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INTRODUCTION
Economics is a social science that studies how individuals, governments, firms and
nations make choices on allocating scarce resources to satisfy their unlimited wants (Keynes,
2009). Economics is concerned with human behaviour such as how people earn their living and
make a choice between alternatives to satisfy their wants. Economics is one of an important
subject taught in the secondary schools. It is important to both students and the society at large
because it cuts across all spheres of human endeavour as it can be seen in its simpler definition
by professor lord Robbins (2009), thus economics as a science which studies human behaviour
as a relationship between ends and scarce means which have alternative uses. So economics is a
social science, and like any science subject, the reasoning procedure in economics is
methodological, its analysis is systematic, and the validity of its various theories. Tyler (2012)
state that economics gives students the building blocks for a successful financial future, and also
empowers students by giving them the knowledge and tools to improve their well-being. The
When economics was introduced into the secondary school curriculum, its popularity
grew rapidly because the first few schools which offered it in West African School Certificate
Examination (WASCE) had unexpectedly good results. There was a positive relationship
between the quality of results in economics and the number of candidates that offered it in
subsequent years in the WASCE. In this unit, you will learn the factors that caused the late
introduction of economics, and its acceptance in the school system, Economics was first taken in
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the West African School Certificate Examination as a school subject in Nigeria in 1967. Since
school certificate was a two year course, it may be said that economics came into the secondary
school curriculum in Nigeria in 1966, much later than most other secondary school subjects.
Economics was, however, taken by private candidates in the General Certificate Examination
before it became a secondary school subject. It was recognized that economics problems were at
unfavourable manner with respect to a given attitude object (Oskamp and Schultz
2013). Adu (2012) defined attitude as internal beliefs that influence personal actions which is
learned through one’s experience. This has to do with a disposition to act or react in a particular
way as the individual responds to a situation (Amoo & Rahman, 2010). Thus, the students’
perception of the teachers’ characteristics could influence their attitude toward Economics or any
other school subject. Students more often than not judge their teachers in such areas as the
teachers’ knowledge of the subject matter, communication ability, the choice of appropriate
teaching method and the general classroom management skills. A persons’ attitude to an idea or
object determines what the person thinks, feels and how the person would like to behave towards
Economics or science. It is the students’ disposition towards ‘like’ or ‘dislike’ of science while
attitude in science means scientific approach assumed by an individual for solving problems,
assessing ideas and making decisions. Student beliefs and attitudes have the potential to either
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Many factors could contribute to student’s attitude toward studying science (Economics).
Popoola (2011) also reported that student’s attitudes and interests to sciences, especially
Economics as a science correlate highly with their science achievement. Halladyna and
Shanghnessy (2012) and Adesoji (2010) have concluded that a number of factors have been
methods, teacher attitude, influence of parents, gender, age, environmental, cognitive styles of
pupils, career interest, social view of science and Scientifics, social implicating of science
(Economics) and achievement. It is therefore, a great concern in this regard to give absolute
attention to the quality and the numbers of the teachers we have in the secondary schools to
enable us achieve and attain the goals for which these secondary schools were established
without any impediment or hampering this purpose. Hence, being properly trained as a
professional teacher and having a sound knowledge of what to teach is the most vital prerequisite
Unqualified teachers in our secondary schools today in teaching of economics have acted
persistently as canker-worm devouring the efforts of achieving the educational objectives for this
subject. It is observed that a person can never give out what he does not have. Nwanna (2012)
said that the personality of teachers has significant influence on student’s performance. The
proper application of teaching materials is very important in the effective studying of economics.
The quality of the teaching materials used in teaching and learning appear to affect greatly the
teaching and learning of economics. According to Okorita (2004), there is urgent need to provide
the schools with facilities and materials so as to boost the teaching and learning.
principles or theories of economics as well as materials to the students for the achievement of the
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goals of that institution. According to Ali (2001) “methodology uses materials in an
instructional setting to send the principles (knowledge) which could be the cognitive, the
Also Onyeji (2000), opinned that the teacher’s attitude discourages and scares away
students from studying the subject, if the students are not properly guided, they become scared of
the teachers and the subject resulting in lack of interest and the student’s performance tend to be
poor since effective teaching do not take place. These studies thus set out to investigate the
attitude of secondary school students towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local
Attitude of students towards the study of economics in secondary school in recent times
has generated serious discussions.Students’ impression is that Economics is difficult by its very
nature, and that Economics is highly structured and so abstract that it requires special intellectual
talents (Olaoye and Olabisi, 2014). Thus, students see the subject as something esoteric that is to
be feared. The consequences of students’ negative attitude towards Economics could be the
persistent poor performance in Economics in the West African Examination Council (WAEC)
examinations, the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations and the General
The negative attitude and poor performances has continued to be associated with poor
teaching method and the lack of necessary professional qualification on the part of the Teacher
(Adu and Emunemu 2008). Despite the greater number of Economics graduates produced by
our tertiary institutions every year there are numbers of secondary schools where Economics
teachers are not competent in the teaching of the subject. Also, the attitude of the students in
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secondary schools this days towards Economics as a subject is not encouraging. This makes the
teaching of Economics ineffective and inefficient even where there are competent teachers to
teach. It is on this premise that this study sought to investigate the attitude of secondary school
students towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State.
The general purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude of secondary school
students towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State.
Factors that influence students to develop negative or positive attitude towards the study
Extent instructional materials available and how they affect the study of economics in
Ways to follow in changing student’s attitude positively towards the study of economics
What are the factors that influence students to develop negative or positive attitude
towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State?
Availability of instructional materials and how they affect the study of economics in
What are the ways to follow in changing student’s attitude positively towards the study of
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1.5 Research Hypothesis
The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and tested at 0.05level of
significance:
HO1 There is no significance mean responses difference between the opinions of Economics
Teachers and Students on the factors that influence students to develop negative or
positive attitude towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of
Niger State.
HO2 There is no significance mean responses difference between the opinions of Economics
Teachers and Students on the extent instructional materials are available and how they
affect the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State
HO3 There is no significance mean responses difference between the opinions of Economics
Teachers and Students on the ways to follow in changing student’s attitude positively
towards the study of Economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State.
The study will help the Ministry of Education, the education officers and the school
administrators in policy formation and implementation if adopted. It will also assist Ministry of
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) will benefit from the research work through the
enlightenment and mobilization campaigns to re-orientate the attitudes of Nigerians and provide
a feedback to government on the people's feelings and reactions towards its policies and
activities, thus expanding the space for public input into government decision-making process.
Furthermore the result of the study would help the Economics teachers to develop
new learning experience for the students and reorganize these learning experiences in
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some ways enough to arouse the interest of the students. It will also help the teachers to
improve on the obsolete teaching methods, use adequate, modern and relevant
Finally, the findings will benefit the Student and the Society at large, in the sense that, the
Student will be able to make similar research work by making reference to this research work if
The researcher only worked with public senior secondary schools (SS Class) within
Chanchaga Local Government Area of Niger State and only few were selected for the
study.
The study was limited to only one zone, i.e B zone of Niger State. For more conclusive
results, all the divisions should have been studied, however this was not possible due to
The study confined itself to Economics Teachers and Students in public senior secondary
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CHAPTER TWO
2.0 Introduction
This chapter reviewed the relevant literature. It is carried out under the following
headings
ways. They view the nature of economics based on their individual understanding of the subject.
Economics is about the choice of peoples and societies have to make. A person might have to
choose between buying a compact disc and buying a book. A society might have to decide
between providing more health care centers and repairing infrastructures; electricity, good road,
unemployment, inflation, profit, budget deficit, trade deficit, exchanges rates and so on. But
economists sometimes turn their attention to others areas such as crimes, family relationship,
David (2003), is of the view that economics study how society decides what, how and for
whom to produces; goods are physical commodities such as steel and strawberries, service are
activities such as messages, life concerts, consumed or enjoyed only at the instant they are
produced. In a rare cases, some of the questions about what, how and for whom to produce haves
not been answered, until the arrival of a man. Friday, Robinson Crusoe can ignore the “for
whom” question. In general, however, society must answer all these questions. By emphasizing
the role of society the nature of economics places economics within the social sciences, the
The subject matter of economics is human behaviour in the production, exchange and use
of goods and services. Economics in nature studies central economic problem ford society is how
to reconcile the conflict between people’s virtually limitless desires for goods and services and
the scarcity of resources (labour, machinery and raw materials) with which these goods and
Awoke (2012), sees economics as the study of how man allocates their scarce resource to
provide for their various wants or needs. As a science which studies human behaviour in the
disposal of scarce goods. Robbins concluded by postulating that human beings exhibit four
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2. His means of satisfying these ends such as times and money at his disposal are limited
resources.
4. Man, therefore, exercise choice in distributing theses limited means (resource) between
subject within the arts or humanities. This reflects the way economist analyzed problem not the
subject matter of economics. Some definitions by some scholars were not good enough and did
not embrace all aspects of economics. This made scholars and some students to wonder about the
natures of economics over the years. However theses definitions were accepted to some extent.
Marshall (2014) defines economics as a study of man’s action in the ordinary business of
life, He consider how peoples receive moneys (incomes) they earn, how they spend it rationally
due to the knowledge of economics. Agu (2011) sees economics as the organization and
distribution of goods and service. He further states that economics is concerned with the scarcity
and the activities of man that is pertaining to making or earning a living. In support of this, Alan
(2014) view economics as “as social sciences” concerned with how people either individual or
groups, attempt to accommodate scare resource of their wants through production substitution
and exchange process. Economics is an important subject that is why Paul (2013), believes that
economics is the study of allocation of scarce resources among alternative and competing ends.
Pigou (2012), states that economics is worthy of study because it makes it easier to
institute practical measures to promote welfare. Some scholars in this field sees it as a social
subject while others in another dimension came up with different ideas about the concept. For
example, Adam Smith came up with the first publication “An Inquiry into the nature” helps us to
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observe that economist views on this subject of wealth creation as a means of enduring increase
limits this study to micro economics that deals with small units of the economy (output of a
The practical problems facing the teaching of economics ranging from Obsolete
Textbooks with the exception of a few, the economics textbooks written in Nigeria are badly
written, sketchy and lack the in-depth content. They are largely descriptive. They are poorly
illustrated and contain lots of inaccuracies and they are mostly produced in a hurry. The major
Corruption: These problems have deeply affected the teaching and learning of
economics in senior secondary schools in Nigeria and have been extended to Chanchaga Local
Government Area. According to Odey (2004), states that secondary school students are corrupt,
they are introduced to examination malpractice by inducing them to pay big sum of money to
enable them pass their economics examination. This reduces their skill as students do not have
much zeal to learn because they have the feelings that they must pay money on the examination
day depending on the nature of the subject, which may involve drawing of graphs, calculations
and others alike. Economists in senior secondary schools examination boards in Nigeria are all
corrupt. The misappropriation of funds that are meant for the buying of economics teaching aids.
in the content that qualifies economics and principles in operation, students can gain an
understanding of the major activities of people in our economic system and institution through
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which the objectives of our economic system can be achieved. According to Wowl (2011),
states that the Nigerian Certificate in Education (NCE) shall be the lowest qualification for the
teaching profession, however, qualification like grade II teachers certificate should be seen as a
prerequisite for the professional training to teach. Grade II teachers by this delimitation, are not
professional teachers. They are rather teachers who intend to professionally trained and certified
in the future. Ahmed (2014), support this view by reviewing the Nations’ policy on Education
(NPE, 1981) which stipulated the Nigerian Certificate on Education (NCE) as a minimum
teaching qualification in the country and also lists the goals of teachers education.
Fafuwa (2006), states “the problem affecting the teaching today is as a result of people
who cannot make good elsewhere but, because they have the minimum qualification required,
joined the teaching profession from necessity rather than choice”. In addition to the context,
according to Noah (2004), in the scare input on economics teaching are teachers, the ability to
teach, and the desire to teach. On the student side, the scare input is the ability to learn that is
why William (2009), says “A less qualified tells, an average qualified teacher informs, a
professional teacher teaches. On this note, Williams (2009), grouped teachers into two; pre-
service and in services. The less qualified teachers are classified to be under the pre-service
education which includes all the stages of education, and training that precedes the employment
of teachers to teach in a school. Teachers can also receive training after they might have begun
teaching. He went further to mention the essential qualities of a teacher that can influence
Teachers must have the knowledge of the subject matter. This means that teachers should
be thoroughly justified on what he is called upon to teach. It also means that the
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Teachers should have sincere interest in the teaching. This means that the love of the
Due to the shortage in economics teacher in the secondary schools, the number of qualification
seems to be enough. This shortfall continues because nonprofessional teaching lead to poor
understanding of this subject, which will make the students not to do well. This notion was
supported by Nna (2010), when he says that the personality of teachers has significant influence
According to Sotonwa (2012), the real problem of maintaining standard of teaching and
learning economics in the school is that competent and qualified teachers are more or less not
available. In the secondary schools, competent teachers are not recruited enough to teach.
Poorly Equipped libraries: The library is a department in the school system that helps
students and teachers to gain full knowledge of their various subjects. According to Nwadum
(2004), asserts that library facilities are in short supply or non- existent. This is no doubt hinders
the activities of the subject including teachers production. As the case may be most secondary
schools under study in Chanchaga local Government Area are not well equipped; some do not
even have at all, while some have just a narrow and unconducive environment which is not
supposed to be so. The researcher attended about two secondary schools, but has never seen any
existing library in the schools. This made the researcher to investigate on the causes, as regards
the problems affecting teaching and learning of economics in Chanchaga Local Government
Area.
now a perennial one in educational discourse. The teachers today occupy a paramount position in
the teaching learning situation. It is agreed that no education can rise above the quality of its
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teacher. Teachers need to be committed and dedicated to teaching profession. Teaching requires
a cultivated ability. To be done exceptionally well, it also requires a special talent and a sense of
vocation. Students Poor Attitude and Interest The kind of attitude a child has affected his school
work and learning in general because, if he has a positive attitude about the teacher and the
subject, success is inevitable. It is observed that student's attitudes to economics determines the
degree to which they pass economics and negative attitude towards the subject and teachers will
Preferences: -Teachers do select topics based on personal interest and how the topics
appealed to them. The choice of topic to be taught is therefore being influenced by their
subjectivity.
The Difficulty of the Subject: There had been controversies over the teaching of
economics in secondary school. This was based on the belief that economics is too now pause
and think about more practical problems facing the teaching of economics and then write them
out. Difficult to teach, the argument is that, since the power of deduction and abstract reasoning
do not usually develop much before the age of sixteen, economics cannot be effectively taught to
show no interest in the subject. There was a time when they appointed subject inspectors such as
inspectors were appointed for Economics by the various state ministries of education. It was
found that only three states, Bendel, Rivers and Kwara had inspectors for economics, But non in
Niger State.
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Students’ Attitude towards the Study of Economic.
responsive behaviour in situations directly and indirectly related to it “. He further contended that
attitude possesses intellectual, biological, social and emotional components derived from
experience, which exercises a determining influence upon behaviour. Numerous experiences that
show in individual, certain stimuli are responsible for satisfying state of affairs that predispose
him to readily accept such stimulations as beautiful. Biological limitation and visual impairments
hinder this appreciation. The school aims at helping learners to perceive the aesthetic structure of
objects to sense and love beauty whenever encountered. This creates positive attitude. Children
learn such appreciation when they perceive themselves as constituting part of the experience,
teachers who are sensitive to beauty in nature and art can influence the development of
appreciation of expression in others, through subtle teaching, comments and facial and body
movements as they share their aesthetic experiences with the learners. In consonance to
proposition, adds sharing something of value, with students (such as humour and personal
experiences) listening to them with empathy, treating them with warmth and acceptance,
showing interest in the subject, communicating positive expectations and encouragement and
ensuring that students set realistic goals. Positive attitude enhance learning as they create interest
in the tasks viewed as beautiful. This attitude could be generalized to the teacher, other subjects,
other teachers and the entire school or even the education system. Negative attitude creates
15
Motivation and students’ attitude towards economics.
learning activities including reason to or involvement. Abraham, (2012) also says “motivation is
maintaining, controlling and channeling interest and attention towards or while performing a
particular task. In general terms, students’ motivation refers to a students’ willingness, need
desire and compulsion to participate in, and be successful in, the learning process. Developed
the definition further, noting that students who are motivated to engage in school “select tasks at
the border of their competences, initiate action when given the opportunity and exert intense
effort and concentration in the implementation of learning tasks; they slow generally positive
emotion during ongoing action, including enthusiasm, optimism, curiosity and interest”. Less
motivated or disengaged students on the other hand, “are passive, do not try hard, and give up
easily in the face of challenges”. Student motivation is often divided into two categories:
“purely for the sake of attaining a reward or for avoiding some punishment”. He further contends
that school practices that seek to motivate students extrinsically include publicly recognizing
students for academic achievement; giving out stickers, candy and other rewards; and taking
within. Intrinsically motivated students actively engage themselves in learning out of curiosity,
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interest or enjoyment or in order to achieve their own intellectual and personal goals. According
to Abraham, (2012) “a student who is intrinsically motivated will not need any type of reward or
incentive to initiate or complete a task; “this type of student is more likely to complete the
chosen task and be excited by the challenging nature of an activity”. While any kind of
motivation seems preferable to none, there is compelling evidence that students who are more
intrinsically than extrinsically motivated fare better. To further buttress’s proposition, opined that
students’ attitude about their capabilities and their interpretation of success and failure further
affect their willingness to engage themselves in learning. For example, students who understand
poor performance as a lack of attainable skills, rather than as some innate personal deficiency,
are more likely to re-engage themselves in a task and try again. Students whose self-concept is
bound up in their history of failure, on the other hand, are less likely to be motivated to learn. To
motivate students in the study of economics, teachers should tend to magnify students’ initial
level of motivation.
The stimulus – response theory split into classical and operant conditioning theories of
Ivan Pavlov, Edward Lee Thorndike and Burrhus Skinner, which has it that all responses are
subject to stimulus within the environment, supports the age, gender and students’ attitude
towards economics. Generally, students have a strong aversion for mathematics and mathematics
related courses such as economics, so to be able to develop their interest for economics one has
to pair what they (students) like by praising every effort they make in solving any economics
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Edward Lee Thorndike (1874-1949) was one of the earliest American educational
psychologist and the first that systematically carried out experiments to study how non- reflexive
behaviours can be modified from experience. In his operant conditioning of stimulus- response
theory, he considered the strengthening of the connection between stimuli and responses as being
responsible for the formation of habits. He performed some experiments to demonstrate how this
happens and used an apparatus called puzzle or problem box where he placed hungry animals
such as rats, cats and tested them to create a stronger stimulus – response connection from them.
The educational implication of Thorndike operant conditioning theory as it relates to study is that
the teacher is to ensure that once an appropriate response is made, it is important to reward it.
Continuously rewarding the correct response ensures the establishment and strengthening of the
proposes that every human being has needs which are consistent with the theory of learning.
According to his self-actualization needs theory which involves the drive to become what one is
capable of becoming – includes growth, achieving one’s potential and self – fulfilment will
motivate a student performance and attitude in a given subject. The educational implication is
that performance motivation may thus be considered as a latent disposition which involves a
Clark Hull, an American psychologist covered different areas in his studies, which
include hypnosis, concept formation, test measurement, learning and motivation. He focused
mainly on habit strength, drive reduction and intervention variables. Hull’s 1943 theory was
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essentially a stimulus- response, in which he mainly sought to break this connection into a
number of intervening variables that are responsible. He identified some positive factors that
enable an individual to respond and some negative factors that hinder the response. The positive
factors include the habit strength and drive while the negative factors include fatigue and
conditioned inhibition. He further contends that the difference between the positive and negative
factors determines the possibility, speed and intensity of the response. Hull advocated for drive
reduction theory of reinforcement when he classified reinforcement into primary and secondary
reinforcement. The theory states that “strong stimulation of any sort is aversive to an organism
and any reduction in this stimulus acts as a reinforce for immediately preceding behaviour. The
educational implication of Hull’s theory as it relates to this topic is that it provides much value to
school system. The school authorities can base the planning of their curriculum, syllabuses,
scheme of work and the notes of lesson on means of drive reduction. It also reduces negative
stimulation for students and made for positive reinforce building. From the above discourse, it is
pertinent to state that since attitude, motivation, interest, self – concept and involvement can
change according to circumstances and incentives and since they can act in both directions, the
attitude of students towards economics can change positively or negatively thereby affecting
performance. It is also imperative that this study be carried out since it is assumed that little
literature on attitude exists with reference to behaviour change and achievement in economics.
Review of relevant literature depicts varying opinions and findings on the students’
attitudes towards science and their performances. According to Yara, (2009), attitude of students
can be influenced by the attitude of the teacher and his methods of teaching. He further showed
in his work that teachers’ method of mathematics teaching and his personality greatly accounted
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for the students’ positive attitude towards the subject and that without interest and personal effort
in learning by the students, they can hardly perform well in the subject. According to Keeves
(2009), attitudes towards science, economics inclusive are, in general, highly favoured,
indicating strong support for science and the learning of science. There is also consistency across
countries and age levels within a country in the average level of attitude towards economics and
general science. However, in countries where a high level of technological and industrial
development had been achieved, the findings showed that attitude towards science were more
neutral. Generally, boys held more favourable attitude towards science, the findings concluded.
Kempa and Dude (2004) reported that pupils’ interest in science is associated with their
achievement in science.
Collaborating these reports, Olatoye (2001) found that students attitude towards
economics have significant direct effect on student achievement in the subject. Adesokan (2002)
asserted that in spite of the recognition given to economics among the science subjects, it is
evident that student still show negative attitudes towards the subject there by teaching to prior
Our nation needs to attract all the academically gifted female students into the pursuit of
economics. There is also the need to maximize the scientific literacy of young female students,
and to achieve equity in participation in economics. Bennett, (2001) argued that girls and boys
start off on equal footing in economics and other science subject but once physical science and
mathematics become optional at the secondary school level, there is a downward spiral of female
enrolment accompanied by decrease in achievement and interest. This implies that there are
underlying factors affecting the attitudes of young female students towards economics that needs
to be addressed at the high school level (Santonimo, 2005).To locate relevant previous student
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studies, computer (internet) searches of three database were conducted and nine reports (Barnes
et al , 2005; Salta and Tzougraki, 2004; Dhindsa and Chung 1999; Menis 1999; Harvey and
Stables 1996; Steinkamp and Maehr 1994; Shannonet al ., 1992 and Hosfstein et al.,1991), their
scope of study was limited to economics as experienced by students in Secondary School rather
than out-of-School experiences obtained from external sources such as the media, museum, field
trips, and friends. As indicated earlier none of these nine students explored the interaction
effect between gender grade level on students attitudes towards economics lessons.
of the dependent variables (Adesoji and Raimi, 2004; Thompson and Soyibo, 2002), but they are
not renewed in this project because they focused on the effectiveness of a curricular or
instructional innovation rather than the attitudes of males and females toward economics lessons
at different levels of schooling. Also, previous studies (Lang et al., 2005) which merely used
student attitude toward economics as a variable to correlate with other constructs are not
This study was based on how students do have negative thought towards economics as a
difficult and volatile Subject. Also, apart from teacher’s background that hinders student teachers
relationship in good academic performances in senior secondary school, student can be affected
by teachers teaching methods, ability to arouse students interest towards learning topic, poor and
shabby orientation to students on the part of the teachers when the teacher is not ready to
discharge, and motivate their students they are teaching. The study also showed that negative
attitude towards the subject is influenced by the parent’s attitudes. Lastly, the study showed that
teachers did not use adequate instructional materials and students complaint about textbooks not
This chapter described the procedure used in the course of the study. Thus, the research
design, area of the study, population of the study, the sample and sampling technique, instrument
In carrying out this study, the descriptive survey approach was used, where
questionnaires are used to determine the opinion of the respondents on the issue under
investigation. Yalams and Ndomi (2012) defined survey research as the gathering of information
about a large number of people or objects by studying a representative sample of the entire group
through the use of questionnaires. In support of this, Nworgu, (2014) stated that research design
is a plan or blue print which specifies how data relating to a given problem should be collected
and analyze. Therefore, the survey research was considered suitable since the study will seek
The study will be conducted in some selected Secondary Schools in Chanchaga Local
22
3. Government Day Secondary SchoolsMinna
The target population for this study was made up of Hundred(100) personnel of whom it
contains 20Economics Teachers and 80Students, within the selected area in Chanchaga Local
Table 3.1: Shows the target population of Economics Teachers and Students, within the
TOTAL 20 20
The researcher adopted purposive random sampling technique. This sampling technique
was appropriate because the researcher ensured homogeneity in the type of chosen, likewise
uniformity in these states of location. Additionally, the selected Schools are within the bearing of
23
the researcher. A sample of 5Economics Teachersfrom each school and also 20Students are
selected from each Schools, giving a total of 100respondent from all the Schools for the study.
The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the
researcher for this study. It consist of two (2) parts in which the first indicate the introductory
part of the respondents and the second part is divided into three sections A, B and C. All items
are to be responded to, by indicating the appropriate respondent’s best perception using four
point rating scales. Section A contains (5) items which deals with the factors that influence
students to develop negative or positive attitude towards the study of economics in Chanchaga
Local Government Area of Niger State. Section B contains (5) items which deals with theextent
instructional materials are available and how they affect the study of Economicsin Chanchaga
Local Government Area of Niger State and Section C contains (5) items which deals with the
ways to follow in changing student’s attitude positively towards the study of Economics in
The instrument for the data collection was designed by the researcher and were validated
by (3) Lecturers, two (2) from the Department of Education in Usman DanfodioUniversity
Sokoto COE Minna branch, the other from the Department ofEducationin Niger State College of
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3.7 Administration of the Instrument
The instrument for the study was administered to the respondents by the researcher
through the help of one research assistant from each of the selected Schools which were later
collected through the research assistant by the researcher after appropriately completed by the
respondents.
The analysis of data for the research questions and hypotheses were accomplished using
the frequency count, mean and t-test. The data collected was analyzed using the mean of four
point rating scale. The four (4) point of rating scale were developed as following.
The mean was used to determine the degree of acceptance or rejection in research questions,
while t-test was used to test the hypotheses of the groups of respondents.
The mean of 2.50 was used as decision point for every questionnaire item, consequently,
any item with mean responses of 2.50 and above was considered to be agreed. Any item with a
mean response of 2.49 and below was equally considered to be disagreed in Section A, B and C
respectively. A t- test value of ±1.96 was used as the degree of freedom at 0.05 level of
significance. Therefore any item with t-calculated value less than t- critical was regarded as not
25
significant (NS), while any item with t- calculated value greater than or equal to t- critical regard
as significant.
CHAPTER FOUR
This chapter deals with the presentation and analysis of data with respect to the research
What are the factors that influence students to develop negative or positive attitude
towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State?
Table 4.1: Mean responses difference betweenEconomics Teachers and Students opinionon
the factors that influence students to develop negative or positive attitude towards the
N1 = 20, N2 = 80
1. Biology students taught through CAI assimilate 3.40 3.14 3.27 Agreed
2. Biology students taught through CAI have long 3.48 3.16 3.32 Agreed
means
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3. Biology students taught through CAI have access to 3.42 3.23 3.33 Agreed
other means
4. Biology students taught through CAI do better in 3.12 3.26 3.19 Agreed
5. Biology students taught through CAI are motivated 3.10 3.62 3.36 Agreed
6. Biology students taught through CAI passes their 3.43 3.54 3.49 Agreed
other means
7. Biology students taught through CAI save more on 3.26 3.33 3.30 Agreed
means
8. Biology students taught through CAI have the 3.11 3.22 3.17 Agreed
and Students opinion on factors that influence students to develop negative or positive
attitude towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger
State.
27
The analysis of mean responses of the two groups of respondents from table 4:1 reveals
that all the items 1-5 under this sub-heading are rated as agreed with average mean score ranging
between 3.17-3.49 respectively, this signifies that the mean responses of EconomicsTeachers and
Students opinion on factors that influence students to develop negative or positive attitude
towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State are
appropriate.
To what extent instructional materials are available and how they affect the study of
Table 4.2: Mean responses of difference between Economics Teachers and Students
opinionon theextent instructional materials are available and how they affect the
N1 = 20, N2 = 80
3. The teaching strategies did not give emphasis on 3.12 3.26 3.19 Agreed
4. Low or uneven participation from the students 3.10 3.62 3.36 Agreed
28
5. Inadequate training and re-training of teacher to 3.40 3.44 3.42 Agreed
𝑋̅2 = Mean of response of Students, 𝑋̅t = Average mean responses of Economics Teachers
and Students opinion on extent instructional materials are available and how they affect
The analysis of mean responses of the two groups of respondents from table 4.2: reveals that all
the items 1-5 under this sub-heading are rated as agreed with average mean score ranging
between 3.19-3.42 respectively, this signifies that the stated items on the extent instructional
materials are available and how they affect the study of economicsin Chanchaga local
What are the ways to follow in changing Student’s attitude positively towards the study
Table 4.3: Mean responses of difference between Economics Teachers and Students
N1 = 20, N2 = 80
1. Provision of regular power supply through standby 3.42 3.23 3.33 Agreed
secondary school
29
2. Employment of qualified biology science teachers 3.22 3.24 3.23 Agreed
3. Training and re-training of teacher on how to use 3.10 3.62 3.36 Agreed
4. Provision of tablet to student will improve the 3.23 3.24 3.24 Agreed
in secondary school
5. Proper funding from the government will improve 3.42 3.23 3.33 Agreed
𝑋̅2 = Mean of response of Students, 𝑋̅t = Average mean responses of Economics Teachers
and Students opinion on ways to follow in changing Student’s attitude positively towards
The analysis of mean responses of the two groups of respondents from table 4.3: reveals
that all the items 1-5 under this sub-heading are rated as agreed with average mean score ranging
between 3.23-3.36 respectively, this signifies that the stated items on ways to follow in changing
Student’s attitude positively towards the study of Economics in Chanchaga local Government
4.4 Hypothesis I
30
HO1: There is no significance mean responses difference between the opinions of Economics
Teachers and Studentson the factors that influence students to develop negative or
positive attitude towards the study of economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of
Niger State.
The result of the test of significance difference in mean responses of respondents’ opinion on the
factors that influence students to develop negative or positive attitude towards the study of
economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State is presented in Table 4.4
Table 4.4: T-test Analysis on the mean responses of Economics Teachers and
other means
31
4. Biology students taught through CAI do 0.71 0.68 0.59 NS
means
8. Biology students taught through CAI have the 0.78 0.75 0.72 NS
The analysis in table 4.4 shows that the t-cal values of all the items were below the t- table value.
Therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted for all the items at 0.05 level of significant. Hence
the opinion of the respondents did not differ in all the items concerning the opinion on the factors
that influence students to develop negative or positive attitude towards the study of economics in
4.5 Hypothesis II
32
HO2: There is no significance mean responses difference between the opinions of Economics
Teachers and Studentson theextent instructional materials are available and how they
affect the study of economicsin Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State.
The result of the test of significance difference in mean responses of respondents on the opinion
on the extent instructional materials are available and how they affect the study of economicsin
Table 4.5: T-test Analysis on the mean responses of theEconomics Teachers and Students
opinion on the extent instructional materials are available and how they affect the
3. The teaching strategies did not give emphasis 0.65 0.67 0.64 NS
processes
33
in secondary school
The analysis in table 4.5 shows that the t- cal values of all the items were below the t- table
value. Therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted for all the items at 0.05 level of significant.
Hence the opinion of the respondents did not differ in all the items concerning the extent
instructional materials are available and how they affect the study of economicsin Chanchaga
HO3: There is no significance mean responses difference between the opinions of Economics
Teachers and Studentson the ways to follow in changing student’s attitude positively
towards the study of Economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger State.
The result of the test of significance difference in mean responses of respondents on the ways to
follow in changing student’s attitude positively towards the study of Economics in Chanchaga
Table 4.6: T-test Analysis on the mean responsesdifference between the Economics
NigerState
34
teaching biology in secondary school
secondary school.
secondary school.
secondary school.
The analysis in table 4.6 shows that the t- cal values of all the items were below the t- table
value. Therefore, the null hypothesis was accepted for all the items at 0.05 level of significant.
Hence the opinion of the respondents did not differ in all the items concerning the ways to follow
in changing student’s attitude positively towards the study of Economics in Chanchaga local
35
4.7 Discussion of Findings
The following are the findings of the study, based on the data collected and analyzed;
they are highlighted based on the research questions posed on the study by the hypothesis.
attitude towards the study of Economics in Chanchaga local Government Area of Niger
State
The result obtained base on the research question one revealed that the three group of
respondent agree with average mean response ranging from 3.17 to 3.49, that signifies there is
academic achievements by biology students taught through computer aided instruction (CAI) in
secondary schools in Bosso Local Government, by which they assimilate faster, have long
lasting retention, access to more material online, do better in other subject, motivated, passes
their WAEC and NECO better, it has make biology student successful living in a scientific and
This finding is in line with Miller (2002) in Eshiet (2009) who observed that computer
aided learning ensures students motivation and differentiates between students’ capability levels.
In addition, the study carried out by Warschauer (2006) as cited by Akpan and Abia (2009)
showed that students taught with new technologies did not regress on outcome assessments.
He further asserted that when new technologies are integrated into teaching and learning, there is
greater student engagement in learning, and greater engagement equals to higher achievement.
These findings agree with earlier findings of Phillips and Moss (1993) and the findings of
36
Similarly, the findings agree with the studies of Ajelabi (1998) on social studies,
Egunjobi, (2002) in geography, (Udousoro, 2000) in mathematics, and Okoro, and Etukudo,
(2001) in chemistry, conducted in Nigeria which confirmed that CAI has been effective in
enhancing students’ performance in other subjects than the conventional classroom instruction.
The finding is also supported by the findings of Karper, Robinson, and Casado-Kehoe (2005) on
counseling education
4.7.2 Findings related to the mean response of Economics Teachers and Students
opinionon theextent instructional materials are available and how they affect the
The result obtained base on the research question two revealed that the three group of
respondent agree with average mean response ranging from 3.19 to 3.42 which signifies that
there are part of the factors affecting computer aided teaching of biology student in secondary
schools in Bosso Local Government, which are; the teaching strategies did not give emphasis on
the use of computer, inadequate qualified biology science teachers and Lack of computer
laboratories and Low or uneven participation from the students due to large number of students
in a class are some of the factors affecting computer aided teaching of biology student in
It further revealed that teachers in training are not properly trained for teaching Biology
and it is also observed that some teachers are not capable of teaching Biology at secondary
These findings agree with earlier findings of Phillips and Moss (1993) and the findings of
Jegede, Okebukola and Ajewole (1992) who were of the view that the teaching strategies did not
give emphasis on the use of computer, inadequate qualified biology science teachers and Lack of
37
computer laboratories and Low or uneven participation from the students due to large number of
students in a class are some of the factors affecting the performance of computer aided teaching
opinionon theways to follow in changing student’s attitude positively towards the study of
The result obtained base on the research question three revealed that the three group of
respondent agree with average mean response ranging from 3.23 to 3.36, which signifies there
are part of the ways ofimproving the computer aided instruction (CAI) in teaching biology
students in secondary schools in Bosso Local Government, of which are; Provision of regular
power supply through standby generator, availability of qualified Biology teachers, provision of
computer laboratory and software, can help to improving the computer aided instruction (CAI) in
The findings of this study tally with the findings of Udumah, (1987), Abdullahi, (2003),
Sa’ad, (2007), Abdulganiyyu, (2010) and Usman, (2012) who were of the view that provision of
enough and relevant instructional media/materials (computers) and qualified teachers of Biology
science will improve the computer aided instruction (CAI) in teaching biology students in
38
CHAPTER FIVE
Biology occupies a unique position in the school curriculum. Biology is central to many
science related courses such as medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, nursing, biochemistry and so
on. It is obvious that no student intending to study these disciplines can do without biology,
whereby the use of computer aided instruction has been found to enhance students’ performance
than the conventional instructional method, were as there is little or no usage of computer aided
instruction for teaching biology at the secondary school level of our educational system.
Therefore secondary school students need effective computer aided instruction to learn properly
secondary school biology students and teachers opinion on teaching biology using computer
aided instruction (CAI) in secondary schools, determine the factors affecting computer aided
instruction (CAI) in secondary schools, it seeks to assist the Government in identifying the steps
necessary for theways of improving the computer aided instruction (CAI) in teaching biology
39
Survey approach was used to develop the study. The questionnaire developed for this
research was validated by (3) Lecturers, two (2) from the Department of Biology, the other from
the department of Biology/Computer in Niger state college of education Minna, twenty (250)
validated items are used for the study. The validated instrument was a structured questionnaire
prepared for 50 Teachers and 200 secondary school biology students respectively. The
instrument was analyzed using frequency count, mean, and Standard Deviation. The research
questions were formulated and answered and the following findings based on the research
questions posed on the study by the hypothesis; assimilate faster, have long lasting retention,
access to more material online, do better in other subject, motivated, passes their WAEC and
NECO better, the teaching strategies did not give emphasis on the use of computer, inadequate
qualified biology science teachers and Lack of computer laboratories and Low or uneven
participation from the students due to large number of students in a class. Provision of regular
power supply through standby generator, availability of qualified Biology teachers, provision of
computer laboratory and software will improve the CAI for biology studies.
The implications of the study regarding; assimilating faster, have long lasting retention,
access to more material online, this implies that, computer aided teaching has a great academic
The finding of this study with regard to the inadequate qualified biology science teachers
and Lack of computer laboratories this implies that, lower understanding will be experience by
the students since the class will be more of theory than practical.
The finding reveals that, there is very little or no effective training and re-training of
teachers, the implication is that, without effective training and re-training of teachers acquisition
40
of new ways of improving computer aided instruction would be lacking, which will lead to low
The finding reveals Provision of regular power supply through standby generator,
availability of qualified Biology teachers, provision of computer laboratory and software, will
help in improving the computer aided instruction thereby increasing greater student engagement
5.3 Conclusion
Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were made: That the
achievements of biology students taught through computer aided instruction (CAI) in secondary
schools in Niger State, Minna metropolis,assimilating faster, have long lasting retention, access
to more material online, do better in other subject, passes their WAEC and NECO better, have
the ability to expand their knowledge through interaction with other student in abroad
qualified teachers of Biology science, training and re-training of teacher to improve the computer
aided teaching processes can improve the computer aided instruction of secondary school
Qualified teachers of Biology science should always be employed to handle the course in
all the secondary schools. Proper supervision by both the administrations of the secondary school
and the state ministry of education should be conducted to make sure teachers of Biology science
Inter-senior secondary school competition in area of debate and other academic activities
should be organized by the state ministry of education at least twice a year. This will definitely
improve the computer aided instruction of Biology student among the primary school students in
41
Minna metropolis of Niger state. There should be provision of at least one computer laboratory
for biology teaching, this will improve the performance of students in secondary schools of
Niger state.
5.4 Recommendation
Based on the findings of the study and their implications, the following recommendations
were made:-
Since this study showed that computer can enhance academic performance,
developed for use within the Nigerian school systems. In addition, Nigerian public
schools should be equipped with necessary ICT facilities to leverage the potentials of ICT
in Nigerian schools.
2. Student should be encouraged to own their computers, possibly laptops, to enable them
3. Teachers, both in-service and pre-service teachers, should be trained to properly integrate
4. The government and non-governmental agencies should equip both urban and rural
schools with computers and new technologies for easy access by both teachers and
students.
5. There should also be provision for regular supply of electricity to schools at all times.
6. Teachers in schools should be given free computer training by the government (State and
Federal) to enable them use these new technologies when supplied to schools.
42
7. There is the need to develop relevant “computer assisted instructional” packages for use
Based on the findings of this research study; the following suggestions were made for
further research:-
schools.
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44