary school students.
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