THE FACTORS RESPONSIBLE FOR PUPILS LATENESS TO SCHOOL IN PRIMARY SCHOOL

THE ROLE OF FIELD WORK IN THE IN THE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF GEOGRAPHY IN NIGERIA

The relevance of a geography instructor in implementing field activities, the value addition of which cannot be disputed as an addition to geographical lessons, spelled out goodness for the student. The monotony of sitting in a classroom caused some students to lose interest in a particular topic, which is why Sarah (1996) emphasizes the benefits of learning outside of a traditional setting through fieldwork. According to her, during the course of the field research, the participants will have the opportunity to go the extra mile and obtain as much information as they desire and are capable of. She explains that classroom instruction tends to be more broad and frequently neglects the students who are acquiring the material at the slowest pace, but field activity presents unique obstacles that allow for more individualized learning. She goes on to say that it provides students with the opportunity to get to know one another and communicate in a setting that is less stressful, since there is no need to worry about grades or the confines of traditional classrooms. In addition, she asserts that one can gain first-hand knowledge of geographical facts through participation in fieldwork. She notes in the course of her research that a variety of pedagogical approaches, including visual, auditory, and tactile learning, are acknowledged to be valid by professionals. She concludes by stating that kids learn better through touch, also known as kinesthetic learning, which greatly benefits from the utilization of field study because it is an environment in which the senses are engaged to a much greater extent than they ever would be in a classroom setting.

 

Jansen (2007) pointed out the use of fieldwork as something which enhanced empirical knowledge and theoretical insight. He said that this was the case because fieldwork provided direct experience. He went on to say that it was a convenient location for and economic shifts in the characteristics of the environment, as well as the proactive and independent exploration of new territory and the accurate recording of navigational patterns.

Fieldwork provided research findings that elucidated the mental processes that lie behind such geographical tasks, as stated by Ishikawa and Kanstens (2005). He went on to hypothesize that the tasks involved in reading maps were made public, and that these tasks included knowing three constituents: representational correspondence, configuration correspondence, and directional correspondence.

In his article, “Fieldwork Provides a Perspective on Spatial Information That Is Importantly Different from the Perspective Gained Through Direct Experience Navigating in the World,” Uttal (2000) mentioned that the perspective on spatial information that was gained through fieldwork was significantly different from the perspective gained through direct experience navigating

According to Swenson and Kanstens (2011), when learners typically see for themselves, it enables these students to examine the evidence that is used to build scientific arguments and test theories, even when the underlying data set is large or complicated. This is the case even when it is the case that learners typically see for themselves. The majority of the time, learners do not gather the data that is visualized and presented to them; as a result, instructors and instructional designers need to understand how students perceive and interpret such visualizations. The teachers would be better able to analyze the nature of the students’ interpretations of a colored, shaded-relief, global digital elevation map, which is valuable for thinking about a wide range of earth processes, if they moved the lesson out of the classroom and into the field.

Even when the learners were working with maps or photos of a known reference place, Liben and Yekel (1996) found that the learners demonstrated signs of difficulty when seen from an oblique perspective point.

Although the point did not improve performance, practicing on the oblique map before moving on to the plan map did help subsequent performance. Therefore, they require outdoor studies in order to become orientated.

From the information presented above, it is clear that the instructor has the potential to make effective use of field work depending on the setting, the goal, the objective of the lesson, the availability of the very resources, and the characteristics of the learner, most notably the learner’s background and their behavior upon entering the classroom.

Download Full Material-N5000

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING PARENTS ROLE IN PRIMARY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION IN ETCHE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF RIVERS STATE

According to Epstein and Sanders (2002) families and schools management have worked together in striving to give learners quality education since the beginning of formal schooling. Families were responsible for preparing their children with the necessary skills in the early years and schools took over from there with little input from families. However, today in the context of greater accountability and demands for children to achieve peak academic performance, schools and parents have formed partnerships and share responsibilities for children’s education in more structured ways. Nancy and Lorraine (2004) show that parental school involvement consists of activities like volunteering at school, communicating with teachers and other school personnel, assisting in academic activities at home and attending school events.

Parental encouragement is assumed that parents show by helping and guiding the child and coaxing him/her not to feel disheartened at a particular point of difficulty. Ross (1965) defined the term as when father and mother approve and appreciate any activity related to education or revoke any hurdle felt by the child or guide the right or wrong. Various research findings have shown that child’s academic performance is influenced by parental encouragement to some extent. In a study of 5362 children drawn from every type of home in England and Wales, it was found that parental encouragement is important in determining the educability of children (Douglas, 1964). In his study, children whose parents are most

interested in their progress in education and encourage them to do well, are able to score higher than children whose parents are least interested and encouraging. He further stated that children with interested parents move ahead of the others from whatever their initial starting performance. This is because of the parent’s encouragement and help which makes the child to have interest in his/her studies and utilize his or her capabilities to do well.

Docking (1980) as quoted by Babirye (2006) argues that discipline as a managerial function is important in the process by which children develop and are enabled to perform in society. Although he appreciates the significance of discipline to children’s performance, he does not point out parents’ roles in ensuring children’s discipline yet they are a party in child development and school management. In most rural schools, parents tend to keep aloof and lack knowledge on education affairs as they watch the discipline and academic standards declining. Yet the importance of parental participation in school management should ultimately be vested in the improvement of academic standards of their children. Unless the roles of parents in disciplinary issues and other managerial areas is strengthened, there may be continued questions regarding satisfactory performance. Therefore, the study intended to point out parents’ roles and to show how they should carry out their responsibility in ensuring children’s discipline which is a prerequisite for better performance of children.

Epstein and Sanders (2002) discuss parents’ diverse ways of participating in school management to also include communicating with teachers, participating in academic-related activities at home, and communicating the positive value of education to the learners, adding that these are each related to school performance. While the propositions advanced by Epstein and Sanders (2002) might be accepted without controversy, in the context of the study, critical consideration of these propositions indicated the need for investigation. First, the authors indicate what parental participation in school management could influence but they do not indicate why and how it could do so.

School discipline is an important aspect for an orderly and ideal learning situation. Discipline has been defined by Webster (2003) as the training or experience that corrects, molds, strengthens or perfects especially the mental faculties or moral character. It may also refer to

the control gained by enforcing obedience or order for example in school. In a school setting, the conduct of students is always a concern of teachers, parents and school administrators.

Okumbe (2008) describes discipline as the action by management to enforce organizational standards and respect of ones superiors within the chain of authority and the readiness to obey instructions and regulations laid down by the administration. In a school or organization the significance of maintaining discipline focuses on the achievement of set goals. Discipline in school is an important instrument in the process of socialization and formation of character. It involves the control of student impulses to acquire the social skills that will help them participate actively in their work roles. Therefore discipline could be an important factor contributing to what one achieves at the end of the academic programme.

Nsubuga (2002) observes that the extreme cases of indiscipline pronounced in schools could include disrespect for teachers and fellow students, drunkardness, smoking, fighting, theft, involvement in violent strikes and the like. Involvement in such activities would automatically deprive a student of time to concentrate on academics, would upset his/her mind, destroy his/her relationship with teachers and definitely affect the student’s performance. Since Burden (2005) notes that teachers and parents work together as a group to provide mutually agreed upon obligations and expectations regarding discipline, the results of academic performance as related to discipline should not only be attributed to teachers but to parents as well .

Download Full Material-N5000

FACTORS INFLUENCING PARENTAL PERCEPTION OF FEMALE IN TECHNICAL EDUCATION

Abstract

This study examines Factors influencing parental perception of female in technical education. One hundred and fifty (150) undergraduate regular students 2012/2013 Session were selected from Technical Education  which comprise of one hundred and twenty (120) males and thirty (30) females. Four (4) research questions were asked and four (4) Null hypotheses were formulated. Questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was validated by the research supervisor. Using the Pearson Product Moment Correlation Technique, a reliability co-efficient of 0.81 was obtained .Data were analysed using mean and standard deviation for research questions and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for testing the hypotheses using F statistics at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed amongst others that, the factors which affects female participation in Regular Undergraduate Technical Education Programme includes: government factors; school factors such as inadequate infrastructural facilities; societal factors. Also three (3) hypotheses (i.e Ho 1,3&4) were accepted while hypothesis 2 were rejected. It was recommended amongst others that, government, school administrators, parents, and the general public should improved female participation in TVET.Download Full Material-N5000