PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY

1.1 Introduction

Psychology is one of the many factors influencing human daily activities. Human psychology plays a major role in determining our chances of success and failure in the various activities individuals engage in. As a result, people may experience a range of psychological issues that occasionally seriously impair their ability to go about their daily lives. The main causes of these problems are psychological ones, such as stress, anxiety, depression, motivational deficiencies, loneliness, helplessness, and phobias. These psychological problems can lead to poor academic performance, test anxiety, low self-esteem, excessive worrying, uneasiness, or fear in college students, all of which can make it difficult for them to go about their everyday lives normally.

As a prelude to other parts of this study, this chapter will discuss the background upon which this study was initiated, the statement of problems that led to this study, the Aim and Objectives of the study. Others are Significance of the study, Scope of work, Research hypothesis and questions, Limitation of the study and Definition of terms.

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1.2 Background of Study

Over the years, students’ performance in school subjects is measured by their academic achievement. It is the result of education when a learner, instructor, or institution has met their learning objectives (Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, 2011). Most people view it as a demonstration of the knowledge or abilities they have acquired through their academic studies. Exam or continuous assessment scores are frequently used to measure academic achievement; however there is disagreement over the most effective methods of measurement.

Biology as one of the science subject is defined as the study of life and structure of living things. Biology is the study of living things and concerns itself with the study of the structure, behaviour, distribution, the origin of plants and animals and their relationship with their environments. Abugu (2007) stated that biology is a natural science in which we study living organisms – plants and animals.

Biology is defined as the study of life and structure of living things. Biology is the study of living things and concerns itself with the study of the structural, behaviour, distribution, the origin of plants, and animals and their relationship with their environment (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 2009). Abugu (2007) stated that biology is natural science in which we study living organism plants and animals. The knowledge of biology helps in checking environmental degradation such as Desertification, Erosion, Water Hyacinth, Land, Air and Water Pollution.

Biology curriculum planners, researchers, parents, and guardians have all expressed serious concerns about student achievement. The prevailing low achievement levels that students record nearly every year at the conclusion of their secondary school course are the root cause of this widespread concern (Ezeazor, 2003).

According to Asikhai (2010), education at secondary school level is supposed to be the bedrock and the foundation towards higher knowledge in tertiary institutions. It is an investment as well as an instrument that can be used to achieve a more rapid economic, social, political, technological, scientific and cultural development in a country. It is rather unfortunate that the secondary schools today are not measuring up to the standards expected of them. There have been public outcries over the persistently poor performance of secondary school students in public examinations.

The performance in biology has been declining over time. In Okoye and Okeke’s (2007) study, for example, the percentage of candidates who passed the West African School Certificate Examination (WASCE) in biology at credit and above (grades 1-6) was 30.3%, 42.1%, and 30.2% in 2002, 2003, and 2004, respectively. 2008 saw a drop in biology performance, particularly in the theoretical area, according to WAEC chief examiners (WAEC, 2008).

Once more, on March 17, 2010, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) announced that the National Examination Council (NECO) had recorded 74% of the candidates failing the biology section of the SSCE in November and December of 2009.

Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Psychological Factors Affecting Students Academic Achievement in Biology.

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1.3 Statement of Problems

Investigation revealed that a large portion of biology students consistently perform poorly, making it difficult for them to obtain the grades necessary to advance to a higher education institution. Well-meaning Nigerians, parents, scientists, and educators have expressed concern about this. It is impossible to overstate biology’s significance for a country’s economic development given its numerous subfields and wide range of applications in all spheres of human endeavor.

Therefore, it becomes imperative that efforts be focused on finding a long-term solution to the students’ subpar performance in the subject. The study will enable us to perceive the psychological factors influencing academic achievement in biology in some selected secondary schools within Ughelli, Delta State.

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1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study

The aim of the study is to identify the Psychological Factors Affecting Students Academic Achievement in Biology using Some Selected Secondary Schools in Ughelli, Delta State as a case study. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To determine the magnitude of stress that influence academic achievement of students in biology;
2. To find out the extent of depression that affect biology students academic achievement;
3. To determine whether self concept influence the academic achievement of students in biology;
4. To find out if fear influence the academic achievement of biology students; and
5. To ascertain whether delinquency among students have significant effect on their academic achievement in biology.

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1.5 Research Questions

The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:

• Does self concept influence the academic achievement of students in biology?
• Does fear influence the academic achievement of biology students?
• Does delinquency among students have significant effect on their academic achievement in biology?
• To what extent does depression affect biology students’ academic achievement?
• What is the magnitude of stress that influences academic achievement of students in biology?

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1.6 Research Hypothesis

In order to pursue the objective of this study, the following generalized statements have been designed to guide and aids in obtaining the result for the experiment to be conducted. For this work, the null hypothesis will be represented with H0 while the alternative hypothesis will be represented with hypothesis H1.

• H₀1: Self concept does not have significant influence on students’ academic achievement in biology.
• H₀2: Student level of stress has no significant influence on academic achievement in biology.
• H₀3: Depression has no significant influence on students’ academic achievement in biology.
• H₀4: Fear (Phobia) has no significant influence on students’ academic achievement in biology.
• H₀5: Act of delinquency no significant influence on students’ academic achievement in biology.

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1.7 Significance of Study

The information gained from this study may be extremely helpful to the following people or organizations.

1. The teacher is better able to comprehend why the performance of these students is as it is. Even though psychology has an impact on biology, they will be able to support students in managing the subject.
2. The psychological elements influencing students’ academic performance in biology will be understood by the students. So, despite the variables influencing their circumstances, they will be able to handle them.
3. Parents will be able to recognize their influence on their kids’ academic achievement and provide them with guidance on their studies, particularly with regard to their school performance.
4. Administrators at the schools: they can figure out how to support students in becoming better students. They will be able to identify which educational resources such as: seminars, academic programs, and extracurricular activities can effectively address the issues that are affecting the students’ performance.

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1.8 Scope of Study

The scope of the research is focused on the Psychological Factors Affecting Students Academic Achievement in Biology using Some Selected Secondary Schools in Ughelli, Delta State as a case study.

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1.9 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, there were some problems encountered which stood as limitations to the research work. Some of the limitations include:

1. Time Constraint: The time frame given to accomplish this project was very short due to school academic calendar and it was carried out under pressure which made the researcher not to implement some necessary features.
2. Research Material: availability of research material is a major setback to the scope of the study.
3. Financial Constraint: Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).
4. Initial Cooperation Delay from Respondents: A particular limitation of this work came as a result of the respondent refusal to offer their cooperation at the initial time they were contacted. This contributed in making the success of this research study difficult.

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1.10 Definition of Terms

Biology:

It is defined as the study of life and structure of living things. Biology is the study of living things and concerns itself with the study of the structural, behaviour, distribution, the origin of plants, and animals and their relationship with their environment (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 2009).

Academic Achievement:

It is the level of performance in school subjects as exhibited by an individual. Biology: is described as a science of life and plays a vital role in the life of every human being.