CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1        BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Chemistry is one of the important science subject taught at the senior secondary school

(SSS)     level, performance will only be determined along with individual perception. Nowadays, students do not like most of science subject especially Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics and this lead to their poor performance in science subject. Sokoto metropolis covers Sokoto north and Sokoto south, Sokoto metropolis is one of the earliest town that embrace Islam under Usmanu Danfodiyo caliphate with well Islamic orientation, due to the coming of western education, many secondary school were established within Sokoto metropolis. The influence of these schools was so fell that

many parents don’t want to take their child to school. The new national policy on education,( 2004) aims and objective stipulated that science education for secondary school, by directing that secondary school system be structured in such away as to diversify the curriculum to cater for the difference in talent, opportunity and roles posses by or open to student after their secondary school carrier.

In recent years, there has been a growing concern over the development of positive attitude toward science in student effective science teaching at public. The concept of attitude has been of great interest to psychologist and educators alike and educational development have endorsed of the needed for the formation of favorable altitude for learning by student. It is interesting to noted that people prefer the literacy

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subject and are reluctance to elect for practical courses, biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics if and when they offer.

‘Achievement of various cognitive aspect of intellect’. It is observable achievement from which it is in feed that an individual is exercising one of the intellectual component of knowing such as perceiving, remembering Judging and reasoning’.

·         Performance: this is operational used to means the academic achievement observed in the tests and examination result as recorded in the Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT)

·         Attitude: they are tough to be drive from experience rather that innate characteristic which suffers that they can be modifies. In education situation cognitive achievement of student on a particular course depend in many factors including their attitude and interest toward the course. International dictionary of education define attitude as preposition to perceived, feel or in a particular manner. It also ‘Define attitude as predisposition of the individual to evaluate some symbol or aspect of his word in favorable or unfavorable manner’.

‘Attitude according to these researchers is how we think, feel about and act toward our fellow human being and how they think, feel about act towards us’’ Achievement may means the successfully completion or gaining through skill, interest, and hard work. Achievement is defined according to international dictionary of education as

‘performance in school or college in a standardized series of educational test’. The thousand of research of student academic achievement is testimony to this concern. This is as it should be, because the consequences of failure in schools are far-rich, particularly in developing country like Nigeria. This is only because a high achievement especially in

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the science is the but also because high achievement is particularly value academic success as the stepping stone for upward social and economic mobility, Ukej, (2000). The term is used more generally to describe performance in the subject of curriculum.

1.2          STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

For many years now, experience has shown that students have developed negative attitude toward science in general and chemistry in particular as an academic subject in secondary school. This has been revealed through past western number of students that offer it at this level and other disciplines. Based on this assertion, one wonders what could be the factors responsible for such an ugly situation which has almost come to stay. To this end, the study is aimed at identify these factors that are responsible for the student negative attitude and poor cognitive achievement on chemistry. The reason for choosing this topic arose from our experience as a student teacher in various secondary schools within Sokoto metropolis between 2013/2014. These we observed that the interests of most of the student were not geared toward the study of science in general and chemistry in particular.

We gave chemistry achievement test to (SSII) chemistry students and found that the result and response were not at all that encouraging. Many students were even later found to select Arts courses in their final year (WAEC/NECO) examination. Many people have different opinion on the issue of student negative. Some may say that chemistry needs a lot of memorizing work and the practical aspect of the subject is very tedious, and need much concentration. At this juncture, one might be tempted to ask what could possibly be the problems with our student and the study of science chemistry.

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This is only lack of teaching facilities or otherwise. What should be done by state or country to stimulate the study of chemistry at this level of education? An unstructured sampling of some student attitude towards science this by these author showed that some student do not like chemistry, most of the schools have no laboratory and even those with one are poorly equipped to enhance effective learning. There is also lack of current textbooks to go around the student.

The problem of staffing is another important factor to note. This involved lack of chemistry teachers, some as the case with most of schools where some teachers, that have not specialized in chemistry are given the opportunity to handle the course due to lack of quality hands. Schools heads, proprietors and school administrators should provide some helpful means for student’s attitude to science. They are supposed to give the student idea about which subject lead to which careers and to direct student to study the subject they know best.

Parent of the student sometimes constituted to the problem, some of them would like their child to become lawyers, doctors, engineers, and so on without knowing which subject will lead their ward to the propose careers. In an ideal situation where a child is allowed to do any subject he feel he can do well. The performance is always encouraging especially at the secondary level. Al society without guidance and counseling services to direct the student on student on subject to offer in line with their senior secondary (II) chemistry student would performance well if teacher uses various methods in teaching chemistry. It is an establishment fact that the affective attitude of chemistry student will certainly affect or directly be proportional to their academic achievement.

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1.3          OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY:

The main objectives of this study are to assess the cognitive achievement and affective attitude of SS (II) chemistry student in Sokoto metropolis, while specific objective are:

1.      To find out the significance different between affective attitude of SS II chemistry student in Sokoto metropolis.

2.      To find out how SS II chemistry students performance in chemistry achievement test (CAT).

3.      To find out how student response to the teaching of chemistry by their teachers.

4.      To find out why student in SS II class shows favorable and unfavorable response toward chemistry.