INFLUENCE OF SCHOOL FACTORS ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF UPPER BASIC EDUCATION SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS IN ABAKALIKI EDUCATION ZONE, EBONYI STATE

Abstract

This study examined influence of school factors on the academic performance of upper basic education Social Studies students in Abakaliki Education Zone, Ebonyi State. The study was guided by three purposes of study, three research questions and three hypotheses. Descriptive survey research design was adopted. The population of study was 71Social Studies teachers in Abakaliki Education Zone and that was used as the sample. The instrument used for the data collection was a questionnaire tagged: ‘Teachers Questionnaire on School Factors’ (TQSF), constructed by the researcher. The questionnaire was face validated by three experts: two from Social Studies and one in Measurement and Evaluation in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. The reliability of the instrument was determined by trial testing it using 30 teachers from Onueke Education Zone which was outside the area of study. Cronbach Alpha Statistical analysis was used to determine the internal consistency coefficient of the instrument and that yielded the coefficient value of 0.81. This value was considered high enough indicating that the instrument was reliable. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the three research questions, while t-test was used to test the three null- hypotheses at an alpha level of 0.05.  it was found that curricular factors influence the academic performance of upper basic education Social Studies students’ inAbakaliki Education Zone; administrative factors influence the academic performance of upper basic education Social Studies students’ in Abakailki Education Zone and physical factors influence the academic performance of upper basic education Social Studies students inAbakaliki Education Zone. Recommendations made for the study were that:seminars and workshops should be organized to enlighten the school teachers on how to handle instructional materials and also to teach according to the prepared curriculum; school administrators should partner with the government and the society at large in providing the school with the necessary school factors needed to improve teaching and make learning effective; and the government should provide the necessary factors that are needed in schools to improve learning and promote performance of students in academics, both in internal and external examinations.