THE IMPACT OF STUDENT – TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS AND MOTIVATION ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Within the setting of school, students engage in several significant and impactful social connections, including those with instructors and classmates. Several school dimensions, including academic, social, and behavioral, are affected by these interactions. Academic performance is an important predictor of a child's success in school since it measures their capacity to absorb and remember material presented in the classroom. Early academic accomplishment has consequences for later development (Berndt, Hawkins, & Jiao, 2022) Pianta & Stuhlman, 2004), such as later academic achievement and success as well as prospective job options. Given the significance of academic accomplishment, it is necessary to discover early social ties that can set children on a path toward long-term success.

In this day of high-stakes testing and accountability for both kids and teachers, it is crucial to review the facts to establish whether these linkages are, in fact, a role in improving student accomplishment. According to proponents of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, the approach to enhance student accomplishment is to concentrate on test results Graziano, Reavis, Keane, & Calkins (2022). However, learning is a process with cognitive and social psychological elements, and both processes must be taken into account to enhance academic accomplishment (Hallinan, 2022).

An exhaustive assessment of the elements that influence learning should include research on the factors that influence students' attitudes about school and their interactions with instructors. There are two justifications supporting the identification of these components. If children like school, they develop friendships, gain respect for classmates and adults, and acquire social skills, among other key social benefits. Second, students' academic performance is boosted if they enjoy school (Hallinan, 2022). Regardless of whether a teacher-student connection is warm or tense, it appears to both contribute to and serve as an indicator of a child's transition to school (Pianta & Stuhlman, 2022).

Likewise, people are propelled by a system known as motivation. What we believe and why we act as we do is commonly referred to as motivation. Adams (2022) asserts that in an achievement setting, a person would be concerned with motivation if he asked, for instance, why some students persist to tasks completion despite difficulty while others give up at the slightest provocation or why some students set goals for themselves that are so unrealistically high that failure is inevitable.

Likewise, people are propelled by a system known as motivation. What we believe and why we act as we do is commonly referred to as motivation. Adams (2022) asserts that in an achievement setting, a person would be concerned with motivation if he asked, for instance, why some students persist to tasks completion despite difficulty while others give up at the slightest provocation or why some students set goals for themselves that are so unrealistically high that failure is inevitable.

According to Maclean (2022), teachers frequently assume that certain students lack motivation. There is no such thing as a students who lacks motivation. Every adolescent has a motivational attitude, but some have profiles that emphasize learning more than others. Teachers must acknowledge that all pupils are motivated, and the difficulty is to "tune in" to what motivates them, particularly intrinsic motivation.

Recent research has identified motivation as a significant component of emotional intelligence, encompassing the management of sentiments of excitement, confidence, and perseverance (Coleman, 2022). According to Rabideau (2022), motivation is the driving factor behind all of an individual's behaviors. The influence of a person's wants and desires has a substantial effect on the direction of their conduct. Your motivation is dependent on your emotions and the goals you set to attain them. He then distinguished between the many types of motivation, including extrinsic, intrinsic, physiological, and accomplishment motivation.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

According to Oladele (2022), a number of the academic difficulties students face are attributable to a number of teachers' factors, including teacher unapproachability, poor student-teacher relationships, hatred from teachers, negative name calling or labeling of students, the teacher's packaging of his subject, and a lack of faith in the student's ability to excel. He said that this is the reason why certain students frequently find it challenging to move closer to their teachers in the teaching and learning environment.

Similarly, teenagers must be driven to attain good academic success in the school context. Teachers who are accustomed to inspiring their pupils reap the advantages, since students who are driven by incentives such as compliments and other patterns of motivation outperform those who are not intrinsically motivated (Hamre & Pianta, 2022).

This study will evaluate the link between the teacher-student relationship, intrinsic motivation, and academic performance of secondary school students. This is due to the fact that these two factors are crucial to the academic success of children and adults in all educational contexts.

1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Mainly, the objective of this study is to examine the impact of student – teacher relationships and motivation on secondary school students' academic performance. Specifically, other objectives of this study are:

i.          To determine whether teacher - student relationship affects students academic performance.

ii.        To determine whether motivation of students affects students academic performance.

iii.      To examine the types of student motivation in secondary schools.

1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions which are in line with the objectives of this study will be answered:

i.          Does teacher - student relationship affects students academic performance.

ii.        Does motivation of students affects students academic performance?

iii.      What are the types of student motivation in secondary schools?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This research will be extremely beneficial to parents, educators, and counselors.

It is critical for a number of reasons, including the fact that it will help students understand why it is crucial for them to not only appreciate their subjects, but also their professors, since without a courteous and welcoming environment, their academic goals may not be completely accomplished.

Teachers would be made aware of the impact their relationships with students have on their academic performance, and they would learn how to exploit these relationships to inspire students, so improving their learning outcomes.

Parents would also learn how to foster good relationships between their children and their children by encouraging both parties to be cordial with one another, given that the success of one is dependent on the other.

As a result of the study's recommendations, guidance and counseling professionals will be better able to counsel individuals, particularly those who are low academic achievers owing to lack of parental or instructor motivation.

This work might be beneficial to other scholars pursuing comparable topics.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study is focused on the impact of student – teacher relationships and motivation on secondary school students' academic performance. Specifically, this study is focused on determining whether teacher - student relationship affects students academic performance, determining whether motivation of students affects students academic performance and examining the types of student motivation in secondary schools.

Teachers and students of selected secondary schools in Ibadan, Oyo State will be the respondents for the survey of this study.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

During the course of carrying out the study, the researcher came into a few obstacles, which is to be expected given the human nature of the undertaking. The researcher incurred additional financial expenses and spent additional time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information, as well as during the process of data collection, which is why the researcher chose a small sample size. The scarcity of literature on the subject as a result of the nature of the discourse also contributed to the researcher's decision to use a small sample size. In addition, the researcher was involved in a number of other academic activities at the same time that she was conducting her investigation. In addition, because the study instrument was only given to a limited number of respondents to complete, the findings cannot be generalized to secondary schools located in other states. In spite of the constraints that were present during the course of the inquiry, every facet was examined and minimized in order to guarantee the most successful outcomes and the most fruitful study.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

Impact: A marked effect or influence.

Motivation: Motivation is what explains why people initiate, continue or terminate a certain behavior at a particular time.

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