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UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA NSUKKA

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

TOPIC:

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN THE THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL

ASPECTS OF SENIOR SCHOOL

CERTIFICATE MOCK EXAMINATION IN CHEMISTRY

BY

SALEH MOHAMMED GERO

PG/M.ED/06/41065

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PROJECT PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE EDUCATION

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF

M.ED CHEMISTRY EDUCATION

SUPERVISOR:

Prof. Z. C. NJOKU

MAY 2011

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APPROAVAL PAGE

This Thesis has been approved for the Department of Science Education,

University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

..…………………….. ….……………

Professor Z. C. NJOKU Professor D. N. Ezeh

SUPERVISOR Head of Department

…………………………… ….……………

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Professor C. N. Omoifo Dr. J. C. Adigwe

External Examiner Internal Examiner

……………………………

Professor Ik. C. S. Ifelunni

Dean, Faculty of Education

CERTIFICATION

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This is to certify that Gero Saleh Mohammed, a postgraduate student of the Department of

Science Education of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka with Registration number PG/M.ED/06/41065 has

satisfactorily completed the requirement for the research work for the award of master’s Degree in

Science Education. The work embodied in this thesis is original and has not been submitted in part or full

for any other Diploma or Degree for this or any other University.

…………………………………. ……………………... SALEH MOHAMMED GERO

PROF. Z. C. NJOKU

STUDENT SUPERVISOR

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DEDICATION

This work is dedicated to the Almighty Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I am profoundly grateful to Almighty Allah by Whose grace this work is successfully done. Glory

is to Him. My special appreciation goes to Prof. Z. C. Njoku, my Project Supervisor, whose dedication,

kindness; fatherly advice and guidance made this work a successful one. May God reward you

abundantly. My gratitude goes to Prof. A. Ali, Dr. (Mrs.) Ezeudu and Dr. K. O. Usman for their advice and

correction which lead to the successful completion of this work. Remain blessed.

My deep and heart-felt gratitude goes to my parent, M. Muhammad Gero and M. Hamamatu

Idriss Yaro, my brothers Garba, Adamu, Yahaya, Usman, Hussaini, Musa, Ali, Shuaibu, Saidu, Saleh,

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Mustafa, Mamuda, my sisters Tasallah, Hajarah, Hauwa, Rakiya, Rabi and my beloved wives Habibatu

and Adama for their care, love and moral support. May you all live long to reap the fruits of your

labours. I owe immeasurable gratitude to my cherished uncle Alhaji Samaila Idriss and cousins Major I

Sule and Alhaji Yahaya Ahmad who never relent in their financial support especially at the time when

the going was at dead-lock thus, bringing this program to a successful end. May Allah protect and bless

you all. I am highly grateful to my friends Abubakar S. M. Mamudo, Saidu A. A., Yahaya A. P., Alh.

Hashimu A., Hussaini A., Zubairu A., Sani M. U., Sani A. D., Shettima Kumo and Aliu M. Y. for their

ceaseless prayers. My gratitude also goes to my room-mates and my friends Alh. Salami, Bala, Moses,

Joe Ubi, Hassan M. Minna, and Alfa Bidda for their inspirations. Special thanks go to Mrs Chinyere Lucy

Obiekwe for her motherly love, care, encouragement and support especially at the difficult moment

may God reward you abundantly.

I thank the principals and the students of the schools used for the study. Finally, I thank all those

not mentioned here that contributed in one way or the other for the successful completion of this

project. May God bless you all, Amen.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGES

TITTLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………………i

APPROVAL PAGE……………………..…………………………………………….ii

CERTIFICATION……………………….……………………...................................iii

DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………..iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT….........................................................................................v

TABLE OF CONTENTS………………….…………………………………………vii

APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………......ix

LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………….………………....x

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………..xi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

Background of the study...……………………………………………………………1

Statement of the Problem……...……………………………………………………..12

Purpose of the study………………………………………………………………….13

Scope of the study……………………..……………………………..………………13

Significance of the study……………….…………………………………………….13

Research questions……..…………………………………………………………….14

Hypotheses…..……………………………………………………………………….15

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW

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Conceptual Framework……….…………………………………...............................17

Empirical Review…..…...............................................................................................47

Summary of the Literature Review…………………………………………………..58

CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD

Design of the study………...…………………………………………………………61

Area of the study……...……………………………………………………………...61

Population of the study………....…………………………………………………….62

Sample and sampling technique……………………………………………………...62

Instrument for Data Collection……………………………………………………….62

Method of Data Analysis……………………………………………………………..62

CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULT Research Question

one………….…………………………………………….……..65

Research Question two…………………………………….………………….……..65

Research Question three…….………………………………………………….…....66

Research Question four………………………………………………………….…..67

Research Question five….……………………………………………………….…..67

Hypothesis one………….……………………………………………………….…..69

Hypothesis two………….……………………………………………………….…..69

Hypothesis three………………………….……………………………………….…70

Hypothesis four……………………………………………………………………...70

Hypothesis five…………………………………………………………….………...71

Summary of the findings..………………………………………………….………..71

CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY

Discussion of the findings………………………….……………………….…….....73

Conclusion reached from the findings of the study…..……………………………...77

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Educational Implications of the findings of study………….……………………….78

Recommendations…………………………………………………………………...80

Limitations of the study……………………………………………………………..81

Suggestions for further research…....………………………………………………..82

Summary of the study ………………….…………………………………………....82

References…………………………………………………………………………...85

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APPENDICES

Appendix A: List of Government owned Secondary Schools in Potiskum Education

Zone According to Local Government Area (L.G.A) and School type as at

2007/2008…………………………………………………………..................94

Appendix B: Student’s raw scores in both theory and practical collected from schools

In both Urban and Rural areas of Potiskum Educational Zone Yobe State….96

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LIST OF TABLES

Table1. Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores of Students in Theory (TH) and Practical (PR) Aspects of

Senior School Certificate Mock Examination in

Chemistry……………………………………………………………………………..64

Table2. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis of Students’ Scores in Theoretical and Practical

Aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry 2007 -

2009………………………………………………………………..68

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Abstract

In this study an attempt was made to compare and find the relationship between students’ achievement

in theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Examinations in Chemistry. The

study adopted a correlational research design which specifically, compared recorded scores of students

in theoretical and practical aspects of chemistry MOCK Examination of 2007-2009 academic sessions.

Five research questions and five hypotheses guided the study. A total of 1200 SS3 students drawn from

twelve secondary schools within Potiskum education zone of Yobe state were used. The students were

drawn through purposive sampling technique. Eight male schools and four female schools were used for

the study. Mean and standard deviation of scores were used to answer the five research questions while

Pearson Product-Moment Correlation analysis was used to test the five null hypotheses at p< 0.05. The

result showed that students achieved better in the theoretical aspect than in the practical in the MOCK

Examination in Chemistry 2007 – 2009 in Potiskum Education Zone of Yobe State. It also indicated that

Gender and Location had differential effects on achievement of students in Chemistry Examination. The

male students achieved more significantly better than their female counterparts in both theoretical and

practical aspects. The study revealed that students in the urban area achieved more significantly better

than their counterparts in the rural area in both theoretical and practical aspects. It also revealed that

there were no significant relationships between students’ achievement in the theoretical and the

practical aspects of the examination. Thus it was concluded that students do not have enough laboratory

experience to cope with the demand of the external practical examination in Chemistry. Therefore it was

recommended that Chemistry teachers should give more priority to practical experiments as part of

instruction in order to improve students’ understanding of practically related concepts. Theoretical and

practical instructions should be given side by side.

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Science in general and Chemistry in particular plays a significant role in the economic

development of a nation. This underscores the reasons for emphasizing the promotion of

Science as the means for achieving technological development in many countries. Striving

for development in science and technology becomes imperative as it serves as a driving

wheel for economic empowerment of the countries. Therefore, for a country to be

economically viable, it must strengthen its science and technology programmes in content as

well as in teaching and learning at secondary schools level (Gero, 2001). In Nigeria, in order

to achieve this economic objective, impetus have been given to the implementation of the

ratio 60:40 admission policy in favour of science subjects in institutions of higher learning.

Most of the educational objectives in Nigeria can be achieved through effective science

education. Hence, science education is given priority because it will help in providing the

essential manpower for the development of the country in areas such as Agriculture,

extraction and processing of mineral resources, industrial production of consumer goods,

Medicine and Pharmacy.

Of all the science subjects, Chemistry is vital for preparing scientists and technologists

both at middle and upper manpower levels. Chemistry is one of the basic sciences which are

essentially the pre-requisites for technological breakthrough. Hence, the need for effective

Chemistry education in Nigeria appears very crucial and therefore, demands considerable

attention. For instance, Chemical Technologists and Technical workers are needed in all

those Chemistry-related fields mentioned above. In the higher manpower requirement,

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experts are needed in chemical engineering. These fields cannot be effectively studied

without Chemistry as it serves as pre-requisite to them. This implies that Chemistry is an

important science subject needed for higher education in virtually all the science related

professions such as Medicine, Pharmacy, Agriculture, Engineering, food and nutrition. So

these aspects of the importance of Chemistry explain why schools, governments, students

and parents are worried over students’ poor achievement in Chemistry in senior school

certificate examination.

Amaefule (2001) asserted that “chemistry is a science subject from which all science and

technology disciplines draw sustenance”. However, students do not perform well in Senior

School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in chemistry, (Akalonu, 1998, and Eze, (2000).

In fact (Njoku, 1994; Balogun, 1995; Akinyele, 1997; and WAEC, 1998) also observed

that Chemistry as a subject, suffers poor academic performance by students especially at the

Senior School Certificate Examination level. For instance, Chemistry results, at the SSCE

level between 1999 and 2002, in terms of passes at credit (1-6) levels has been very low. In

1999 out of 227,696 candidates who registered and sat for chemistry only 31.08%

representing 70,767 passed, in 2000 out of 201,396 candidates who registered and sat for

SSCE chemistry only 31.38% representing 63,198 passed, also in 2001 out of 206,446

candidates only 36.25% representing 74,837 passed and in 2002 out of 246,228 candidates

only 25.38% representing 62,493 of the students who registered and sat for SSCE in

chemistry passed with grades at credit (1-6) levels respectively (WAEC Statistical Report,

1999-2002). These percentages were the only candidates who could be admitted into

institutions of higher learning to read Chemistry and other courses that require Chemistry.

The implication of a student failing Chemistry at the ordinary level is that he/she will not be

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enrolled for science based courses at institutions of higher learning. The WAEC Chief

Examiner’s Reports between 1999 and 2005 also showed that the percentage of passes in

Chemistry is low across Nigeria, thereby affecting the general performance of most

candidates who sat for Senior School Certificate Examination over the years.

The chief Examiner’s reports (1999) also indicated that “the poor performance of students

in science subjects has assumed a dangerous dimension. In the light of this, science educators

need to seek suitable ways of tackling the current mass failure if they are to halt the drifts of

students to arts and social science subjects”.

Particularly, in Chemistry paper 1 (practical), WAEC Chief Examiner’s reports (2002)

again showed that Chemistry students’ poor performance in this aspect over the years arises

from students’ poor knowledge of fundamental principles and procedures especially in

qualitative analysis and lack of exposure to laboratory techniques. It is indicated that the poor

performance of the candidates was due to among others: - inability to adhere strictly to

instructions; manipulation of titer values to agree with that of Supervisor; presentation of

wrong tests, on solids instead of aqueous solutions, wrong observations and inferences;

inability to link theoretical knowledge with actual practical work; poor calculations.

WAEC Chief Examiner’s Reports (2002) also showed that Chemistry students’ poor

performance in Chemistry paper 2 (theory) over the years, arises from students’ having

difficulties in tackling questions which required explanation, making logical deductions,

calculations, plotting of graph, energy profile diagrams, distinguishing between nuclear and

ordinary chemical reactions, chemical symbols and formulae. They lost marks for among

other reasons: Inability to write balanced equations with the state symbols; non-adherence to

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rubrics; poor knowledge of basic chemical principles; poor communication skills; wrong

spellings.

From the above discussion it is understood that the Chemistry examination constitutes two

aspects; the theory aspect and the practical aspect. It is also understood that students do fail

in Chemistry examination, but it is not yet clearly understood in which of the two aspects of

the examination do they have serious problems? Is it in theoretical aspect or in practical

aspect? Or, will it be in both aspects of the examination? These are some of the questions

this study is proposing to address.

Chemistry is offered at the senior secondary school level, from senior secondary one (SS1)

to senior secondary three (SS3) classes, as a single subject. The senior secondary school

students had done Integrated Science which is to prepare them for offering Chemistry at SS

level. However, the above assertions have shown that the SS students’ achievement in

Chemistry has not been encouraging. This might have been partly responsible for the slow

pace of scientific and technological development in Nigeria. This slow pace according to

Iloputaife (2000) is attributable to a number of factors which include lack of facilities,

teachers’ non-seriousness/dedication to work, lack of interest on the part of the students while

some may be related to the state of science education enterprise in Nigerian schools. Durum

(2003) observed that one of the problems found in science teaching in Nigeria is that science

is presented dogmatically in most schools which students find difficult to relate to real world.

Most of our secondary schools’ laboratories are ill-equipped and as a result students are

denied that feeling of participation in the reality, which practical classes and demonstration

provide. All other factors put apart, this is enough to make students perform poorly in

examination.

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Onwioduokit (1996), looking at the position of Chemistry education in Nigeria observed

that a great majority of the currently serving school teachers are not qualified to teach

Chemistry at the secondary school level. The type of chemistry teachers we have, in Nigeria

might have been responsible for the poor performance of students in the Senior School

Certificate Examination (SSCE) and of course the lack of progress in technology. Studies on

variables of teaching found poor performances of students to be as a result of poor classroom

teaching and students’ attitude to school (Okebukola, 2005).

Okebukola (2005), identified some topics in ‘O’ level Chemistry, which teachers

perceived as difficult to teach and this difficulty correlated significantly with their

professional qualifications and years of teaching experience. The implication of this is that

they could not teach well because of lack of confidence, experience and qualification. Doma

(2001) revealed that teachers do not plan in their day to day teaching and learning processes,

selection of teaching methods and resources but were efficient in presentation, classroom

management and students’ involvement. Ali (2002) investigated the issue of teacher quality

in terms of their qualifications, commitment to teaching and the nature and scope of support

given to Chemistry teachers to enable them offer high quality Chemistry teaching at the

classroom level. His study revealed that Chemistry is a dynamic subject and so teachers need

to be continually retrained so as to keep abreast of new developments in Chemistry. Where

this does not happen many Chemistry teachers will be teaching concepts that are obsolete or

wrong to students.

According to Zanna (2002), teachers of Chemistry are expected to make Chemistry more

interesting, enjoyable, easy and meaningful to students. Teachers need to improve their

teaching methods and employ appropriate teaching strategies as the teaching–learning

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situation may demand. He further showed that, project method improved achievement than

lecture method, Effiong and Enukoha (2003), found that both inquiry-based and refined

traditional approach could be employed as viable alternatives in science teaching.

There are other reasons why Chemistry students’ overall achievement in this subject is

poor both at the theoretical Chemistry level and practical Chemistry level. For instance, many

science educators reported that poor facilities for teaching in addition to teachers’ poor

teaching methods and poor presentation of instructional materials in the teaching of

Chemistry may be responsible for making students lack interest in the subject and eventually

resulting in their failure in both internal and external examinations.

Amaefule (2001) stressed that, basic laboratory facilities in Nigerian schools are lacking.

He believes that in an ideal situation, different science subjects such as Chemistry should

have separate laboratories. In reality, however, the condition is not encouraging. In some

schools where Chemistry is taught, not even a single laboratory or workshop is available.

Students that learn under this condition are exposed to only the theory of chemistry rather

than scientific skills.

Ezeano (2002), while expressing her views on chemistry teaching facilities argues that, “the

teaching of chemistry subject requires the use of specialized laboratories, workshops,

machines, tools and equipment. She further reported that the noticeable poor performance in

chemistry in external examination is caused by lack of laboratory materials which normally

result to in-adequate practical work before the examination. Eze (2001) seems to support the

above claim when he reported that physical facilities like classrooms, laboratories are

abysmally inadequate, un-maintained and lacked requisite apparatus and equipment.

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The abundance of materials and equipment for teaching and learning of Chemistry may

not be enough to bring about better performance of the students without the teacher.

According to Anih (2001), these materials will hardly be helpful if the teacher does not use

them effectively and efficiently, although materials encourage creative instincts, which is

fundamental to academic achievement.

The aforementioned are some of the problems observed by educational researchers to

have been responsible for the poor achievement of Chemistry students in both internal and

external examinations. Students are taught and examined in both practical and theoretical

aspects of Chemistry. In which aspect of the subject do they actually have problems that lead

to their poor achievement? Is it in the practical or in the theoretical aspect? The intention of

this study is to find out where these problems lie.

Another factor identified by researchers that influences the achievement of students in

chemistry is gender. There are conflicting opinions on gender related issues in science

achievement. Some researchers pointed out that gender plays no significant role in student

academic achievement in chemistry while others hold contrary opinion.

Asim, Bassey and Essien (2005) found ten items which represent gender–unfair

behaviours of teachers which retard students’ interests and participation in Science,

Technology and Mathematics (STM). These include among others consistent usage of

masculine pronouns in discussing STM concepts, unequal access for male/female students to

participate in discussion/demonstration, higher achievement levels set out for boys than for

girls, and female students, being assisted most often in practical, projects and other

assignment. They recommended that STM teachers should be sensitized on gender issue to

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develop a gender–fair posture and to exhibit a gender- inclusive environment in the course of

their class room interactions.

A lot of research had been conducted which are relevant to gender issues on students

achievement. For instance, the study conducted by Iloputaife (1995) revealed that there was

no significant difference in the attainment level due to gender. Ezeliora (1997) conducted a

study comparing the retention of chemistry concepts among male and female senior

secondary school students. She reported that there is significant sex difference on the

retention of chemistry concepts by students, female students according to her proved superior

to male. This finding is however at variance with that of Young (1994) who reported that

boys achieve better than girls in chemistry.

Another factor that contributes to the poor performance of students in chemistry is the

location (urban or rural) of the school. Jegede (2007) conducted a study to find out the effect

of location on students’ learning of chemistry. The findings of the study revealed that the

students, whether male or female, urban or rural based, show great anxiety towards the

learning of Chemistry and that the anxiety is higher in female and rural based students than

male and urban based students.

From the foregoing, it is clear that students perform poorly in SSCE Chemistry due to a

number of reasons ranging from teacher quality, availability of facilities, students’ interest

and curriculum factors. Nothing was said about their achievement in either of the two aspects

of the Chemistry examination (theoretical and practical aspects). Although practical and

theoretical aspects of Chemistry examination are complementary, their demands on teachers

and students for passing SSCE are different. Hence, it is pertinent to determine whether the

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problems of poor achievement in SSCE Chemistry lie with the theoretical or the practical or

both aspects of the Chemistry examination.

Theoretical aspect of Chemistry study stresses the written presentation of concepts,

principles, ideas, contents and theories of Chemistry to students. The theoretical type test is

used as a means of evaluating the qualitative aspects of written instructions. The test items

require the learner to reason out the responses, plan how best to arrange the responses

sequentially, and then write them out at some length. Such concepts, ideas, theories and

principles are presented as facts, which sometimes may not be fully and clearly explained to

students by the teachers. When a Chemistry teacher teaches, for example mole concept, the

students are taught theoretically through lecture method. Most times without careful

explanation of the functional utility or relevance of the Chemistry concept being shown to the

students. Consequently, these students have weak, or no understanding of the aspect of

chemistry that have been taught. One finds that such students fail the theoretical aspect of

Chemistry in the examination.

The practical aspect of Chemistry involves the application of chemical concepts, theories,

principles, and ideas that were taught to students. Such applications are undertaken

systematically in the laboratory through experimentation that involves the use of chemicals,

tools, equipment, as well as specimens and other laboratory materials. The practical test is a

type of test that assesses the students’ ability to carry out certain scientific processes. The

chemicals, tools, equipment, as well as specimens and other laboratory materials needed for

the practical work, are placed before the students and they are required to solve the problem

through the application of several scientific processes skills which should finally culminate in

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the acquisition of scientific skills. In such a test, skills of the students are evaluated. The

advantage of this type of test is that scientific skills are acquired by the students. These

scientific skills or processes according to Agbi (2004) include Identification and Definition of

a Problem; Formulation of Appropriate Hypotheses; Collection of Data Necessary for

Testing the Hypotheses; Testing the Hypotheses; Drawing Necessary Inferences or

Conclusions. It tests the students’ ability to observe, define or state problem, state hypothesis,

conduct experiment to test the hypothesis, make inference and draw conclusion in clear

terms.

Usually practical work in senior secondary school Chemistry is organized to precede

theoretical chemistry lessons, mainly as an attempt for students to learn practically the

concepts they were earlier taught theoretically. During practical classes therefore, students

are provided opportunities in the laboratory to have a hands-on experience under the

guidance of the Chemistry teacher.

Ajewole (2000) stated that most times, the benefits of practical work as reinforcement to

students’ understanding and appreciation of the theoretical aspect already taught is not

achieved by students. This is mainly because the essential Chemistry laboratory facilities and

infrastructure may be in short supply or even lacking. Under this circumstance, one may find

that the aims and objectives of Chemistry practical work may not be achieved. Eze (2000)

observed that in most senior secondary schools, Chemistry lessons are taught and completed

without practical work. He further observed that some students of Chemistry never

experienced any form of practical until second term of senior secondary year 3. Under this

condition the students do not do well in their practical aspects of Chemistry examination.

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Both the theoretical and the practical aspect of Chemistry are important for students to

pass their Chemistry examination in WAEC and NECO. Eze (2000) also observed that for

greater effectiveness in the teaching and learning of Chemistry, theoretical and practical

aspects of the SSS chemistry should be taught side by side.

It can be understood from the above that the evaluation of SSCE Chemistry has two

components. These are the theoretical component and the practical component. Both are

important and are expected to complement each other. In other words, for a student to do well

in Chemistry as a subject, he must perform well in both the theoretical and practical

components. These two methods of evaluation (theoretical and practical) may have their

merits and limitations. However, examination bodies use both in evaluating students in

Chemistry. The researcher compared and find the relationships that exist between the two

aspects of the examination in order to establish in which aspect do they have problem and

whether it is possible to predict the achievement of the students’ in one aspect from their

achievement in the other.

Raw scores obtained by students in both theoretical and practical aspects in WAEC or

NECO was intended to be used for the study but due to the fact that it is not possible to

obtain the raw scores from WAEC or NECO, an equivalent examination raw scores obtained

by students in Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry Examination in both theoretical and

practical aspects which is normally organized two weeks before WAEC/NECO by the Yobe

State Education Resource Centre, Damaturu, (YSERCD) Yobe State, was used.

The justification for the study was informed by the fact that many SS students are not

doing well in their achievement in Chemistry (YSERCD, 2006) and therefore there is the

need to investigate and find out which of these two components, theoretical chemistry or

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practical laboratory work that hinders students overall performance in Chemistry. Hence the

need to undertake the present study arose.

Statement of Problem

The teaching of Chemistry has two components. The theoretical component is meant to train

the students properly in the concepts, theories and principles of Chemistry. There is also the

practical laboratory based component, which is intended to enable students undertake

laboratory work necessary for explaining practically their understanding of the theories,

ideas, principles and concepts of Chemistry they were taught theoretically. Both the theory

and the practical work are important in the overall study and assessment of students in

Chemistry because no one component is more important than the other. This is why it is

important to compare and document the relationship between theoretical and practical aspects

in the overall achievement of senior secondary school students in the study of Chemistry in

Nigeria with particular emphasis on Yobe State. An extensive review of literature on the

study of the theoretical and practical laboratory components of achievement in Chemistry

showed that such literature is scanty and none have been reported for Yobe State. The

literature also indicated that students do fail in chemistry, but it is not understood in which

aspect (theoretical or practical) they fail worst. The literature also indicated that practical

works are mostly delayed until SS II or SS III. Hence the study filled the gap of paucity of

empirical data by comparing the scores of students in theoretical and practical aspects to find

their relationship as they affect students overall achievement in senior secondary school

Certificate in Chemistry in MOCK 2007-2009 in Yobe State.

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Purpose of the study

This study compared and found the relationship between students’ achievement in theoretical

and practical aspects of Senior Secondary School Examinations in Chemistry. Specifically,

attention was paid to comparing and finding the relationship of male and female, rural and

urban area students’ achievement in theoretical and practical aspects of the Senior Secondary

School Examinations in Chemistry in MOCK 2007-2009 in Yobe State. This was with the

aim of finding out in which one of the components the students perform better and which one

do they find difficult. It also found out if it is possible to predict students’ achievement in one

practical from their achievement in theory. This was ascertained and suggestions were made

with the aim of finding lasting solution to this problem.

Scope of the study

This study was restricted to senior secondary (III), (SS3) Chemistry students in Potiskum

education zone of Yobe State. The choice of SS III Chemistry students was based on the

expectation that the Chemistry syllabus must have been covered and the students were ready

to take their final SSCE examinations as at the time of the study. The choice of Potiskum

Education Zone was informed by the fact that many SS students are not doing well in their

achievement in Chemistry (YSERCD, 2006). It concerned itself with comparing and finding

the relationships of the students’ achievement scores in theoretical and practical aspects of

senior school MOCK WASC examinations in chemistry 2007-2009.

Significance of the study

The outcome of this study could help the teacher to check and improve on his method

and quality of teaching which would in turn improve the performance of the students in

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external examination. It may also help them in evaluating their performance in the teaching

of the various aspects of chemistry curriculum contents.

The result of the study may reveal the aspects of the Chemistry curriculum that are not

properly implemented by teachers. This may lead to improvement in such aspects of the

curriculum for greater achievement among the students.

The result may help the school administrators and educational supervisors and

inspectors identify the areas of the curriculum where students are poorly taught with a view

to take remedial actions.

The outcome of this study may be of importance to school inspectors, as it will provide

an insight on why students fail chemistry external examinations in schools.

The result may also reveal the need for the government to also pay attention to those

schools in the rural areas in order to harness the talents that may be hidden there wasted

which may help in realizing the ratio 60:40 admission policy in favour of science and science

related courses in our institutions of higher learning.

The result of the study may help in predicting achievement in one aspect of the

examination from the achievement in the other aspect especially when the student

unavoidably could not write the predicted.

Research Questions

The following research questions will guide the study;

1. What is the relationship between the achievement mean scores of students in the

theoretical (TH) and the practical (PR) aspects of the Mock Senior School Certificate

Chemistry Examination?

31

2. What is the relationship between the achievement mean scores of students in the urban

area (UT) and those in the rural area (RT) in the theoretical aspect of the Mock Senior

School Certificate Chemistry Examination?

3. What is the relationship between the achievement mean scores of students in the urban

area (UP) and those in the rural area (RP) in the practical aspect of the Mock Senior

School Certificate Chemistry Examination?

4. What is the relationship between achievement mean scores of male (MT) and female (FT)

students in the theoretical aspect of the Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination?

5. What is the relationship between achievement mean scores of male (MP) and female (FP)

students in the practical aspect of the Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination?

Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study and they will be tested at

0.05 level of significance.

1. There is no significant relationship between students’ achievement mean scores in

theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination.

2. There is no significant relationship between male students’ achievement mean scores in

theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination.

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3. There is no significant relationship between female students’ achievement mean scores in

theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination.

4. There is no significant relationship between rural students’ achievement mean scores in

theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination.

5. There is no significant relationship between urban students’ achievement mean scores in

theory and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination.

33

CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

Literature reviewed was based on two broad frameworks. These are conceptual and

Empirical Review.

Conceptual Framework

Literature reviewed under the conceptual framework was on the following sub-heads:

i. The State of Chemistry Education in Nigeria.

ii. Practical Work as a Factor in Chemistry Teaching.

iii. Laboratory Facilities/Materials as a Factor in Chemistry Teaching.

iv. Teacher Quality as a Factor in Chemistry Teaching.

v. Methods of teaching as a factor in Chemistry Teaching.

vi. Evaluation as a factor in Chemistry Teaching.

Empirical Review

i. Studies on factors affecting students’ achievement in Chemistry.

ii. Gender as a factor influencing students’ achievement in Chemistry.

iii. Location as a factor influencing students’ achievement in Chemistry.

Conceptual Framework

The state of chemistry education in Nigeria

Chemistry is one of the core science subjects in the national education curriculum. It is

studied alongside other related basic science subjects such as Biology, Physics and

Mathematics. This is to prepare students for the pursuance of Chemistry academically as well

as professionally to acquire appropriate and adequate foundation knowledge for such fields of

studies like Engineering, Pharmacy, Medicine and Veterinary Medicine etc, to mention but a

34

few. These fields cannot be studied without Chemistry as it serves as pre-requisite to them.

Amaefule (2001) asserted that “chemistry is a science subject from which all science and

technology disciplines draw sustenance”. According to Gero (2001), “chemistry occupies

such a central position in the science world that knowledge of it is required in the study of

Agricultural Technology, Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering, Petrochemical Engineering,

Veterinary Medicine, Geology, Technical Education, Industrial Technology, Food

Technology, Biological, Dentistry, Dietary and Physical Sciences”.

The contribution of Chemistry in the overall development of Science and Technology

cannot be overemphasized. Chemistry provides the individuals with the ingredients which

make them self-reliant and useful to the society which they belong to. Amaefule (2000)

concluded that “Chemistry is a subject which is very ideal for inculcating in students the

virtues of honesty, critical thinking, spirit of inquiry, cooperative attitudes and the ability to

observe nature consciously and logically”. In view of the above, Gero (2001) further

observed that, “Chemistry curriculum should surely reflect, the importance of Chemistry in

our daily lives”. This brings about the need for a curriculum that is more relevant to the need

of our dynamic society.

This must have been the reason for the senior secondary school Chemistry curriculum to

have been designed in such a way that the component topics are logically arranged, each unit

in the curriculum is organized under topic, performance, objectives, content, activity and

notes. The present design is more or less a scheme of work, which has been made available to

the teacher to save him time and energy in planning his lesson.

The Chemistry curriculum places more emphasis on guided discovery method than the

traditional lecture method. This implies that each science-based secondary school should

35

have a well-equipped laboratory for effective Chemistry instruction and realization of the

objectives in view. Here the Chemistry teacher is advised to manage the laboratory resources

very well. Another aspect of the Chemistry curriculum is the use of continuous assessment

(CA). The CA is the cumulative assessment of the students’ performance which reflects the

cognitive, psychomotor and effective domains of educational objectives. To ensure that the

CA is effectively used in schools, workshops and seminars have been organized from time to

time for practicing Chemistry teachers to educate them on the statistical method employed in

the use of CA. CA has many desirable advantages which have led to its acceptability in other

levels of learning Dienye and Gbamanja (1990). This is a step taken to give all students a

technological orientation so as to enhance technology education in Nigeria.

However, the pace at which scientific and technological development grow in Nigeria is very

slow. This slow rate according to Iloputaife (2000) has been attributed to a number of factors

which include lack of facilities, teachers’ non-seriousness/dedication to work, lack of interest

on the part of the students while some may be related to the state of science education

enterprise in Nigerian schools. For instance, Ette (1990) indicated that a major defect in our

science education is that science is presented dogmatically in most schools as a series of

disjointed facts and concepts which students find difficult to relate to real world. He further

tated that most of our secondary schools’ laboratories are ill-equipped and as a result students

are denied that feeling of participation and reality which practical classes and demonstration

provide.

The WAEC chief Examiner’s reports (2002) indicated that “the poor performance of students

in science subjects has assumed a disturbing dimension. In the light of this, science educators

36

need to seek suitable ways of tackling the current mass failure if they are to halt the drifts of

students to arts and social science subjects”.

Onwioduokit (1996), looking at the position of Chemistry Education in Nigeria observed

that, a great majority of the currently serving school teachers are not qualified to teach

Chemistry at the secondary school level. The teachers we have who teach Chemistry in

Nigeria might have been responsible for the poor performance of students in the Senior

School Certificate Examination (SSCE) and of course the lack of progress in technology. The

relevance of Chemistry among the basic science subjects is apparent; hence the need for it to

be taught properly in the secondary schools to enhance students understanding of the subject

and improve their performances in both internal and external examinations is required. This

can equally increase their chances for gaining admissions in to institutions of higher learning.

Teachers of Chemistry are expected to make Chemistry more relevant, enjoyable, easy

and meaningful to students. Teachers need to improve their teaching methods and employ

appropriate teaching strategies as the teaching–learning situation may demand.

Chemistry is one of the basic science subjects which are essentially the pre-requisite for

technological breakthrough. Hence, the need for effective Chemistry education in Nigeria

appears very crucial and therefore, deserves considerable attention. The implication of a

student failing Chemistry at the ordinary level is that he/she will not be enrolled for science

based courses at institutions of higher learning. The relevance of Chemistry among the basic

science subjects is apparent; the need for it to be taught properly in the secondary schools to

enhance students understanding of the subject and improve their achievements in both

internal and external examinations is required. This can equally increase their chances for

gaining admissions into institutions of higher learning.

37

Many researchers in science education reported that poor facilities for teaching and

teachers’ poor presentation of instructional materials in the teaching of Chemistry may be

responsible for students’ lack of interest in the subject, which eventually results in their

failure in both internal and external examinations.

Study by Okebukola, (2005) on variables of teaching comparing different methods of

teaching on ability grouping, cooperative learning found poor achievement of students to be

as a result of poor classroom teaching and students’ poor attitude to school attendance. In

particular, the students’ performance in Chemistry in senior school certificate examination

(SSCE) has been very poor (Akalonu, 1998, and Eze 2000). This continuous poor academic

performance in Chemistry is an indication that a lot need to be done to make Chemistry

education satisfactory in Nigeria. These observations are in line with the trend as described

by the WAEC Chief Examiner’s reports (2002), where it was indicated that generally

candidates’ performance in the Paper I was poor due to poor knowledge of fundamental

principles and procedures especially in qualitative analysis and lack of exposure to laboratory

techniques. In 2004 while making a general comment, the Chief Examiner observed that

generally candidates’ performance was poor compared to previous years of 2000, 2001 and

2003. In 2005, the WAEC Chief Examiner’s in the annual reports lamented that the

candidates have inadequate practical exposure and poor knowledge of the concepts of the PH.

This incessant poor performance of Chemistry students in senior school certificate

examination (SSCE) has reached an alarming state and calls for critical investigation with the

aim of finding solution to the problems associated with the teaching and learning processes in

Chemistry. In fact, the Chief Examiner 2005 made the following recommendations for

remedies:

38

- Candidates should be made to know the importance of reading and adhering to rubrics.

- They should also be exposed to more practical/laboratory activities.

- They should improve on their quantitative skills and use of English Language.

- Teachers should be more dedicated, ready and willing to impart the requisite knowledge

to candidates. School authorities/government should employ well and qualified teachers

with good remuneration to discourage distractions.

Ali (2002), was of the opinion that, Chemistry is one of the subjects that have recorded

poor students performance both in National and international examinations. While

Okebukola and Jegede (1999), saw it that many factors (inability of the Chemistry teachers to

put across the Chemistry concepts to the students, inability of the students to understand the

Chemistry concepts, apprehension that Chemistry is a difficult subject to learn, lack of skills

and competence required for teaching Chemistry and shortage of qualified Chemistry

teachers) singly or in combination are implicated in the poor performance of students in

Chemistry examinations.

However, this disheartening condition can be reversed if all hands could be put on deck,

especially on the side of the teachers. Effiong and Enukoha (2003) found that both inquiry-

based and refined traditional approach could be employed as viable alternatives in science

teaching. Sola and Ojo (2007) asserted that teaching methods such as inquiry, project,

lecture-demonstration, lecture performance, problem-solving, field trips, cooperative or

group learning, excursion, remedial, laboratory and guided discussion and the use of audio

visual materials have been recommended for the teaching of science in schools. Sola and Ojo

(2007) continued that, “there is however, the need to understand that for different topics in

science, the teaching approach may differ depending on the complexity and structure of the

39

topics. This statement could mean that a science teacher should be versatile in the use of

variety of methods and procedures in order to make teaching and learning of science more

successful. They further stated that, “the most enjoyable aspect of teaching and learning can

occur when a variety of teaching methods are used”.

In order to make Chemistry real and relevant in Nigeria, Chemistry teachers should

motivate their students by adopting teaching strategies in which they are made to participate

actively in lesson and using local and familiar materials in illustrating scientific facts and

principles related to Chemistry. Thus, making those things in Chemistry being imagined

abstract is made concrete. Literature shows that teachers still hold up to the use of expository

or didactic teaching method in Chemistry classroom. This method of teaching leads to rote

learning of facts, concepts and principles which is away from the scientific principles of

developing skills necessary for solving problems in the society. Agulana and Nwachukwu

(2001), pointed out that much of what is learnt in school is rote learning whereby students

learn statements or formulae directly from the teachers or textbooks and reproduce such

information on cue. Such students, he said are unable to use their learning outside the

classroom.

Ali (2002) asserted that Chemistry is an activity oriented subject requiring expertise on

the part of the teachers and active involvement of the students in practical work. He further

stated that, a study done by Balogun and Olarewaju (2001), has established a significant

difference in performance between students taught through the activity method and those

taught through the lecture method. Lassa (2000), also observed that activity based science

instruction has been found to be superior to non-activity based ones in promoting science

40

processes development, learning of science content, attitudes, creativity and language

development.

Sola and Ojo (2007) noted that science teachers have always recognized the importance

of practical work as a means of introducing learners to the scientific process of

experimentation. They further stated that chemistry teaching should develop in the students

manipulative and experimental skills to make them confident in conducting experiments and

or researches. Student should do practical work of conducting experiments, reporting their

observation and making inferences or conclusions, thus, developing their scientific

knowledge and experimental skills and at the same time arousing and maintaining interest of

the students in the subject. They further stated that lecture method is used primarily to

introduce students to a new subject, but it is also a valuable method for summarizing ideas,

showing relationships between theory and practice, and re-emphasizing main points. This

explains the position that both the two methods are essential in teaching and learning of

chemistry.

The lecture method is mostly valuable in stressing the main points as mentioned above,

but also keeps the learner passive and inactive in the teaching and learning processes; as the

teacher lectures, students take notes, and then students are tested on what they have learned.

Today, emphasis is being placed on practical or “hands-on” learning to supplement the

traditional “chalk-talks”. Through experiment, simulation, debate, and other participatory

activities, students discover concept on their own. Experiential learning increases retention,

motivates students to learn and encourages group cooperation.

Practical activities in chemistry provide opportunity in promoting the scientific methods

of thought, which include inculcating in the learner the scientific habit of sensing and

41

observing problem, recording, formulating hypothesis, conducting experiment, making

inference and drawing conclusions based on theory and observation. The students further

develop scientific attitudes, such as curiosity, open mindedness, honesty, thoroughfulness

and objectivity.

The implication of the above is that practical or laboratory method of teaching

encompasses three domain widely referred to as the Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational

objectives. Agbi (2004), described the three domains as follows:-

a. The cognitive domain: This deals with the recall or recognition of knowledge and

development of intellectual abilities and skills.

b. The effective domain: This describes changes in interest, attitudes, feelings and values

and the development of appreciation and adequate adjustment. For instance, cooperation,

openness, honesty and neatness are positive attitudes which fall into this domain.

c. Psychomotor Domain: - this describes manipulative skills; the use of hand especially in

practical work, e.g. the ability to use burette, microscope etc.

From the trend of events on performance of students in chemistry in the senior secondary

certificate examination (SSCE), it should be understood that generally the performance has

been poor. The source of this poor performance is not clearly ascertained. Could it be

attributed to theory or to practical? Nevertheless, some people still feel that students perform

better in the theory than in the practical in chemistry. Hence, even those students who

perform well in the theory sometimes fail practical. Although it is also a general

understanding of science educators that practical activities enhance performance of students

in theory. Mamah (1998), observed that practical do reinforce theoretical learning and

obvious reality in practical work. They promote problem solving and self reliance in real life

42

situation. According to Onyegegbu (1999), use of mediated instruction enhances students’

cognitive achievement in science.

Practical Work as a Factor in Chemistry Teaching

The Chemistry curriculum places more emphasis on guided discovery method which is

activity oriented than the traditional lecture method for the teaching of Chemistry Practical

work has been described as a process of learning which demands activity rather than

receptivity which is characteristics of theoretical work. Sola and Ojo (2007) noted that

science teachers have always recognized the importance of practical work as a means of

introducing learners to the scientific process of experimentation. In relation to this, the

United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) have participated in numerous

international meetings to promote inexpensive experimental based teaching in chemistry.

Effective teaching of practical chemistry which laid emphases on bench-work, in Nigerian

secondary schools, is of uttermost importance to students, teachers, parents and the

government. They continued by saying that chemistry teaching should develop in the student

manipulative and experimental skills to make him or her confident in conducting experiments

and or researches. Student should do practical work of conducting experiments, reporting

their observation and making inferences or conclusions, thus, developing their scientific

knowledge and experimental skills and at the same time arousing and maintaining interest of

the students in the subject. (Maduabum, 1994) noted that practical work involves the students

in observing, counting, measuring, experimenting and recording observations. The aim of

practical according to Eze (2000) is to inculcate into the students the habit of drawing

43

conclusions based on observation and experimentation. Exposure of students to practical

work enables them to develop scientific skills.

Dienye and Gbamanja (1990) were of the same view with Maduabum when they stated

that practical work helps students to develop manipulative skills through opportunities

offered them in enquiry, discovery, practical investigations and the handling of equipment

and apparatus. They further observed that practical work helps the student to learn how to

generalize their way of thinking such that it is useful to them in the interpretation of

phenomenon and solving societal problems. But science educators are worried over

continued poor performance of students in chemistry practical in SSCE. A number of studies

conducted by science educators on the poor performance of students in Chemistry pointed an

accusing finger on practical work.

Akalonu (1998) opined that chemistry students failed to acquire the necessary practical

skills needed for success in external examination. This view is in line with the WAEC Chief

Examiner’s reports (2002) which indicated among other things, that students’ major

weaknesses in practical chemistry examination were in the areas of:

- poor description of colors of solution, precipitation, gases or odor of gases.

- Poor mathematical competences in questions requiring calculations.

- Poor interpretation of scientific data or poor deductive reasoning.

- Inability to read or measure accurately e.g. burette reading.

- Inability to relate theoretical knowledge to practical observations.

- Inability to carry out confirmatory test in qualitative analysis etc.

44

The Chief Examiner further remarked that generally candidates’ performance in the paper

was poor due to poor knowledge of fundamental principles and procedures especially in

qualitative analysis and lack of exposure to laboratory techniques.

This consistent poor performance of students in practical Chemistry may be an indication

of the quality of teaching they received in that aspect of secondary school Chemistry. This

study looks forward to address this problem in our study of Chemistry in Nigeria.

Laboratory Facilities/Materials as a Factor in Chemistry

The Chemistry curriculum places more emphasis on guided discovery method than the

traditional lecture method. This implies that each science-based secondary school should

have a well-equipped laboratory for effective Chemistry instruction and realization of the

objectives in view. Here the Chemistry teacher is advised to manage the laboratory resources

very well. Provision of adequate physical facilities such as well equipped laboratories,

workshops and classrooms will therefore go a long way in promoting effective teaching and

learning of science. The present bad condition of science laboratories is quite alarming. Very

few laboratories exist and even where they exist, they are virtually either empty or

haphazardly filled. This situation is unhealthy for the effective teaching of Chemistry and

related subjects.

In connection with this, Ali (2002) stresses that basic laboratory facilities in Nigerian

schools are lacking. He believes that in an ideal situation, different science subjects such as

Chemistry, Physics and Biology should have separate laboratories. In reality, however, the

condition is very unpleasing. In some schools where science and technology are taught, not

even a single laboratory or workshop is available. Students that learn under this condition are

exposed to only the theory of science rather than scientific skills. They do not acquire

45

knowledge about discovery method, which will assist them in developing their investigative

skills, which could later be applied whenever the need arises. Okebukola and Ajewole

(1990), while expressing their views on science teaching facilities argue that, “the teaching of

science and technology subjects requires the use of specialized laboratories, workshops,

machines, tools and equipment. Unfortunately in Nigeria, this low-level of funding of schools

makes it impossible to properly and adequately equip their workshops, studios and

classrooms.

Ezeano (2002) reported that the noticeable poor performance in chemistry in external

examination is caused by lack of laboratory materials which normally result to inadequate

practical before the examination. Eze (2001) seems to support the above claim when he

reported that physical facilities like classrooms, laboratories are abysmally inadequate, un-

maintained and lack requisite apparatus and equipment. Ogunniyi (1996) and F.l.S,

Inspection Reports (2004), Studies on resources and laboratory work examined the

relationship between laboratory facilities and students’ achievement and skill acquisition, the

outcome of the study showed that laboratory activities in selected schools was still more or

less an extension of the theoretical class rather than a place to carry out investigation due to

lack of facilities. F.I.S. Inspection Reports (2005) found a set of behaviours (manipulating

apparatus, observing activity, etc) correlated strongly with manipulative skills and conduct of

the experiment, while students’ attitude to laboratory work correlated strongly with

manipulation of apparatus. Okebukola (2005) while investigating the relationship between

laboratory facilities and students’ laboratory skills acquisition in secondary schools

discovered that many biology, physics and chemistry students revealed poor powers of

46

observation, poor measurement, classification and experimental skills of inferring, predicting

and formulating models due to lack of laboratory facilities in some schools.

Ezeano (2002) further observed that the use of instructional materials in improving

learning processes has not received the attention it deserves in Nigerian schools. The neglect

of the practical aspect of chemistry in schools has been blamed on such factors as inability of

the school authorities to provide materials and equipments for practical work and teachers’

failure to recognize the importance of practical work in chemistry teaching. Even when

laboratory materials are available, some teachers may not even put them into proper use

either because of their inability to manipulate such equipments or because of lack of

devotion.

Pwol (2000) reported that many schools in our country that offer chemistry as a course

do not have equipment necessary for effective and efficient teaching of practical chemistry.

The few available ones according to her are not properly utilized. Ndana, (2000) seems to

support the above claim when he reported that one of the most striking problems of science

teaching in Nigerian secondary schools today is that of inadequate science teaching materials,

which arises as a result of the inability of the government to meet the cost of these materials.

Inadequate materials and equipments in our schools, according to Amaefule, (2001)

removes the activity components of the science lesson which otherwise makes science real

and experimental. In the absence of using teaching and learning resources, science teaching

becomes expository and didactic in our secondary schools. He further reported that many

students perceive science as a difficult subject because it involves imagination of object and

concepts when laboratory materials are lacking. Commenting on inadequate facilities for

science teaching which hamper to a great extent the learning of science in schools, Sola and

47

Ojo (2007) said that lack of adequate science equipments makes the learning of science very

uninteresting, difficult and even frustrating. When materials supplied are insufficient or

inappropriate science students are offered less opportunity to make progress and receive

satisfaction. It may also limit effectiveness in the teaching and learning process.

From foregoing, it is clear that deficiency in practical chemistry is as a result of

inadequate materials and equipments and this has influenced students negatively which leads

to their poor achievement in external examination. Hence this study tries to compare and find

the differences that exist between practical and theory scores in SSCE to determine which

among the two aspects is responsible for the incessant poor academic achievement of

students in the external examination in chemistry.

Nigeria is endowed with abundant natural resources that can be used to teach chemistry

effectively by a competent chemistry teacher. Maduabum (1995) argued that if science is to

be learned by doing, the teacher must look for resources beyond the classroom. A sole

reliance on the inadequate school resources will increase an undesirable class participation in

which the students will continue to remain mere passive participants in the learning process.

Science, particularly chemistry is better learned by doing or manipulating available

resources/materials.

Teacher Quality and Students’ Achievement in Chemistry

An educational programme can only achieve its goals and objectives if it realizes and

recognizes the role of qualified teachers in the teaching and learning processes. The National

policy on Education (2004), in recognition of the role of teachers, made it clear that “No

education can rise above the quality of its teachers”. In order to attain quality in Chemistry

Education in Nigeria, much consideration should be placed on the training of qualitative

48

teachers to handle the course. If quality is to be achieved in the teaching and learning of

Chemistry, interest must be shown in developing teachers’ capability to communicate in the

language of Chemistry in the classroom. This is crucial as Ezeano (2002) noted that:

In the classroom, this communication is called pedagogy, which must evolve over the

years, decades and centuries. Current wisdom tells us that an effective pedagogy is

the one where the involvement of the learner is active, not passive. No longer do we

think of students as repositories of what is taught them but as active partners in the

learning process.

Chemistry is vital in the science world, being a gateway to professions like Medicine,

Pharmacy, Dentistry, Agriculture, Engineering, Biochemistry and a host of others. However,

poor academic achievement of chemistry students is evident in senior secondary school

certificate examination. Science educators are worried over poor performance of chemistry

students in secondary schools as this does not augur well for science education programs at

tertiary institutions of learning.

Ezeano (2002) reported that “chemistry teachers are in short supply in our secondary

schools, so that normal teaching cannot go on where one chemistry teacher may be asked to

teach SS1, 2 and 3 both in practical work and theoretical lessons. It is quite a tedious task for

one teacher to prepare student for external examination and still teach other classes. In some

cases it is better for one teacher to teach theoretical chemistry or practical work. Where he is

to teach both, the practical suffers most because it is more difficult to organize.

Another factor that militates against chemistry teachers’ effectiveness is large class-size.

According to Foin (2001) large class-size increases teachers work load, create space

problems for practical work, high level of indiscipline and inhabits teachers operational

practices, including difficulties in assessing class work and reduces teacher –student

interaction. Abdullahi (1996) agrees with Foin when he identified large class-size as a factor

49

that militates against effective curriculum implementation. On his part Alberts (1999), held

the views that small class-size enhances better utilization of resources than large class.

Another major factor that hinders science teachers’ effectiveness in implementing chemistry

curriculum is stress. According to Okebukola and Jegede (2000) science teachers are often

subjected to stress especially within the work environment and as such cannot be expected to

perform optimally. They reported that poor working conditions, misbehavior of students, lack

of resource for teaching, overload with non-teaching duties and students’ poor attitudes

toward science are sources of stress for teachers. They further reported that where

laboratories are available, there is lack of supporting staff. These supporting staff needed to

assist the teachers in the onerous tasks of having to set the laboratory ready for practical

exercises, cleaning up and tiding up the laboratory after the student’s practical work. Since

this support is not forth coming the teachers are not motivated to set the students on practical

exercises. Hence we have a situation where students do not have a single practical work

before the actual examination Amaefule (2001). The overall effect of this condition is poor

achievement of students. This practice must not be allowed to continue in our science

classrooms if ever science education program at secondary level is required to be improved.

Methods of teaching of Chemistry

Method of teaching is a technique adopted by a teacher which enables him to achieve the

stated objectives of an instruction. Many science education researchers reported that poor

facilities for teaching and teachers’ poor presentation of instructional materials in the

teaching of Chemistry may be responsible for students lost of interest in the subject and

eventually resulting in their failure in both internal and external examinations. Studies on

variables of teaching compared different methods of teaching on ability grouping,

50

cooperative learning and enhancement strategies and found poor performances of students to

be as a result of poor classroom teaching and students’ attitude to school. Okebukola, (2005).

Ali (2002) reported that no one method can be regarded as the best for teaching every

situation. Okorie (2004) suggested that a combination of teaching methods should be adopted

for teaching chemistry. According to him, a carefully designed teaching method can work

wonders in making learning effective. Ali (2002) grouped the various methods of teaching

science into three viz: Practically- based teaching method (laboratory, demonstration inquiry,

investigation).

Theoretically- based method (lecture execution, seminars, etc).

There are many methods of teaching that can be adopted for teaching chemistry. Effiong

and Enukoha (2003), found that both inquiry-based and refined traditional approach could be

employed as viable alternatives in science teaching. Ette (1990) indicated that a major defect

in our science education is that science is presented dogmatically in most schools as a series

of disjointed facts and concepts which students find it difficult to relate to real world. He

further continued that most of our secondary schools’ laboratories are ill-equipped and as a

result, students are denied that feeling of participation and reality which practical classes and

demonstration provide.

The WAEC chief Examiner’s reports (2001) indicated that “the poor achievement of

students in science subjects has assumed a dangerous dimension. In the light of this, science

educators need to seek suitable ways of tackling the current mass failure if they are to halt the

drifts of students to arts and social science subjects”.

Sola and Ojo (2007) asserted that teaching methods such as inquiry, project, lecture-

demonstration, lecture performance, problem-solving, field trips, cooperative or group

51

learning, excursion, remedial, laboratory and guided discussion and the use of audio visual

materials have been recommended for the teaching of Chemistry in schools. Sola and Ojo

(2007) further stated that, “there is however, the need to understand that for different topics

in Chemistry, the teaching approach may differ depending on the complexity and structure of

the topics. This statement could mean that a science teacher should be versatile in the use of

variety of methods and procedures in order to make teaching and learning of science more

successful. In fact they stated that, “the most enjoyable aspect of teaching and learning can

occur when a variety of teaching methods are used”.

Chemistry needs to be taught properly in the secondary schools to enhance students

understanding of the subject and improve their achievement in both internal and external

examinations. This can equally increase their chances for gaining admissions in to

institutions of higher learning. According to Onwu (1991), teachers of Chemistry are

expected to make Chemistry more relevant, enjoyable, easy and meaningful to students.

Teachers need to improve their teaching methods and employ appropriate teaching strategies

as the teaching–learning situation may demand.

Researchers in science education reported that poor facilities for teaching and teachers’

poor presentation of instructional materials in the teaching of Chemistry may be responsible

for students lost of interest in the subject and eventually resulting in their failure in both

internal and external examinations. This continuous poor academic performance in

Chemistry is an indication that a lot need to be done to make Chemistry education

satisfactory in Nigeria. These observations are in line with the trend as described by the

WAEC Chief Examiner’s reports (2003), where he indicated that generally candidates’

52

performance in the paper was poor due to poor knowledge of fundamental principles and

procedures especially in qualitative analysis and lack of exposure to laboratory techniques.

This incessant poor performance of Chemistry students in senior school certificate

examination (SSCE) has reached an alarming rate which called for critical investigation with

the aim of finding solution to the problems associated with the teaching and learning

processes of Chemistry. The Chief Examiner 2005 made the following recommendations as

remedies:

- Candidates should be made to see the importance of reading and adhering to rubrics.

- They should also be exposed to more practical/laboratory activities.

- They should improve on their quantitative skills and use of English language.

- Teachers should be more dedicated, ready and willing to impart the requisite knowledge

to candidates.

- School authorities /government should employ well and qualified teachers with good

remuneration to discourage distractions.

Over the years researchers in education focus their attention on the factors which

influence students’ performance in Chemistry. Poor methods of teaching Chemistry

continued to be prominently identified as a major factor affecting the students’ performance

adversely. While Akale and Usman (1996), Okebukola and Jegede (1999), observed that

many factors singly or in combination are responsible for the poor achievement of students in

Chemistry examinations.

In order to make Chemistry real and relevant in Nigeria, Chemistry teachers should

motivate their students by adopting teaching strategies in which they are made to participate

actively in lesson and using local and familiar materials in illustrating scientific facts and

53

principles related to Chemistry. Thus making those things in Chemistry being imagined

abstract concrete. Literature shows that teachers still hold up to the use of expository or

didactic teaching method in Chemistry classroom (Balogun, 1994 & Igwebuike, 1994). This

method of teaching leads to rote learning of facts, concepts and principles which is away

from the scientific principles of developing skills necessary for solving problems in the

society. Agulana and Nwachukwu (2001), pointed out that much of what is learnt in school is

rote learning whereby students learn statements or formulae directly from the teachers or

textbooks and reproduce such information on cue. Such students, he said are unable to use

their learning outside the classroom.

Ali (2002) asserted that Chemistry is an activity oriented subject. It therefore requires the

teachers to actively engage the students in practical work in Chemistry. He further stated that,

a significant difference in achievement exists between students taught through the activity

method and those taught through the lecture method. Lassa (1994), also observed that activity

based science instruction has been found to be superior to non-activity based ones in

promoting science processes development, learning of science content, attitudes, creativity

and language development. Sola and Ojo (2007) noted that science teachers have always

recognized the importance of practical work as a means of introducing learners to the

scientific process of experimentation. They emphasised that chemistry teaching should

develop in the students manipulative and experimental skills to make them have confidence

in conducting experiments and or researches. Student should do practical work by conducting

experiments, reporting their observation and making inferences or conclusions, thus,

developing their scientific knowledge and experimental skills and at the same time arousing

and maintaining interest of the students in the subject. They further asserted that lecture

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method is used primarily to introduce students to a new subject. It is also a valuable method

for summarizing ideas, showing relationships between theory and practice, and re-

emphasizing main points. This explains the position that both the two methods are essential

in teaching and learning of chemistry if handled effectively. Eze (2000) observed that for

greater effectiveness in the teaching and learning of chemistry, theory and practical aspect of

the SSS Chemistry should be taught side by side.

The lecture method is mostly valuable in stressing the main points as mentioned above,

but keeps the learner passive and inactive in the teaching and learning processes; as the

teacher lectures, students take notes, and then students are tested on what they have learned.

Today, emphasis is being placed on practical or “hands-on” learning to supplement the

traditional “chalk-talks”. Through experiment, simulation, debate, and other participatory

activities, students discover concept on their own. Experiential learning increases retention

and motivates students to learn and encourages group cooperation.

Practical activities in chemistry provide opportunity in promoting the scientific methods

of thought, which include inculcating in the learner the scientific habit of sensing and

observing problem, recording, formulating hypothesis, conducting experiment, making

inference and drawing conclusions based on theory and observation. The students further

develop scientific attitudes, such as curiosity, open mindedness, honesty and objectivity.

The implication of the above is that practical or laboratory method of teaching

encompasses the three domains widely referred to as the Bloom’s Taxonomy of educational

objectives. Agbi, (2004) described Bloom’s Taxonomy as follows: -

The cognitive domain: This deals with the recall or recognition of knowledge and

development of intellectual abilities and skills.

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The affective domain: This describes changes in interest, attitudes, feelings and values and

the development of appreciation and adequate adjustment. For instance, cooperation,

openness, honesty and neatness are positive attitudes which fall into this domain.

Psychomotor Domain: This describes manual dexterity or manipulative skills; the use of

hand especially in practical work, e.g. the ability to use burette, microscope etc.

Sola and Ojo (2007), observed that practical do reinforce theoretical learning and

obvious reality in practical work. They promote problem solving and self reliance in real life

situation. Laboratory is a resource room designed for scientific experiments e.g verification

of science principles, laws or theory of ready known in chemistry. Dienye and Gbamanja,

(1990) observed that laboratory method of teaching is an activity carried out by individual or

group for the purpose of making observation and inferences.

Evidences from existing literature show that while some research findings are in favor

of other methods in terms of enhancing students’ achievements in chemistry, Anene (1997)

examined the influence of laboratory experiments on the achievement of Nigerian secondary

schools students in WAEC chemistry and found out that insufficient laboratory work is

accountable for students’ poor achievement in chemistry. Ezeiruoma (1995) asserted that

schools with well-equipped laboratories have significantly better school certificate result than

those without. For any meaningful learning activity to take place in chemistry the availability

of laboratory is invaluable. Practical work in chemistry as in other science subjects is

intended to enable understanding while developing the skills of the learner, so it is not

surprising that lack of such teaching can lead to poor achievement at the secondary school

level.. Furthermore, in their research on the effects of students manipulation of molecular

models on chemistry achievement Garbel and Sherwood (1990) concluded that chemistry

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achievement can be enhanced by allowing the students to manipulate the molecular models

themselves. It is recommended that the guided discovery approach resting on the activity of

the pupil to be used in teaching chemistry. Hence the use of laboratory method is imperative

in this study.

Another supporting method is demonstration. Demonstration means to show how

something is done. According to Ali (2002) demonstration is an activity carried out by a

science teacher in full view of his science students who do not participate but only watch

what is going on. He opined that demonstration in science teaching particularly in chemistry

is useful alternative to student laboratory activities when materials and equipment may not be

enough for the students use. Garbel and Sherwood (1990) stated that demonstration method

of instruction yields better result that the laboratory method in imparting knowledge.

According to Okebukola (2005), the demonstration method is one of the teacher’s greatest

asserts in arriving at the fundamental skills and practice in a very short amount of time.

According to him student achievement is enhanced in addition to time being saved. On the

other hand criticizing demonstration method of teaching Mills, (1999) observed that

demonstration is in danger of showing too much, giving too fast and consequently lead to

poor performance. Furthermore, Bilitho (1991) criticized demonstration method of teaching

as being authoritarian and artificial.

Another practical oriented method is inquiry. Ali (2002) described this method as a process

of teaching in which a series of logical questions are posed according to him; a stage of

investigation is expected to follow. This method is very cost effective.

Lecture method is a theoretically-based method commonly used by chemistry teachers in

teaching the subject. Presently in Nigeria the lecture method of teaching is frequently used by

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secondary school teachers in the teaching of sciences in general and chemistry in particular

(Amaefule, 2000). As a result student tends to memorize the concepts, principles and

equations in chemistry and cannot apply chemistry in their daily lives. The end product

according to (Amaefule, 2000) is students’ poor performance. He pointed an accusing finger

on the lecture method commonly used in teaching chemistry in our schools. Okorie (2004)

reported that lecture method reserves the concept of education which maintains that the best

learning is that which result from purposeful activities. This method does not take into

consideration the mixed ability group in the class, hence it cannot be used to achieve the

objective of chemistry teaching unless when used in combination with other practically-

oriented methods. With these methods in use for the achievement of teaching and learning

objectives, still students fail in their examinations in Chemistry both in internal and external

examinations. Students do sit for both practical and theory examinations, which aspect could

be responsible for this incessant failure. It is not known and hence the conduct of this study

becomes imperative in order to identify the aspect that is responsible for this continuous

failure.

Evaluation in Chemistry Teaching.

Another activity that takes place in the school system which affects students’ performance is

evaluation. The main purpose of science instruction is to change students’ behavior in the

desired scientific direction. The changes may include intellectual, emotional, social and

physical behavior. The desired directions are predetermined through instructional objectives.

Such envisaged changes in behavior are periodically evaluated. Thus an instructional

situation stipulates the setting of objectives followed by instructional activities and evaluation

of the outcomes based on the objectives that informed the teaching.

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Evaluation in Education is an aspect of the curriculum process which has to do with the

determination of the success or failure of the educational enterprise by means of some

measurement or assessment of change in behavior. It is seen as integral part of the

curriculum; hence it is extended to all the steps in the process. It is necessary that at each

stage a decision should be made on whether or not what is being done contribute effectively

to the realization of the objectives of the curriculum.

Evaluation therefore is a very important component of the teaching and learning

situation, and hence is one of major activities taking place in the school system, where

students (and equally teachers) are assessed on what they had been taught and what they have

taught with the aim of determining how well such students or teacher have attained and or

achieved the set instructional objectives of the course of studies respectively. The word

evaluation however is probably not a very precise word in that it involves more than mere

assessment of particular behavior and skills.

Dienye and Gbamanja (1990) looked at evaluation to be technically defined as “a process

by which we assign some worth or value to something. It includes both qualitative and

quantitative description together with a value judgment. Evaluation of instruction therefore is

a systematic process by which the effectiveness or otherwise of a program of instruction in

relation to set objectives is determined. Sometimes evaluation can be based on measurements

obtained from test scores. Measurement therefore becomes a quantitative description of

things or students’ behavior. It may involve the use of calibrated instruments for that purpose

like in measurement of the length of a desk using ruler or the volume of a liquid using a

measuring cylinder. Tests are also means of measuring in which more intangible behaviors

and skills are involved.

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They further looked at evaluation as a process of assessing the effectiveness of a

programme of study in bringing about desired behavioral changes in the learner. This process

takes into account all the skills, attitudes, abilities, behavior changes and knowledge in the

subject acquired by the students in a particular programme.

The importance of evaluation in the school system cannot be overemphasized, in which it

measures the achievement made by students and the performance of teachers at different

stages of education process and whose outcome could be used in decision making by the

teachers, the students, the administrators and the parents for promotions, placements,

certification, etc.

According to Dienye and Gbamanja (1990), evaluation can be of benefit to students,

parents as well as the teachers.

i. Students will derive the following benefits: - Clarify the nature of intended learning

outcome, provide short term goal to work towards, provide information for

overcoming learning difficulties, provide information for future success, and provide

feedback concerning learning progress.

ii. Parents will be informed about their children’s achievement, strengths and

weaknesses.

iii. Teachers will be able to ascertain whether their: - Instructional objectives are

appropriate or not, instructional materials are relevant and useful or not, adequate and

effectiveness of the

Maduabum (2000) gave the reasons for the desirability of the evaluation process as: “to

judge the level of achievement; teachers need to know how successful their students are

learning, and in doing so, weaknesses in learning are revealed. To enable students realize

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their changes and improve on their efforts. Again, to motivate students to learn, that is being

interested and desiring to do more. Finally, evaluation provides data about the success or

failure of the school.

Maduabum (2000) indicated that if evaluation is to be effective, the teacher must use

success of his students’ learning and to receive feedback from them to enable him to be

sensitive to their needs. From the above preamble, one could understand that:

It is not restricted to only the learner but embraces every agent of the teaching-learning

process; evaluation goes beyond the cognitive effects of school learning to also include the

non-cognitive effects of school learning.

Being a continuous process, the types of evaluation include the following: -

Diagnostic Evaluation: -

This evaluation which is before the start of instruction is aimed at finding out the learners’

needs and problems before the lesson with a view to taking appropriate actions.

Formative Evaluation: -

This is also called continuous evaluation. As instruction progresses, the teacher carries

out evaluation. According to Iloputaife (2000), this enable him to decide whether everything

(the learner, the teacher, the learning materials, etc) is performing in the way desired and

what remedy to apply if certain things are not working out well. Similarly, formative

evaluation can provide a clue with regard to whether the summative evaluation will be

successful or not. It should be noted that formative evaluation covers evaluation carried out

during the lesson, or weekly/monthly evaluation when a lesson is in progress.

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Summative Evaluation: -

This is the sum up of an academic undertaking. It is therefore called terminal evaluation or

total evaluation. It is carried out at the end of a term, session or at the end of a programme.

Summative evaluation enables the teacher to determine the extent to which the set objectives

have been achieved. It is used for certification, (or grading) and taking decision concerning a

given programme. For example, students’ promotion from one class to another is based on

formative evaluation. It is also for placement, e.g. JAMB, National Common Entrance

Examination, etc.

The various methods of evaluation available to the teacher include: -

Essay-type test, Objective-type test and Performance (practical) type test.

a. Essay-Type Test This type of test is used as a means of evaluating the quantitative

aspects of verbal instructions. The test items require the learner to reason out the responses,

plan how best to arrange the responses sequentially, and then write them out at some

length. Essay type is used where there is: Factual knowledge, prescription, explanation and

prediction of process and structures. Interpretation of experiment and numerical data.

Description of instruments, apparatus, etc. Discussion of results of experiments, and

solution of problems. Exposition of theoretical knowledge.

b. Objective-type test. In objective-type test, the answer or responses to the questions

consists of one word or group of words that are unequivocal. The items are so framed that

there is only one answer to each. The answer to the given item is predetermined and it will

give the same score to any individual since the scoring is not influenced by the teacher

prejudice.

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c. Performance (practical) type test.

The performance (practical) type of test is a type of test that measures the students’

ability to carry out certain scientific operations. The materials needed are placed before the

students and they are required to solve the problem through several steps of performance acts

which should finally culminate in the demonstration of an end result. In such a test

performance of the students is evaluated. The advantage of this type of test is that

verbalization is reduced to a minimum in tests manipulative ability of the students. This type

of test could probably allow students who are poor in verbal aptitude to gain recognition here.

The limitations of this test are the difficulties involved in the administration of such test to

large groups. It could also involve a large amount of materials.

These different methods of assessment or evaluation are useful in science in general and

chemistry in particular, as they help to ascertain whether the purpose of the science

instruction has been attained or not. The results of such assessments may enable us determine

whether the level of students’ achievement has met our set objectives.

Okebukola (2005) cited that, “what makes a scientist is not how much information he has

stored in his memory but the actual practice he receives in rigors of scientific process, how he

wonders set of a controlled experiment, his willingness to withhold, judgment and how he

realized the limitation of (science). These however, are offered by the use of practical and

theory (essay and objective test) in evaluating (science).

The importance of the theory (essay and objectives tests) and practical in the evaluation of

chemistry as a science subject cannot be overemphasized as these methods are known to

instill in the students required skills in chemistry. Especially the practical provide opportunity

in promoting the scientific methods of though, which include inculcating in the learner the

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scientific habit of sensing and observing problem, recording accurately the observation,

formulating hypothesis, conducting experiments to test the stated hypothesis, making

inferences from the result of the experiment and drawing conclusions based on the theory and

observations. The students further develop scientific attitudes, such as, curiosity, open-

mindedness, honesty, thoughtfulness, objectivity, skepticism and acceptance of

generalization made by others based on scientific evidences.

Empirical Review

Studies on factors affecting students’ achievement in Chemistry.

Adeyemi (2008) examined teachers’ teaching experience and students’ learning outcomes

in the secondary schools in Ondo State Nigeria. As a correlational survey, the study

population comprised all the 257 secondary schools in the State. This population was made

up of 147 rural schools and 110 urban schools. It was also made up of 12 single sex schools

and 245 mixed schools. Out of the population, a sample of 180 schools was drawn through

the process of stratified random sampling technique. An inventory and a semi-structured

interview schedule were the instruments used to collect information for the study. The data

collected were analysed using chi square test, correlation analysis and t-test. The semi-

structured interview was conducted with selected principals and education officers. Their

responses were analysed through content analysis. The findings revealed that teachers’

teaching experience was significant with students’ learning outcomes as measured by their

performance in the SSC examinations. Schools having more teachers with five years and

above teaching experience achieved better results than schools having more teachers with

less than five years teaching experience. Jegede (2007) in their study were concerned with science

concept attainment through the use of environmental analogies. They demonstrated the use of analogy

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models in facilitating conceptual change by using a sample of 248 senior secondary two students

selected from two schools in Zaria. A pre-test post-test control group utilizing the analysis of

covariance was used for this study. The experimental group was instructed using teaching with

analogy (TWA) modes together with the enriched analogical linkage derived from environment

familiar to the students. The control group was instructed using the expository method which has not

enriched analogical linkage. The result of the study indicated that those taught with analogies

performed better than those taught without analogies.

Eze (2000) conducted a study on the constraints to effective teaching of chemistry

practical in SSS. The purpose of the study was to determine the major problems encountered

by chemistry teachers in the teaching of practical chemistry as well as to determine the effect

of school location on the extent of problems encountered by chemistry teachers in the

conduct of chemistry practical. Based on the two research questions that guided the study the

researcher found that there exist some constraints to effective teaching of chemistry practical,

with rural schools experiencing more difficulties in the conduct of chemistry practical than

their urban schools counterpart. Some of the reported factors that militate against the

effective conduct of chemistry practical in schools include non-availability of essential

chemicals and equipment, as well as lack of interest by chemistry teachers in organizing

practical for their students.

In another study Akale and Usman (1996) investigated the effect of practical activities on

achievement in integrated science among junior secondary school students in Kaduna state.

Based on the three research questions and four hypotheses that guided the study, the

researchers reported that there is significant difference in achievement between students

exposed to more practical activities and those taught in the conventional way. In another

study Ugwuanyi (1998) investigated the effects of guided discovery and expositor teaching

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methods on students’ academic achievement in physics. The purpose of the study was to

empirically determine the extent to which expository and guided discovery methods actually

affect achievement in physics. He found out that guided discovery method of instruction in

physics is more effective in enhancing performance than expository method.

Some researches on teacher factor in STM teaching examined teachers’ academic/

professional qualification (FIS Inspection Reports 2004 – 2005); reported that Okebukola

(2005), examined the relationship between teacher perceived difficult topics in Biology

Chemistry and Physics with their professional qualifications and their years of experience.

The purpose was to determine the extent to which the years of experience have influence on

the understanding of those topics in the various subjects. He identified some ‘O’ level

physics, chemistry, Biology etc. topics which teachers perceived as difficult to teach and this

difficulty correlated significantly with their professional qualifications and years of teaching

experience. In yet another study Bolorunduro (1998) examined the relationship between

laboratory facilities, teachers’ qualifications, practical periods, interestin chemistry,

laboratory as a venue for chemistry lesson for experiments and students’ achievement in

chemistry. The purpose of the study was to empirically determine the extend to which

students use the laboratory facilities, the attitude of students to practical work and also to

examine the laboratory facilities available in the chosen schools. The result of his study

revealed that students in schools with adequate facilities achieved better than those in schools

with less or without laboratory facilities. He also found that students in schools with more

qualified teachers achieved better than those with less qualified teachers. Akinyele (1997)

reported that students’ poor performance in the practical aspect of chemistry examination

contributes significantly to the high failure rate in the subject. The continuous poor

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achievement of students in practical chemistry is an indication that all is not well with our

chemistry education. Chemistry teaching in Nigerian secondary schools is dominated by

teachers’ lecture/expository method (Ajewole and Okebukola 1990). This method has failed

to produce chemistry students that are committed to chemistry and who can reason critically

and be able to transfer what is learnt to new but similar situations.

Ahiakwo (2000) in an intensive study on Mathematics achievement and academic

performance in chemistry found that there is no statistical difference between the academic

chemistry performance of students with O’level Mathematics credit and those without

O’level Mathematics credit. His findings is at variance with the study of Simon and Ward

(1993) who reported that prior academic achievement was particularly positively correlated

with students academic performance in the theory of Education.

Reports on learning and learner characteristics by Okebukola (2005), Effiong and Enukoha

(2003) showed positive correlation between cognitive preferences and student’s

performances in science. Aigbomian (1995) found relationship between understanding

physics concept and performance in West African School Certification Examination

(WASCE). Ivowi (1995) and Ogunleye (1999) linked causes of misconceptions of concepts

in physics learning to teacher ineffectiveness, inadequate textbooks and poor applications of

science process skills.

The SSS Chemistry curriculum goes beyond the former GCE O/Level syllabus in terms

of scope and content. The component topics are logically arranged, each unit in the

curriculum is organized under topic, performance, objectives, content, activity (practical

work) and notes. Thus the practical work is based on the theory the students have learnt.

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Therefore, it is expected that a pass in the theory by a student should lead to a pass in the

practical and vice versa.

A number of other empirical studies have been conducted on gender related issues on

achievement in chemistry. Ezeliora (1997) conducted a study aimed at empirically

determining which of the learning materials will influence retention of chemistry concepts

more among senior secondary students and to what extent each influences the same criteria

on male and female students in the school. She reported that locally improvised learning

materials proved superior to the standard learning materials in engendering retention of

chemistry concepts. She further reported that there is significant sex difference on the

retention of chemistry concepts by students. Female students according to her proved

superior to male. This finding is however at variance with that of Young (1994) who reported

that boys achieve better than girls in chemistry.

It is on this basis that this research study is designed to compare between theory and

practical scores of students in chemistry so as to establish which one among the two

constitute problem to the students with the aim of finding solution.

Gender as a Factor Influencing Students’ Performance in Chemistry

The term gender is often used to indicate the distinction between human beings on the

basis of masculinity and feminity in relation to their expected roles. Keller (1991) sees

gender as a cultural construct which; distinguishes the roles, behaviour, mental and emotional

characteristics between the male and the female. To Shettima (1996), gender is a socially

defined status as roles and actions ascribed to women and men so as to distinguish who they

are, what is expected of them by the society and how they relate to each other for meaningful

coexistence. This meaningful coexistence is influenced by the education of both men and

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women because education is believed to “play a great role in furthering social solidarity and

integration in the society” as noted by Eriba and Ande (2006).

Gender can then be understood to mean socially ascribed attribute which explains the

condition of being male or female. There are conflicting opinions on gender related issues in

science achievement. Some educators pointed that sex plays no significant role in student

academic achievement in science while others hold contrary opinion.

Achievement test results over the years have shown an ever increasing gap between the

performances of boys and girls in chemistry at senior secondary school level (Onekutu,

2002). In fact, girls now tend to ignore the subject all together. This has resulted to a situation

where there are more boys than girls doing chemistry at this level. As a result, chemistry

classes and science classes in general are dominated by boys while the girls go into reading

languages and Arts. The perceived low achievement of girls in chemistry is an unpleasant

development as it spells doom for those of them who would like to pursue careers in the

sciences. This is because a pass at credit level in chemistry is required at Senior School

Certificate Examination (SSCE) for admission into science programmes in the universities.

Researches have been carried out about the underachievement of females in the sciences;

these include those of Eriba and Ande (2006). They found that male students have higher

achievement in the sciences than their female counter parts. According to Gipps (1994) and

O’Connor (2001), as boys and girls grew up, the differences they have in achievement in

other subjects tend to diminish except in the sciences, and mathematics. Obande, (2003)

observed that the fear of Mathematics is often transferred to Chemistry, which involves one

form of calculation or the other. However, it is not all aspects of Chemistry that involve

calculations. It is mostly topics in Physical Chemistry and the Kinetic theory of gases.

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Williams and Jacobson (1990) agree that in early school years there is no difference in the

achievement of boys and girls in the sciences but that in the higher classes, the boys perform

better than the girls in the areas that have to do with calculations. Eriba and Ande (2006)

opined that to be able to communicate appropriately in science, one needs the ability to use

graphs, symbols and diagrams. All these are in mathematics and this seems to be where the

girls have fallen short.

Garbel and Sherwood (1994) were however, not in total agreement with the above

statement and claimed that underachievement of students in calculating reacting masses from

chemical changes was not due to the fear of mathematical content, but due to the fact that

majority of the students did not understand the basic concepts involved in the study of the

topic. According to UNESCO (1998), local customs and values have been developing in girls

and they are so deeply ingrained that women themselves often subscribe to them and play a

subservient role in the society. Lie (1994) observed that invincible rules within the society

have provided what is feminine and what is masculine. Hence, science in most cultures is

defined as a masculine domain. Onekutu, (2002) asserted that the situation today has

degenerated such that girls now completely see Science subjects as a male- only endeavour,

preferring to go for other subjects.

Other empirical studies have been conducted on gender related issues on achievement of

students in science. For instance, Adegboye (1998) explained that many parents do not want

to spend as much on female education as that of male child because of their social or cultural

environment. Ezeliora (1997) conducted a study aimed at empirically determining which of

the learning materials will influence retention of chemistry concepts more among senior

secondary students and to what extent each influences the same criteria on male and female

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students in the school. She reported that locally improvised learning materials proved

superior to the standard learning materials in engendering retention of chemistry concepts.

She further reported that there is significant sex difference on the retention of chemistry

concepts by students; female students according to her proved superior to male. This finding

is however at variance with that of Young (1994) who reported that boys achieve better than

girls in chemistry.

Asim, Bassey and Essien (2005) found ten items which represent gender – unfair

behaviours of teachers which retarded students’ interests and participation in STM. These

include among others consistent usage of masculine pronouns in discussing STM concepts,

unequal access for male/female students to participate in discussion/demonstration, higher

achievement levels set out for boys than for girls, and female students, being assisted most

often in practical, projects and other assignment. They recommended that STM teachers

should be sensitized on gender issue to develop a gender – fair posture and to exhibit a

gender- inclusive environment in the course of their class room interactions.

In another study, Ibitoye, (1998) conducted study on gender differences and achievement

in senior secondary Agricultural science and reported that there was no significant difference

in the achievement between male and female candidates in the SSS certificate examination.

This finding disagrees with the study of Ogbe (1991) who found that girls score significantly

higher than boys in chemistry. He further found that there are some specific significant

differences in achievement between girls for co-educational schools and boys from single co-

educational schools. This finding generally agrees with the result of study by Omaze (1992)

who found that co-educational girls score significantly higher than co-educational boys in

science. This finding is at variance with the finding of (Anih and Maghboh, 1997) who found

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out that gender plays no significant role in science achievement. It is no yet certain whether

the outcome of this study will agree or disagree with the above findings.

In another empirical study by Harbor Peters (1994) on the teacher gender by student

gender interaction in SS III students Mathematics achievement, he found that male students

whether taught by male or female Mathematics teacher perform better than their female

counterparts. Furthermore, she reported that male students taught by a female Mathematics

teacher perform significantly better than taught by a male Mathematics teacher. It is not yet

certain whether male student taught by a male chemistry teacher.

In yet another empirical study by Olarewaju and Balogun, (1994) they established that a

significant difference in performance exists between students taught through activity method

and those taught through lecture method on an achievement test. Those taught through the

activity method performed better than their counterparts who were taught through lecture or

teacher-talk method.

The study conducted by Iloputaife (1995) revealed that there was no significant

difference in the attainment level due to gender. Furthermore, Maduabum (1995) study

showed that there was no significant difference in the achievement of male and female

exposed to the guided discovery and expository methods.

Abonyi (1998) investigated the effect of an ethnoscience based instructional package on

students’ conception of scientific phenomena and interest in science. Quasi experimental

design was used for the study. A total of 119 (55 males and 64 females) JSS 3 students were

used for the experimental group and for the control, 124 (60 males and 64 females) were also

used to collect data on conception and interest respectively. The result revealed that the

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ethnoscience based package has no differential impact on concept formation among males

and females used for the study.

It would appear from the above cited studies that differences due to gender do not exist in

science achievement. However, some other researchers point it that school subjects have

clear cut gender bias.

Similarly, Ezeano (2002) determined the effect of gender and school type on the

mathematics achievement of students. Two hundred and forty students (134 boys and 106

girls) from three randomly selected schools in Minna, Niger State of Nigeria were used for

the study. Data was collected using thirty multiple choice test items on three mathematics

concepts. Analysis of the data revealed that boys were superior to girls in mathematics

achievement.

From the ongoing, there is no consensus as to whether gender influences achievement in

science. With all these differences existing between boys and girls in achievement in

sciences no study conducted indicated whether these differences were in their performances

in either theory or practical. Hence the need to conduct this study to find out where the

differences exist is it in theory or practical.

Location as a factor influencing students’ achievement in science

The location of schools attended by students also affects their academic achievement.

Several researchers were conducted on environmental/parental correlates. They sought

relationships between home and school factors and students’ learning outcome. Some of

whom include Victor and Juliana (2006) who showed that these factors facilities learning.

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Jegede (1994) and Besong & Obo (2003) found that educational and occupational status of

home, teachers’ interest in teaching physics, students positive attitude towards physics and

teachers’ less home work load affect achievement positively. The study also found that home

location (i.e urban or rural) has no affect on students’’ achievement. Victor and Julian (2006)

observed that urban schools receive more educational resources than rural schools and hence

those in the urban perform better that those in rural areas. Kolade (1991) in his study found

that students in urban schools performed better than students in rural school in West African

Schools Certificate Examinations because of the provision of more qualified teachers and

adequate facilities in the urban schools.

Jegede (2007) in a study which was designed to find out students’ anxiety towards the

learning of chemistry, identify the factors that cause the anxiety, examining the disposition of

sex towards the learning of chemistry and suggests ways to increase their taste towards the

learning of the subjects. Data for the study was obtained by the administering a questionnaire

to 300 respondents involved in the study. The data obtained were analyzed using frequency

counts, percentages and stanine test. The findings of the study revealed that the students,

whether male or female, urban or rural based, show great anxiety towards the learning of

chemistry and anxiety is higher in female and rural based students than male or female,

urban or rural students. The cause of students’ anxiety as revealed by the study include: wide

coverage of the syllabus, low awareness of career opportunities, their teacher and his

teaching methods and lack of teaching aids/laboratory.

Okebukola (2005) in a study examined the influence of selected factors on students’

performance in practical chemistry. Twelve factors were excreted by principal components

analysis. These factors accounted for 64% of the variance of the scores in practical chemistry

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when stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied on the data. Students’ participation

in laboratory activities made the greatest independence contribution to the variance in

performance (0.16), followed by students’ attitude to chemistry as a subject (0.11), teachers

attitude to chemistry laboratory work (0.10), and availability of chemistry laboratory

materials (0.08), school location, sex of the students, and students’ fear of explosion and of

damaging expensive equipment made non-significant contributions.

From the above, we should understand how educators look at location and how it

influences teaching and learning and its effect on the students’ achievement. Some look at it

as being affective and some said no. these entire arguments boil down to the fact that

students do not do well in their examinations in chemistry. And that this failure could be in

either of the two types of examinations students do write; theory or practical. Where the

problem does lie? This study is poised to finding solution to this question.

Summary of the literature reviewed

Chemistry is a practical oriented subject and the recommended approach for its teaching is

guided discovery. This approach is activity oriented. For greater effectiveness in the teaching

and learning of chemistry theory and practical aspects are expected to go hand in hand.

Practical work help to inculcate into the students the habit of drawing conclusions based on

observations and experimentations. But it has been reported that chemistry teachers only

manage to teach only one aspect (theory) while the other aspect (practical) suffers. The effect

of this practice is the poor performance experienced by our chemistry students in external

examination. This study is designed to find which aspect gives more problems to chemistry

students which make them fail in chemistry external examination.

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Several factors identified as militating against chemistry teachers effectiveness in the

teaching and learning of chemistry includes: lack of materials and equipments, poor attitude

of student towards the study of chemistry, large class-size, poor work environment etc. In the

absence of teaching and learning resources, chemistry teaching and learning becomes

expository and didactic, hence leading to the poor performance experienced by chemistry

students in secondary schools.

Empirical evidence shows that chemistry teachers are in short supply in our secondary

schools and the few available ones are overloaded with teaching and non teaching duties. It is

therefore expected that Government should complement the effort of those teachers now on

ground by given them better pay and employ more qualified teachers in the system. An

extensive review of literature on the study of the theoretical and practical laboratory

components of achievement examination in Chemistry showed that such literature is scanty

and none have been reported for Yobe State. The literature also indicated that students do fail

in chemistry examination, but it is not understood in which aspect (theoretical or practical)

they fail worst. The literature also indicated that practical topics are mostly delayed until SS

II or SS III.

From the foregoing, it is clear that students perform poorly in SSCE Chemistry due to a

number of reasons ranging from teacher quality, availability of facilities, student interest and

curriculum factors. It is however not clear in which of the two aspects of the Chemistry

examinations do students fail worst is it in practical aspect or in theoretical aspect. Hence this

study filled the gap of paucity of empirical data by comparing and finding the relationship

between the scores of students in theoretical and practical aspects as they affect students

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overall achievement in Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry MOCK 2007-

2009 in Yobe State.

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CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODS

Introduction

This chapter presents the description of the general method the researcher adopted in carrying

out the study. This enabled the researcher to have answered the research questions and tested

those hypotheses that were formulated to guide the study. The chapter was subdivided into

the following units, design of the study, area of the study, population of the study, sample

and sampling techniques, instrument used for data collection and method of data analysis.

Design of the Study

The design of the study is a correlation research, which compares recorded scores of students

in theoretical and practical aspects of chemistry MOCK WASC examination of 2007-2009

academic sessions. The design is called “ex-post facto” in which the researcher cannot

manipulate the variables because their manifestation has already occurred, Kerlinger (1975).

The students’ scores were recorded from their individual personal academic files kept at their

various secondary schools’ academic records offices.

Area of the Study

The study was conducted in Potiskum education zone of Yobe State. Yobe State is stratified

into three education zones, Damaturu, Potiskum, and Gashua zones. There are twelve (12)

senior secondary schools in Potiskum education zone. Five of these senior secondary schools

are in urban area whereas the remaining seven are in rural areas. Out of the five senior

secondary schools in the urban area three are males while two are females. Five of those in

the rural areas are males and two are females. The choice of Potiskum education zone was

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borne out of the fact that this problem of poor achievement in chemistry exist in the area

(YSERCD, 2006).

Population of the study

All the two thousand and thirty (2030) Students who registered for Chemistry MOCK WASC

examinations in Potiskum Education Zone for three years 2007-2009, 577, 623 and 830

respectively formed the population of the study (YSERCD, 2007-2009).

Sample and Sampling Technique

There are three educational zones in Yobe State. From these three educational zones

Potiskum zone was chosen by purposive sampling to satisfy the interest of the researcher.

One thousand two hundred (1200) out of the 2030 Senior School three (SSIII) students of the

twelve senior secondary schools in the zone constituted the sample for the study. One

hundred (100) male students were drawn in each year for three years from the rural schools

and a hundred (100) in each year for three years from the urban totaling 600. One hundred

(100) female students were also drawn in each year for three years from the rural schools and

hundred in each year for three years from urban totaling 600.

Instrument for Data Collection

The students’ scores in both theoretical and practical aspects were recorded from their

individual personal academic files kept at their various secondary schools’ academic records

offices.

Method of Data Analysis

The scores obtained from documented records of students’ raw scores in both practical and

theoretical aspect of chemistry MOCK WASC examination 2007-2009 was analyzed with

SPSS version 16.0 statistical tools. Mean and standard deviation of scores were used to answer the

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research questions while correlation which essentially employed Pearson Product-Moment

Correlation Coefficient analysis was used to test the hypotheses.

80

CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION OF RESULT

Introduction

This chapter deals with the analysis and presentation of data collected. The sum of the scores

divided by the number of scores, known as the Mean of Scores and the numerical value used

to indicate how widely individuals in a group vary known as the Standard Deviation of

Scores were the statistical tools used to answer the research questions that guided the study

while the relationship between variables in the null hypotheses were established using the

Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient (r). All the hypotheses were tested at

P<0.05 level of significance.

Table1. Mean and Standard Deviation of Scores of Students in Theoretical (TH) and

Practical (PR) Aspects of Senior School Certificate Mock Examination in Chemistry 2007 -

2009.

Aspect of

examination

Variable

N

Σ X

X

S.D

TH

PR

All groups

All groups

1200

1200

38898

25711

32.42

21.43

09.91

11.56

Theory

UT

RT

600

600

21059

19497

35.10

32.50

09.19

10.95

Practical

UP

RP

600

600

13260

12451

22.10

20.75

11.24

11.85

Theory

MT

FT

600

600

22717

17839

37.86

29.73

08.78

09.88

Practical

MP

FP

600

600

12582

10940

20.97

18.23

11.99

11.54

p= 0.05

NB: UT = Urban students’ scores in theoretical aspects of the Mock SSCE

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RT = Rural students’ scores in theoretical aspects of the Mock SSCE

UP = Urban students’ scores in practical aspects of the Mock SSCE

RP = Rural students’ scores in practical aspects of the Mock SSCE

MT = Male students’ scores in theoretical aspects of the Mock SSCE

FT = Female students’ scores in theoretical aspects of the Mock SSCE

MP = Male students’ scores in practical aspects of the Mock SSCE

FP = Female students’ scores in practical aspects of the Mock SSCE

Research question one

What is the difference in achievement mean scores of students in theoretical (TH) and

practical (PR) aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry Examination 2007-2009?

Table 1 shows the mean of scores and standard deviation of scores of students in

theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Examination for three

years 2007-2009. From the Table, the students had means of scores of 32.42 and 21.43 in the

theoretical and the practical aspects respectively. Comparing the means of scores of the two

groups, the students had a higher mean achievement score in the theoretical aspect than in the

practical. This implies that on average, the students have higher achievement in theoretical

than in practical. It is also evident that they had the standard deviations of scores of 9.91 and

11.56 respectively. This indicated that the distributions of scores of students in the theoretical

aspect are closer to the mean compared to their scores in practical which are further away

from the mean. The implication is that, more students score higher on average in the

theoretical aspect than in the practical aspect.

Research question two

What is the difference in achievement mean scores of students in the urban area (UT) and

those in the rural area (RT) in the theoretical aspect of the Mock Senior School Certificate

Chemistry examination 2007-2009?

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Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation of scores of students in the urban area

(UT) and the rural area (RT) in theoretical aspect of Chemistry Mock Examination. Students

in the urban area had a mean of scores of 35.10 and those in the rural area had a mean of

scores of 32.50. Comparing the means of scores of the two groups, the students in the urban

area had a higher mean achievement score than those in the rural area. This implies that

students in the urban area have higher achievement on average than those in the rural area in

the theoretical aspect of the examination. Students in the urban area had standard deviation of

scores of 9.19, while those in the rural area had standard deviation of scores of 10.95. The

standard deviations indicated that the distributions of scores of students in the urban areas

around the mean in theoretical aspect are closer to the mean, while that of students in the

rural areas are further scattered away from the mean. This implies that more students score

higher on average in the urban than those in the rural in theoretical aspect.

Research question three

What is the difference in achievement mean scores of students in the urban area (UP) and

those in the rural area (RP) in the practical aspect of the Mock Senior School Certificate

Chemistry examination 2007-2009?

Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation of scores of students in the urban area

(UP) and that of those in the rural area (RP) in the practical aspect of the examination. From

the Table, the students in the urban area had a mean of scores of 22.10 while those in the rural

area had 20.75. Comparing the means of scores of the two groups, the students in the urban

area had a higher mean achievement score in practical aspect than those in the rural area. This

implies that students in the urban area have higher achievement on average than those in the

rural area. Students in the urban area recorded a standard deviation of 11.24 while those in

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the rural area recorded 11.85. The standard deviations of scores also indicated that those

students in the urban area have many students with scores closer to the mean compared to

those in the rural areas who have fewer numbers of students with scores closer to the mean.

Research question four

What is the difference in achievement mean scores of male (MT) and female (FT) students in

the theoretical aspect of the Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry examination 2007-

2009?

Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation of scores of male (MT) and female

(FT) students in theoretical aspect of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry Examination

2007-2009. From the table, male students had a mean of scores of 37.86 and the female

students had a mean of scores of 29.73. Comparing the means of the two groups, the male

students had higher mean achievement score than the female students. The implication is that

male students have higher achievement on average than the female students in the theoretical

aspect of the Mock examinations. A standard deviation of scores of 08.78 was recorded by

the male students while the female students recorded 09.88. The implication of the standard

deviations of the scores is that there are much male students whose scores are closer to the

mean than those of the female students. This also implied that only few female students

scored high while the remaining scored very low.

Research question five

What is the difference in achievement mean scores of male (MP) and female (FP) students in

the practical aspect of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry examination 2007-2009?

Table 1 shows the mean and standard deviation of scores of the male (MP) and female (FP)

students in practical aspect of the Mock Senior School Certificate Examination 2007-2009.

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From the table, the male students had a mean of scores of 20.97 and the females had a

mean of scores of 18.23. Comparing the means of scores of the two groups, the male students

had a higher mean achievement score than the female students in the practical aspect of the

examination. The standard deviation of scores for male students is 11.99 and that of the

females is 11.54 in the practical aspect of the examination. The standard deviations of scores

indicated that the distributions of scores of male students in practical are further away from

the mean compared with the scores of the female students which are closer to the mean. The

implication is that few male students scored higher and most of them scored very low while

the female students higher on average in practical aspect of the Mock Senior School

Certificate Examination 2007-2009 in Potiskum Education Zone of Yobe State.

HYPOTHESES

Table2. Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis (r) of Students’ Scores in Theoretical

and Practical Aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry 2007 - 2009.

Group N Σ X X S.D r Sig.

TH

PR

1200

1200

38898

25711

22.42 21.43

09.91

11.56

0.145

.000

UT

UP

600

600

21059

13260

35.10

22.10

09.19

11.24

0.152

.000

RT

RP

600

600

19497

12451

32.50

20.75

10.95

11.85

0.149

.000

MT

MP

600

600

22717

12582

37.86

20.97

08.78

11.99

0.330

.000

FT

FP

600

600

17839

10940

29.73

18.23

09.88

11.54

0.373

.000

Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

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Hypothesis one

There is no statistically significant relationship between students’ achievement mean scores

in theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination.

The achievement scores obtained in theoretical and practical aspects in Mock Senior School

Certificate Chemistry Examination for three years 2007-2009 in Potiskum Education Zone of

Yobe State were subjected to Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis and the result is

presented in Table 2. From Table 2, r = 0.145, at p= 0.05.This implies that there is a significant

positive relationship between the achievements means scores of students in theory and practical

aspects of chemistry. However, the strength of the correlation is small (0.145). Thus, poor

performance in theory will lead to poor performance in practical chemistry.

Hypothesis two

There is no statistically significant relationship between urban students’ achievement mean

scores in theoretical (UT) and practical (UP) aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate

Chemistry Examination 2007-2009.

The achievement scores obtained in Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examinations 2007-2009 in both Theoretical and Practical aspects for students in the urban

area were subjected to Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis and the result is

presented in Table 2. From Table 2, r = 0.152, p= 0.05. This implies that there exists a small

significant relationship between the male students’ achievement mean scores in theory and

practical aspects of chemistry and hence the null hypothesis is not accepted.

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Hypothesis three

There is no statistically significant relationship between rural students’ achievement mean

scores in theoretical (RT) and practical (RP) aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate

Chemistry Examination 2007-2009.

The achievement scores obtained in Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry

Examination in both theoretical and practical aspects for students in the rural area were

subjected to Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis and the result is presented in Table

2. From Table 2, r = 0.149, p= 0.05. The implication is that a small significant relationship

exists between the female students’ achievement mean scores in theory and practical aspects

of chemistry and so the null hypothesis is not accepted.

Hypothesis four

There is no statistically significant relationship between male students’ achievement mean

scores in theory (MT) and practical (MP) aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate

Chemistry Examination 2007-2009.

The achievement scores obtained in both theoretical and practical aspects for male

students in Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry Examination were subjected to

Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis and the result is presented in Table 2. From

Table 2, r = 0.330, at p= 0.05. This implies that a significant relationship exists between the

rural students’ achievement scores in theory and practical aspects of chemistry and the null

hypothesis is not accepted.

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Hypothesis five

There is no statistically significant relationship between female students’ achievement mean

scores in theoretical (FT) and practical (FP) aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate

Chemistry Examination 2007-2009.

The achievement scores obtained in both theory and practical for the female students

in Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry Examination were subjected to Pearson

Product-Moment correlation analysis and the result is presented in Table 2. From Table 2, r =

0.373, at p= 0.05. This indicates that a significant relationship exists between the urban

students’ achievement mean scores in theory and practical aspects of chemistry and the null

hypothesis is not accepted.

SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS

The analysis in this chapter revealed that: -

1. Students achieved significantly better in theoretical aspect than in practical aspect in

Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry 2007-2009.

2. Students in the urban area achieved better than those in the rural area in both theoretical

and practical aspects of the Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry in

the three years 2007-2009.

3. Male students achieved better than the female students in both theoretical and practical

aspects of the Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry from the year

2007 to 2009 in Potiskum Education Zone of Yobe State.

4. There is no significant relationship between the theoretical and the practical aspects of the

Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry but there was a progressive

increase in the students’ achievement for the three years 2007-2009 in Potiskum

Education Zone of Yobe State leading to the acceptance of the five null hypotheses.

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Therefore a pass in the theoretical aspect of the examination cannot be used to predict a

pass in the practical aspect.

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CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION AND SUMMARY

In this chapter, the data presented in chapter four are interpreted and discussed based on

the five research questions and five null hypotheses that guided the study. The discussions are

done based on the following headings:

1. Discussion of the findings

2. Conclusion reached from the findings of the study

3. Education Implications of the findings of the study

4. Recommendations

5. Limitations of the study

6. Suggestions for further research

7. Summary of the study

Discussion of the Findings

The discussion based on the five research questions and the five null hypotheses were done in

consideration of the following areas:

A. Comparison of students’ achievement in theoretical and practical aspects of the Mock

School Certificate Examination in Chemistry.

B. Comparison of students’ achievement in both theoretical and practical aspects of the

Mock School Certificate Examination in Chemistry in the urban area with those in the

rural area.

C. Comparison of male and female students’ achievement in both theoretical and

practical aspects of the Mock School Certificate Examination in Chemistry.

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D. Finding the relationship between students’ achievement in theoretical and practical

aspects of the Mock School Certificate Examination in Chemistry.

E. Finding the relationship between students’ achievement in theoretical and practical

aspects of the Mock School Certificate Examination in Chemistry in the urban area

and in the rural area respectively.

F. Finding the relationship between male and female students’ achievement in

theoretical and practical aspects of the Mock School Certificate Examination in

Chemistry.

The analyses of Table 1 showed that students achieved better in theoretical aspect than in

practical aspect in Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry for the three

years 2007-2009 in Potiskum Education Zone of Yobe State. This might be due to the much

attention teachers give to the theoretical aspect of teaching Chemistry in the secondary

schools than the practical aspect. Students receive much teaching and instructions in

theoretical aspect of the syllabus than the practical aspect and therefore are bound to achieve

better in the theory than in the practical. The fact that students achieve better in theory than

practical in this study appears to be supported by available literature. For example, Eze

(2000) observed that in most senior secondary schools, Chemistry lessons are taught and

completed without practical work. He further observed that some students of Chemistry never

experienced any form of practical until second term of senior secondary year 3. Eze (2000)

also observed that for greater effectiveness in the teaching and learning of Chemistry theory

and practical aspects of the SSS chemistry should be taught side by side.

Aboaba (1994) listed inadequacy of practical work as one of the reasons behind students’

poor performance in chemistry. Experimentation is a major process in the learning of

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chemistry. It is not an understatement, therefore, to say that “no experimentation, no

chemistry.” Besides, chemistry is an experimental subject and as such its implied learning

approach should stimulate students, bridge the gap between theory and reality, promote

scientific attitude and scientific knowledge, and lead to better understanding of abstract

concepts (Onwu, 1983). If the learning of chemistry is deficient in practical work, no

meaningful leaning can take place. As pointed out by (Onwu 2000b), abstract concepts can be

made simple and easily understood if practical experiences are included in the learning

process rather than even the practical demonstration which the teachers are used to due to

insufficient materials in our laboratories. A major criticism of the practical demonstration

method is its being teacher-centered allowing little or no participation from the students and

without feedback. One proposed list of inquiry process in science education include:

observing, measuring, predicting, inferring, using numbers, using space-time relationships,

defining operationally, formulating hypotheses, interpreting data, controlling variables,

experimenting and communicating.

The laboratory in the science classroom has long been used to involve students in concrete

experiences with objects and concepts, and in providing students with opportunities to engage

in the process of investigation and inquiry (Tamir, 1996; Hofstein and Lunetta, 1992). They

emphasized that laboratory activities when performed individually or in small groups is

beneficial than large-group demonstrations, science museum visits or diffused field trips,

discussions and audio-visual aided study (e.g. viewing filmed experiments). Abdullahi (1992)

also stressed that laboratory was an integral part of science teaching. He pointed out that

studies on methodology of science teaching had shown that students learned more when they

are given opportunity to learn through “doing” than when they are allowed to observe.

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This problem of failure in practical chemistry is sometimes also ascribed to lack of

laboratories and the laboratory facilities. Ezeano (2002) reported that the noticeable poor

performance in chemistry in external examination is caused by lack of laboratory materials

which normally result to inadequate practical before the examination. Eze (2001) seems to

support the above claim when he reported that physical facilities like classrooms, laboratories

are abysmally inadequate, un-maintained and lack requisite apparatus and equipment.

The analyses of table 1, groups UT/RT and UP/RP, indicate clearly that students in the

urban area achieved significantly better in both theory and practical than their counterparts in

the rural area. This may be due to the fact that students in the urban area have the advantage

of being taught by qualified and experienced teachers and may have better equipped

laboratories whereas schools in the rural area are lacking these amenities. The students in the

urban area may also have the advantage of getting institutions of higher learning closer to

them where they can visit or even borrow equipment and other materials for practical. This is

a privilege that may not be enjoyed by those students in the rural area. This finding is in line

with Victor and Juliana (2006) who observed that urban schools receive more educational

resources than rural schools and hence those in the urban perform better than those in the

rural areas. Kolade (1991) also in his study found that students in urban schools performed

better than students in rural schools in West African School Certificate Examinations because

of the provision of more qualified teachers and adequate facilities in the urban schools.

Table 1, groups MT/FT and MP/FP also indicated that the male students achieved better

than the female students in both theoretical and practical chemistry. Other researches also

revealed the same as Young (1994) reported that boys achieved better than girls in chemistry.

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The result in Table 2 groups TH and PR showed that there was no significant relationship in

the achievement of students between the theoretical and the practical aspects of Mock Senior

School Examinations in Chemistry from the year 2007 to the year 2009 in Potiskum

Education Zone of Yobe State.

The result in Table 2 groups UT/UP and RT/RP also showed that there was no significant

relationship in the achievement of students in both urban and rural areas between the

theoretical and the practical aspects of Mock Senior School Examinations in Chemistry.

Furthermore, the result of the study for male and female students in table 2 groups MT/MP

and FT/FP still revealed that there was no significant relationship in the achievement of

students in the theoretical and the practical aspects of Mock Senior School Examinations in

Chemistry from the year 2007 to the year 2009.

Conclusion

Critical analyses of the tables of results bring certain conclusions to the limelight. From the

general achievement of the students in both the theoretical and the practical aspects of Mock

Senior School Certificate Examinations in Chemistry of the year 2007 to 2009, it can be

concluded that:

1. The main concern of evaluation in the school system is to assess the achievement of

students and performance of teachers at different stages of educational processes and whose

outcome could be used in decision making by the teachers, the students, the administrators

and the parents for promotions, placements, certification, additional efforts etc. Students

achieved significantly better in the Theoretical Aspect of evaluation in this work than in

Practical Aspect in the Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry, thus it can

be concluded that students do not have enough laboratory experience to cope with the

94

demands and challenges of the external practical examination in Chemistry and hence, must

fail the final Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry. It is therefore clear from

the result of this research that the failure in the Senior School Certificate Examination in

Chemistry is caused by the failure of the students in the practical aspect of the examination in

Chemistry.

2. Students in the urban areas achieved better than those in the rural areas and hence school

location is a significant factor which influences the achievement of students in chemistry.

3. Boys achieved better than the female counterparts, therefore gender plays a significant

role in chemistry achievement.

4. Since there are no relationships between the theoretical and the practical aspects of the

Mock Senior School Certificate Examination in Chemistry for the three years 2007 to 2009,

the result obtained by a student in theoretical aspect of the examination cannot be used to

predict his performance in the practical aspect.

Educational Implications of the Findings of the Study

The findings of this study have some implication for the chemistry teachers, students,

curriculum planners, teacher education institutions, education inspectors, school authorities,

authors and textbook writers. This is because failure in practical is a 50% failure in the

overall achievement in the senior secondary school examination in Chemistry and the

conclusion of the study suggested that students achieved better in the theoretical aspect than

in the practical aspect because teachers seem to place more emphasis on the theoretical aspect

of teaching Chemistry than on the practical aspect. Teachers should gear their efforts toward

practical instructions in order to improve the overall achievement of the students in their

senior school certificate examination in Chemistry.

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The result of the study also revealed that the instructional methods used by the

teachers in teaching Chemistry were inadequate, inappropriate and ineffective since emphasis

were placed most on the theoretical rather than combining it with the practical for the

students to achieve better. Hence, teachers should be given adequate training with emphasis

on practical instructions in all teacher education institutions especially in Chemistry. The use

of practical instruction enhances students interest and achievement in Chemistry lessons,

hence, it follows that curriculum planners should balance the emphasis on both in the

Chemistry curriculum. They should also include within the existing subjects content of the

Chemistry curriculum, some corresponding indigenous substances. This they do by re-

examining the existing units of the subject matter taught in schools and identifying their

corresponding indigenous materials that could be incorporated. This will make chemistry

concepts more domesticated, easier to teach and easier and interesting to learn leading to

higher achievement, increasing relevance, usefulness and meaningfulness to the students,

teachers and the general public. This result also indicated that teachers should not use the

achievement of a student in one aspect of the assessment to predict his achievement in the

other aspect.

From the findings of this study, it was understood that education inspectors and the school

authorities were being reminded and inspired on some of the aspects or areas of the

curriculum that were not properly attended to for their advices and necessary actions. This in

turn may bring improvement in the system and for the students to achieve better. The study

gives the school authorities, the teachers and the students the clue to understand that

Chemistry is an experimentally oriented subject and therefore require practical instructional

approach for it to be understood better. After all, practical instructions make the Chemistry

96

lesson interesting and appreciative and hence leading to better understanding of the subject.

Teachers need to involve their students in the classroom activity and practical lesson carries

much of such opportunities. This will enable them involved in a ‘’hand on’’ activities in the

classroom which will bring in positive change in them. This change will bring better

understanding of not just Chemistry but also other science concepts as it inculcate in the

students the sense of inquiry and discovery. Dewey’s theory stressed the concern that

scientific knowledge should be geared toward practical application and so he prescribed

inquiry/discovery process for science teaching. Therefore a learner must be trained to choose

tools for his own investigation, making observation and design ways of solving problems.

When these had been done, learners would not only pass external examinations (GCE,

WASCE etc.) but also would acquire job skills, be productive and self reliant in the society.

The findings of this study also implied that authors and textbook writers should include in

their text some practical lessons on some topics where relevant, in order to enhance the

achievement of the students in practical Chemistry.

Recommendation

In view of the results of these findings and conclusions reached in this study, the following

recommendations are hereby offered:

1. It is recommended that chemistry teachers should be sensitized on gender issues to

develop a gender–fair posture and to exhibit a gender- inclusive environment in the course of

their class room interactions. They should avoid among others consistent usage of masculine

pronouns in discussing chemistry concepts, unequal access for male/female students to

participate in discussion/demonstration, higher achievement levels set out for boys than for

girls, and female students being assisted most often in practical, projects and other

97

assignment. Let them be encouraged to feel they can do anything the boys can do when it

comes to understanding of Chemistry concepts.

2. Chemistry teachers in the rural areas should be encouraged by giving them some special

incentives so that they will teach well in order to breach the gap of difference in achievement

between the urban and the rural students.

3. The findings of this study indicate that students performed better in theoretical aspects

than practical aspects. This in itself is a pointer to the fact that students do not have enough

laboratory experience to cope with the demand of the external practical examination in

Chemistry. Chemistry teachers should therefore balance their emphasis between the

theoretical and the practical lessons in their day to day teaching and learning processes in

order to improve students’ understanding of practically related concepts as well as the

theoretical. In-fact, theoretical and practical instructions should go hand in hand together.

4. Since chemistry is an experimental subject, government and parents should work hand in

hand to build appropriate laboratories for effective learning and these laboratories should be

adequately equipped with necessary equipment and materials for instruction, so that

practically related concepts are better taught and better understood by the students.

Limitations of the Study

The limitations of this study include:

1. The schools used were selected from just one educational zone out of the three in Yobe

state. The study could have been more generalized if schools from the entire educational

zones had been represented.

2. The number of students used for the study was not large enough when compared with the

number of students in SS III in the area of study.

98

Suggestions for Further Research

Based on the findings, the following suggestions were made for further research.

1. Replication of the same study can be done in other education zones within the state or

outside the state.

2. The same type of the study could be undertaken over a longer period of time.

3. Same type of study should be carried out in other fields of science (Biology, Physics and

etc.)

4. Researchers should make effort to carry out similar research at other levels of educational

system.

Summary of the Study

This study was carried out to compare and find the relationship between the achievement of

students in theoretical and practical aspects of the Mock senior school certificate examination

in Chemistry. Five research questions and five hypotheses were posed and formulated

respectively to guide the study. The hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Two

of the hypotheses are:

H01: There is no significant relationship between students’ mean achievement scores in

theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry Examination.

H02: There is no significant relationship between rural students’ mean achievement scores in

theoretical and practical aspects of Mock Senior School Certificate Chemistry Examination.

The study was restricted to SS3 students who sat for 2007 - 2009 MOCK WASC

examination in Yobe State in Chemistry. The study was carried out in Potiskum education

zone of Yobe state.

99

The related literature to this study was reviewed under two main headings namely:

Conceptual Framework and Empirical Review. The study employed a correlation research

design. Specifically, it compared and found the relationship between recorded scores of

students in theoretical and practical aspects in chemistry in MOCK WASC examination of

2007 - 2009 academic sessions. A total of two thousand and thirty (2030) SS III students

drawn from twelve secondary schools within Potiskum education zone of Yobe state were

used. Eight male schools and four female schools were used for the study.

The students’ scores in both theoretical and practical aspects were recorded from their

individual personal academic files kept at their various secondary schools’ academic records offices.

The scores obtained from documented records of students’ raw scores in both practical and

theoretical aspect of chemistry MOCK WASC examination 2007-2009 was analyzed with SPSS

version 16.0 statistical tools. Mean and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions

while correlation which essentially employed Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient

analysis was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance respectively. Result of the

study revealed that:

1. Students achieved more in theoretical aspect than in practical aspect of the Mock Senior

Secondary Certificate Examination in Chemistry.

2. Gender had differential effects on achievement of students in Chemistry examination. The

male students achieved more significantly better than their female counterparts in both

theoretical and practical aspects.

3. Location also had differential effects on achievement of students in chemistry

examination. The study revealed that students in the urban area achieved more significantly

better than their counterparts in the rural area in both theoretical and practical aspects.

100

4. Students should be taught theoretical and practical lessons hand in hand.

The implications of the above findings were examined and it was recommended among

other things that chemistry teachers should teach the theoretical and the practical aspects of

the chemistry curriculum side by side and more priority be given to practical experiments as

part of instruction in order to improve students’ understanding of practically related concepts

because chemistry is an empirical subject. The limitations of the study were also highlighted

and suggestions made for further research.

101

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110

Appendix A

List of Government owned secondary schools in Potiskum Education zone according to Local

Government Area (L.G.A) and school type as at 2007/2008.

S/No L.G.A

Potiskum L.G.A

Boys schools

1 Fika Government Secondary School Potiskum

2 Government Day Secondary School Potiskum

3 Government Technical College Potiskum

Girls’ schools

4 Government Girls’ Technical College Potiskum

5 Federal Government Girls’ College Potiskum

Fika L.G.A

Boys School

6 Government Comprehensive Secondary School Fika

Girls’ School

7 Government Girls’ Secondary School Gadaka

Nangere L.G.A

Boys’ schools

111

8 Government Comprehensive Secondary School Nangere

9 Government Comprehensive Secondary School Kukargadu

Fune L.G.A.

Boys’ School

10 Government Technical College Damagum

11 Government Comprehensive Secondary School Jajere

Girls’ school

12 Government Girls Senior Secondary School Ngelzarma

112

Appendix B

UrT

UrP RuT RuP MalT MalPl FemT FemP Theory Pract.

51 38 38 4 51 38 28 9 51 38

60 39 36 23 60 39 24 8 60 39

60 41 32 29 60 41 43 3 60 41

51 43 36 27 51 43 35 5 51 43

42 43 29 21 42 43 32 17 42 43

55 39 31 42 55 39 35 26 55 39

54 38 32 34 54 38 46 16 54 38

52 40 36 20 52 40 42 8 52 40

54 40 36 31 54 40 31 12 54 40

51 39 39 31 51 39 36 11 51 39

36 40 37 10 36 40 33 6 36 40

43 39 39 33 43 39 26 7 43 39

51 41 40 36 51 41 34 27 51 41

52 38 40 22 52 38 29 48 52 38

28 41 29 17 28 41 33 53 28 41

48 37 29 19 48 37 44 54 48 37

35 39 27 20 35 39 32 44 35 39

58 37 32 23 58 37 36 10 58 37

40 37 29 18 40 37 38 12 40 37

51 41 30 28 51 41 44 35 51 41

14 40 28 29 14 40 39 30 14 40

14 41 30 20 14 41 39 37 14 41

48 46 37 33 48 46 41 23 48 46

54 34 39 17 54 34 23 10 54 34

34 30 40 29 34 30 25 19 34 30

15 23 29 1 15 23 37 17 15 23

49 20 32 34 49 20 23 8 49 20

47 24 26 22 47 24 30 39 47 24

22 26 29 9 22 26 20 4 22 26

60 18 60 39 60 18 37 43 60 18

2 26 60 41 2 26 28 24 2 26

9 23 51 43 9 23 37 21 9 23

53 21 36 10 53 21 30 21 53 21

28 22 36 23 28 22 27 4 28 22

30 20 32 33 30 20 30 7 30 20

22 19 29 34 22 19 26 28 22 19

5 22 40 20 5 22 20 2 5 22

6 19 40 19 6 19 28 14 6 19

13 18 36 13 13 18 29 23 13 18

113

18 24 36 14 18 24 26 28 18 24

3 23 29 10 3 23 25 3 3 23

22 19 30 8 22 19 24 31 22 19

39 25 33 13 39 25 24 13 39 25

10 24 33 17 10 24 32 5 10 24

0 25 32 31 0 25 28 4 0 25

18 23 34 23 18 23 29 11 18 23

9 21 31 20 9 21 26 13 9 21

8 26 32 12 8 26 28 11 8 26

3 27 40 12 3 27 26 11 3 27

32 22 39 11 32 22 29 10 32 22

44 26 33 9 44 26 16 14 44 26

45 26 38 10 45 26 30 67 45 26

36 24 32 10 36 24 28 20 36 24

37 30 40 18 37 30 28 13 37 30

45 28 32 19 45 28 24 52 45 28

38 25 33 29 38 25 28 39 38 25

41 28 31 25 41 28 22 34 41 28

45 22 28 26 45 22 22 21 45 22

49 19 26 30 49 19 22 0 49 19

50 20 23 21 50 20 26 10 50 20

50 12 24 26 50 12 23 19 50 12

50 32 35 36 50 32 28 17 50 32

60 39 33 26 60 39 26 68 60 39

60 41 35 1 60 41 19 39 60 41

51 43 25 6 51 43 27 4 51 43

32 19 29 33 32 19 26 23 32 19

33 29 34 0 33 29 24 24 33 29

65 37 34 16 65 37 29 21 65 37

41 43 29 16 41 43 25 29 41 43

35 44 24 23 35 44 32 4 35 44

30 39 17 8 30 39 27 7 30 39

39 47 31 15 39 47 32 28 39 47

51 41 27 15 51 41 32 2 51 41

57 38 27 19 57 38 31 14 57 38

49 31 38 15 49 31 32 23 49 31

50 36 28 20 50 36 27 26 50 36

50 38 29 17 50 38 35 3 50 38

53 28 35 7 53 28 27 31 53 28

34 16 26 18 34 16 31 51 34 16

44 29 27 19 44 29 19 43 44 29

40 17 34 9 40 17 27 15 40 17

46 25 27 11 46 25 24 16 46 25

114

46 29 36 13 46 29 28 27 46 29

38 28 35 6 38 28 24 25 38 28

59 22 35 17 59 22 27 17 59 22

48 16 36 19 48 16 25 18 48 16

54 21 38 28 54 21 65 37 54 21

48 23 29 16 48 23 43 41 48 23

41 25 25 21 41 25 35 29 41 25

57 28 38 24 57 28 32 24 57 28

66 26 30 25 66 26 34 28 66 26

49 14 39 28 49 14 34 35 49 14

47 26 41 14 47 26 34 29 47 26

43 24 38 20 43 24 33 27 43 24

48 22 37 31 48 22 35 36 48 22

32 20 37 19 32 20 40 27 32 20

37 26 37 24 37 26 39 25 37 26

66 37 38 30 66 37 41 22 66 37

44 36 31 20 44 36 40 21 44 36

37 35 31 17 37 35 38 4 37 35

28 9 32 27 38 4 32 27 38 4

24 8 37 22 36 23 37 22 36 23

43 3 31 16 32 29 31 16 32 29

35 5 36 24 36 27 36 24 36 27

32 17 30 28 29 21 30 28 29 21

35 26 33 11 31 42 33 11 31 42

46 16 32 11 32 34 32 11 32 34

42 8 26 0 36 20 26 0 36 20

31 12 31 6 36 31 31 6 36 31

36 11 32 8 39 31 32 8 39 31

33 6 38 29 37 10 38 29 37 10

26 7 39 5 39 33 39 5 39 33

34 27 37 25 40 36 37 25 40 36

29 48 41 9 40 22 41 9 40 22

33 53 38 21 29 17 38 21 29 17

44 54 31 18 29 19 31 18 29 19

32 44 36 10 27 20 36 10 27 20

36 10 38 12 32 23 38 12 32 23

38 12 44 35 29 18 44 35 29 18

44 35 39 30 30 28 39 30 30 28

39 30 39 37 28 29 39 37 28 29

39 37 41 50 30 20 41 50 30 20

41 23 16 1 37 33 16 1 37 33

23 10 12 1 39 17 12 1 39 17

25 19 16 0 40 29 16 0 40 29

115

37 17 12 5 29 1 12 5 29 1

23 8 16 4 32 34 16 4 32 34

30 39 22 7 26 22 22 7 26 22

20 4 11 7 29 9 11 7 29 9

37 43 21 4 60 39 21 4 60 39

28 24 11 12 60 41 11 12 60 41

37 21 25 1 51 43 25 1 51 43

30 21 22 7 36 10 22 7 36 10

27 4 19 0 36 23 19 0 36 23

30 7 20 5 32 33 20 5 32 33

26 28 18 6 29 34 18 6 29 34

20 2 25 5 40 20 25 5 40 20

28 14 14 8 40 19 14 8 40 19

29 23 18 21 36 13 18 21 36 13

26 28 20 8 36 14 20 8 36 14

25 3 14 3 29 10 14 3 29 10

24 31 16 23 30 8 16 23 30 8

24 13 25 39 33 13 25 39 33 13

32 5 22 39 33 17 22 39 33 17

28 4 24 30 32 31 24 30 32 31

29 11 21 10 34 23 21 10 34 23

26 13 17 4 31 20 17 4 31 20

28 11 21 26 32 12 21 26 32 12

26 11 16 2 40 12 16 2 40 12

29 10 17 35 39 11 17 35 39 11

16 14 16 5 33 9 16 5 33 9

30 67 13 5 38 10 13 5 38 10

28 20 37 16 32 10 37 16 32 10

28 13 35 20 40 18 35 20 40 18

24 52 43 19 32 19 43 19 32 19

28 39 34 17 33 29 34 17 33 29

22 34 35 29 31 25 35 29 31 25

22 21 32 21 28 26 32 21 28 26

22 0 45 5 26 30 45 5 26 30

26 10 45 20 23 21 45 20 23 21

23 19 41 23 24 26 41 23 24 26

28 17 44 35 35 36 44 35 35 36

26 68 30 17 33 26 30 17 33 26

19 39 35 19 35 1 35 19 35 1

27 4 40 7 25 6 40 7 25 6

26 23 27 3 29 33 27 3 29 33

24 24 42 1 34 0 42 1 34 0

29 21 42 0 34 16 42 0 34 16

116

25 29 46 26 29 16 46 26 29 16

32 4 31 15 24 23 31 15 24 23

27 7 44 30 17 8 44 30 17 8

32 28 43 32 31 15 43 32 31 15

32 2 13 24 27 15 13 24 27 15

31 14 10 22 27 19 10 22 27 19

32 23 11 16 38 15 11 16 38 15

27 26 25 10 28 20 25 10 28 20

35 3 45 31 29 17 45 31 29 17

27 31 31 28 35 7 31 28 35 7

31 51 31 29 26 18 31 29 26 18

19 43 17 32 27 19 17 32 27 19

27 15 28 10 34 9 28 10 34 9

24 16 29 21 27 11 29 21 27 11

28 27 30 21 36 13 30 21 36 13

24 25 38 17 35 6 38 17 35 6

27 17 29 11 35 17 29 11 35 17

25 18 29 12 36 19 29 12 36 19

65 37 27 15 38 28 27 15 38 28

43 41 27 23 29 16 27 23 29 16

35 29 22 15 25 21 22 15 25 21

32 24 30 30 38 24 30 30 38 24

34 28 31 4 30 25 31 4 30 25

34 35 29 13 39 28 29 13 39 28

34 29 25 56 41 14 25 56 41 14

33 27 24 11 38 20 24 11 38 20

35 36 31 18 37 31 31 18 37 31

40 27 31 22 37 19 31 22 37 19

39 25 28 13 37 24 28 13 37 24

41 22 20 18 38 30 20 18 38 30

40 21 32 20 31 20 32 20 31 20

38 4 36 20 31 17 36 20 31 17

28 9

24 8

43 3

35 5

32 17

35 26

46 16

42 8

31 12

36 11

117

33 6

26 7

34 27

29 48

33 53

44 54

32 44

36 10

38 12

44 35

39 30

39 37

41 23

23 10

25 19

37 17

23 8

30 39

20 4

37 43

28 24

37 21

30 21

27 4

30 7

26 28

20 2

28 14

29 23

26 28

25 3

24 31

24 13

32 5

28 4

29 11

26 13

28 11

26 11

29 10

16 14

30 67

28 20

118

28 13

24 52

28 39

22 34

22 21

22 0

26 10

23 19

28 17

26 68

19 39

27 4

26 23

24 24

29 21

25 29

32 4

27 7

32 28

32 2

31 14

32 23

27 26

35 3

27 31

31 51

19 43

27 15

24 16

28 27

24 25

27 17

25 18

65 37

43 41

35 29

32 24

34 28

34 35

34 29

33 27

35 36

40 27

119

39 25

41 22

40 21

38 4

32 27

37 22

31 16

36 24

30 28

33 11

32 11

26 0

31 6

32 8

38 29

39 5

37 25

41 9

38 21

31 18

36 10

38 12

44 35

39 30

39 37

41 50

16 1

12 1

16 0

12 5

16 4

22 7

11 7

21 4

11 12

25 1

22 7

19 0

20 5

18 6

25 5

14 8

18 21

120

20 8

14 3

16 23

25 39

22 39

24 30

21 10

17 4

21 26

16 2

17 35

16 5

13 5

37 16

35 20

43 19

34 17

35 29

32 21

45 5

45 20

41 23

44 35

30 17

35 19

40 7

27 3

42 1

42 0

46 26

31 15

44 30

43 32

13 24

10 22

11 16

25 10

45 31

31 28

31 29

17 32

28 10

29 21

121

30 21

38 17

29 11

29 12

27 15

27 23

22 15

30 30

31 4

29 13

25 56

24 11

31 18

31 22

28 13

20 18

32 20

36 20