THE IMPACT OF CLASSROOM PRACTICES ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Background to the Study

Classroom management has proved to be a plaguing aspect of the teaching and learning process over the recent past. This single skill has heavily contributed to the teacher stress and burnout, overall teacher self-efficacy student achievement and teacher performance in the classroom. (Edwards, Green and Lyons, 2002; Gordon, 2002; Jepson and Forrest 2006)

Education is the most important component of human resources development and is accorded a pride of place in many countries‟ developmental activities. There is no doubt that the importance of education cannot be underscored because there is no country that has succeeded without educating its people. Education according to Osokoya (2009) helps to improve security, health, prosperity and ecological balance in the world. It encourages social, economic and cultural progress, tolerance, national and international cooperation. Akomolafe (2009) describes education as a single most effective means of curbing size growth, reducing child mortality, eradicating poverty and ensuring democracy, peace and sustainable development.

Education is an instrument for the acquisition of appropriate skills, ability and competence both mental and physical also as equipment for individual to live and contribute to the development of his/her society (Lawal, 2003). Also, in the views of Usha (2007) it is the process of teaching and training of the child which has to do with impacting and acquisition of skills for a particular trade or profession in which applicable methods are used.

In today’s society, schools are being held accountable for every aspect of student achievement. Classroom management plays a major role in a student’s classroom achievement. Unfortunately, many of the education reforms have failed to mention or address the relationship between student achievement and student discipline (American Association of School Administrators, 2002; Brannon, 2010). Throughout the decades, classroom discipline has been cited as a major issue for teachers (Martin, Chiodo, & Chang, 2001; Martin & Sass, 2010). According to Shupe (1998), student achievement has been affected in schools where discipline and behavioral issues are not appropriately handled (p. 27).

There is a growing body of literature from researchers and educationists which have made an attempt to examine the relationship between education management and students academic performance (Orodho, 2014; United Nations, 2013; Waweru and Orodho, 2014). Classroom management has been defined broadly as any action a teacher takes to create an environment that supports and facilitates both academic and social-emotional learning (Evertson and Weinstein, 2006). Procedures that structure the classroom environment, encourage appropriate behaviour, and reduce the occurrence of inappropriate behaviour are necessary for strong classroom management (Evertson, Emmer, Sanford, and Clements, 1983). Classroom management is seen as the process of enhancing the learning environment, physical interaction between teachers and students, student to student, parents and others, stimulating and motivating children to learn to learning objectives, control and supervision throughout the school to facilitate and encourage co-operation in teaching and learning activities in the classroom smoothly, will as a result, improve the quality of students performance (Wisetrinthong, Sirisuthi and Weangsamoot, 2012).

Research has provided definitions of classroom management. McCreary (2010) defined classroom management as “the methods and strategies an educator uses to maintain a classroom environment that is conducive to student success and learning” (p. 1). Efficient teachers should acquire a toolbox of classroom management strategies that they can use within their classrooms.

Some teachers may use classroom management strategies that have a positive impact on the behavior of students, but some methods may be harmful for the child and the classroom. However, little is known regarding how student outcomes might differ by teacher classroom management style. Therefore, what was needed is a study that contrasts teacher instructional and behavioral classroom management styles in the important outcomes.

Therefore, in Lagos Metropolis where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the impact of classroom practices on academic performance among secondary school students.

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1.2 Statement of the Problem

The poor achievement of learners in national exams is a clear example that there are deficiencies with respect to classroom management practices within public secondary schools in Kenya and more so in Meru South Sub-County. The underperformance of learners in this region has therefore led the researcher to ask whether classroom management practices can be the main reason for the said underachievement. This is based on the fact that no study has addressed this issue in the sub-county and or few studies have been done on the influence of classroom management practices on learners‟ achievement in public secondary schools. This study sought to address this by assessing the influence of classroom management practices on learners‟ academic achievements in public secondary school in Meru South Sub-County.

Unconducive learning environment in the public schools has posed serious problems to students’ academic performance over many decades ago. This trend has been on the increase on daily basis. Its prevalence has attracted the concern of the teachers, parents, the guidance counselors and many researchers. Effective classroom management has been discussed extensively at educational seminars and workshops, with efforts aimed at bringing lasting solution to the problem of students’ poor academic performance encountered in secondary schools.

In most cases, classroom teachers become tired of using verbal instruction in attempts to establish effective classroom management, but this method alone does not produce desired results. Many teachers use corporal punishment to instill fear and discipline in the classroom yet there are prevalence of disruptive behaviors in the classroom. A lot of teachers waste time and energy in intensive classroom supervision so that the classroom climate could be conducive for lessons. Some classroom teachers delegates authority to deserving prefects such as time – keeper, noise prefects, class prefects, etc. to share in the responsibility of ensuring a conducive learning atmosphere in the classroom. These methods are adopted by teachers to enable the classroom become conducive enough for effective teaching – learning process and to facilitate higher academic performance of the students.

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1.3 Aim and Objectives of the Study

The aim of the study is to investigate the impact of classroom practices on academic performance among secondary school students in Lagos metropolis. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:

1. To determine the impact of classroom management practice on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis.
2. To determine the impact of adequate classroom culture on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis.
3. To ascertain the impact of small class size on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis.
4. To ascertain the impact of the use of classroom management techniques on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis.

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1.4 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:

• What is the impact of classroom management practice on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis?
• What is the impact of the provision of adequate classroom culture on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis?
• What is the impact of small class size on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis?
• What is the impact of the use of classroom management techniques on the performance of students in senior secondary schools in Lagos metropolis?

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1.5 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.

Hypothesis One

• H0: There is no significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies with classroom management practices and those in dilapidated buildings in Lagos metropolis
• H1: There is significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies with classroom management practices and those in dilapidated buildings in Lagos metropolis

Hypothesis Two

• H0: There is no significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies in class with adequate classroom culture and those without classroom culture in Lagos metropolis
• H1: There is significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies in class with adequate classroom culture and those without classroom culture in Lagos metropolis

Hypothesis Three

• H0: There is no significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies in a small class size and those in a large class size in Lagos metropolis
• H1: There is significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies in a small class size and those in a large class size in Lagos metropolis

Hypothesis Four

• H0: There is no significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies using classroom management techniques and those taught without classroom management techniques in Lagos metropolis
• H1: There is significant difference in the performances of students taught social studies using classroom management techniques and those taught without classroom management techniques in Lagos metropolis

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1.6 Significance of Study

The findings of this study are of relevant to teachers who are the principal agents of curriculum implementation because it provides recommendations that would help them to make appropriate utilization of classroom management to create conducive atmosphere that would enhance effective teaching and learning. It is a fact that people work better in places where they feel comfortable and it is believed that the results of this work offered recommendations on how to better up poor conditions of schools thereby creating enabling environment for teachers‟ job satisfaction which no doubt will have positive effect on students‟ learning outcome. The work is of great advantage to non-governmental organization such as United Nation Children and Education Fund (UNICEF), United Nation Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and other related agencies to see the poor conditions of secondary schools in Nigeria and intervene where necessary.

Also, in a situation where government has been incurring a lot of expenditure in her budget in order to enhance educational programmes for individual and national development and for the attainment of educational goals in general. But, only to discover that her efforts have not been yielding the desired results. This kind of situation is usually not a healthy one hence calls for immediate solutions of which the results of these findings might be of help to government to compare its allocation of resources to education and what is obtainable in reality and adjust where necessary.

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1.7 Scope of the Study

The study was conducted to examine the impact of classroom practices on academic performance among secondary school students in Lagos metropolis.

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1.8 Limitations of the Study

During the course of this study, many things militated against its completion, some of which are:

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. Frequent power failure: This made the researcher append more money on fuel to ensure sustainable power.
4. 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).