A Review on the Effects of Instructional Materials on Academic Performance of Economic Students

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Economics is a fascinating subject. Economics’ value as a senior high school topic cannot be overstated. It is so important that every senior secondary school student must offer it from senior secondary school one (S.S.S 1) to senior secondary school three (S.S.S 3) when the senior school certificate examination (S.S.C.E) and National Examination Council (N.E.CO) are taken. The policy has classified Economics in the same category as essential subjects such as mathematics, English, and science.

However, Umahi (2019) opined that economics is a broad subject that includes production, distribution, and consumption. It should be emphasised that this scope encompasses every activity that a society engages in. The advantages of studying economics are numerous, and they include the following:

a.   Economics teaches customers how to make logical use of our resources.

b. It allows us to apply its concepts to actual issues, avoiding unneeded and costly blunders.

c.    It empowers us as individuals to make proper judgments about spending money.

d. It enables planners to appropriately prepare for the nation’s economic progress.

b. Finally, it prepares students for life in general. It prepares students to have a better grasp of society’s issues and, as a result, to suggest appropriate solutions to them.

These are only a few of the advantages of economics for individuals and students.

In recent years, the study of Economics has encountered several problems. One of the most visible of these problems is the issue or problem of instructional materials utilised in secondary school economics instruction. Teachers differ in their personality, behaviour, and attitudes about work. They also differ in their teaching techniques and how they offer their information to students. These teachers, however, all have one thing in common: they force their students to learn.

Significantly, a teacher’s primary responsibility in every instructional environment is communication. The teacher attempts to change the learner’s behaviour by representing facts and information, teaching rules and procedures, gaining the learner’s attention through activity, involving them in meaningful participation, propelling that thinking, and stimulating their imagination for effective knowledge transfer. According to Uwakwe (2016), the right selection of a teaching technique includes taking into account class size, equipment, and facilities. Many secondary school students are taught economics using either the traditional lecture technique or outdated and poor instructional resources. As a result, students learn economics out of need rather than genuine curiosity. On the other hand, teachers who employ the conventional teaching and chalking’method of teaching at the cost of non-traditional techniques such as the scientific method of questioning or the use of relevant instructional resources and learning are still widespread. They assist the instructor educate more effectively and make learning more enjoyable and less taxing. They’re also known as educational instructional media.

To put it another way, instructional materials encompass any type of information carrier that may be utilised to support and encourage successful teaching and learning activities. The resources range from simple items such as chalk markers and textbooks to more complicated materials such as projectors, cassettes, records, and movies. The sense organs (hearing or sight) to which instructional materials appeal can be classified. These are visual (sight) aids, auditory (hearing), and audio-visual aids (sense of hearing and sight). Farrant (2018) stated that the quality of any selected and applied instructional material can be assessed in terms of its relevance, adequacy, neatness, validity, applicability, and the number of senses it appeals to. It has been observed that many of the existing instructional materials used in teaching economics in senior secondary schools, if assessed using the above criteria (as stated by Farrant (2018), will perform poorly. As a result, kids either learn through abstract memory or do not learn at all.

 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS:

One of the key challenges that economics students face is the type of education employed and the instructional resources accessible for use in their learning process. The teaching methods and instructional materials used can influence how much a student learns. According to Ibia (2018), the importance of teaching materials in helping students learn to ask excellent questions, look for acceptable and reasonable solutions, confront reality, and think on economic problems in new and difficult ways cannot be overstated. The purpose of this inquiry is to evaluate the current instructional materials utilised in teaching economics in senior secondary schools in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja. It does, however, delve into the following evaluation areas, which include. The relevance of instructional materials, their appropriateness, the legitimacy of the materials accessible, the neatness of the contents, and the validity of the materials. This study attempts to undertake an evaluation of the impact of instructional materials on academic performance of economic students based on this concept.

Purpose of the Study

The broad objective of this study is to conduct a a  review on the effects of instructional materials on academic performance of economic students.

i.          To identify the types of instructional materials used in teaching of economics.

ii.        To justify the used for the need of instructional materials in order to promote effective teaching and learning of Economics.

iii.      To determine the levels of usages of instructional materials in the selected secondary schools in are local government area.

iv.      To asses the instructional materials available for use

v.        To examine the relevance and effectiveness of the materials used and the students performance.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

i.          To what extent does the availability of instructional materials affect the teaching and learning of economics in senior secondary school?

ii.        How relevant are the available instructional materials in the teaching of Economics?

iii.      To what extent does the attitude of students and teachers ? towards the use of instructional materials enhance Economics lessons?

iv.      What are the type of materials that are available for the teaching of Economics in senior Secondary school?

v.        How effective are the instructional materials used in teaching Economics in Senor Secondary School?

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is significant in the following respect; They study will make the learning environment more real and likely. The study will show the usefulness of the existing instructional materials in teaching Economics. The study will show the areas where the use of instructional materials is lacking in the teaching of Economics. The study will show what instructional materials are in use and which are needed. The study will provide guidelines for teachers on how to effectively use the available instructional materials in teaching Economics.

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The broad objective of this study is to present  a  review on the effects of instructional materials on academic performance of economic students. The study will further discuss determine the levels of usages of instructional materials in the selected secondary schools in are local government area. The study is however delimited Bwari Area Council in Abuja.

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

During the process of carrying out this study, the researcher was confronted with a number of obstacles, some of which were limitations pertaining to time and finances, as well as difficulties pertaining to language and the attitudes of the respondents. Nevertheless, the researchers were able to overcome these obstacles in order to guarantee the success of this investigation.

In addition, the case study approach that was used in the research presented the investigator with a number of difficulties, such as the chance of making erroneous judgments and being subject to prejudice. In spite of this, the investigator was successful in overcoming the difficulties by adhering to the broad principles of respect for processes, justice, fairness, impartiality in observation and recording, and the weighing of evidence.