Influence of Instructional Materials and school location on Academic Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students in Biology in Maiduguri Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the influence of instructional materials and school location on academic performance of students in senior secondary schools in Maiduguri Metropolis, Nigeria. The survey descriptive research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study was made up of all 2400 Biology students in all senior secondary public schools in Maiduguri Metropolis. Purposive and Random sampling techniques were utilized to select 400 Senior Secondary School III students from 16 schools for the study. Data for the study were obtained from both the primary and secondary sources. Instrument for data collection was the ‘Effects of Instructional Materials and School Location on Academic Achievement Questionnaire’. The instrument was tested for both validity and reliability. Reliability of the instrument was tested using the test – retest method and the Cronbach-alpha test of internal consistency was run which gave a coefficient of 0.68. Three research questions were posed for the study. The data were analyzed using frequency count, percentages and means. The results revealed that more than half of the schools studied had no more than 50% of the instructional materials supplied. The study found that the use of instructional materials enhanced the comprehension of concepts and retention of taught concepts among learners. The study also found that school location influenced both the enhancement of teaching and academic achievement among senior secondary school students in Maiduguri Metropolis. It was therefore recommended that adequate supply of relevant instructional materials should be made to secondary schools in Maiduguri Metropolis.