Secondary Schools In Nigeria Research Articles

Psychosocial Impact of Dental Aesthetics among Secondary School Students in Birnin Kebbi, Northern Nigeria:

Introduction: Dental aesthetics is a major determinant of good psychosocial well-being. Individuals with good dental aesthetic appearance tend to enjoy better social interactions and quality of life than those with poor dental aesthetic appearance. This study aims to assess the psychosocial impact of dental aesthetics among secondary school students in Birnin Kebbi metropolis, Kebbi State, Northern Nigeria.
 Material and Methods: This study was a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey of 692 students attending Army Day Boys Secondary School (ADBSS) and Army Day Girls Secondary School (ADGSS), Birnin Kebbi. Data collected was analysed using SPSS version 20 software.
 Results: The majority (75.4%) of the 692 respondents were within the age range of 15 – 19 years of age, 50.7% were in SS 1 class, and 53.7% were females. The majority (>82%) of the respondents were confident about the appearance of their dentition, roughly half of the respondents were negatively impacted, socially, by the appearance of their dentition. There exists a statistically significant relationship between respondents’ gender and: psychosocial self-perception of their dental aesthetics (p-values<0.05); and concerns about their dental aesthetics (p-values<0.05).
 Conclusion: This study concluded that many of the surveyed northern Nigeria secondary school students were not convenient with their current dental aesthetic appearances. Appropriate counselling, public health, and clinical intervention programmes may go a very long way in minimizing the negative impact of dental aesthetics-associated psychosocial problems among this population group.

An Empirical Study on the Relationship between Causes of Teacher Examination Anxiety and Dimensions of Coping with Pre-Exam Anxiety: A Structural Equation Modelling Approach.

In recent years, examination anxiety among teachers assumes a critical sphere in the global academic environment. The causes of teacher examination anxiety in education have been reviewed by a few scholars. This shows that teacher examination anxiety and its impact on academic development are limited in research. Therefore, this study investigated the linear relationship between two self-report instruments – the causes of teacher examination anxiety and dimensions of coping with pre-exam anxiety. The study adopted a quantitative approach with three-hundred teachers from four secondary schools in Nigeria and twenty teachers from two secondary schools in North Cyprus participated in the survey. Also, a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was utilized for the analysis. The results of the study indicate that the two factors (teacher causes of exam anxiety and dimensions of coping with pre-exam anxiety) are interconnected. The results also indicate teachers’ preparation for examinations coupled with various dimensions of anxiety is a complex task that demands educational stakeholders to constantly improving on causes of examination anxiety and factors of pre-exam anxiety among teachers for better academic and ethical development.

Perceived Strategies for Financing Maintenance Cost of Physical Facilities in Secondary Schools, Imo State, Nigeria

This paper seeks to find out the strategies for financing maintenance cost of physical facilities in secondary schools in Imo state, Nigeria. Three research questions and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Survey research design was adopted. The population consisted of 475 principals in Imo state secondary schools in Nigeria. An instrument named Financing Maintenance Cost of Facilities Questionnaire (FMCFQ) was developed by the researcher. The FMCFQ was validated and its reliability coefficient was computed to be 0.85. Mean and standard deviations were used to analyze the research questions while t-test statistics was employed in testing the two hypotheses, Results show that principals accepted nine strategies out of fourteen for financing maintenance cost of facilities in secondary schools. While it is revealed that there is no significant difference between the perceptions of experienced and less experienced principals as well as those in urban and rural areas on the strategies for financing maintenance cost of facilities in secondary schools in Imo State. Some recommendations were made like the principals of schools should take it as a duty to maintain the school facilities with the help of ministry of education and the government for effective sustainability of nation development.

Experimenting the Effect of Class Size on Mathematics Based Performance: A Case Study of Selected Public Secondary School in Akure, Nigeria

Background: The spate of overcrowding numbers of students in public secondary schools in Nigeria is significantly on the increase and there has been paucity of literatures that had examined the effect of class size in the enhancement of students’ academic performance, especially on mathematics. Mathematics is one of the compulsory subjects to be offered by every students in secondary schools across the nation. Therefore, this study examined the effects of class size on mathematics based performance in Akure, Ondo State-Nigeria. Method: Quasi experimental research design was adopted in the study. Cluster random sampling technique was adopted to engage one hundred and fifteen (115) public secondary school students. The study participants were randomly assigned from the cluster of IQ categories and affiliated departments into three groups, under-crowded, standard and over-crowded class before exposure to intervention. Three research questions hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. Results: Finding revealed that class size had significant effects on students’ mathematics based performance, holding constant, the influence of affiliated departments (F (3, 111) = 197.79, p < .001; ηp2 = .842). The phi eta coefficient revealed that 84.2% of the variance observed in students’ performance in mathematics was strictly accounted for by the size of class. The post-hoc result presented in the table above shows that with a total mean of 58.03, the class size with under-crowded (n=15) reported better performance in mathematics when compared to performances of students in standard class size with a total adjusted mean of 48.66, and students in over-crowded class size with a total adjusted mean of 24.14. Conclusion: From the results of this findings, it was concluded that the number of students in a class had strong implication on mathematics learning and performances. Based on the findings, this study therefore recommends that government and concern authorities should ensure less or standard class size in public secondary schools to further enhance students’ performances, especially in mathematics.

Appraisal of Environmental Related Issues in Social Science Subjects in Secondary Schools in Nigeria

Environmental conservation and management should be a vital component of our school curriculum as a way of investing in our youth so that they can be capable custodians of our environment for the sake of environmental management and conservation for sustainability. The youth have great potential which can only be ignored at our nation’s peril. Given that the environment is our greatest heritage, all measures including EE education must be taken serious to ensure that our youth have the correct attitude towards the environment since our very survival depends on this, this should be included in the school curriculum at all level. This research work investigates how environmental education can be used as a tool to create awareness and participation of secondary school students in environmental management and conversation.&#x0D; The research design used in this study was descriptive research design of survey type, to examine the curriculum content of secondary school on environmental conservation and management in secondary schools in Ondo State. The population for the study consists of all the secondary school students in Ondo state. Samples of forty-eight (480) students were drawn from ten (10) selected schools by using stratified random sampling technique. Forty-Eight (48) students were drawn from each of the selected schools. The research instrument used for this study was a self-constructed questionnaire for the students of the selected secondary schools. A sect of questionnaire was design, the questionnaire consisted of two sections; A and B: Section A contained the personal data while Section B contained items constructed in four point linkert scale. Findings from the study reveals among others that there are topics related to conservation in social sciences subjects in secondary schools, that majority of teachers are aware of this and also like teaching it. It therefore, recommend that curriculum planners should make topics on environmental issues be made compulsory at all levels of the education.

Facilitating Physics Classroom Instruction Through the Use of Modern Electronic Device

The use of modern electronic devices (MED) in teaching and learning in classrooms has become imperative especially at this period of Covid-19 pandemic. This necessitated this paper which is to show the uses of Modern Electronic Device (MED) as an educational tool for impacting and prospecting in Physics Education and to highlight a few devices that can be used in the areas of Reading and Writing. Through the use of low-tech and high-tech devices, MED will be able to help students become better readers and writers. In the area of Reading, the use of MED will help students improve upon and build on their spelling abilities, and also better students’ decoding, listening, and oral skills. In the area of Writing, the use of MED will enable students to write neatly and legibly, to form letters correctly, and to write sentences that are grammatically correct. Electronic-learning tools such as internet, computers, e-mail facilities, multimedia, scanner, printer, VCD player and digital camera were discussed. The prospects of electronic learning in secondary schools were identified. The paper conclude that if teachers plan carefully and use modern electronic devices to enhance instruction throughout the school curriculum, Basic Science, reading and writing will not be the only subjects that students will benefit. It was suggested among other things that, the government should embark on computer training program for teachers. Teachers should be trained and retrained through in-service training, seminars, workshops and conferences for acquisition of the knowledge and skills needed for e-learning application in secondary schools in Nigeria. It was suggested that teachers need also to explore other avenues in their instructional curriculum where they can enhance learning through the use of MED.

ORGANISATIONAL JUSTICE AND EMPLOYEE COMMITMENT OF SELECTED PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS TEACHERS IN NIGERIA

This study investigates the relationship between organisational justice and employee commitment of private secondary school teachers in Nigeria using survey design. Twenty (20) private secondary schools were selected in Bayelsa State using simple random sampling. Four hundred and eighty (480) teachers were surveyed. Sample of two hundred and fourteen (214) was determined using Krejcie and Morgan sample size determination table. Two hundred and fourteen (214) copies of questionnaire were administered to the teachers but one hundred and eighty three (183) copies were correctly filled and returned. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (rs) was used to analyse the hypotheses. It was found that organisational justice has positive significant association with employee commitment. This study concludes that organisational justice measured in terms of distributive justice, procedural justice and interactional justice enhances employee commitment in selected private secondary schools in Nigeria.

Internet-based ICTs and Their Importance in Nigeria's Education System

ICT has made a very profound and remarkable impact on the quality and quantity of teaching, learning research in the educational institutions ADDIN EN.CITE > I Ajayi 2009 281-286 (Ajayi & Ekundayo, 2009) 17 I Ajayi The Application of Information and Communication Technology in Nigerian Secondary Schools 281-286 2009 (Ajayi & Ekundayo, 2009) . A lot more has been written on the importance of (Information Communication Technology) ICT in education, highlighting the need for the integration of ICTs in the education sector for example ADDIN EN.CITE > Israel Olaore 2014 154-156 (Olaore, 2014) 17 Israel Olaore The Impacts (Positive and Negative) of ICT on Education in Nigeria 154-156 2014 (Olaore, 2014) . In Nigeria, numerous articles have been published stating the need for the government to integrate ICTs in the different levels of Nigerian Education, a quick example is ADDIN EN.CITE > Samuel Aduwa-Ogiegben 2005 104-112 (Aduwa-Ogiegben & Iyamu, 2005) 17 Samuel Aduwa-Ogiegben Using Information and Coomunication Technology in Secondary Schools in Nigeria: Problems and Prospects 104-112 2005 (Aduwa-Ogiegben & Iyamu, 2005) . ADDIN EN.CITE > Esharenana Adomi 2010 (Adomi & Kpangban, 2010) 17 Esharenana Adomi Application of ICTs in Nigerian Secondary Schools 2010 (Adomi & Kpangban, 2010) wrote about the applications of ICTs in Nigerian Secondary Schools and emphasized on how beneficial ICT applications will be in improving the Nigeria’s Educational System and giving students a better education. With all that has been done in making us grasp the importance of ICTs in education and implement it at various levels of our schooling system, Nigeria is yet to fully integrate ICTs effectively in the Education Sector. To tackle this particular issue and bring about the effective use and applications of readily available ICTs, this paper aims to examine some basic tools and platforms that every student and teacher can get their hands on for free on the Internet. This paper will introduce some Internet-based ICT tools that can be used to the benefit of the Nigerian teachers and students, and to apply them in our school systems and improve the quality of education in Nigeria.

Effect of Resource Factors and Quality of Instruction on Performance in Mathematics of Nigeria Secondary School Students

It seems that educational system in Nigeria has undergone only quantitative improvement in terms of number of schools and students’ enrolment. However, there has been little effort in respect to the capacity to manage them through provisions of adequate financial, human, material and physical resources. Physical and material resources in secondary schools were discovered to be inadequate and poorly equipped. Some of the secondary school buildings were dilapidated, also the allocated financial resource, teaching and non-teaching staff are grossly inadequate compared with the students’ enrolment. The public, the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders in education are expressing serious concern about the consistency of the poor performance of secondary school students especially in mathematics. Increase in population and the government’s free education programs make people want to take advantage of the education provided. Provision of both professionally qualified and non-qualified teachers by government and non-state providers of education also appear not to ameliorate the problem of declining performances in mathematics. The effect of all these on the public secondary school student academic performance in mathematics concern the researchers of this study. It is against this background that the study sought to empirically investigates effect of resource factors and quality of instruction on performance in mathematics of Nigeria secondary school students.

SOCIAL MEDIA LEARNING PLATFORMS (SMLPs) AS A PERFORMANCE ENHANCER AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE STUDENTS.

The study examined the effects of Social Media Learning Platforms (SMLPs) on secondary school students’ performance in Science in Nigeria. It also investigated the rate of use of social media for the purpose of education or otherwise among science students in Secondary schools in Nigeria. The study was a quasi-experimental of pre-test, post-test research design. The sample for the study was 80 Senior Secondary School two students, selected from two schools in Ondo state, South West, Nigeria. Purposive sampling technique was adopted in the selection of the schools and classes for the study. The choice of the sampling technique used was to ensure that the schools and classes selected have access to cell phones and internet facilities during school period and that the classes are science based. The instruments used for the study were Social Media Students Participation Rating Scale (SMSPRS), Social Media Students’ Performance Test in Science (SMSPTS), Social Media Students’ Questionnaire (SMSQ). Validity and Reliability of the instruments were ensured and determined. Data collated were analyzed using frequency count, mean, standard deviation and t-test. The outcome of the analysis revealed that 98% of the students’ sampled do not use social media for educative learning purposes but for entertainment and socialization. Students exposed to the use of social media platform with conventional teaching-learning method participated better in lessons and performs better in the subject than their counterparts with no use of social media platform

Teachers’ Characteristics and Instructional Quality in Public Secondary Schools in Nigeria

Worldwide, the importance of quality instruction in schools cannot be underestimated. However, over the years, the instructional quality in Nigerian public secondary schools seems persistently low, and worrisome based on the academic performance of students in external examinations. This has continued to be a subject of concern to individuals, the public, government, and other stakeholders. This study investigates teachers’ characteristics and the instructional quality in public secondary schools in Nigeria. A hypothesis was formulated and tested in the study. Questionnaires were used to collect data from teachers and principals, as well as to assess the instructional quality in Nigerian public secondary schools. A total of 2,222 respondents (1,548 teachers and 774 principals) were sampled using both simple random and census sampling techniques respectively across the 774 Local Government Areas in Nigeria. The results show that teachers’ characteristics have a significant influence on the instructional quality in public secondary schools in Nigeria. The study recommends that government should prioritise teacher professionalism and employ only certificated teachers to teach in secondary schools in Nigeria geared toward achieving an improved instructional quality.

Investigating the Perception of Senior Secondary School Students on the Role of Classroom Engagement in Mathematics Problem Solving

This study was designed to investigate the perception of students on the role of classroom engagement in student’s problem solving in mathematics. Specifically, the study investigated the perception of 6 students taught by 4 mathematics teachers in 2 secondary schools in Nigeria for a period of 2 years. Two research objectives were developed to guide the study. Research journal and video recordings were used to document the focus group discussions and classroom observations. The findings of the study suggested that the mathematics teachers made positive effort to use the engagement strategy as a tool to increase students problem solving abilities during mathematics classroom instruction. In addition, the result of the study suggested a positive increase in students’ problem-solving skills. This was evident in students’ engagement in collaboration, participation, increase in positive relationships that existed between students and their teachers. The study also suggested that the mathematics teachers created positive classroom atmosphere for students’ participation in classrooms problem solving. It also suggests that teachers provided inclusive support for students’ problem solving in mathematics and provided evidence of general traditional teacher centred learning in mathematics as opposed to student-centred learning among the students.

Use of Information Communication Technology for Teaching by N-Power Teach Beneficiaries of Public Primary and Secondary Schools in Nigeria

This study investigated the use of mobile devices for teaching by N-Power Teach beneficiaries in public primary and secondary schools in Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted, and 50 beneficiaries were selected using multi-stage sampling. Data collection was through interview and data collected were transcribed and analysed using Nvivo 12 software. Findings revealed that the main ICT tool accessed by the beneficiaries was the N-Teach application (a pre-installed application) which contains textbooks, video, audio materials. The devices were reportedly used for preparing lesson notes and instructional materials. Beneficiaries reported being confident in the use of these devices for teaching, however, beneficiaries in secondary schools reported having primary school teaching application tools on their devices. School administrators reportedly had positive attitude to the use of the devices while few had initial rejection. Challenges reported in the use of the devices included poor power supply, insufficient data and network failures.

A Review of Public Secondary Schools Effectiveness in Nigeria: Challenges and Managing Strategies

The global trends of education in the developed nations shifts towards the direction of the fourth and 5th industrial revolutions which are characterized with advances in science and technology that led to the emergence of robotics, internet of things, artificial intelligence, bio and nanotechnologies, autonomous vehicles, quantum computing, material science, and energy storage in the global societies. This is a great challenge to the third world countries- Nigeria inclusive, that are still striving to see themselves through the 2nd and 3rd industrial revolutions in their education sectors. However, this could never be achieved until when schools at all levels become smart, successful and effective. Although literature indicated that public secondary schools in Nigeria were not performing effectively, however, there was hardly any article that compiled all the major factors responsible for this ineffective performance of the schools. The purpose of this paper therefore, is to review and compile the challenges that compromise the effectiveness of the schools and suggest their possible managing strategies. To achieve this, articles were reviewed using appropriate methods as well as inclusion and exclusion criteria. It was found from the review that public secondary schools in Nigeria suffer from substandard leadership, infrastructural decay, overcrowded classrooms, and lots more. To manage these situations, this paper recommends that qualified principals and teachers be provided for the schools, provide intensive training for both the principals and teachers, build more classroom structures, and provide security measures in the schools.

Appraisal of the Implementation of the National School Health Policy in Secondary Schools in Nigeria

Policies are checks in the execution of programme, hence the National School Health Policy document is meant to guide the promotion of the school Health programme. This study was undertaken to assess the successes and weaknesses of the execution of the National School Health Policy/School Health programme in order to make recommendation in the document. A sample of 184 school principals in Delta state were the respondents. It was an ex post facto, descriptive study. Self design questionnaire was used to solicit information. The questionnaire was derived from the strategies for the implementation of the National School Health Policy. Descriptive statistics of frequency count, percentages and a multiple regression statistics using SPSS 21 was used to analyse the data at 0.05 level of significance. It was found in this study that the National School Health Policy/School Health programme was being significantly executed in Delta state (F-value – 2.935, df and alpha, .022). Among the variables only School Health instruction with t –value, -3.034 and alpha at 0.05 was found to be a predictor of comprehensive effective National School Health implementation. Others; principal’s awareness, Government monitoring, and School Health – Community relation were not significant as a predictor of the National School Health Policy/School Health Programme. It was recommended among others that the government and other stakeholders in education should improve on the gains so far and set up a power full monitoring term to evaluate the implementation of the National School Health Policy/School Health programme on regular bases in Delta state, Nigeria.

Vocational Development Initiatives for Youth Empowerment: Case of the Nigeria Secondary Schools’ Curriculum

The study was carried out to evaluate the Vocational Development initiatives of the Nigerian secondary education curricula introduced by the National Education Research and Development Council (NERDC). Five research questions were formulated to guide the study. Descriptive survey design was adopted. The study was carried out in Kogi State. Sample for the study was 220 respondents made up of 102 male and 118 female senior secondary school students offering trade subjects. A structured questionnaire titled Vocational Development Initiatives for Youth Empowerment (VDIYE) questionnaire was developed for data collection. The questionnaire was face and content validated by three vocational education experts. The reliability of the questionnaire was determined using the test re-test reliability method which yielded a co-efficient of 0.72. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Based on the data collected and analyzed, it was observed that majority of respondents view trade subjects as desirable and that it prepares them adequately for future vocational career choice among other findings. Recommendations were thereafter made on ways to improve on trade subjects. This is in order to achieve the desired objectives of making secondary school graduates to be job creators and also reduce unemployment.

Application of Cause-and-Effect-Analysis for Evaluating Causes of Fire Disasters in Public and Private Secondary Schools in Ilorin Metropolis, Nigeria

The contributions of fire disaster to the varying degrees of students’, staff and schools’ property and/or lives lost in secondary schools in Nigeria is recently alarming. The study assessed causes of fire disaster in public and private secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis, Nigeria. The objectives were to identify latent causes of fire disaster, use the fishbone diagram to illustrate and analyze the root-causes of fire disaster in secondary schools. The exploratory research strategy was used. The target population was 18 senior public and private secondary schools, Ilorin having 18 principals, 965 teachers and 3765 senior secondary 2 students. From the target population, simple random sampling technique through a pick and not-return balloting was employed to sample 72.22% of the principals, 14.8% each of the teachers and students. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, questionnaire, participatory observation, and were analyzed using cause-and-effects-analysis. The findings reveal fire disasters in public and private secondary schools in Ilorin metropolis are primarily caused by bush/waste burning, electrical fault/wiring, arson, carelessness, and alcohol, smoking. Results also showed that the root-causes of fire phenomenon from the classic categories were setting undergrowth on fire, non-insulated wiring system and sparks from wrong connections, emotional induced from cultism rivalry among male teachers and students over a girl and superiority within and outside the school, mishandling of chemicals in various laboratories during experimentation, and lack of proper fencing of school compound. The study recommends that schools in the metropolis should prepare and anticipate future fire tragedy. Consequently, since there are several factors responsible for fire incidents, further studies could be conducted to clarify the sequence or magnitude of each cause of the fire outbreak.

Emphasis on Curriculum Contents in Civic Education for Secondary School in Nigeria

Civic Education is the study of the rights and responsibilities of citizens taught in many&nbsp; primary schools in some years back but have been replaced with citizenship education in&nbsp; some secondary schools in Nigeria. This paper highlights the reasons for Civic Education in&nbsp; Nigeria; as the country has moved from normative society to pluralistic society. This situation&nbsp; has created negative behavioral change which is noticeable in Nigeria today. The paper&nbsp; further outlines the blocks and topics which are adoptable as curriculum for Civic Education&nbsp; in Nigerian secondary schools and finally states some problems that may militate against the&nbsp; implementation of the curriculum. Educational practices in indigenous Nigeria had social&nbsp; content in which civic education was preponderant. The colonial educational outfit had a&nbsp; patchy civic education curriculum which was British culture-biased and, therefore, was not&nbsp; pertinent to our peoples’ aspirations. A little after independence on October 1, 1960, the&nbsp; pervasive colonial oriented education with its twist of colonial civic education curriculum&nbsp; was criticized and the result was a refashioning of curricula which became operational in&nbsp; schools from 1982 but in which civic education was completely shielded out. It was not until&nbsp; year 2007 that, the civic education curriculum for the 9-year Basic Education was born to&nbsp; exist pari-pasu with Social Studies curriculum. This paper, in drawing attention to the fact&nbsp; that civic education is, an unnecessary duplication of social studies curriculum in another&nbsp; garb, outlines the lapses in the Upper Basic Civic Education Curriculum and in addition&nbsp; raises seventeen (17) yet to be tackled queries. An immediate revision of the Civic Education&nbsp; Curriculum is recommended.&nbsp

Students' Engagements Patterns during Mathematics Classroom Practice

This paper sought to investigate students’ engagement patterns during mathematics classroom practice. Four research objectives were designed to guide the discussion in the paper. The qualitative case study approach was adopted to collect data from twelve Senior Secondary one and two students from two secondary schools in Nigeria for the study. Four mathematics teachers taught mathematics for a period of 15 weeks span across three years. A thematic narrative approach was adopted as a tool to analyse the data collected from the students. The results of the study suggested that, six different engagement patterns were observed by the students as present during their classroom practice. The students identified these patterns as teacher-centred engagement pattern, student-individualised engagement patterns, teacher-student engagement pattern, student-students engagement pattern, group engagement pattern and whole class engagement pattern. However, the findings of the study suggested that, four out of the six engagement patterns should be encouraged during classroom instruction. These engagement patterns are teachers-students, students-students, group-based and whole-class engagement patterns. It was also recommended that teachers who pay more attention to the teacher-centred and student-individualised engagement patterns during classroom practice should seek to create classrooms environment that will promote students’ positive engagement during mathematics classroom practice.

Interactive effects of acolour wheel motion game on pupils’ cognitive development in graphic arts

Games can be instruments for fun and competition globally. However, despite their relevance for instruction, the awareness of key games and their use have not been significantly established. Therefore, the study investigates the interactive effects of colour wheel motion games on pupils' cognitive development in the field of graphic arts. The study included a pre-test and a post-test. The sample comprised 50 pupils: 25 boys and 25 girls. Two research hypotheses were tested. Findings revealed a significant difference between groups (experimental and control) and gender (boys and girls). Nevertheless, the use of the Colour Wheel Motion Game for learning was recommended for all pupils in secondary schools in Nigeria.