Attitude Of Senior Secondary School Students In Ibilla .

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ATTITUDE OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IBILLACOUNCIL WARD, OJU L.G.A. TOWARDS REVITALIZING CHEMISTRYEDUCATION FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTIchiko Chic Odeh, PhD; Dr. Isaac Terungwa Iorkpiligh and Oada Inalegwu OgomAbstractThe Study was designed to investigate the attitude of Senior Secondary School students inIbilla Council ward towards Chemistry. 300 students were the subject for the study in which100 students represent each level of classes that is SS I, SS II, and SS III. The only instrumentfor the study was a fifteen-item question and oral interview. Frequency counts and percentagewere used to analyze the data whose results revealed that majority of the students had positiveattitude towards Chemistry as reflected in their responses to positive statements. Also, it wasrevealed that those within age range of 16-20 years exhibited positive attitude towardsChemistry than other respondents in different age categories. It was equally found out thatmales’ respondents had more positive disposition towards Chemistry than the femalerespondents. Based on these results it is recommended that annual science quiz should beorganized among schools and the best Chemistry student award should be given on regularbasis to encourage students to have positive attitude towards Chemistry. Also creativestimulating teaching methods should be adopted to arouse creativity attitude in Chemistrystudents towards self-employment to enhance their economic development potentials.Keywords: tion,EconomicIntroductionScience and Technology is one of the basic requirements for any technologicaldevelopment in any country, Nigeria is no exception to this claim. Series of attempts andinnovations have been made to recognize science and technology at various levels ofNigerian education system by Government, Educational Institutions, Scientific Agencies,Professional Association amongothers. These efforts are intended to bring aboutimprovement on the teaching and learning with a view to enhancing more positive attitudeand better performance in science and technology based subjects, especially Chemistry whichmay enhance skills development.Chemistry is one of the three main branches of pure science, the other two beingBiology and Physics. Chemistry deals with the composition properties and uses of matter, itprobes into the principles governing the changes that matter undergoes (Ababio, 2007)Chemistry is a human endeavor that relies on basic human qualities like creativity, insights,reasoning and skills. These are pre-requisite for self-employment towards economicdevelopment of such individuals as well as general public (Odeh, Ochigbo and Durkwa,2018). It depends on habits of mind; skepticism, tolerance of ambiguity, openness to newideas, intellectual honesty, curiosity and communication(Ojelade, 2010). Students begin thestudying of Chemistry with curiosity however, when unconvinced, they become skeptical.Chemistry is popularly called a ‘volatile’ subject by students and teachers alike probably dueto rigorous and painstaking process involved, as well as, the nature of substances/elements itdeals with, which could sometimes be explosive.Nigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33061

Ichiko Chic Odeh, PhD; Dr. Isaac Terungwa Iorkpiligh and Oada Inalegwu OgomTeaching and Learning of ChemistryChemistry has a lot of dimensions, but the most adequate aspect is theexperimentation which brings out the reality of matter and the changes it undergoes. Over theyears, effective teaching and learning of Chemistry has been hindered by many problems andchallenges especially in rural schools, such as unequipped chemistry laboratories, insufficientchemical reagents, inadequate improvisation and innovation, lack of qualified chemistryteachers with motivational skills to arouse the interest of learners.Concept of AttitudeAttitude can be regarded as a favourable or unfavourable reaction towards someexperiences, situations or activities as a result of the way an individual perceives them.(Obodo, 2005). It means that attitude can be positive if associated with positive emotionaldispositions, while negative if it is associated with negative emotional dispositions. Iwu andNguma (2016) identified some components of attitude namely;i.An emotional responseii.Beliefs regarding the subjectiii.Behaviours regarding the subject.From these components, an individual’s attitude towards chemistry may be seen as theemotions associated with the subject which may have positive or negative values by theindividual’s belief regarding chemistry and how he / she behaves towards chemistry. Othercomponents of attitude towards chemistry as observed by chemistry teachers include: anxietyto the subject, value of the subject, self-esteem regarding the subject, enjoyment of thesubject and nature of the classroom learning environment (Odeh, Ochigbo and Durkwa,2018).The impression students have about Chemistry may have contributed to their changingattitude towards the subject, which could in turn cause declining enrolment in the discipline.Researches focused on gender studies have indicated that, attitudes towards science educationdiffer between males and females. A declining interest in Chemistry and under representationof females in the Chemical science was found (Ojelade, 2010).Statement of the ProblemSchools in the rural areas are observed to have decline enrolment in chemistry. Theobservation revealed students’ poor interest and resultantly achievement in the subject whichmay be attributed to poor attitude, conventional instructional methodologies employed byteachers and inadequate motivational strategies by the teachers. There is a concern for achange of attitude that may be geared towards arousing creativity attitude in chemistrystudents.The declining situation therefore calls for a closer look with a view to determining thereal nature of student’s attitude towards the Chemistry especially those of them within therural areas where much studies of this nature might not have explored. It is against thisbackground that the study is designed to investigate the perceived attitude of some seniorsecondary school studentsNigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33062

Attitude of Senior Secondary School Students in Ibilla Council Ward, Oju L.G.A towardsRevitalizing Chemistry Education for Economic DevelopmentPurpose of the StudyThe study was set out to investigate on the perceived attitude of some SeniorSecondary Students towards chemistry inIbilla Council ward, Oju L.G.A. Benue State, NorthCentral Nigeria. Specifically, the study seeks to determine:i.The nature of the attitude of Senior Secondary School Students towards chemistryii.Attitude across gender in different classesiii.Attitude across age in different classes.Research Questionsi.What are the attitudes of some Senior Secondary Students in Ibilla Council wardtowards Chemistry?ii.What are the Senior Secondary Students’ attitudes across gender in differentclasses?iii.What are the Senior Secondary Students’ attitudes across age in different classes?Research HypothesesThe following Null Hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significancei.H01 :There is no significant difference between the mean responses of students inattitude towards chemistry.ii.H02 : There is no significant different between the mean responses of students inattitude across gender in different classes.iii.HO3 : There is no significant different between the mean responses of student inattitude across age in different classes.Scope of the StudyThe study population covered Senior Secondary School students in Ibilla Councilward area. However, the sample constituted some category of students from three randomlyselected schools within the area namely:(a) Benpaulian Central Secondary School, Ichakobe-Ibilla;(b) Fortune Classical College, Ega-Ibilla;(c) Lead Academy, Anyiwogbu-Ibilla.MethodologyThe research design adopted for the study is a survey method of research whichexamined variables as they exist. Total numbers of 300 students were used as sample. Thisrepresentative sample was drawn from the three schools using stratified random samplingtechniques using age, gender and class as sampling criteria.The instrument used consisted of a questionnaire which contains 15 items that soughtto identify the disposition of the students towards Chemistry. Each item contains a statementwith options listed as: Strongly Agree (SA), Agree (A), Disagree (D) and Strongly Disagree(SD). The instruments were validated by the experts and during the process of validation,language level and class level of the students were considered. Therefore, the reliability indexof the questionnaire was determined as 0.82 using a test-retest method.Nigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33063

Ichiko Chic Odeh, PhD; Dr. Isaac Terungwa Iorkpiligh and Oada Inalegwu OgomProcedure for Data AnalysisThe data were analysed in stages. Frequency counts and percentages were used inanalyzing the data.ResultsResearch Question 1:What are the attitudes of the total Senior Secondary Students in Ibilla Council wardarea towards Chemistry?Table 1: Percentage Analysis of Total Students’ Attitude towards ChemistryS/No StatementsGrand Total Agree %Disagree %TotalNo.of%Respondents1.Chemistry is fun30016154 139461002.Chemistry makes me feel 30012742 17358100confused3.Chemistry is important to 30027391 249100everyday life4.Most Chemistry topics are 30016455 13645100difficult5.I shall like to read a course 30027482 5318100related to Chemistry infuture6.I like Chemistry practical30027792 2381007.There are too many topics 30022776 7324100tocoverinO-levelChemistry Syllabus8.I want to become a Chemist 30013946 16154100in future9.Chemistrypracticalis 30018662 11438100dangerous10. IenjoyChemistry 30025284 4816100textbooks11. Chemistryhelpin 30027190 2910100developing practical skills12. I shall not read any 3006421 23679100Chemistry course after Olevel13. I don’t gain anything from 30024827692100learning Chemistry14. Chemistryistoo 3007926 22174100mathematical for me15. Chemistry is a very 30028394 176100important subjectSource: Field Work.Table 1 shows the total responses of the sampled Senior Secondary School Student’s attitudetowards chemistry and the percentage analysis showed no significant difference.Nigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33064

Attitude of Senior Secondary School Students in Ibilla Council Ward, Oju L.G.A towardsRevitalizing Chemistry Education for Economic DevelopmentResearch Question 2:What are the Senior Secondary Students attitudes across gender in different classes?The answer to the above question is summarized in tables IIA, IIB and IICTable IIA: Gender-Based Percentage Analysis of the Respondents Attitudes in SS IS/No total no.ofRespondentsChemistry is fun100Chemistry makes me 100feel confusedChemistryis 100important to everydaylifeMost Chemistry topics 100are difficultI shall like to read a 100courserelatedtoChemistry in futureIlikeChemistry 100practicalThere are too many 100topics to cover in OlevelChemistrySyllabusI want to become a 100Chemist in futureChemistry practical is 100dangerousI enjoy Chemistry 100textbooksChemistry help in 100developing practicalskillsI shall not read any 100Chemistry course afterO-levelI don’t gain anything 100fromlearningChemistryChemistryistoo 100mathematical for meChemistry is a very 100important subjectTotal No. of Noof Totalno. of maleMaleno.ofmale AgreeDisagree FemaleNo. of No. ofFemal 3635(97)1(3)Source: Field Work.Percentage in BracketNigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33065

Ichiko Chic Odeh, PhD; Dr. Isaac Terungwa Iorkpiligh and Oada Inalegwu OgomTable IIB: Gender-Based Percentage Analysis of the Respondents Attitudes in SS IIS/No total no.ofRespondentsChemistry is fun100Chemistry makes me 100feel confusedChemistryis 100importanttoeveryday lifeMostChemistry 100topics are difficultI shall like to read a 100course related toChemistry in futureI like Chemistry 100practicalThere are too many 100topics to cover in OlevelChemistrySyllabusI want to become a 100Chemist in futureChemistry practical 100is dangerousI enjoy Chemistry 100textbooksChemistry help in 100developing practicalskillsI shall not read any 100Chemistrycourseafter O-levelI don’t gain anything 100fromlearningChemistryChemistry is too 100mathematical for meChemistry is a very 100important subjectTotalno.ofmaleNo. of No of TotalmaleMaleno.ofAgreeDisagree FemaleNo. of No. ofFemale )5920(34)3(5)4115(37)26(63)5947(80)39(66)4141(100) 3)413(7)38(93)5913(22)46(78)419(22)32(78)5959(100) -(0)4140(98)1(2)Source: Field Work.Percentage in BracketNigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33066

Attitude of Senior Secondary School Students in Ibilla Council Ward, Oju L.G.A towardsRevitalizing Chemistry Education for Economic DevelopmentTable IIC: Gender-Based Percentage Analysis of the Respondents Attitudes in SS IIIS/No total no. ofRespondentsChemistry is fun100Chemistry makes 100me feel confusedChemistryis 100importanttoeveryday lifeMostChemistry 100topics are difficultI shall like to read a 100course related toChemistry in futureI like Chemistry 100practicalThere are too many 100topics to cover inO-level ChemistrySyllabusI want to become a 100Chemist in futureChemistry practical 100is dangerousI enjoy Chemistry 100textbooksChemistry help in 100developingpractical skillsI shall not read any 100Chemistry courseafter O-levelIdon’tgain 100anythingfromlearning ChemistryChemistry is too 100mathematical formeChemistry is a very 100important subjectTotalno.ofmale7575No. of Noof TotalmaleMaleno.ofAgreeDisagree Female44(59) 31(41)2540(53) 35(47)25No. of No. ofFemale (75)19(25)2514(56)11(44)7570(93)5(7)2525(100) -(0)7559(79)16(21)2525(100) 87)10(13)2523(92)2(8)Source: Field Work.Percentage in BracketTable IIA, IIB, IIC give the results for the responses across gender in SSI,SSII and SSIII. Thepercentage and frequency responses show no significant difference.Nigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33067

Ichiko Chic Odeh, PhD; Dr. Isaac Terungwa Iorkpiligh and Oada Inalegwu OgomResearch Question III:What are the Senior Secondary Students’ attitudes across age in different classes? TheAnswer to the above question is summarized in tables IIIA, IIIB and IIICTable IIIA: Age-By-Age Percentage Analysis of the Respondents Attitudes in SS IS/NoStatement1.Chemistry is fun2.Chemistry makesme feel confusedChemistryisimportanttoeveryday lifeMostChemistrytopics are difficultI shall like to read acourse related toChemistry in futureI like ChemistrypracticalThere are too manytopics to cover inO-level ChemistrySyllabusI want to become aChemist in futureChemistry practicalis dangerousI enjoy ChemistrytextbooksChemistry help indevelopingpractical skillsI shall not read anyChemistry courseafter O-levelIdon’tgainanythingfromlearning ChemistryChemistry is toomathematical formeChemistry is a veryimportant subject3.4.5.6.7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.Grand totalno.ofRespondentsAGE GROUPS10 – 15 YEARS16-20 3(2)51(80)100643(5)100641006421YEARSABOVETotal (59)4(12)18(5)31(9)16(47)3 00)2(100)2(100)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)-(0)Source: Field Work.A Agree, D Disagree and Percentage in BracketNigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33068

Attitude of Senior Secondary School Students in Ibilla Council Ward, Oju L.G.A towardsRevitalizing Chemistry Education for Economic DevelopmentAttitudes in SS IIS/NoStatementGrandtotal no. ofRespondentsAGE GROUPS10 – 15 YEARS1.Chemistry is fun100Total21A9 (43)2.Chemistry makesme feel confusedChemistryisimportanttoeveryday lifeMost Chemistrytopics are difficultI shall like to reada course related toChemistryinfutureI like ChemistrypracticalThere are toomany topics tocover in O-levelChemistrySyllabusI want to becomea Chemist infutureChemistrypracticalisdangerousI enjoy ChemistrytextbooksChemistry help indevelopingpractical skillsI shall not readanyChemistrycourse after mistry is toomathematical formeChemistry is averyimportantsubject100211002110(48)17(81)100219 4.15.16-20 29)792117(81)15(71)100217 7(97)D41(52)53(67)2(3)26(33)70(89)21 YEARS andABOVETotal 20(95)1(5)798(10)---1(5)7971(90)74(94)5 (6)---215 (91)---100215 )1 (1)---797979Source: Field Work.A Agree, D Disagree and Percentage in BracketNigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-33069

Ichiko Chic Odeh, PhD; Dr. Isaac Terungwa Iorkpiligh and Oada Inalegwu OgomTable IIIC: Age-By-Age Percentage of the Respondents Attitude in SS IIIS/NoStatementGrandtotal no. ofRespondentsAGE GROUPS10 – 15 YEARS16-20 YEARS1.Chemistry is fun100Total222.Chemistry makesme feel confusedChemistryisimportanttoeveryday lifeMostChemistrytopics are difficultI shall like to reada course related toChemistryinfutureI like ChemistrypracticalThere are toomany topics tocover in O-levelChemistrySyllabusI want to become aChemist in futureChemistrypracticalisdangerousI enjoy ChemistrytextbooksChemistry help indevelopingpractical skillsI shall not read anyChemistry courseafter O-levelIdon’tgainanythingfromlearning ChemistryChemistry is toomathematical formeChemistry is 5)10(45)10022-(0)100221002221 YEARSABOVETotal 715(88)2(12)17171717Source: Field work.A Agree, D Disagree and percentage in bracketTable IIIA, IIIB and IIIC show the responses across age in SSI,SSII and SSIIIThere is no significant difference.Nigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-330610

Attitude of Senior Secondary School Students in Ibilla Council Ward, Oju L.G.A towardsRevitalizing Chemistry Education for Economic DevelopmentDiscussionThe findings in the study showed that majority of the Senior Secondary SchoolStudents in Ibilla Council ward exhibited positive attitude towards Chemistry. In other words,majority of the students who have chosen the subject might have taken it up willingly.The same results have been recorded for both male and female students, different classes andage groups. This is a commendable development in chemistry education area which needs tobe revitalized to encourage them and boost their potentials.The reason might be connected with the current emphasis in science and technologyin our society especially as spelt out in the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004). Alsothe 60:40 admission ration in favour of science students might have generated a lot of interestand subsequent students’ positive attitude as found in this study.Besides, Governments’ interest in science subjects as reflected in their zeal toestablish special science schools might have paid off in this regard. This could have triggeredoff a lot of interest and students’ positive attitude towards Chemistry and science generally.From the response to the questionnaire one can deduce that majority of the students hadpositive attitude towards Chemistry as reflected in their Reponses to positive statement. Thiscould be linked to the encouragement, advice, financial and moral support they received fromtheir parents or guardians and their ambitions to be future Chemists, Medical doctors,Pharmacists and Engineers (Enekwechi, 2020).Likewise, it was revealed that male students have more favourable attitude towardsChemistry than their female counterpart. This was confirmed by Ojelade (2010) that malesdemonstrate positive attitude towards science than their females. So the male students shouldtry as much as possible to carry their female students along with them.It was also observed that those respondents within the age range of 16 – 20 years hadpositive attitude towards Chemistry than other respondents in different age category. Thiscould be attributed to the way they were taught by their Chemistry teachers or the way theyembraced Chemistry themselves, and for any Student to imbibe Chemistry process, he/sheneeds to be guided and properly directed (Wetzel, 2008). Furthermore, it was also found outthat Chemistry curriculum is too overloaded with contents, much of which are of littlerelevance for general education for which secondary education is meant therefore there is theneed for revitalization.There is a need to re-examine strategies which will stimulate the mindsand attitude of the students positively towards Chemistry in area of creativity.Conclusion and Recommendations:Generally, senior secondary school students in Ibilla Council ward exhibited positiveattitude towards Chemistry, this is likely because they took the subject willingly. The sameresults have been recorded for both male and female students, different classes and agegroups. Male students have more favourable attitude towards Chemistry than their femalecounterpart. Despite this the overload nature of Chemistry curriculum with contents whichare of little relevance for general education for which secondary education is meant affectsstudents’ performance. Prior to these research findings there is a need to re-examine theChemistry curricula in secondary schools stressing the need towards addressing views ofstudents towards positive enhancement of Chemistry.Nigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-330611

Ichiko Chic Odeh, PhD; Dr. Isaac Terungwa Iorkpiligh and Oada Inalegwu OgomFrom the findings and subsequent discussion, the following recommendations aremade:That the authority concerned should set up a committee that will constantly review theChemistry curriculum, taking note of the changing nature of the society, country andthe subject itself. Also, the committee should try to narrow down the scope ofChemistry more especially at the secondary school level to facilitate positive students’attitudes to Chemistry.2. Also creative stimulating teaching methods should be adopted to arouse creativityattitude in Chemistry students towards self-reliance to enhance their economicdevelopment potentials.3. In addition, government should try as much as possible to encourage students byintroducing the best Chemistry student award in form of scholarship as it is beingdone in post-secondary schools.4. Furthermore, in terms of recruitment of teachers, qualified and well experiencedteachers need to be employed and are willing to work towards improving students’attitude to Chemistry.5. Finally, regular seminars, symposium and workshops should be organized for thestudents on the relevance of Chemistry to their daily live.Also annual science quizshould be organized among schools and the best Chemistry student award should begiven on regular basis to encourage the students.References1.Ababio, O. Y. (2007).New School Chemistry for Senior Secondary Schools. African FirstPublisher LTD. Revised Edition, Onitsha, Nigeria.Enekwechi, E. E. (2020).Enhancing Students’ Interest and Academic Achievement inChemistry Learning through the use of Flipped Classroom Instruction. Journal ofVocational and Technical Educators (JOVTED) Vol.6 (1) Pp 89 -97.Iwu, R. U. &Nguma, M. J. O. (2016). Perceived Attitude of Secondary School Studentstowards Core Values in Science Education in Owerri Zone, Imo State. Journal ofNational Association of Women in Colleges of Education (JOWICE).Vol.21 (2) Pp208-211.Federal Republic of Nigeria (2004). National Policy on Education. NERDC Press,LagosOdeh, I. C.,Ochigbo, G.O.&Durkwa, Z. M. (2018).Teaching and Learning of ChemistryEducation with Classroom Management for Schools and Colleges. Sababi EnterprisesLTD. Mubi, Adamawa, Nigeria.Ojelade, I. A. (2010). Attitude of Senior Secondary Schools Students in Gwagwalada Towntowards Chemistry: Implication for Teaching in the 21st Century. Knowledge Review:A Multidisciplinary Journal, Published by National Association for the Advancementof Knowledge (NAFAK) Vol.20 (1) Pp 71-78.Wetzel, R. D. (2008). Problem solving and science process skills. Retrieved on the12thJanuary, 2021 from www.suite101.comNigeria Academic Forum, Volume 28 No. 1, August, 2021. ISSN: 1596-330612

demonstrate positive attitude towards science than their females. So the male students should try as much as possible to carry their female students along with them. It was also observed that those respondents within the age range of 16 - 20 years had positive attitude towards Chemistry than other respondents in different age category. This

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