CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

        Education is an instrument “par excellence” for effecting national development. In Nigerian, it has witnessed active participation by non-governmental agencies, communities and individuals as well as government intervention. Government has stated that for the benefit of all citizens, the country’s educational goals shall be clearly set out in terms of their relevance to the needs of the individual and those of the society, in consonance with the realities of our environment and the modern world.

Government’s intention was that the far reaching provisions set out in all sections of the policy transform all aspects of the nation life over time.

        Integrated science is an in-depth, insightful look at how we are leveraging our strengths to continue growing into the future. It’s a combine study of all areas of the science for the improvement and up-liftment of mankind and the benefit of the worlds around us as we know it today. Integrated science is a revolution new introductory science curriculum developed at Princeton, intended for students considering a career in science. It is for some people a mean of studying old but unresolved problems and issues in science education. It is also a convenient platform for drawing attention to some research findings relating to learning and teaching science. It is a   timely device for gaining some say in the fate or destiny of science education in a field that has traditionally been firmly held by scientist.

        According to Jegede etal (1989) integrated science is about finding out things, doing experiments and learning what others have found out before us. It is a subject that offers students the chance to look at science in a new way lot following the traditional divisions’ into Biology, chemistry and physic. Teaching integrated science gives students and teachers an opportunity to look at the ways in which science is important to our societies and to their development. Integrated science can be more relevant to developmental issues, and should be topical and useful, rather than dry and academic. Student study integrated science that is biology, chemistry and physics all combined as science. Science is one of the ways man searches for the truth and to achieve understanding of his environment and the universe at large. Science is the search for knowledge about the universe and how it works. It is the search that never ends because, people who research never settle for the first explanation they obtain, but always the fundamental reasons why everything is the way it is. Science is offered as a core subject. It is a body of empirical, theoretical and practical knowledge about the natural world produce by researchers making use of scientific methods, which emphasize the observation, explanation and prediction of real world phenomena by experiment.

        In view of this, Colette Chiappetta in Otiji ( 2008) say that science may be viewed as  a way of questioning or verifying the truthfulness of knowledge. Science also can be  said to be the knowledge which is obtained through careful and systematic observation and testing of facts. It is what is produced through science that is applied in technology for the comfort of man.

        This idea is that technology is the secret behind the development of many nations. As such introductory technology was introduced as a subject into the junior secondary schools. This subject covers many areas of vocational technical courses and expose students to the basic ideas of electricity, electronics, metal work, wood work, building technology, and auto. Mechanics, ceramics, technical drawing and some other fields of engineering. The elementary ideas of these subjects are introduced to enable students to develop interest in their areas of talents and to choose a life career.

        Fafunwa (1984) pointed out that the basic idea behind prevocational training in secondary schools is to develop in our children aptitude for technical, not necessarily making carpenters and masons out of them. He further said that we want our children to develop manipulative skills, inventiveness, self reliance and respect for dignity of labour. In effect some of them who are exposed to academic and vocational courses may decide to opt for technical. Vocational/technical education must be pushed much more vigorously without any pretensions. This view is further strengthened by Ogbimi (1994) who said that the acquisition of fundamental theoretical and practical skills to an “appreciable level” and combining them to facilitate independent at thinking by the person acquiring it and by extension to the society.

        All these cannot be discussed without delving into the issues of the educational system the 6-3-3-4 system, which of course gave birth to the inclusion of introductory technology in the secondary school curriculum. Nigeria inherited the 6-3-3-4 system of education which was patterned with the lopsided emphasis on the famous 3-R’s-reading, writing and arithmetic’s form our erstwhile colonial masters. The system was designed by the British primarily to produce the type of manpower the colonial masters needed to administer the country. The emphasis of the system was on literary education while technology, agriculture and other practical subject particular sub-professional level were not reckoned with.

        This system was found to be inadequate as it becomes increasingly obvious that the system had tended to ignore the contemporary world’s meaningful responses to science and technology. In effect the 6-5-2-3 system did not provide for the all-round educational development of the Nigerian child. It increased our unemployment problems as school were producing white-collar job seekers rather than helping to producer job creators. The western educational system in Nigerians of individuals and the nation. Most Nigerian student could not derive any benefit from the system as it failed to provide for vocational and technological independence. All these lapses in the system prompted that would not only place emphasis on the acquisition of practical skills and basic scientific knowledge but would be broad and child centered.

        In 1969, a conference was held to draw up a new national curriculum to  replace the 6-5-2-3 educational  system Another seminar under the chairmanship of chief simeon Adebo  was held in 1973 to deliberate on all aspects of a national policy on education. The subsequent issuance of government white paper on the report of the seminar gave birth to a new system of education the 6-3-3-4- system which was first published in 1977 and revised in 1981.

        The 6-3-3-4 system of education became a veritable launching pad that propelled Nigeria towards progress. It made Nigerian education system more responsive to the new world order, an order that sets high premium on technological excellence.

        Nnadi (1988) collaborates this view when he states, “The new system would ensure that the basic foundation is laid easily for the acquisition and utilization of knowledge and skills on which the technological program of the country would continue to depend”. The new system reinforces the veracity of the educational principles of 3H’s which places emphasis on the training of the head, the heart and the hand. Hence, all children are to be   equipped to develop their talent, aptitudes and capabilities with teaching/learning strategies through the three domains- cognitive, affective and psychomotor.

        The greatest asset of the 6-3-3-4 system of education is the introduction of pre-vocational subjects in the junior secondary schools. Introductory technology, which is the core of the new system of education, involves the academic and practical study of material and sources of energy with the ultimate intention of applying knowledge from the study to provide a comfortable environment for man. It also arouses the interest of students towards vocational subjects and enables them to fix themselves properly in the society. Even though the design was good, there are some failures and benefits which arises form he subjects.

        Form this foregoing we believe that the relative academic performance form the 2002-2006 should be researched to ascertain the academic   performance junior secondary students in integrated science and introductory technology.

Statement of Problem.

        Laudable as integrated science and introductory technology seems, it is beset with numerous problems. One of the major problems militating against successful implementation is the ineffective teaching of integrated science and introductory technology in our secondary schools. There is no gain saying that the effective performance of a broad based subject as integrated science and introductory technology is a function of many variables. These include irregular supply of funds, non-availability of qualified teachers, lack of infrastructural facilities such as laboratories, workshops, class rooms, equipment and text books. All these hamper the effectiveness of integrated science and introductory technology work as the key subjects known to be very useful tools to technical advancement of nation. The absence of these, however have contributed to poor performance of students in integrated science and introductory technology. It is for these reasons that the researchers try to look into the (topic).

Purpose of the Study

        The main objective of this research is to find out the relative academic performance of junior secondary school student in integrated science and introductory technology in junior WAEC form 2002-2006 in Enugu education zone of Enugu state. Specifically, the present research was designed to.

1.          Find out number of school studying integrated science introductory technology in Enugu education zone.

2.          Find-out the level of knowledge student have in integrated science and introductory technology.

3.          Find-out the relative academic performance of junior secondary school student in integrated science and introductory technology in junior WAEC from 2002-2006 of Enugu education zone Enugu state.

Significance of the Study

        Integrated science and introductory technology contributes to the achievement of the Nation’s scientific and technological needs by creating scientific and technological awareness in every child that passes through the junior secondary school. This awareness cannot be achieved if the students are not sufficiently exposed to the teaching of integrated science and introductory technology in the junior secondary school by qualified science and technical personnel using adequate up-to-date tools and equipment.

               It is important that this research is successfully completed in order to get information which educational planners will use as strategies for planning and implementation of integrated science and introductory technology programme in secondary school in order to produce excellent WAEC result   in Enugu education zone Enugu state. The beneficiaries of this study are everybody that is:

i)           The student

ii)          The teacher

iii)        The parent and

iv)        The country at large

        The students are the beneficiaries in the sense that they will be given adequate attention both form the teacher, the parent and the country which remove/reduce the level of illiteracy in the life of our youth especially in this globalize world.

        The teachers benefit from this study because in order to meet the needs of the student in this globalize world, they (the teachers) will be equipped with the necessary training and information needed in the universities for the study of integrated science and introductory technology as a trainee teacher by the government first before transferring them to the student and thereby increasing their literacy rate as an individual.

        Parents are also part of this beneficiaries because when the student being their children are acquitted with the knowledge and information regarding  this study, they comes back home and begins to display/ teach some of their illiterate parent  about it, which makes them to have the knowledge of what science and technology is all about.

        In the aspect of the country this study will help to reduce the number of graduates that are not employed because this study is a self- employed study. This will reduce the rate of corruption in the country. It also helps to develop the country especially when the youth starts to displace what they have acquired in the field of integrated science and introductory technology which make the country to move towards the area of achieving their ultimate intention of being one of the developed countries like united state of America (U.S.A), United Kingdom (U.K) etc.

Scope of the Study

        This study was delimited to relative academic performance of student in junior secondary school certificate examination in integrated science and introductory technology form 2002-2006.

Research Questions

        The investigators, for the purpose of this study put forward the following research question for testing.

1.          What are the overall academic performance from 2002-2006 of student of Enugu education zone Enugu state in these subject (integrated science and introductory technology).

2.          What has been the level of academic performance in integrated science and introductory technology in junior secondary school certificate examination in Enugu Education zone from 2002-2006.

3.          Are the performance in Junior secondary school certificate examination improving or declining in terms of quality pass (Qp) and failure (F9)

4.          What are the changes in high quality pass (HQP) and low quality pass (LQP) and failure (F9).

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