AVAILABILITY OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF COMPUTER SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IFELODUN GOVERNMENT AREA KWARA STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1            Background of the study

Science is a great enterprise which nations depend on, in-order to advance technologically. Science therefore, is receiving much emphasis in education because of its significance and relevance to life and society .Science has been regarded as the bedrock of modern day technological breakthrough is built. Nowadays, countries all over the world, especially the developing ones like Nigeria, are striving hard to develop technologically and scientifically, since the world is turning. According to Ogunleye (2002), Science is a dynamic human activity concerned with understanding the workings of our world. This understanding helps man to know more about the universe which is why science subject like computer science, biology, agriculture, physics and chemistry are taught in secondary schools.

Importantly, effective teaching of any subject will not only stimulates student’s interest in the subject but also enhance their achievement in the examination. To achieve effective teaching and learning process, there is the need for use of instructional materials. Instructional materials are the different teachi9ng aids or apparatus which a classroom teacher employs to facilitate his or her teaching for the achievement of the stated objective. Agun (1992) defined instructional materials as those materials which are helpful to the teachers and students and which maximize learning in various areas.

Instructional materials range from home made devices to sophisticated machines and also people who assist the teacher in disseminating knowledge and information to help learners learn meaningfully (Ololobou, 2008). Since the sense organs of pupils are gateways to learning, materials provide learners the opportunity to become actively involved intellectually, perceptually and physically in the instructional process (Jekayinfa, 2005). The National Teachers Institute (NTI) teacher training manual quoted in Ololobou (2008), categorized instructional materials into print materials, audio-materials, audio-visuals, static/displays and electronic materials. The materials are derived from various sources, including collection of items from the community, improvised materials by teachers and pupils, distribution of materials by government and non-governmental organizations, donations from various agencies and creation of resource centres. Any effective utilization of instructional materials, requires the instructional process to be organized with a combination of people, materials, facilities and equipment for the realization of stated learning objectives.

1.2            Statement of the problem

In spite of the desire for technological development, couple with the fact that  Computer Science is a very vital subject for technological development,  the poor performance of students in  secondary schools in Kwara State education has become a source of worry to stakeholders in education.  Some scholars has attributed this ugly scenario to so many factors including poor facilities, inadequate and poor quality teachers and non availability of instructional materials amongst other as the use of instructional materials in secondary schools is not encouraging particularly in Ifelodun Local government Area. As a result, this makes the morale and interest of the students in biological science low. This is because teachers adopt the verbalistic and theoretical method as a way of teaching and learning the subject, mainly due to non- availability of instructional material in schools.  Although there are scatterd literature on instructional aid and effective teaching and learning on other science subject like Biology, Chemistry none has focused on Computer Science. Thus it is upon this premise that study seeks to examine the availability of instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of computer science in secondary schools in Ifelodun Government Area Kwara State

1.3            Objective of the study

The broad objective of this study is to examine the availability of instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of computer science in secondary schools in Ifelodun Government Area Kwara State. Specifically, the study seeks:

i.         To examine the kinds of instructional materials required for effective teaching of computer science in secondary schools in Ifelodun Government Area Kwara State

ii.       To determine the extent of availability of instructional materials at secondary schools in Ifelodun Government Area Kwara State.

iii.    To ascertain if  computer science teachers improvise teaching aids in the absence instructional materials

iv.    To investigate whether availability and utilization of instructional material facilitates effective teaching and learning of computer science.

1.4            Research  Question

i.         What are the different kinds of instructional materials required for effective teaching of computer science in secondary schools in Ifelodun Government Area Kwara State?

ii.        What is the extent of availability of instructional materials at secondary schools in Ifelodun Government Area Kwara State?

iii.    Do computer science teachers improvise teaching aids in the absence instructional materials?

iv.    Does the availability and utilization of instructional material facilitates effective teaching and learning of computer science?

1.5            Significance of the study

This study will be useful to classroom teachers, curriculum planners, students, researchers and parents. For teachers they will be better informed on how to help and guide their students on better way of producing instructional materials.The findings of this study, if discussed in workshops and seminars will guide the choice of   instructional materials used in the teaching/learning process in Computer Science and other subject areas. The findings of this study will equally help to alleviate the problem of the scarcity of instructional materials for biology teaching/learning. . Parents will be better informed on how to encourage and help their wards to produce improvised materials. This may be in form of sourcing local materials and providing fund for those that cannot be found in their environment.finally, the study will contribute to the body of knowledge and serve as a reference material to both student and scholars who wishes to conduct further studies in related field.

1.6            Scope of the study

The scope of this study bothers on the availability of instructional materials for effective teaching and learning of computer science in secondary schools. The study examines the kinds of instructional materials required for effective teaching of computer science determine the extent of availability of instructional materials. It will ascertain if computer science teachers improvise teaching aids in the absence instructional materials and investigate if the  availability and utilization of instructional material facilitates. The study is however delimited to at secondary schools in Ifelodun Local Government Area Kwara State.

1.7            Limitation of the study

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only  secondary schools in Ifelodun Local Government Area Kwara State. Thus findings of this study cannot be generalized for other  secondary schools in other states within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. Despite the constraint  encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

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