Motivational Strategies And Pupils Academic Performance In Basic Science In Pre-Primary Schools
Abstract
This study examined Motivational Strategies and Pupils’ Academic Performance in Basic Science in Pre-Primary Schools in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. Two null hypotheses were formulated inline with the specific objectives to guide the study. The correlational research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprised all science teachers and Pre-primary School pupils in the study area. A sample size of 120 respondents-twenty(20) teachers and One hundred (100) pupils were used for the study. The instrument for data collection were “Motivational Strategies and Pupils Academic Performance (MSPAPQ)” and Basic Science Achievement Test Questionnaire (BSAT)”. The data collected were analysed using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The findings revealed that a significant relationship exists between use of praise as motivational strategy and pupils’ academic performance in Basic Science. It was also found that a significant relationship exists between use of prize award as motivational strategy and pupils’ academic performance in Basic Science. It was concluded that the use of praise and prize award as motivational strategies have significant positive effects on pupils’ academic performance in Basic Science. It was recommended among other that teachers should adopt the use of praise and prize award as motivational strategies for improving pupils’ academic performance.
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
It is an incontestable fact that the teaching- learning process in schools is an objective driven exercise. Once the teacher sets out for instruction, he must also evolve measures to ensure that the learners’ interest is stimulated, captured and sustained for improved performance. One sure way of achieving this fit is the use of motivation. Consequently, the relevance of motivation to the teaching – learning process cannot be over-emphasized.
Motivation is to a teacher what an implement like a hoe or cutlass is to a farmer. In order to clear the farm well for farming, a farmer needs a sharp cutlass for that purpose. Therefore, in the process of teaching and learning n schools, a teacher makes use of motivation to help bring about learning interest in the learners. Hall (2009) maintained that there is the need to motivate learners so as to arouse and sustain their interest in learning. According to him, motivation raises questions on why people behave the way they do. An individual could therefore, from a psychological point of view, be seen as socially and academically motivated depending on the motive behind his or her activities. Motivation is the key to academic success. Just as the actor asks a director, what is my motivation for this scene? The child turns to the teacher, parents or guardian to discover the ‘’ why’’ of learning (Tella, 2007).
Motivational Strategies And Pupils Academic Performance In Basic Science In Pre-Primary Schools
Motivation is often seen as the inner drive that energizes behaviour towards the achievement of goal. The most common problem that teachers, parents and guardians face is how to bring out the best in learners. Motivation can either come from within (intrinsic) or from outside (extrinsic). A child who is intrinsically motivated performs a task because of the joy that comes from learning new things. A child who performs in school to gain parents approval, grades or reward is externally motivated.
Ntoidem (2007) maintained that both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation are necessary for success in academic work. According to him, pupils and students need to have the inward drive to become something and they also need to be motivated by teachers, parents and guardians to achieve greater success. Teachers who ask questions that lead to more questions for a child are more successful in developing intrinsic motivation. For example, a teacher that gives a child a special toy as a ‘’reward’’ for reading a lesson about how an aeroplane works and for completing the related homework that requires answers to questions about parts of an aeroplane will stimulate less motivation than the teacher who helps a child to discover how planes work by building a balsam plane and letting the child practice flying it. This teacher can ask what changes the planes flight pattern. The child can then experiment, discover and generate new questions and new discoveries (Asaywara, 2010). Motivation varies depending on the setting or circumstance, the people involved, the tasks and the situation. A child with a learning disabilities may be a very reluctant reader who resists reading or writing homework, but eagerly absorb all the teacher shows about evaporation of water in a science class. The key is for the teacher to find out what motivates a particular learner. Pupils often work hard when they perceive a reasonable reward for their effort than when they are not.
Holt (2009) observed that most teachers help to destroy the minds and emotions of young children by inducing fear and by humiliating, ridiculing and devaluing them. Thus corporal punishment or caning of pupils or students as it is the practice in many schools in Nigeria, only generates fear in children rather than help them learn and should be discouraged. Caning creates a dislike for the teacher and his/her subject. A child who is being taught with a cane is not likely to be enthusiastic about learning.
However, since the primary purpose of teaching is to help learners learn, the teacher should evolve strategies that will motivate his/her students to achieve success in school. If during a lesson, a learner is given a learning task and he/she records success, there should be attendant positive reinforcement from the teacher which can come in form of praise, applause and prize award. This will go a long way in motivating the pupils for greater success.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
It has been observed with dismay that there is a downward trend in pupils’ academic performance in schools. The success of the teaching- learning process and the realization of set goals and objectives in our educational system have been jeopardized by the continuous decline in learners’ academic achievement.
The poor academic performance of pupils in most school subjects including Basic Science is fast becoming a recurring decimal in the nations educational system. This development has equally generated concerns among key stake-holders in the sector who have apportioned blame among themselves. Parents point accusing finger on teachers while teachers in turn blamed their inefficiency on the lip service and insensitivity of Government to their plights. It is the believe of most scholars that the success or otherwise of the teaching- learning process depends on the teacher. This is true because the teacher occupies a central position in the teaching- learning process and whatever takes place in the process revolves around him or her.
However, not much effort has been made by teachers in motivating their pupils for optimal performance in school. This has become imperative given the importance of motivation in the teaching – learning process. It is against this background therefore that this study ‘’ Motivational Strategies and pupils Academic Performance in Basic Science in Pre-primary Schools in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area’’ becomes imperative.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between Motivational Strategies and Pupils Academic Performance in Basic Science in Pre-Primary School in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area. The specific objectives include:
- to examine the relationship between use of praise as motivational strategy and pupils academic performance in Basic Science in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
- to examine the relationship between use of prize award as motivational strategy and pupils academic performance in Basic Science in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were raised inline with the specific objectives of the study.
- To what extent is the relationship between use of praise and pupils academic performance in basic Science in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area?
- To what extent is the relationship between the use of prize award and pupils academic performance in Basic Science in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
The following null hypotheses were formulated inline with the specific objectives of the study and the research questions.
- There is no significant relationship between use of praise as motivational strategy and pupils’ academic performance in Basic Science in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
- There is no significant relationship between use of prize award as motivational strategy and pupils’ academic performance in Basic Science in Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
