INFLUENCE OF FACILITIES AND THE DEGREE OF ITS USAGE ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN COMPUTER STUDIES
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION
Computer as a general modern tool is being accepted by educators to modify teaching and learning process so that the interest of the learners will be aroused.
As Kay and Honey, (2005) pointed out that computer facilities and computer itself reflects the need for students to develop learning skills that enables them to think critically analyze information, communicate e.t.c. in today’s knowledge base. The mind is active in the teaching and learning process and as such student shave responsibilities in their poor academic performance. Therefore, it is important to know and understand how these facilities impact on student academic performance.
2.1 WHAT ARE FACILITATES?
The national goal of developing the educational system in such a way as to provide a satisfactory flow of men and women capable of acquiring the skills necessary to exploit to the fullest, the natural resources of the country makes it imperative for facilities to be abundantly available in schools. Buildings are needed to shelter staff sand students, laboratory facilities are needed to generate manipulative skills in students, sports /games facilities are needed to develop the mental, social and physical aspects of the students, computer facilities are needed to develop students skills and ability.
Facilities could be considered as the entire scope of physical infrastructures provided in school for the purpose of administration, teaching and learning processes. Odor (1995) stated that facilities in schools are the physical resources which the school administrator and his reference group harness, allocate, utilize, and maintain for the purposes of effective school administration, teaching and learning process.
Facilities most especially in secondary schools can be seen as the site building as was as items such as machines, laboratory equipments, the black boards, computers aided learning, printers, and the student/learner’s tools (Mmou, 2000).
Enaohwo (2001) stated that the school computer facilities are earlier identified with direct teaching functions. He said they serve essentially as centers for learning and teaching in the school set up. Classrooms, laboratories, workshops and teaching studies are directly relevant. Equally important are ICT centres, computer laboratories, geographical gadgets which should be made available in order to facilitate and enhance the achievement of students, and also to increase the knowledge of student. These facilities are also essential for practical illustration of relevant issues and concept required for the classrooms. When these facilities are made available in schools the interest of the learners will be improved. Campbell, (1996) stated that the school facilities exist to facilitate instructions and their inadequacies usually have adverse effects on teaching and learning process.
According to Ogbodo, (2003) school computer facilities are those materials that facilitate teaching and learning of computer studies in the school. The school like any other productive system require raw materials and to succeed in its transformation process. Castaldi (1999) posit that school computer facilities are those things of education which enable a skillful teacher to achieve a level of instructional effectiveness that far exceeds what is possible when they are not provided. By nature, school facilities have even positively linked with students’ academic performance and educational efficiency, (Coombs and Hallak 2000). In computer studies, school facilities can be seen as the laboratories, computer hardware’s, and computer software obtained by the department for general use. These facilities may also be computers, workstations, terminals, printers, disks, network communication hardware, and all software that runs on the hardware. The school facilities is the totality of all things that makes up a school system. It involves the physical and material facilities in form of buildings, school sites, school environment, school laboratories and the computer laboratories that embody the school (Musa, 2004).
Charis and Dimmock (2004) agreed that the school facilities include the buildings, equipments and this equipments may include the permanent structures, classrooms, laboratories, workshops and semi-permanent structures like the educational system itself. Therefore, the school facilities have been viewed in different ways but it should be noted that the school facilities should have its importance on the achievement of student in the academic performance in secondary schools.
2.2 IMPORTANCE OF FACILITIES ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOL
The school should be viewed as an organized environment where educational curricular are interpreted. School facilities, requires maximum co-operation and hard work from a combined team of the school principal, teachers and students and other school personnel and the community.
The main importance of school facilities as remarked by Ojedele (2008) is to keep these facilities and resources in the best possible condition at all time. Thus, the importance of school facilities as identified by Olagoye (2008) includes:-
- It facilitates teaching and learning process in the school environment
- It saves cost. This is because reactivating a damaged facility may cost more than to make easily repairs on the facility.
- It ensures the suitability of the school facility for continued use because repairs and replacement of various equipments and facilities makes such facilities to be in good conditions
- It reduces student unrest and demonstration because students can protest or demonstrate when school facilities are not in good condition examples are poor electricity, poor computer laboratories e.t.c.
- Poor maintenance of school facilities ensures safety for those occupying the school building
In view of the aforementioned importance of school facilities, Anderson (2004), advised that professionals in the area so engineering should be involved in planning of the school facilities right from the initial stage as each professional engineers has unique expertise to contribute towards effective and efficient school facilities. The importance of the school facilities in the development of an effective educational programs at all level of educational system particularly at the secondary school level cannot be overemphasized. The attainment of an effective teaching and learning is therefore closely related to the location of the school laboratories most especially computer laboratories, organization and arrangement of the school physical structures and the educational facilities in secondary schools.
Usaa (2008), remarked that the physical appearances and general condition of school computer facilities are the striking bases upon which many parents and friends of educational institutions make their initial judgement about the qualities of what goes on in the school. He agreed that the schools with well coordinated computer facilities and maintenance practice, recorded better students academic performance in secondary schools.
2.3 FACILITIES IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS BASED ON COMPUTER STUDIES
Computer facilities can be seen in different ways. It can be seen as laboratories, computer hardware, and computer software obtained by the school for general use. This include (but it is not limited to) the laboratories, computers, work stations, terminals, printers, disks, networks communication hardware and all software that runs on the hardware. These computer facilities will be used in schools to enhance teaching and learning in the academic achievement of students.
Murphy, Penuel, Korbak and Whaley (2001) elaborated that discrete educational software (DES) such as integrated learning system (ILS), Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI), and computer based instructions can be used and applied to facilitate and enhance learning in secondary schools.
Moreover, Information Communication Technology (ICT) centres can also be considered in this aspect, whereby the students go there to get some facts and information about computers and schools, which will encourage these students in learning. Also, Handheld facilities should also be considered. Prensky (2005) stated that the handheld facilities such as cell phones that many students now carry with time can also be used to enhance learning. These handheld facilities like the GSM phones, calculators and so on should be encouraged among the secondary school students in order for them to understand the fact that the facilities can be used in learning process.
Furthermore, there should be a well equipped laboratory in the school whereby students will be sure that learning will be very easy for them in making use of the laboratory. Also, computer facilities such as printers, UPS, fans, hardware and software and so on should be provided in this laboratory to enhance the teaching and learning process in the today’s secondary schools.
Based on all these, education according to Addision (1999) is a companion which no misfortune can depress, no crimes can destroy, no enemy can alleviate, no deposition can enslave. Hence, computers especially should be used as a facility to enhance and improve teaching process in secondary schools so that the students, will have a good knowledge and foundation of computer.
2.4 INFLUENCE OF FACILITIES ON STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN COMPUTER STUDIES
The inadequacy of facilities like laboratories, classrooms computers and other academic facilities translates to poor results because it breeds over crowdness (Adedipe, 2007), Again Fabiyi and Uzoka (2009) have observed that the planning and design of school facilities for schools most especially secondary schools have impact on educational outcomes.
One of the most critical physical characteristics of the computer laboratory is lighting (Philips, 2002). The importance of an appropriate visual environment for learning tasks deserves careful consideration. The visual environment affects a learner’s ability to perceive visual stimuli and affects his/her mental attitude, and thus performance Dunn (2000) insisted that the lighting of a school computer laboratory should be considered an active element of the total educational environment. Horton’s (1999) suggested the ability of individuals learning in the computer laboratory to concentrate on instructions giving by computers was strongly influenced by factors such as lighting. Without electricity in the computer laboratory, the facilities in the computer laboratories will not function and in such cases, students will not be able to learn from computers and this will not increase their literacy in computer studies. In the same way Lacruissa (2001) concluded that many schools by modifying the existing lighting system could reduce systems cost while providing an improved and appropriate computer laboratories through better vision, visual impact and comfort. Also, improper maintenance or furniture’s and fixtures in the school with good computer laboratories will lead to lower than average students academic performance. This furniture is one of the facilities that influence student academic performance in computer studies. Also, computer laboratories lighting plays a particular critical role because of the direct relationship between good lighting and student academic performance in secondary schools.
Hathaway and Fielder (2000) found that light is a key to the general well-being of people confined to physical and school facilities to a great portion of the day. Rouner (1999) discovered that Illumination seems to be so important that even seasonal mood changes as depression have been treated successfully merely by increasing the bright light in the computer environment. The effectiveness of information collection is reduced in bad light seeing in bad light can lead to the development of ineffective programming of the information collection process in the school with computer facilities.
Moreover, Bad lighting and electricity in the computer environment of the school may leads to discomfort. Therefore, good electricity brings about good and more effective facilities in computer studies. Also, the bad ICT centres, malfunctioning computers, poor facilities in the computer room can also influence the student academic performance but in school where each of these are provided there will be a good and effective teaching and learning, and it will be well conducive enough for learning to take place. Unlike schools with less and poor facilities, Papandatos (2002) suggested that the proper use of such facilities in schools with well equipped computer facilities can convert an atmosphere that is depressing and monotonous into one that is pleasing, exciting and stimulating. He concluded that when these facilities are been changed when the need be, it would reduce absenteeism and it will promote positive feelings about the school. Bross and Jackson (2000) declared that the facilities like computers, aided instructions, information communication technologies liked by students influenced the motor control and urge for learning in the students, from these findings, it is evident that lighting, electricity, good computers, well equipped computer laboratories and so on plays a significant role in the academic performance of students.
2.5 EDUCATIONAL APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERS AND ITS FACILITIES
Students cannot be expected to benefit from computers if their teachers are neither familiar nor comfortable with the computers. Teachers need to be supported in their effects to use computers. The primary reasons why teachers do not use computers in the classrooms is lack of experience with the computer (Rosen, and Weil, 2002).
Wanglinsky (cited in Archer, 2001) found out that teachers who had received professional development with computers during the last five years were more likely to use computers in effective ways than those who had not participated in such training. Yet teachers induction programme too often focus narrowly in helping new teachers survive the initial year (Yoon and Lee, 2005) Ongoing professional development is necessary to help teachers learn not only how to use computers but also how to provide meaningful instructions and activities using computer in classrooms (Ringstaff and Kelley, 2002), teacher must be offered training in using computers. Teachers should also be provided with ongoing professional development on successful practical applications of computers in secondary schools.
Furthermore, teachers cannot be expected to learn how to use educational computers in their teaching after one time workshop. Teachers need in – depth, sustained assistance not only in the use of technology but in their integrate computers into their curriculum (Kanaya and Light, 2005). Teachers should spend their time in ensuring that they are using the computers to enrich their students learning experiences and this is very important in determining the value of computers to their students. The educational application of this facilities should be reinforce by teachers and how it is being applied will determine the interest of the learners whether the learners are willing and happy to use their facilities in their learning to improve their learning skills. These facilities should be applied in all areas of education and not only in computer studies because the computer itself is one of the today’s based technology.
Besides teaching method support to help the students use computers to reach learning goals, teachers also need time to become familiar with available facilities, softwares and online resources. They also need time to discuss computer use and applications in the subject being taught in schools with other teachers so as to increase the standard of the school.
2.6 EDUCATIONAL GOALS AND VISIONS OF LEARNING THROUGH COMPUTERS AND TECHNOLOGY
Before computers and technology is purchased or teachers participate in their first professional development session, the educational goals for students should be determined. What do student need to learn, and how can computers promote those learning goals? To answer these questions, the school can convene a technology planning team comprising administrators, teachers, other instructional staff, technology co-ordinator, computer coordinators, students, parents and representative of the community concerns. Next, the team determines the types of technology and quality of computer that will best supports effort to meet those goals. The viewpoints of parents and community members are helpful in presenting a broader perspective of skills that student need to succeed after school. In facts, community wide involvement in determining the school computer goals and technology goals benefits the entire educational process (Byrom and Bingham, 2001).
Rather than using computers for computer’s sake, the planning team ensures that particular educational objectives are achieved more efficiently, in more depth, or with more flexibility through technology. Uban, (2000) states “The obligation is for educators, practitioners, engineers, and education policy makers to think about what they are after”. Then, the planning team develops a vision of how computers can improve learning and teaching. Without a vision, lasting school improvement is almost impossible (Bycom and Bingham, 2001). Team members came to concensus in answering the questions “How will You Use Computer to Support Your Vision Of Learning?”. Essential to this vision is an emphasis on meaningful, engaged learning with computers in which students are actively involved in learning process. This computer is less effective when the learning objectives are unclear and the focus of technology use is diffuse (Schaster, 2000).
The school’s vision of learning through technology also emphasizes the importance of all students having equitable access and use of technology – females, special – needs students, minority students, disadvantaged students, students at risk of educational failures, rural and inner-city students. Therefore, all students need opportunities to use computers in meaningful, authentic task that develop higher order thinking skills.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter describes the researcher’s techniques and methodology employed in the course of collecting and analyzing data needed or the influence of facilities and the degree of its usage on student academic performance in computer studies in Junior Secondary School.
It is therefore presented under the following sub-headings:
- Research Design
- Target Population
- Sample and Sampling Techniques
- Instrumentation
- Validity of the Instrument
- Reliability of the Instrument
- Procedure for Data Collection
- Procedure for Data Analysis
3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN
The research design adopted for this study is a “Survey Research Design” as the study is meant to find out the relationship that exists between computer facilities usage and the academic performance of students in computer studies in Junior Secondary School.
3.2 TARGET POPULATION
The population for this study comprised Junior Secondary School Student within Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State.
3.3 SAMPLE AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
A total of fifty (50) students from each school was selected as sample of this study. Simple Random Sampling technique was used for this study because the target populations stand equal chance of being selected for the study.
3.4 INSTRUMENTATION
The questionnaire was the major instrument used for the study. The design of the questionnaire was based on the formulated hypotheses. The questionnaire was made up to Section A and Section B, Section A comprises personal information of the respondents such as age, class, name and sex.
While Section B is made up of fifteen (15) option items to measure the relationship between computer facilities usage and academic performance of students in computer studies. The questionnaire was structured on four (4) point likert scale structure which are as follows:
A – Agreed SA – Strongly Agreed
D – Disagreed SD – Strongly Disagreed
3.5 VALIDITY OF THE INSTRUMENT
The questionnaire was constructed by the researcher with the attestation and adjustment from the project supervisor. The supervisor confirmed that the instrument was adequate in coverage of the content in terms of variable under study.
3.6 RELIABILITY OF THE INSTRUMENT
The text-retest method of reliability was adopted. The questionnaire was administered to some students in different schools. A value of 0.7 was obtained as the co-efficient which shows that the instrument is highly reliable by using PPM (Pearson Product Moment Correlation Co-efficient)
3.7 PROCEDURE FOR DATA COLLECTION
The total number of (200) two hundred questionnaires were administered to by the researcher, although with the help of the class teacher in the school. Fifty (50) questionnaires were administered, students in each school in which students were instructed to read and correctly fill the questionnaire. The class teacher collected the questionnaire from each students after which the gap have been correctly filled.
The mode of administration help to reduce the incidence of damage or loss of the instrumentation and data collected for the analysis.
3.8 PROCEDURE FOR DATA ANALYSIS
In analyzing the data for this study, chi-square was used. Due to the fact that the questionnaire was divided into two sections, chi-square was used because it enabled the researcher to know the relationship between the variable tested in the study. The use of percentage and table was used in presenting personal data. The simple percentage enables the researchers to know the relative importance of various items used for the analysis, the responses from the data counted and the hypotheses that were tested at 0.05 levels of significances.
Σ ( O – E)2
E
Where X2 = Chi square
Σ = Summation
O = Observed frequency
E = Expected frequency
CHAPTER FOUR
PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
This chapter presents necessary tables on data collected and analyzed in relation to the responses of the respondent statistical table used for analysis of data
4.1 PRESENTATION OF RESULT AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
TABLE 1: RESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO SEX
| ITEMS | FREQUENCY | PERCENTAGE % |
| FEMALE | 92 | 92 |
| MALE | 108 | 108 |
| TOTAL | 200 | 200 |
Table 1 above shows the frequency distribution of respondent’s sex from the table 92 (92%) of the respondents were male while 108 (108%) were female.
TABLE 2: RESPONDENTS ACCORDING TO AGE
| ITEMS | FREQUENCY | PERCENTAGE % |
| 9 – 13 YRS | 112 | 112 |
| 13 – above | 88 | 88 |
| TOTAL | 200 | 200 |
Table 2 above shows the frequency distribution of respondents age from the table 112 (112%) of the respondents were between 9 and 15 years of age bracket.
Table 3a: Responses of Students who uses appropriate and relevant facilities in their schools and student with less appropriate and relevant faculties in their schools
| ITEMS | SA | A | D | SD | TOTAL |
| 1 | 91 | 101 | 6 | 2 | 200 |
| 2 | 78 | 93 | 26 | 3 | 200 |
| 3 | 116 | 75 | 6 | 3 | 200 |
| 4 | 74 | 105 | 15 | 6 | 200 |
| 5 | 62 | 40 | 47 | 51 | 200 |
| TOTAL | 421 | 414 | 100 | 65 | 1000 |
From the above table, it is clearly stated that 421 responded strongly agreed, 414 respondents agreed, 100 respondents disagreed and 65 respondents strongly disagreed.
Hoi: There is no significant academic performance difference between student of school with appropriate and relevant facilities and students of schools with less appropriate and relevant facilities.