ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS (A CASE STUDY OF IDANRE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ONDO STATE).

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AFFECTING STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS (A CASE STUDY OF IDANRE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ONDO STATE).
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
Environmental factors affecting academic performance of students in Nigeria, before now have not been considered as one of the factors that affect academic performance in secondary schools hence it has little or no attention in educational discourse and consideration. But over the past decade remarkable studies have indicated a correlation between the environment and academic performance of students. Environment plays major role in the life of every individual whether a students, teachers, employer or employee. Though some people are yet to believe that environment brings about better performance. Udoh (1980) in his article “The Environmental Health Problems in Nigeria Schools”, Identified some unhealthy practices in our schools. These include sitting of schools, inadequate facilities, poor ventilation etc. Most of our schools have no light, insufficient facilities, sick buildings and no ventilation. Under these conditions the health of students and teachers according to Udoh (1980) may be adversely affected, which will in turn reflect on students’ performance. Therefore, for the students to carry his learning effectively and efficiently, it is necessary that learning takes place in conducive environment. Hence it is pertinent to critically look at the environmental factors that influences academic performance of students, measures that can help improve them and make some recommendation because at the very heart of our educational mission is the goal of improving academic performance. Studies have shown that environmental factors to a large extent affect both the physical and psychological potentials of individuals. This has led to the contention that many students fail to develop their potentials due to inadequate environmental Stimulation. However, there are some environmental factors which have contributed to this poor performance of students which are home background, inadequate school facilities, misuse of technology such as internet and school climate such as teacher-student relationship
Egunyomi (2009) observes that there is always a good relationship between development, poverty and environment in order to live up to the challenges of sustainable development. Thus, man is the product of societal norms and values because on the characteristics, man is the major initiator or determinant of any innovation in the environment.
It is usually observed that the development of the school child, his or her emotional intelligence, concept formulation, individual differences and intellectual development have been important aspects of educational psychology. They are all important factors in the overall development of the school child, in that they influence the final outcome of the educational process.
The degree to which an educational goal is been met would depend to a large extent on how attention is given to all those developmental processes of the school child. For it is widely accepted that emotional state of a child would influence his or her academic performance in the school.
A full understanding of various factors affecting the performance of the child in the classroom with a view to maximizing such performance has been a great concern to educationist and psychology community or society environment and so on.
Some of the environmental factors affecting the student’s academic performance to be considered are home background environment, school environment, school location and the peer group also affecting academic performance students. This research work will examine the aforementioned areas environmental factors affecting the student’s academic performance.
The home is the first place of learning for the child. The quality of home environment goes a long way in determining the eventual personality andachievement of the child. Psychologists had classified the factors thataffect learning into two broad categories namely, nature and nurture. It has been discovered that the two categories play complementary roles. As nature determines the level of intelligence and inherited abilities of the child, nurture helps to maximize these innate abilities. According to Ekinne (2002), nurture involves the home, the school, and the environment and peer groups to which the learner belongs. The home has far reaching influence on the child. Babara (1982) said that the child home environment influences attainment at school. Also, Touray (1982) suggested that the
Home environmental factor could be manipulated to enhance students’ academic performance. The level of educational attainment of parents could influence the academic achievement of their children. According to European Union Monitoring Report (2013), those students whose parents have a tertiary level of education perform, on average, significantly better in tests of science, reading and mathematical ability than do those whose parents have only basic schooling. In a family where both the father and mother are educated, their children are always taken good care of in their academic activities. Such parents know the importance of getting educational materials for their children is school. They may go through their children’s exercise books after school, or even employ a private teacher to teach them after school. By so doing, their academic performance will be improved; whereas in the case of illiterate family, the need to supervise the children’s exercise books is not there, hence their
children’s low academic performance in school. Educated parents may also have library at home, stocked with novels, encyclopedia and other educational books and educational audio visual tapes. When children make use of these materials, it will enhance their intellect. Also, hereditary factor could also influence a child’s academic performance in school. This happens when a child inherits poor gene from either the mother or the father; such a child will not be able to achieve much even if the environment is conducive for effective learning. On the other hand, a child who inherits a very high gene from parents may perform very well even if
the environment is not stimulating (Community Development, Sound Education, Good Health and Social Life Initiative, 2013). A conducive environment is necessary for a good academic performance of a child. A stimulating home environment could spur up a potential mediocre into an intellectual giant while an inhibiting environment could turn a genius Child into a mediocre. The value that different families attach to education could affect the child’s attitude to school and eventually affect his or her motivation for success in school work. Muola (2010) stated that the urge to achieve varies from one individual to the other. For some, the need for achievement is very high while for others, it is very low. He adds that Achievement motivation is learnt through the socialization process. Those who have high achievers as their role models in their early life experience would develop a high need for achievement while those who have low achievers as their role models will hardly develop the need for achievement. The family is obviously a major socializing agent and therefore important in determining the child’s motivation to achieve success. The motive to excel in academic work is an activating force, a drive or an urge to achieve good results and recognition which accounts to good academic performance.
The school environment in the real sense does not exist is a vacuum, i.e. it consist of the presence of human beings or people living within the environment.
The performance of the school lies with the prospect of the school having enjoyed a good and favorable environment, and also the failure of the school to the environment may cause or bring failure to the school system.
The school environment, which include the classrooms, libraries, technical workshops, laboratories, teachers’ quality, school management, teaching methods, peers, etc are variables that affect students’ academic achievement (Ajayi, 2001 and Oluchukwu, 2000). Hence, the school environment remains an important area that should be studied and well managed to enhance students’ academic performance.
The issue of poor academic performance of students in Nigeria has been of much concern to the government, parents, teachers and even student themselves. The quality of education not only depends on the teachers as reflected in the performance of their duties, but also in the effective coordination of the school environment (Ajao 2001)
School environment which include instructional spaces planning, administrative places planning, circulation spaces planning, spaces for conveniences planning, accessories planning, the teachers as well as the students themselves are essential in teaching-learning process. The extent to which student learning could be enhanced depends on their location within the school compound, the structure of their classroom, availability of instructional facilities and accessories. It is believed that a well-planned school will gear up expected outcomes of education that will facilitate good social, political and economic emancipation, effective teaching and learning process and academic performance of the students.
School location with its attendant features of instructional spaces planning, administrative places planning, circulation spaces planning, spaces for conveniences planning, accessories planning, the teachers as well as the students themselves are essential in the teaching-learning process. The extent to which student learning could be enhanced depends on their location in the locality, within the school compound, the structure of their classroom, availability of instructional facilities and accessories. It is believed that a well-planned school will gear up expected outcomes of education that will facilitate good social, political and economic emancipation, effective teaching and learning process and academic performance of the students.
The physical characteristics of the school have a variety of effects on teachers, students, and the learning process. Poor lighting, noise, high levels of carbon dioxide in classrooms, and inconsistent temperatures make teaching and learning difficult. Poor maintenance and ineffective ventilation systems lead to poor health among students as well as teachers, which leads to poor performance and higher absentee rates. These factors can adversely affect student behavior and lead to higher levels of frustration among teachers, and poor learning attitude among student.
Peer group as an agent of socialization is the most important socializing is the most important socializing agent for the developing child. Peer group is the pivot of social change and during interaction peers; the child’s life is transformed from the helpless child into a mature adult.
Each peer group has its code of conduct which does not always conform to adult standards. The important thing is that each child takes his or her membership of the peer very serious and attempts to do anything to ensure he or she is accepted and recognized. Lack of acceptance by the peer disturbs the child especially at adolescent age. Some children have been known to do badly in school not because they lack the academic ability to do well but because they are disturbed by the fact they are not accepted by their peer group. What makes learning comparative is the fact that the child has equal status with the other children. There is an atmosphere of freedom in which each child learns the way of the world from others. The peer group thus becomes more and more important to the child as he advances in age. Other ways in which the peer group can help the child include, teaching the culture of the society at large, making possible social mobility, providing opportunity for the child to play many social roles such as that of a leader, a follower, teacher or student. The peer group also help the child to win his or her independence easily from domination and set before him a goal which is more easily attainable than the expectation of adults. This in itself provides motivation for learning and is mainly responsible for the fact that all children at one stage or the other regard their membership of peer group as very important.
Statement of the Problem
Emphasizing the importance of the environment to students’ academic performance, Oluchukwu, (2000) asserted environment is an essential aspect of educational planning, he went further to explain that “unless schools are well suited, buildings adequately constructed and equipment adequately utilized and maintained, much teaching and learning may not take place.
The high levels of students’ academic performance may not be guaranteed where the home and the school location and school environment such as instructional space such as classrooms, libraries, technical workshops and laboratories are structurally defective. However, little is known on the impact of school environment on students’ academic performance in an urban State.
In recent time, the students’ academic performance of student’s has not been encouraging which as posed a great threat to their academic well-being and societal development. According to Ubekwu (2000) environment means those factors and events in a country industry relation. These include the historical and political development and economical changes that has taken place over the years.
In pursuance of the above stated problems it was observed that some factors may be responsible such as home background environment, school environment, school location of the students and also peer of group.In view of these inconclusive findings, it necessary to carry out further research on the environmental factor affecting students’ academic performance among senior secondary school students in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State.
The purposes of this study
The main purpose of the study is to examine environmentalfactors affecting academic performancein Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State
i. To examine the influencehome environment on academic performance of senior secondary schools students in Idanre Local Government
ii. To examine the impact of school environment on academic performance of senior secondary schools students in Idanre Local Government
iii. To examine theinfluence of school location on academic performance of senior secondary schools students in Idanre Local Government
iv. To examine influence of peer groups on academic performance of senior secondary schools students in Idanre Local Government

Research Questions
i. What is theeffectof home environment on academic performance of senior secondary school students in Idanre Local Government?
ii. What is the effect of school environment on academic performance of senior secondary school students in Idanre Local Government
iii. What is the effect of school location on academic performance of secondary school studentsin Idanre Local Government?
iv. What is the influence of peer groups on academic performance of senior secondary schools students in Idanre Local Government?
Significance of the study
It is hoped that this study will provide information for parents, educators and school administrators to reflect upon various factors that help students in achieving their academic goals. In so doing, they can investigate the possibility of introducing those factors to their school, which may consequently lead to enhancing students’ educational outcomes in school. In addition, the fact that this study is conducted in public schools, it shares quite a lot of similarities with many other counterparts. In this connection, this study provides a valuable reference for other schools to reflect upon environmental factorsand it effect on academic performance of student in secondary school. The study will also serve as a premise for anyone that intends to venture into a research of this type. Furthermore, the findings will also add to a pool of knowledge in the field of study.

Delimitation of the study
This study is delimited to five (5) selected public secondary schools, in Idanre Local Government area of Ondo state.
Definition of Terms
For the easy understanding of the work, the under listed term were defined and explained as they were used in the study.
Family structure: the used in this study is seen in two ways- the nuclear and polygamous families. The former is a family group including father and only one wife and their children. While the family group including a man, wives and their children.
Academic performance: is seen as the outputs of students in school certificate examination.
Environment: surroundings and circumstances in which someone lives
Student: Refers to a person engaged in study; one who is devoted to learning, a learner, a pupil, a scholar especially one who attends a school.
School: A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or “pupils”) under the direction of teachers
School Environment: Aschool’s physical environment includes the school building and the surrounding.
Academic Achievement – Knowledge attained or skills developed in school subjects by test scores.

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