Appraisal of the Impact of Agricultural Science Teachers Computational Skills on Student’s Learning Outcomes in Secondary Schools, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of the computational skills of teachers of Agricultural Science on student’s learning outcomes in secondary schools in Nigeria. The descriptive research design of the survey type, ex-post-factor were adopted in the study. The sample used consisted of 60 teachers and 300 students of Agricultural Science who were randomly selected from the 320 secondary schools in Ekiti State, using purposive sampling technique. Two sets of questionnaires and a structured questionnaire were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA. Hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that the teachers often avoid teaching computational contents of the curriculum. The students were found to be faced with poor Mathematical problem solving skills in Agricultural Science. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that school supervisors should monitor the teachers output and ensure that all areas of the curriculum, including contents requiring computations, are adequately covered. Teachers of Agricultural Science should groom their students very well in calculations and mathematical problem solving areas of the curriculum right from the Junior Secondary School, year one. The students poor learning outcomes in mathematical problem solving exercises call for retraining programs for the teachers and motivational packages for the students.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2014.v5n10p719