The influence of learning disabilities on students’ academic performance in Northern Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria.
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The
influence of learning disabilities on students’ academic performance in
Northern Education Zone of Cross River State, Nigeria.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
Schools are
established to equip the youths with essential skills needed for functionality
as useful and knowledgeable citizens of the country. However, examination of
school records shows that students’ academic performances have remained for
long very unimpressive. Obviously, this is not healthy for the growth of the
country.
In a study,
Polom (2011) analyzed West African Examination Council (WAEC), examination in
Mathematics and English Language administered in 2010, and discovered that only
27.40% of the students made at least a pass and above in the two core subjects.
He equally reported that the number of those who had credit and above in a
foreign Language like French Language declined from 21.34% to 17.22% (WAEC
Office Data base, Calabar, February, 2012).
Poor
student’s performance in WAEC Examination has for some time now been a matter
of great concern to education stakeholders. Concrete evidence of students’ poor
performance in examinations could be
seen in the results obtained each year in externally administered examinations
like the WAEC examinations. As presented in Table 1, for example, students’
results in English Language and Mathematics provide a disturbing trend. In
Mathematics only about 25% of those who attempted the examination in 2006 had
credit passes and above. About 41% and 31% had passes and failing grades
respectively.
TABLE 1
Trends of
students’ performance in Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations in
Mathematics and English Language from 2006-2010 in Cross River State
Subject Year No of Candidate Pass at Credit Ordinary Pass Fail
Who
sat for (Al-C6) (D7-E8) (F9)
the Exam
Mathematics 2006 1,149,277 472,582 357,31 286,744
(24.95%)
(41.12%) (31.09%)
2007 1,249,028 583,920 333,740 302,764
(46.75%)
(26.72%)
(24.24%)
2008 1,268,213 726,398 302,266 218,618
(57.28%) (23.83%) (17.24%)
2009 1,348,528 634,382 344,635 315,738
(47.45%) (25.56%) (23.41%)
2010 1,306,535 548,065 363,920 355,382
(41.95%)
(27.85%) (27.20%)
English
Language
2006
1170523
375007
(32.48%)
39994
(34.13%)
342311
(29.65%)
2007
1270137
385106
(30.32%)
448739
(35.33%)
38246
(33.21%)
2008
1292910
452777
(35.02%)
491952
(38.05%)
411533
(31.83%)
2009
137009
569272
(41.55%)
607361
(44.33%)
25127
(18.34%)
2010
133138
467714
(35.13%)
512049
(38.46%)
387032
(29.07%)
WAEC Office
Data base, Calabar, February, 2012.
The
situation improved in 2007 when about 47% of the candidates had credit passes
or above in 2008, 57.28% of the candidates also had credit passes but the
situation reversed itself in 2009 and 2010 when only about 47% and about 41.95%
of the candidates respectively had credit passes”. Similarly for English
Language those who had credits passes declined from about 32.48% in 2006 to
30.32% in 2008.The results improved to 35.02% in 2008, then 41.55% in 2009 but
moved down to 35.13% in 2010. These unsteady but declining trends are
disturbing.
Apart from
the concerns of parents, teachers and the state government, the incessant
failure of students in WAEC and NECO senior school certificate Examination
(SSCE) has always been a source of worry for the Government of this country. In
December 2012, Federal Ministry of Education organized a two-day summit in
Abuja to discuss the issue. In the summit, the then minister of education,
Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai, expressed the Federal Government displeasure at the
students’ poor performances. She noted with regret that less than 30 percent of
over a million students, who sat for the examination within the last six years,
obtained credits in five subjects, including English Language and Mathematics.
The effect
of this is that more than 70 per cent of school leavers are always armed with
school certificate result that do not qualify them for higher education. Besides, the high
proportions of school leavers are always unable to gain employment as a result
of poor academic performance. The result of persistent poor learners’
performance in schools is always a serious disruption in the overall manpower
supply for the economy. Students who have poor academic record would find it
difficult to cope in a competitive society. Individuals who fail in school may
not be adequately and mentally equipped to face life squarely.
In presenting a report at WASCE monthly
seminar, the Head of Research Division revealed that the percentage of failure
rate for English Language and Mathematics in the past five years surpasses that
of the percentage of credit level passes. In all these, the accusing fingers
from different quarters have pointed at teachers. That is why in looking for
solution, efforts had been directed at helping teachers to improve upon the
services they render in schools. Teachers have in synergy with Parents Teachers
Association (PTA) taken appropriate steps towards improving academic
performance of students in several ways. For example, they have been mounting
extramural classes to give students more time to learn than what official
school time allows. This apart, principals keep time book for teachers and
attendance register for students.
On its part,
the Cross River State government has embarked on several capacity building
critical to successful teaching and learning improvement in the following broad
areas: policy, training and pedagogy, infrastructure development, teacher
welfare and empowerment. Essential facilities and equipment that have
implications for school learning like ICTs, laboratories and collateral
equipment cum libraries are now available in most schools. A lot have also been
spent on training and retraining of teachers to arrest the ugly trend.
Despite huge
government investment in education and steps taken to improve performance of
students’ in school, students’ academic performance is yet to produce
acceptable result. The researcher became interested in this problem as a result
of concern from education stakeholders and researchers continuous search for
solution to poor academic performances.
According to Isangedighi (2011),
the amount and quality of learning the individual is capable of, his
involvement in learning activities; and the overall balance achieved in his
development as a person depends to a large extent on his personal status as a
composite unit. He also noted that, some of the difficulties some learners
encounter that serve to undermine their abilities to achieve as much as others,
are classified as learning disabilities. To that extent the researcher is of
the view that learning disabilities could be responsible for poor academic
achievement of secondary school students.
Poor academic performance is a
serious problem that requires the attention of all stakeholders in education
from Ministry of education to the student themselves. Since learning
disabilities have been observed to be difficulties that could undermine
students` ability to perform well academically. The researcher is therefore
interested in helping the school system find a dependable solution to the
problem of student poor academic performance. This study is concerned at
determining if learning disabilities could be associated with poor academic
performance among students. Areas of learning disabilities considered for the
study include; hyper distractibility, eye-hand coordination, spatial awareness disorder,
figure-ground relationship, dyslexia disorder, hypo-activity and impulsivity.
Learning disabilities as seen by
MacArthur (2009) is not a single disorder, but is a category of disorders in
any of seven specific areas: receptive language (listening), expressive
language (Speaking), basic readings skills, reading comprehension, written
expression, and Mathematic calculation.
These disorders are manifested in a variety of ways including listening,
thinking, talking, reading aloud, writing, and spelling or in Mathematics
calculation. The broad question the study will answer is whether learning
disabilities could influence the academic performance of the affected students.
1.2 Theoretical framework
Some theories were chosen to serve
as the framework of this study. They include:
1. Cognitive learning theory by Max
Wertheimer (1942)
2. Learning environmental theory by
Pelton (1981) and Garbasino (1987)
3. Kurt Lewin’s field theory by Lewin
(1946)
1.2.1 Cognitive Learning theory by Max Wertheimer
(1942)
Cognitive
learning theory is a conceptual framework that describes how information is
absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. It was propounded in Berlin
by a German psychologist Max Wertheimer in 1942. Cognitive learning theory
holds that humans generate knowledge and meaning through sequential development
of an individual’s cognitive abilities; such as the mental processes of
recognition, recollection, analysis, reflection, application, creation,
understanding, and evaluation.
The
Cognitivists’ learning process is adoptive learning of techniques, procedures,
organization, and structure to develop internal cognitive structure that
strengthens synapses in the brain (Wolf, 2010). When we say the word “learn”,
we usually mean “to think using the brain” this basic concept of learning is
the main viewpoint in the cognitive learning theory. The theory has been used
to explain mental processes as they are influenced by both intrinsic and
extrinsic factors, which eventually bring about learning in an individual. The
cognitivists posit that the memory system is an active organized processor of
information. They view learning as an internal mental process (including
insight) information processing, memory and reception.
Learning disabilities are caused by
neurological dysfunction and that they are casually correlated with basic
psychological process. It is also believed that learning disabilities is as a
result of minimum brain destruction and dysfunction in the central nervous system
owing to neurological developmental lag resulting in clumsiness, restlessness
and inattention. And learning is a process by which neurons joined by
developing the synapses between them so, a relative influence of brain damage
account for ineffective cognitive process which manifest during learning. With
reference to brain damage, and neurological developmental lag, it can be
deduced that they are casually correlated with basic psychological process. The
idea behind this theory therefore is that a child who suffered from ineffective
cognitive process does not perform well academically.
1.2.2 Learning Environmental Theory by Pelton,
(1981) and Garbasino, (1987)
This theory
was propounded by theorist named Pelton (1981) Garbasino (1987). The focus is
on potentially dominant role of certain societal conditions and values. It
takes a look at a boarder structural and cultural abuse as emanating from lack
of motivation or skill on the part of the parents. The environment encompasses
all things around the individual that has influence or offer an impression.
Children are greatly inspired and motivated, as well as deterred by the
environment around them. Environmental learning theory is the understanding
that the child’s environment shapes learning and behaviour and it is also
thought that learning and behaviour are reactions to the environment. This
perspective encourages families, schools, and educators to understand that the
child develops and learns new skills in reaction to items she finds around her.
Environment according to Julian B. Rotter in his social learning concept
focused on the idea that personality represents an interaction of the
individual with his or her environment, individual’s experience play a role
because the individual and her reaction encourage learning. The relative
influence of environment on behaviour accounts for many learning disabilities
in an individual’s life. That is, a child who lives in an environment which is
not psychologically stimulating may manifest signs of maladjustment and
perceptual problem. In all these, it can be concluded that unfavourable nature
of some environment such as illiterate home background, school where there are
poor facilities and child abuse etc. influence children academic performance
which may result in poor academic performance in school.
1.2.3 Kurt Lewin’s Field theory by Lewin, (1946)
This theory
was propounded by Lewin in 1946. The main point is that learning is a function
of the persons and his environments. This formular provides the foundation for
learners’ theoretical construct of life space (LSP), which refers to the sum of
all the personal and environmental factors in interaction. Such personal
factors may include illiterate home background and hereditary factors which
lead to some abnormal brain structure or functioning etc. Environmental factors
may include: poor and deprived environment, lack of psychological stimulation,
malnutrition, illiterate home background and school where there are poor
library facilities etc.
The relative influence of
environment on learning accounts for many causes of learning disabilities in an
individual’s life. That is a child who lives in an environment which is not
psychologically stimulating, may manifest signs of learning disabilities. This
goes to confirm Isangedighi (2007) that learning disabilities are caused by
differences in brain structure and functioning and this differences which are
in themselves link with certain genetic, and environmental factors as the
factors could have brain damage arising from such factors as maternal poor
nutrition, illness, use of alcohol or any maternal condition that can lead to
reduced birth weight of the child.
The brain is
the most incredible network of information processing and interpretation in the
body as we learn things, so any little alteration by way of accident, injury or
illness in infancy or early childhood may negatively interfere with learning.
With reference to environmental factor, it can be deduced that individual
living in an environment devoid of adequate Language and sensory stimulation
could have learning difficulties which manifest during class activities.
1.3 Statement of the problem
Parents,
teachers, education authorities and government agencies have over the years
shown concern over observed increasing rate of poor academic performance among
secondary school students in Nigeria in general and northern Cross River State
in particular. Beneficiaries of education no longer perform up to expectation.
The colossal level of students’ failure in the country is a clear indication of
the fact that there are significant problems. Data from West African
Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) results in
the last decade or so show that less than 30% of the students who have
attempted examinations had been able to emerge with credit pass or above in
Mathematics and English Language (Todaro and Miles, 2012).
The problem
of poor academic performance among students has become an issue of concern to
education stakeholders. Parents spend their hard earned money despite the
difficult economic situation to see that their children are given quality
education. The government on her own part has trained and employed quality
teachers with improved curriculum to ensure better performance, all to no
avail. The Cross River State Government in particular has time without number,
embarked on teacher training programmes not only to help teachers’ update their
knowledge and skill development but also to ensure some improvement in the
academic performance of students. In spite of all these, the ugly trend of
academic failure still prevails.
It is
against this background that the researcher being passionate about youth
empowerment through education by helping the system solve the problem of poor
academic performance in school. The thrust of the study is to investigate if
learning disabilities impact on academic performance of students in Northern
Education Zone of Cross River State. The pertinent question is; does learning
disability influence students’ academic performance?
1.4 Purpose of the study
The purpose
of this study was to determine whether learning disabilities have any influence
on students’ academic performance in Northern Education Zone of Cross River
State, Nigeria. The study also determines if:
1. Hyper distractibility influences
students’ academic performance.
2. Eye-hand co-ordination
influences students’ academic performance
3. Spatial awareness disorder
influence students’ academic performance.
4. Dyslexia influences students’
academic performance.
5. Hypo-activity influences
students’ academic performance.
6. Impulsivity influences students’
academic performance.
1.5 Research questions
The
following research questions were posed to guide the study:
1. What proportions of the
students in Northern Education Zone were high in learning disabilities?
2. To what extent does hyper
distractibility influence students’ academic performance?
3. To what extent does eye-hand
coordination influence students’ academic performance?
4. How does spatial awareness
disorder influence students’ academic performance?
5. To what extent does dyslexia
disturbance influence students’ academic performance?
6. How does hypo-activity
influence students’ academic performance?
7. To what extent does
impulsivity influence students’ academic performance?
1.6 Statement of hypotheses
The
following null hypotheses were formulated for the study:
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