Challenges, Attitudes and Academic Performance of Agricultural Science Students in Public Secondary Schools of Ibadan North, Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, we considered challenges facing effective teaching and learning of Agricultural Science. Also, we examined whether there were differences in the mean achievement test scores of students in the subject in selected schools. Furthermore, we studied students’ attitude to the subject and examined the relationship between their academic performance in Agricultural Science and their attitudes to the subject. The study was a descriptive survey design carried out at Ibadan North Local Government Area (INLGA) of Oyo State, Nigeria. Three public secondary schools were randomly selected from all the public secondary schools in INLGA in 2014. A total of thirty teachers and one hundred Senior Secondary School II (SSS II) students from the selected schools participated in the study. Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT), Constraints facing Agricultural Science in Public Secondary Schools Questionnaire (CASPSSQ) and Students’ Attitude towards Agricultural Science Questionnaire (SAASQ) were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Chi-square test of independence, one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and multiple comparison techniques. The major challenges confronting the teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in INLGA and their solutions were identified. The ANOVA test was significant (P=.00). Least Significant Difference, a multiple comparison technique, on the ANOVA showed that School 1 and School 2 ASAT mean scores; School 1 and School 3 ASAT mean scores were different from each other at 5% significance level respectively. A significant relationship was found between scores obtained by the students in the ASAT and the attitudinal variable of sustained students’ interests in Agricultural Science (P=.02). The study therefore recommended innovative methods of teaching the subject so as to be able to sustain students’ interest in the subject and obtain better academic performance.