STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE: A CASE STUDY OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE

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Students' Attitude and Academic Performance in Agricultural Science: A case
study of Public Secondary Schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area of
Oyo State.
Thesis · December 2014
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15927.83362
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STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE: A CASE STUDY OF PUBLIC SECONDARY
SCHOOLS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO
STATE
BY
OTEKUNRIN, OLUTOSIN ADEMOLA
MATRIC NO: NTI/PGDE/2014/16405
PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE NATIONAL TEACHERS’ INSTITUTE (NTI),
KADUNA (OYO STATE STUDY CENTRE) IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF POSTGRADUATE DIPLOMA IN
EDUCATION
DECEMBER, 2014

CERTIFICATION
I certify that this work was carried out, under my supervision, by Otekunrin, Olutosin
Ademola in the National Teachers’ Institute, Kaduna (Moor Plantation, Ibadan Study
Centre) for the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Programme.
Dr (Mrs.) L. O. Oni ………………………….
Supervisor Signature and Date
ii

DEDICATION
This research work is dedicated to my loving and caring wife Dr. Oluwaseun A.
Otekunrin and our son AyoOluwa.
iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I give all the glory and honour to the all mighty God the creator of the heaven and the
earth for the opportunity to start and complete this research work.
My appreciation goes to my wonderful, understanding, and amiable supervisor, Dr.
(Mrs) L. O. Oni, for the supportive roles she played towards the completion of this
research work. Thank you ma, for giving me the needed support to carry out this
research work despite initial difficulties experienced. Also, for the correction,
cooperation and encouragement, I say thank you ma. I pray that the good Lord will
bless you and your family. Amen.
I also acknowledge the efforts and encouragement of other facilitators, coordinators,
centre desk officer and other staff members of National Teachers’ Institute Moor
Plantation, Ibadan Study Centre who have contributed in no small measure to the
success of this work and the Post Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) Programme
as a whole. These are: Mr Sangodoyin, Mr Ajadi, Mrs Amao, Dr.(Mrs) Babatunde, Mr
Francis Edun among others.
I also indebted to all my loving and caring classmates and friends; Osho Kolawole
(Lagos), Mrs Funmi Awogbade, Adeniran Ibrahim, Olusegun Omileke (Class
Governor) just to mention a few. You have all impacted my life in no small measure.
Finally, I am very grateful to my loving and understanding wife, Oluwaseun
Otekunrin for her monumental contribution to the completion of this research work.
You are instrumental in many aspects of this work. Thank you dear for supporting me
in this capacity.
iv

ABSTRACT
In this study, we investigated challenges facing the effective teaching and learning of
Agricultural Science in public secondary schools of Ibadan North local government
area of Oyo state and ways of handling such challenges. We also examined students’
attitudes to Agricultural Science as a subject finding out whether students’ attitudes to
the subject had any relationship with their performance in the subject.
The population for this study was made up of all Agricultural Science teachers, Vice
Principals, Principals and SSS II students offering Agricultural Science in all public
secondary schools in Ibadan North local government area of Oyo State, Nigeria.
Furthermore, simple random sampling technique was used to select three schools from
all the public secondary schools in the area. A total of thirty Agricultural Science
teachers, Vice Principals, Principals and one hundred SSS II students in the selected
schools constituted the sample size. Two different structured questionnaire were
administered. The first one was for the teachers. It addressed challenges facing
Agricultural Science as a subject with suggested ways of managing the challenges.
The other questionnaire was for the students. It addressed their attitudes to the subject.
The two instruments used a four-point likert assessment scale. Reliability index value
was obtained for the research instruments using Cronbach’s Alpha. Agricultural
Science Achievement Test was conducted for the students. The questions were
selected using item analysis technique. The performance of the students in the
Achievement Test was categorized using the stanine values of the Students’ Result
Format (SRF). Chi-square test of independence was used to ascertain if there was any
relationship between the students’ academic achievement in Agricultural Science and
their attitudes to the study of Agricultural Science as a subject.
The major challenges confronting effective teaching and learning of Agricultural
Science in public schools in the area are the use of traditional methods of teaching,
irregular practice by students on school farms, inadequate farmlands for practical
lessons and inadequate fund to manage practical oriented Agricultural Science. The
solutions proffered included provision of adequate farm lands, proper funding of
v

Agricultural science and training of teachers that are sound in concept and pedagogy.
Also, there exists a significant relationship between grades obtained by the students in
Agricultural Science Achievement Test and the attitudinal variable of sustained
students’ interests in Agricultural Science lesson throughout the lesson period.
Key words: Agricultural Science, Academic Performance and Students’ Attitude
vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv
Abstract v
Table of Contents vii
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 7
1.3 Significance of the study 7
1.4 Research Questions 8
1.5 Objectives of the Study 8
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study 8
1.7 Definition of Terms 9
CHAPTER TWO - LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction 10
2.1 Agricultural Science Education 10
2.2 Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Science 11
2.3 Challenges of Agricultural Science Education in Nigeria 13
2.4 Review of solutions to the challenges facing Agricultural Science
Education in Nigeria 14
2.5 Attitudes of Students to Agricultural Science 15
2.6 Relationship between students’ attitudes and their performance
in Agricultural Science 16
2.6.1 Self-concept and academic performance 16
vii

2.6.2 Attitude and Academic Performance 17
CHAPTER THREE – METHODOLOGY
3.1 Descriptive Survey Design 19
3.2 Sampling Techniques 19
3.3 Instrumentation 19
3.4 Validation and Reliability of Instruments 20
3.5 Data Collection and Analysis 20
CHAPTER FOUR – RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results 22
CHAPTER FIVE - SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND
SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES
5.1 Summary of Findings 38
5.2 Conclusion 39
5.3 Suggestion for Further Studies 39
REFERENCES 40
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I - Constraints of Agricultural Science in Public Secondary
Schools (CASPSS) 46
APPENDIX II - Students’ Attitude towards Agricultural Science (SATAS) 50
APPENDIX III - Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT) 52
viii

LIST OF TABLES
 TABLE 1: Results of challenges to effective teaching and learning of
Agricultural Science in secondary schools
 TABLE 2: Results of ways of managing the challenges for effective teaching
and learning of Agricultural Science
 TABLE 3: Results of Students’ Attitudes to Agricultural Science
 TABLE 4 : Grades obtained by the students
 TABLE 5: Results of Chi-Square tests of independence on the sets of
hypotheses
ix

LIST OF FIGURES
 Fig. 1: Responses to “these teachers use mainly traditional methods of
teaching”
 Fig. 2: Responses to “there is adequate farmlands for practical lessons”
 Fig. 3: Responses to “students do not regularly practice in farms or gardens”
 Fig.4: Responses to “the number of students that take Agricultural Science as
a subject is very few”
 Fig.5: Responses to “practicals in Agricultural Science are interesting and
fascinating”
 Fig.6: Responses to students’ “interests in Agricultural Science are sustained
throughout the lesson period”
x

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the Study
Nigeria has relied so much on agriculture after her independence in 1960, given its stage
of economic development. The growth dynamics of the Nigerian economy have been
propelled by the existence and exploitation of natural resources and primary products. At
the onset, the agricultural sector was the base, as the country needed food and cash crops
for advancement. Actually, Nigeria has been left by her contemporaries in the quest for
development. A look at the Nigerian economy vis-a-vis that of China in recent past
showed that, Nigeria was better in 1970. Nigeria had a GDP per capita of US$233.35 and
was ranked 88th in the world while China was ranked 114th with a GDP per capita of
US$111.82. But today, according to Sanusi (2010), China is very far from Nigeria in
terms of economic advancement.
The problem of “growthlessness” can be attributed to inconsistent government policies,
political instability, lack of creativity on the part of leaders, mismanagement of resources,
under utilization of resources, brain drain, geometrical increase in population, lost of
interest in agriculture as a means of livelihood, corruption, among others. The abundance
of food production and raw materials for industries were among the attraction of colonial
masters to Nigeria. Subsistence farming was predominant and agriculture provided a large
proportion of the population with easy source of livelihood. Izuchukwu (2011) points out
that Agriculture has been the backbone of the Nigerian economy, providing employment
and source of livelihood for the increasing population. It accounted for over half of the
gross domestic product (GDP) of the Nigerian economy as at independence in 1960.
Undoubtedly, one of the sources of national wealth and real income is essentially from
agriculture. Consequently, development economists devoted much attention on how
agriculture can best contribute meaningfully to aggregate economic expansion and
modernization.
It is the invaluable contributions of agriculture to our nation that engendered our
educationists and government to make provisions in the National Policy on Education for
Practical Agriculture in the curriculum of the junior secondary school and Agricultural
Science in the senior secondary school curriculum as core subjects (FGN, 1990). Despite

efforts to promote agriculture in this wise, its impact is yet to be felt. The West African
Examination Council and the National Examination Council, the major examination
bodies in Nigeria have been recording poor results from candidates who sit for
examination on Agricultural Science. Besides, the enrollment for the examinations in
Agricultural Science is on the decline. These could be attributed to lack of interest in the
subject and poor perception that Agricultural Science has no future prospects for those
who study it or that those who choose to further in it will end up as mere farmers.
Ezewu (2007) asserts that governments, manufacturers and parents have exhibited concern
about the quality and volumes of learning that have been acquired by their wards and
children. This is because the volume and quality of an individual’s learning seems to be
the parameter used to measure and predict the contributions that the individual makes to
the society. The effect of what one learns should be seen in the individual, his
environment and the society at large. Learning agricultural techniques and acquiring skills
through various practical carried out in the school farm is the basis for this knowledge
gained. According to Isangedighi (2007), exposure or training is important if learning
must take place.
Learning refers to any relatively permanent change in behaviour, interpretation or
emotional response as a result of previous experience. Similarly, learning can be defined
as a change in behaviour or performance which is a result of experience and practice, and
which makes individual face later situations differently (Denga, 2002).
Furthermore, the true test of learning can be seen in the positive improvement of the
learner towards given tasks. Hence, an individual is assumed to have learnt techniques and
skills if there is a remarkable change in his academic performance during and after the
course of his programme. It can be said then that the success of an educational programme
can be measured with regards to the degree with which its beneficiaries perform
academically.
So many factors influence the academic achievement of students in their various school
endeavours. These factors can be either be personal (poor self-concept, motive, readiness,
emotion, attitude, maturational level of the student) or environmental. Studies have
identified allied factors such as student individual differences (personal causal factors),

teaching – learning strategy (system causal factors), family causal factors and the teacher
(academic causal factors) as those that interfere with the performance level of students.
This research work, therefore, will focus on the challenges facing Agricultural Science as
a subject, and suggest possible solutions to the challenges. Also, the study will seek to
establish whether students’ attitudes have anything to do with their performance in
agricultural science examinations. Finally, this study will seek to establish whether there
are significant differences in performance of students writing agricultural science
examinations in urban and rural schools. Thus, policy makers will be properly guided on
the implementation aspect of their policies. This will eventually result in better
agricultural output and higher employment rates for agricultural science graduates.
Agriculture in Nigerian Secondary Schools
Education in agriculture is not totally new to the Nigerian culture, neither is it new to the
age group now in our secondary schools (ages 11-17 years). Agriculture provided the
source of livelihood to well over 70% of the Nigerian population before independence. It
was accepted parts of the culture to have a child follow the parents to farm even as early
as 6 years of age. Even at the time when the missionaries introduced formal education, it
was still expected that a child goes to work on his father's farm after school hours and at
weekends. The child thus obtained an informal education in agriculture through a system
of apprenticeship. Even in the 1980s, children in boarding schools did some gardening and
occasional farming e.g., at Abeokuta, rice, maize, and yams were planted (Taiwo, 1982).
Supervision was by missionaries many of whom were not formally trained in agricultural
science. The proceeds from the school gardens and farms, afterwards go towards
augmenting the feeding requirements of the boarding school. Apart from training, in the
specific art of production, an attitude of self-reliance and love for manual labour was this
taught. Agricultural science as a course was introduced into the formal tertiary level of
education before its secondary counterpart. It was also taught in the form of rural science
at the pre-secondary level of education, thus creating a vacuum at the secondary level.
Since the secondary level of education during the colonial era was fashioned along the
line of grammar schools in Britain, the introduction of a vocational subject such as
agricultural science was not deemed necessary. The consequence therefore was the

production of school leavers who at best saw agriculture as a past time hobby and not as a
source of livelihood.
Very few secondary school leavers therefore opted for higher education in Agriculture.
When it was realized that Africa and in particular Nigeria needed a secondary education
that would be directly useful to the common man, educators called for the introduction of
Agricultural science into the secondary school curriculum (Solarin, 1963; Makinde, 1967).
It was thought that the introduction of Agricultural Science into the secondary school
curriculum would enable school leavers appreciate the dignity of labour and teach them to
be self-reliant and productive. It was also expected that Nigeria being a basically
agricultural country needed informed lower and middle level manpower that could utilize
scientific knowledge to improve the quality and quantity of the agricultural output. Solarin
(1963) expressed this expectation when he wrote that:
“All Africa's new secondary schools must teach agriculture, not in the old nodding
acquaintance with the simplest of the local farming tools, but with a deep initiation
into modern agriculture”
By 1963 only one school in the whole of West Africa entered Agricultural Science as a
subject at the West African School Certificate Examination (WASC) (Herington, 1966).
This was inspired by the fact that schools like Mayflower School, Ikenne; Gindiri S.U.M.
Secondary School, Jos; and some senior secondary modern schools practiced agriculture
and had trained rural science teachers. According to Oluwole (2008), education in
Productive Agriculture refers to acquisition of skills, attitudes and values that will make
the students capable of production of agricultural produce. It should therefore provide
knowledge and skills that may be directly or indirectly useful for agricultural activities
while Production Agriculture refers to the act of producing agricultural produce. It is
therefore concerned with the quality and quantity of product. Procedure utilized is similar
to those operative in factories. The particular method for a particular quality or quantity of
produce would have been predetermined and all participants would be expected to follow
it.

In the light of the foregoing, the need for a larger number of students participating in
agriculture while they are in school and after graduating from school cannot be
overemphasized. Onuekwusi and Okorie (2008) asserted that students with higher literacy
levels can bring the entrepreneurial spirit into agriculture. Entrepreneurship implies risk
bearing and a desire, willingness and ability to take necessary measures to improve output
and productivity (Akubuilo and Mgbada, 1999).
Teaching Agricultural Science
Teaching of Agricultural Science at the secondary school requires a sound background of
its theoretical and practical aspects by the teachers of agriculture. The 6-3-3-4 system
requires that agriculture be taught as pre-vocational subject at the primary and junior
secondary schools and as a vocational subject in senior secondary school level (National
Policy on Education, 2004).
The 6-3-3-4 educational system in Nigeria includes six years of primary education, three
years of junior secondary (pre-vocational) education, three years of senior secondary
education and varying tertiary education period of not less than four years. Although this
system of education has remained fairly constant since it became government policy, there
have been some slight modifications in government commitment towards the provision of
basic education to Nigerians. For instance, the scope of the Universal Basic Education
(UBE) programme has been extended to nine years, which includes six years of primary
education and three years in junior secondary school.
The delivery of vocational agriculture at the senior secondary level should not be handled
as a science per se but rather as a vocational subject for acquisition of practical
agricultural skills for meaningful living (Obi, 2005).
Martin and Odubiya (1991) reported that the primary role of vocational agriculture
teachers has always been to help students to learn knowledge and skills in agriculture.
According to Oluwole (2008), education in Productive Agriculture refers to acquisition of
skills, attitudes and values that will make the student capable of production of agricultural
produce. It should therefore provide knowledge and skills that may be directly or
indirectly useful for agricultural activities while Production Agriculture refers to the act of
producing agricultural produce. It is therefore concerned with the quality and quantity of
product. Procedure utilized is similar to those operative in factories. The particular method

for a particular quality or quantity of produce would have been predetermined and all
participants would be expected to follow it.
Academic Achievement Tests for Agricultural Science Students
Academic achievement tests are tests conducted using standard scales got from a
comprehensive scheme of work for a particular category of students. This test gives us a
true picture of the knowledge retention ability of the students in a particular subject. So
many factors influence the academic achievement of students in their various schools.
These factors can be either be personal (poor self-concept, motive, readiness, emotion,
attitude, maturational level of the student) or environmental. Studies have identified allied
factors such as student individual differences (personal causal factors), teaching – learning
strategy (system causal factors), family causal factors and the teacher (academic causal
factors) to interfere with the performance level of students.
Challenges facing Agricultural Science Education in Nigeria
Agricultural Science education in Nigeria has evolved over the years but there are still
several challenges facing it. Some of these include: improper teaching methods, inadequate
teaching materials, lack of qualified teachers and so on. These challenges hinder the
attainment of optimal output expected in terms of quality graduates that are independent
and increased agricultural output in our nation.
Attitudes of Students to Agricultural Science
Marsh (2004) confirms that students’ self-perception of academic ability or achievement
will affect their school performance. Kinanee (2004) views self-concept as the sum-total of
ideas, feelings and attitude that one has about their self. Thus, self-concept lays a
foundation for academic performance. In agreement, Onyejiaku (2001) affirms that the
“perceived self” influences the individual perception of the world and his or her behaviour
which in turn influences academic achievement. When a person feels good about himself,
he is propelled to want more success. As he gains success at his tasks, his self-concept is
strengthened and makes him open to more challenging tasks. Students with high self-
concept have a better perception of self and are more confident in their abilities in school
experiences than those with low self-concept. A student’s attitude towards the study of
Agricultural Science can affect his performance in the subject. Students exhibit a dislike

for the subject due to the fact that it involves rigorous practical works which are carried out
on the farm. This dislike as shown by apathy towards various practical farm activities a
then leads to low performance and subsequent failure.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Agricultural Science taught in basic and secondary schools has not been able to transform
the citizens and the nation adequately. Products of secondary education still lack basic
vocational and entrepreneurial knowledge and skills expected to be acquired, retained and
utilized from agricultural science. A huge percentage of those that studied Agricultural
science in schools are either unemployed or are not practicing what they learnt in school.
Failure rates are still very high in the subject despite government’s investment in the
subject. This study will therefore focus on the challenges facing Agricultural science
subject and suggest solutions. Also, the study will seek to establish whether students’
attitudes have anything to do with their performance in agricultural science examinations.
Thus, policy makers will be properly guided on the implementation aspect of their
policies. This will eventually result in better agricultural output and higher employment
rates for agricultural science graduates.
1.3 Significance of the study
Since the target of the Federal Government of Nigeria is to increase food productivity and
reduce unemployment through massive investment in Agricultural Science education, this
study will reveal the current challenges facing Agricultural Science education and suggest
ways of tackling the challenges. Also, the relationship between students’ attitude and their
academic performance in Agricultural Science will be established. This will help policy
makers and guidance counselors especially know areas they have to improve upon in their
researches.
1.4 Research Questions
1. What are the challenges to effective teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in
secondary schools?

2. In what ways could the challenges be managed for effective teaching and learning of
Agricultural Science?
3. What are the students’ attitudes to the study of Agricultural Science?
4. Is there any relationship between academic performance of students in Agricultural
Science and their attitudes to the subject?
1.5 Objectives of the Study
The main aim of this study is to investigate the challenges facing effective teaching and
learning of Agricultural Science and to suggest solutions to the identified challenges.
Also, to determine if any relationship exists between students’ attitudes to the subject vis-
à-vis their grades in the subject in public secondary schools in Ibadan North Local
Government area of Oyo State. Specifically to:
1. determine the challenges to effective teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in
public secondary schools .
2. suggest ways of managing the challenges facing effective teaching and learning of
Agricultural Science .
3. determine student’s attitude towards the study of Agricultural Science as a subject.
4. determine if there is any relationship between academic performance of students in
Agricultural Science and their attitudes to the subject.
1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study
This study is concerned with students’ attitudes and academic performance in Agricultural
Science in public secondary schools in Ibadan North local government area of Oyo State.
The study will contribute to knowledge and help decision makers in the area of
Educational Management and Planning.
The study has its limitations. These include:
1. Uncooperative attitude on the part of some of the respondents(teachers). Some had
to be cajoled and begged before they filled the questionnaire.
2. Financial constraints
3. Time constraints
4. Inability to expand the study to cover the whole of Oyo State

1.7 Definition of Terms
1. Agricultural Science: Agricultural Science education as a broad
multidisciplinary field that deals with the selection, breeding and management
of crops and domestic animals for economic production. It is a subject taught
in secondary schools as a means for self-reliance and preparation for further
studies.
2. Vocational Subjects: Vocational subjects (e.g. Agricultural Science, Home
Economics, Business Studies, Mechanics, Arts etc.) are subjects designed to
develop skills, abilities, understanding, attitude, work habit and appreciation
encompassing knowledge and information needed by any candidate to enter
and make progress in employment on a useful and productive basis.
3. Instructional Materials: Instructional materials are the different teaching aids
or apparatus which a classroom teacher employs to facilitate his or her
teaching for the achievement of the stated objective.
4. Questionnaire: This is a list of questions that a number of people are asked so
that information can be collected about something.
5. Students’ Attitude: This refers to students’ feeling or opinion about
something or someone, or a way of behaving that is caused by this.
6. Achievement Test: This is a test used in measuring the achievement of a
candidate in a particular course during or at the end of the course.
7. Pedagogy: This is the study of the methods and activities of teaching
especially in the aspect of teaching methods in Agricultural Science

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, the researcher presents a general review of past research works on the
research topic. The outline is presented below.
 Agricultural Science Education
 Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Science
 Challenges of Agricultural Science Education in Nigeria
 Review of solutions to the challenges facing Agricultural Science Education in
Nigeria
 Attitudes of Students to Agricultural Science
 Relationship between students’ attitudes and their performance in Agriculture
Science
- Self-concept and academic performance
- Attitude and Academic Performance
2.1 Agricultural Science Education
Agricultural science is one of the core vocational curricular subjects taught at both junior
and senior secondary schools in Nigeria. Egbule (2004) defines it as a process of training
learners in the process of Agricultural productivity as well as the techniques for teaching
of agriculture. Agricultural science education as a broad multidisciplinary field deals with
the selection, breading and management of crops and domestic animals for economic
production. It is a subject taught in secondary schools as a means for self-reliance and
preparation for further studies. Agricultural science is therefore designed for inculcation
of the necessary skills for the practice of agriculture for effective citizenship and
contribution to food security for national sustainability. That is why the Federal Republic
of Nigeria (FRN) in the Blueprint for Family Support Programme (1994) outlines the
seven major objectives of teaching and learning of Agricultural Science to reflect the:
1. ability to stimulate students’ interest in agriculture
2. ability of students in acquiring basic knowledge of agriculture.
3. ability to develop basic agricultural skills in students.
4. students’ ability to integrate knowledge with skills in agriculture

5. ability to expose students to opportunities in the field of agriculture
6. ability to prepare students for further studies in agriculture and
7. ability to prepare students for occupations in Agriculture.
Attainment of the above objectives depends on teachers’ pedagogical approaches.
Teachers in this case are agricultural science teacher’s agricultural science teachers.
Agricultural science teachers are trained and groomed from teacher preparation
institutions for quality impact of agricultural skills, knowledge attitudes and values for
self-reliance, promotion of agriculture and food security in their future lives. It is therefore
the duty of this group of teachers to stimulate and sustain students’ interest in agriculture,
enable students acquire basic knowledge and practical skills in agriculture, enable students
integrate knowledge with skills in Agriculture, prepare and expose students for
occupation. Attainment of the goals and objectives of agricultural science depends on
effectiveness of teaching and learning going on.
2.2 Teaching and Learning of Agricultural Science
The education axiom that when a learner has not learnt, then the teacher has not taught is
true. This directly relates to the concepts of teaching and learning as a process of
inculcating the right values, attitudes, knowledge, modern life, long life skill acquisition
necessary to make individuals benefit from the society as well as contribute meaningfully
to the same society. Waliki and Usman (2009) see teaching as a systematic, rational and an
organized process of transmitting knowledge, skills and so on in accordance with
professional principles. The implication is that agricultural science teachers who do not
perform the act in accordance with the principles of teaching are therefore not teachers but
cheats. Naturally, the outcome of teaching is learning. Learning occurs only where there is
relatively positive permanent change in an individual behaviour. Modebelu and Duvie
(2012) recommend four innovative teaching methods that could enhance quality and
effective teaching and learning of subjects/courses. These could be adopted and applied by
Agriculture Science teachers.
These methods are:
1. Information transformation and reception method
2. Cognitive strategies development method

3. Attitudes development method
4. Cognitive and motor skills development method
Combination of these modern methods helps to achieve the required goal. Other relevant
methods include: assignment, demonstration, project, field-trip, experimental and so on.
Teaching skills vital for quality teaching and learning are:
i. qualitative set induction
ii. quality questioning (lower order, middle, higher order and divergent)
iii. variation and variety (instructional aids that could take care of individual
differences).
iv. stimulus variation (ensuring that students’ senses are involved)
v. repetition (simple, planned, mass etc).
vi. demonstration (simple, brief and concise)
vii. closure (white board summary, written exercises, oral summary etc.).
viii. adequate non-verbal communication etc.
ix. reinforcement (reward and relevant punishment).
x. effective communication
xi. supervision (closed supervision learning processes and activities).
Effective application of these teaching methods, skills or strategy depends greatly on the
teacher’s ability to plan the lesson ahead. Ihebereme (2010) posits that quality teaching and
learning is a sine-qua non to prudent adherence to quality indicators in the pedagogical
approaches. Babalola (2011) reports of some contemporary soft skills that are imperative in
teachers’ effectiveness in today’s global world. He argues that teachers should not only be
trained to teach but to become polyvalent by mastering hard and soft skills that make
teachers functional in a rapidly changing multicultural environment. The implication is that
teachers are no longer trained for students’ certification alone but for effective inculcation
of learning to learn skills. Students, in addition to learning concepts and theme, must have
deep understanding and application of the learning skills. This is also expected in the
teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in Nigerian secondary schools. Obanya
(2010) recommends teaching and learning that revolve around the principles of
transformational pedagogy. Egbule (2004) emphasizes that every agricultural teacher must
be effective, liberally educated, current in subject matter and its pedagogy, aware of what

is expected of teachers and schools, skillful and conscientious in planning, preparing for,
carrying out instruction, respectful towards students, concerned about their welfare,
actively involved in faculty, professional and community affairs.
As in learner-centered method, agricultural science students should occupy a prominent
position in the teaching and learning of agricultural science. Teachers should therefore
make these students the centre of all activities. This entails:
a. encouraging active participation of agricultural science students in the teaching and
learning process.
b. Agricultural science students being always actively involved in a manner in which
they interact with the teacher, with instructional aids and with the environment.
c. teaching and learning of agricultural science that promote students’ development of
basic
life skills.
d. enabling students to utilize the learnt skills in solving their everyday problems using
their own initiatives.
e. Agricultural science teachers’ effort to discourage rote learning and passivity in the
classroom.
2.3 Challenges of Agricultural Science Education in Nigeria
Modebelu and Nwakpadolu (2013) identified seven major challenges facing Agricultural
Science teachers in their quest to achieve effective teaching and learning of the subject.
These are:
i. inadequate qualification of teachers
ii. inadequate technical know-how
iii. inadequate teaching methods
iv. inadequate instructional materials
v. absence of farms for practical
vi. poor funding
vii. poor attitudes of students towards agricultural science.
To corroborate this view, Puyate (2004) asserted that effective teaching cannot be carried
out without the adequate provision of learning facilities. Also, in the aspect of funding,
Puyate (2008) opined that teachers must be well remunerated for them to effectively impart

the needed knowledge on students. This is a major challenge for the education system in
Nigeria. Other challenges include broad curriculum objectives, unclear specification of
areas that require practical skills (Olaitan, 1992, Egbule. 1998, Obi, 2005), poor
programme delivery system, cases of duplicated topics (Egbule, 1998), poor performance
of candidates who enrolled in agricultural science examinations (Mamman, 2000) and high
unemployment rate among Agricultural Science graduates (Olaitan, 1997; Okorie, 2000;
Obi, 2005; and Ikeoji and Agwubike, 2006).
2.4 Review of solutions to the challenges facing Agricultural Science Education in
Nigeria
Modebelu and Nwakpadolu (2013) suggested ten possible ways of managing and
redressing the challenges. These include ensuring that only professional qualified teachers
teach, repositioning of teacher preparation institutions to produce highly relevant
manpower who are conscientious and well motivated in the field, provision of relevant
instructional materials and so on. Modebelu and Duvie (2012) also recommended
innovative teaching methods for effective teaching and learning of agricultural science.
Egbule (2004) also suggested that teaching and learning of agricultural science must both
be competence-based and production-oriented. Egun (2009) suggested that there is the
need for a total overhauling of agricultural administration in Nigeria. Egun (1993)
proposed a model of training which could improve competency of graduates of agricultural
schools in Nigeria. Onu and Ikehi (2013) suggested the establishment of Agricultural
Students Scholarship Fund (ASSF). This will boost the morale of students to choose and
study Agriculture in higher institutions of learning in Nigeria. Odachi (2011) suggested
that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) should be incorporated into
Agriculture in Nigeria.
2.5 Attitudes of Students to Agricultural Science
According to Chang (2005), individual interest, ability and needs are important factors that
contribute to attitudinal life of students studying Agricultural Science. Also, culture and
gender play a major role in determining the attitude of students to Agriculture, Margolis

(2008). Ohiwerei and Nwosu (2009) also identified the following external factors as key
players in career interest choices:
i. Teachers’ Influence,
ii. Parental Pressure
iii. Economic and Political Condition of the Country,
iv. Peer Groups’ Pressure
v. Adequate Vocational Choice Information and Subject Studies/Combination.
Turner and Lapan (2002) identified family and friends, Mcwhirter, Hackett and Bandalos
(1998) stated that parents influenced children’s educational plan. Turner, Steward and
Lapan (2004) identified encouragement from parents and influence of people surrounding
an individual as some of the factors that can affect career interest (Chang, 2005; Davis,
2009; Margolis, 2008; Sugahara, Hiramatsu, and Boland, 2009;S. C. K. Wong and Liu,
2010). So also attitude towards task increase one’s performance; choosing not to do the
activity will decrease performance (Meece, Wigfield, and Eccles, 1998). Ruble and
Martins (1998) opined that children who develop more positive competence-related beliefs
and values for activities they believe in are appropriate for their gender tend to seek more
engagement of such activities in the future. Parental educational and occupational status
and critical life event can spur a transformative learning experience that may shape a career
development and life direction of children (Fisher and Griggs, 1994 and Trusy, Watts, and
Erdman, 1997). Carpenter and Foster, 1977 and Dick and Rallis, 1991) reported that a
young person’s belief about a career’s value is influenced by the perceptions, attitudes and
expectations of others such as parents, teachers, guidance counselors.
2.6 Relationship between students’ attitudes and their performance in Agriculture
Science
2.6.1 Self-concept and academic performance
A student’s attitude towards the study of Agricultural Science can affect his performance in
the subject. Some students exhibit a dislike for the subject due to the fact that it involves
rigorous practical works which are carried out on the farm. This dislike as shown by apathy

towards various practical farm activities a then leads to low performance and subsequent
failure.
Motivation has been recognized as another pertinent factor that is related to student’s
scholastic performance. According to Kushman Sieber and Harold (2000) in Broussard
(2002), high motivation and engagement in learning are associated with increased level of
student’s success and low dropout rates. Studies show that a moderate amount of anxiety
aids in academic performance by creating motivation. However, high levels tend to
interfere with the students concentration and memory which are necessary for academic
success.
So many factors have been known to influence the academic achievement of students in
their various school endeavours. These factors can be either be personal (poor self-concept,
motive, readiness, emotion, attitude, maturational level of the student) or environmental.
The personality of an individual refers to a collection of emotional, thought and
behavioural patterns unique to a person that is consistent overtime. It can also include an
individual’s thoughts, behaviour, feelings, emotions, attitudes, physique adjustment, unique
learning history response patterns, habits and general poise (Denga, 2002).
According to Okwubunka (2007), low self-concept can be closely associated to learning
difficulties in students. A student who believes he is incapable of accomplishing his
academic task is bound to be an academic failure. Denga (2007) views self-concept as an
organized configuration of perceptions of self which are admissible to awareness. He
further stated that self-concept is what determines the goals that are set, attitudes,
behaviour and responses that one makes towards others. The way an adolescent perceives
himself or herself with little or no regards for what one may say or think of him or her is
referred to as self-concept. According to Child (2003), the conception which we hold of
ourselves as a result of interaction with insignificant others and influences on our behavior
collectively is known as self-concept.
Many studies show likely correlation between self-concept and academic performance.
Wang (2007) stated that there are recent researches that show a causal relationship between
academic self-concept and subsequent achievement and that this relationship is reciprocal

in nature. Thus, while better student achievement leads to improvement of self-concept,
positive self-concept can help increase student achievement concurrently.
Weiner (2006) stated that highly motivated students in any area of interest may perform
more difficult task than those who have low motivation in the same area.
Adediji (2007) stated that when pupils express lack of interest in a subject, it affects the
way they react and listen to the teacher. Thus, interest and attitude of the learner towards a
particular subject matter a lot. This agrees with Hansford and Hattie (2002), Shavelson and
Bolus (1982) that states that achievement motivation has a great influence on students’
performance academically.
2.6.2 Attitude and Academic Performance
Attitude as a psychological concept is a relative. It could be viewed as the way one reacts
towards an object or situation. It could be favourable or unfavourable. Inyang –Abia (2003)
asserts that attitude is a desire or tendency to approach or avoid something” He stated
further that attitude of an individual can be either positive or negative. When it is positive,
the individual approaches the object. Otherwise, the object is avoided when attitude is
negative. Attitudes are interwoven with affective and highly motivated experience so that
they viewed as personality characteristics.
According to Jegede (2001) and Okpala (2006) there is a positive relationship between
students’ attitude and their performance in academics. In a study carried out by Bassey
(2002) to determine the degree of co-variation between students’ test attitude and their test
performance. Results show that there was a significant difference in performance in the
different attitudinal groups with respect to their varying levels of attitude. Umoinyang
(2004) carried out a study to establish the relationship between student’s attitude and their
academic achievement in Mathematics. He used 229 students (118 males and 111 females)
randomly selected from six (6) secondary schools in Abak Local Government of Akwa
Ibom State, Nigeria. Achievement was based on their 1988 1st
terminal examination and
attitude was measured based on the responses to the questionnaire designed and validated
by the researcher. A positive and significant correlation was found between students’
attitude towards Mathematics and their academic achievement in the subject. This could
suggest that attitude to school or the subjects can be related to performance if it is on the

premise that positive attitude leads to higher performance of the students in their
academics. Camilus (2011) reported that students’ attitude plays a very important role in
their academic performance in Agricultural Science.

CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
This chapter is about the description of the study population, the sample size selected,
the instruments used and the data collected from the sample. The procedure for the
administration and scoring of the questionnaire is described. The data analysis
techniques are also presented.
3.1 Descriptive Survey Design
Population of the Study
The target population for this study comprised all Agricultural Science
teachers, Vice Principals, Principals and SSS II students offering Agricultural Science
in all public secondary schools in Ibadan North Local government area of Oyo
State, Nigeria.
3.2 Sampling Techniques
Simple random sampling techniques were used to select three schools from the
total population of public secondary schools in the local government area. The three
schools selected were St. Louis Grammar School, Mokola, Ibadan, St. Brigid’s
Grammar School, Mokola, Ibadan and Methodist Grammar School, Bodija, Ibadan. A
total of 30 Agricultural Science teachers, Vice Principals, Principals and 100 SSS II
students in the selected schools constituted the sample size.
3.3 Instrumentation
Three instruments were developed by the researcher. They are:
1. Agricultural Science Achievement Test(ASAT)
2. Constraints of Agricultural Science in Public Secondary Schools (CASPSS)
3. Student’ Attitude towards Agricultural Science (SATAS)
1. Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT)
A 25- item multiple choice questions was developed by the researcher. This was used
to assess the one hundred (100) SSS II students’ academic achievement in Agricultural
Science. The performance of the students in the ASAT was categorized using the
Students’ Result Format (SRF). The grade achievements were the stanine values (1to
9), with (1) the best and (9) the worst, Okolo (2008). These are:

1. 75 and above: A1
2. 70-74: B2
3. 65-69: B3
4. 60-64: C4
5. 55-59: C5
6. 50-54: C6
7. 45-49: D7
8. 40-44: D8
9. Less than 40: F9
2. Constraints of Agricultural Science in Public Secondary Schools (CASPSS)
The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire. A total of thirty
(30) questionnaire was administered to 30 teachers comprising the School Principals,
Vice-Principals and Agricultural Science teachers. This addressed the challenges
facing effective teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in public secondary
schools in the Local Government Area. Possible ways of managing the challenges
were also suggested for appropriate responses by the respondents.
3. Student’ Attitude towards Agricultural Science (SATAS)
The instrument used for data collection was structured questionnaire. A total of one
hundred (100) questionnaire was administered to 100 SSS II students. This addressed
the students’ attitude towards Agricultural Science as a subject.
3.4 Validation and Reliability of Instruments
The instruments passed through face and content validity by two experts in
Agricultural Science Education and Educational Management. Reliability indices were
obtained for the instruments using Cronbach’s alpha.
3.5 Data Collection and Analysis
Data were collected with the assistance of subject masters in the schools involved in
the study. Descriptive analysis such as frequency counts, percentages, mean and
standard deviation were carried out on the instruments.
Chi-square test of independence was conducted to ascertain if there was any
relationship between the students’ academic achievement in Agricultural Science and

their attitudes to the study of Agricultural Science as a subject. The sets of hypotheses
investigated using this test were:
a. Ho: There is no association between grades obtained by the students and
sustained students’ interest in Agricultural Science throughout the lesson
period.
H1: There is association between grades obtained by the students and sustained
students’ interest in Agricultural Science throughout the lesson period.
b. Ho: There is no association between grades obtained by the students and the
teacher uses relevant instructional materials.
H1: There is association between grades obtained by the students and the
teacher uses relevant instructional materials.
c. Ho: There is no association between grades obtained by the students and
Agricultural Science is not a major requirement for admission into higher
institutions
H1: There is no association between grades obtained by the students and
Agricultural Science is not a major requirement for admission into higher
institutions
d. Ho: There is no association between grades obtained by the students and the
teacher is always punctual for Agricultural Science lessons
teacher is always punctual for Agricultural Science lessons
e. Ho: There is no association between grades obtained by the students and the
teacher gives too much note.
The significance level is 0.05 in all cases.
Decision Rule: Reject the null hypothesis if the p-value is less than the significance
level = 0.05.

CHAPTER FOUR
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this chapter, results and discussion of the analysis carried out on each of the
research questions are presented.
4.1 Results
Research Question One: What are the challenges to effective teaching and learning
of Agricultural Science in secondary schools?
The results are presented in Table 4.1
TABLE 4.1: Results of challenges to effective teaching and learning of Agricultural
Science in secondary schools
I Inadequate qualification Agreed Disagreed
Frequency % Frequency % Mean = SD
1 Majority of agricultural
science teachers are not
professionals
15 50 15 50 2.33 0.76
2 Majority of the teachers
are not holders of B.Sc.
(Ed.) in Agriculture
14 47 16 53 2.17 0.95
3 Majority of the teachers
are still holders of NCE or
HND in Agriculture
13 43 17 57 2.23 0.77
II Inadequate Technical
Know-how
Agreed Disagreed
4 Agricultural science
teachers are not very
proficient in the teaching
and learning of Agriculture
7 23 23 77 1.80 0.81

5 These teachers do not
possess adequate modern
skills for practical oriented
teaching
7 23 23 77 1.73 1.05
6 The teachers are less
resourceful
15 50 15 50 2.23 0.94
III Inadequate Teaching
Method
Agreed Disagreed
7. These teachers use mainly
traditional methods of
teaching (lecture in
confines
of classroom/ laboratory)
23 77 7 23 2.67 0.99
8. Teaching and learning of
the subject are rarely
learner-centered
13 43 17 57 2.0 0.95
9. Teaching and learning are
mainly teacher-centred
12 40 18 60 1.8 0.99
IV. Inadequate Instruction
Aids
Agreed Disagreed
10. Instructional aids are not
available
19 63 11 37 2.37 1.09
11. Instructional aids available
are not adequately utilized
13 43 17 57 2.07 1.17
12. Teachers rarely improvise 15 50 15 50 2.17 1.05
V. Inadequate farms Agreed Disagreed
13. There is adequate farm
lands for practical lessons
3 10 27 90 1.60 0.67
14. Students do not regularly 23 77 7 23 2.73 0.98

practice in farms or
gardens.
VI. Inadequate fund Agreed Disagreed
15. There is inadequate fund to
manage practical oriented
Agricultural science
27 90 3 10 3.27 0.64
VI
I.
Poor students’ Attitudes Agreed Disagreed
16. Students do not show
adequate interest in the
subject
16 53 14 47 2.43 1.25
Findings
From Table 4.1, 15(50%) of the respondents agreed that majority of Agricultural
Science teachers are not professionals while 15(50%) disagreed. Also, 14(47%) of the
respondents agreed that majority of the teachers are not holders of B.Sc. (Ed.) in
Agriculture while 16(53%) disagreed with the notion. Again, 23(77%) agreed that
students do not regularly practice in farms or gardens while the remaining 7(23%)
disagreed with this view. 27(90%) of the respondents are of the opinion that there is
inadequate fund to manage practical oriented Agricultural Science while 3(10%)
disagreed with it. Furthermore, 3(10%) of the respondents are of the opinion that there
is adequate farm lands for practical lessons while the remaining 27(90%) disagreed.
Also, on students’ interest in the subject, 16(53%) agreed that students do not show
adequate interest in Agricultural Science while 14(47%) disagreed with the opinion.
23(77%) of the respondents are of the opinion that teachers use mainly traditional
methods of teaching while the remaining 7(23%) disagreed. 13(43%) of the
respondents believe that teaching and learning of the subject are rarely learner-centred
while 17(57%) respondents disagreed. Finally, 19(63%) of the respondents are of the

opinion that instructional aids are not available while the remaining 11(37%)
disagreed with the view.
Graphical illustrations of some of these results are presented in figures 1, 2, and 3.
Fig. 1: Responses to “these teachers use mainly traditional methods of teaching”
Fig. 2: Responses to “there is adequate farmland for practical lessons”

Fig. 3: Responses to “students do not regularly practice in farms or gardens”
Discussion of Results of Research Question One
From the findings of this research, the 4 (four) major challenges identified to be
confronting Agricultural Science education in the local government area are the use of
mainly traditional methods of teaching (lecture in confines of classroom/ laboratory),
inability of students to regularly practice in farms or gardens, inadequate farmlands for
practical lessons, and inadequate fund to manage practical oriented Agricultural
Science. The challenges identified are in agreement with the works of researchers on
the subject matter. Modebelu and Nwakpadolu (2013) identified seven major
challenges facing Agricultural Science teachers. These included absence of farms for
practical, poor funding and inadequate teaching methods. Puyate (2008) identified
inadequate funding while Puyate (2004) identified inadequate provision of learning
facilities. Egbule (1998) identified grossly insufficient teaching and learning activities
of agriculture at the secondary school level that are incapable of eliciting the desired
level of initiative and creativity in students.
Research Question Two: In what ways could the challenges be managed for effective
teaching and learning of agricultural science?
The results are presented in Table 4.2

TABLE 4.2: Results of ways of managing the challenges for effective teaching and
learning of Agricultural Science
Suggested Solution Agreed Disagreed
17. Agricultural science
teachers should be
professionals and holders
of B.Sc.
Ed. in Agriculture
27 90 3 10 3.13 0.57
18. Repositioning teacher
preparation
institutions for qualitative
Agricultural
teachers production.
30 100 - 0 3.23 0.43
19. Teachers should be sound
in
concepts and pedagogy
30 100 - 0 3.33 0.48
Agreed Disagreed
teachers should be
adequately motivated
through
improved working
conditions
30 100 - 0 3.57 0.50
21. The teachers should be
given opportunities for
updating of knowledge and
skills so as to
move with the new trends
30 100 - 0 3.50 0.51

22. Every school must have
adequate farm lands
30 100 - 0 3.47 0.51
Agreed Disagreed
should be adequately
funded
30 100 - 0 3.63 0.49
24. Instructional aids should
be made available by
government
30 100 - 0 3.43 0.50
25. Teachers should be
adequately sensitized on
the importance of
agricultural science as a
subject
30 100 - 0 3.27 0.45
Findings
From Table 4.2, 27(90%) of the respondents (teachers) agreed with the suggestion that
Agricultural Science teachers should be professionals and holders of B.Sc. (Ed.) in
Agriculture while the remaining 3(10%) disagreed. Furthermore, all the respondents
agreed that Agricultural Science teachers should be adequately motivated through
improved working conditions. All the respondents agreed that teachers should be
sound in concepts and pedagogy as sine qua non to effective teaching of Agricultural
science in public secondary schools. Finally, all the respondents agreed to the
remaining suggestions proposed as ways of managing the challenges facing effective
teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in the Local Government Area such as;
instructional aids should be made available by the government, Agricultural Science
education should be adequately funded, every school must possess adequate farmland
for practical Agriculture and so on.
Discussion of Results of Research Question Two

The respondents agreed with all the suggestions proposed as probable solutions to the
challenges facing Agricultural Science as a subject in Ibadan North Local Government
Area of Oyo State. These adequately addressed the identified challenges facing
Agricultural Science in the area. These solutions agreed with some past researches
including Modebelu and Duvie (2012) who recommended four innovative teaching
methods. Obanya (2010) recommended teaching and learning that revolve around the
principles of transformational pedagogy. Egbule (2004) recommended that the
Agricultural Science teacher must be current in subject matter and its pedagogy.
Puyate (2008) suggested good remuneration for teachers. Egun (1993) proposed a
model of training which could improve competency of graduates of agricultural
schools in Nigeria. Onu and Ikehi (2013) suggested the establishment of Agricultural
Students Scholarship Fund (ASSF) to handle the problem of inadequate funding.
Odachi (2011) suggested that Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
should be incorporated into Agriculture in Nigeria. Modebelu and Nwakpadolu (2013)
suggested the provision of relevant instructional materials for effective teaching of
Agricultural Science. The West African Examination Council (2006) suggested that
each school should have adequate equipment and facilities, farm structure; regular
supply of inputs coupled with farm spaces, at least two farm animals to be managed by
the students as a pre-condition for successful implementation of vocational
Agriculture curriculum in secondary schools. Ladele and Agbebaku (2006) suggested
adequate exposure of students to the practice of farming within the provision of
available technology so that they can be better motivated towards making a career in
agriculture.
Research Question Three: What are students’ attitudes to the study of agricultural
science?
The results are presented in Table 4.3.
TABLE 4.3: Results of Students’ Attitudes to Agricultural Science

Students’ Attitude Agreed Disagreed
1. The number of students
that take Agricultural
Science as a subject is very
few.
71 71 29 29 2.84 1.08
2. Practicals in Agricultural
science as a subject is
interesting and
fascinating.
91 91 9 91 3.30 0.72
3. Students’ interest in
Agricultural science as a
subject are sustained
throughout
the lesson period.
60 60 40 40 2.47 1.11
4. Agricultural Science is not
a major subject required
for gaining admission into
higher institution
41 41 59 59 2.20 0.99
5. My parents would
want me to take up
agriculture as a career
25 25 75 75 1.84 0.96
Agreed Disagreed
6 My parents react
negatively to my study of
Agricultural Science
11 11 89 89 1.79 0.74
7. Parents see Agricultural 15 15 85 85 1.90 0.75

Science subject as the
subjects for children from
poor parents.
8. Agricultural Science is a
subject for boys alone
9 9 91 91 1.86 0.71
9. Boys want to study core
sciences than Agricultural
science.
53 53 47 47 2.44 1.06
10. The School farm is
available for Agricultural
Science practicals
85 85 15 15 3.22 0.92
11. The teacher is always
punctual for Agricultural
Science lesson
92 92 8 8 3.53 0.83
12. The teacher uses relevant
instructional materials for
teaching
80 80 20 20 3.13 0.92
13. The teacher gives too
much note to write during
the lesson.
74 74 26 26 2.99 1.11
14. The time allotted for the
subject on the time-table is
too small
26 26 74 74 1.78 0.93
15. The teacher does not know
how to teach very well
7 7 93 93 1.92 0.61
Graphical illustrations of some of these results are presented in figures 4, 5 and 6.

Fig.4: Responses to “the number of students that take Agricultural Science as a
subject is very few”
Fig.5: Responses to “practicals in Agricultural Science is interesting and
fascinating”

Fig.6: Responses to students’ “interests in Agricultural Science are sustained
throughout the lesson period”
Findings
From Table 4.3, 71(71%) of the respondents agreed that the number of students that
take Agricultural Science as a subject is very few while the remaining 29(29%)
disagreed. Moreover, 91(91%) of the respondents agreed that practical aspect in
Agricultural Science as a subject is quite interesting and fascinating while the
remaining 9(9%) disagreed with that notion. 85(85%) of the respondents believe that
the school farm is available for Agricultural Science practicals while 15(15%)
disagreed with the view. This is actually true because the schools used for the survey
are all public secondary schools with appreciable acres of land for school farms. On
the issue of punctuality, 92(92%) of the respondents are of the opinion that
Agricultural science teachers are always punctual for Agricultural Science lesson
while 8(8%) disagreed. 80(80%) of the respondents agreed that teachers(Agricultural
science) use relevant instructional materials for teaching while the remaining 20(20%)
disagreed. 74(74%) of the respondents agreed that the teacher gives too much note to
write during the lesson while the remaining 26% disagreed. 7(7%) of the respondents
agreed that the teacher does not know how to teach well while the remaining 93(93%)
disagreed.

Discussion of Results of Research Question Three
The respondents (Agricultural science students) agreed that their interests in the
subject are not usually sustained throughout the lesson period. They are also of the
opinion that the number of students that take Agricultural Science as a subject is very
few. Also, they are of the opinion that practicals in Agricultural Science as a subject is
interesting and fascinating when there is provision for it. These results are in
agreement with the works of past researchers. Adediji (2007) stated that when pupils
express lack of interest in a subject, it affects the way they react and listen to the
teacher. Ozioma (2011) also reported that the number of students that take vocational
subjects (Agricultural Science is a vocational subject) is very few and that practicals in
vocational subjects are interesting and fascinating.
Other students’ attitudes to Agricultural Science, from this research, included the
belief that teachers give too much note to write during the lesson and this makes them
to lose interest in the subject. This agrees with the work of Ozioma (2011) who also
reported that students believed that their teachers did not use the right method in
teaching.
However, from this study, students’ attitudes to the subject have nothing to do with
their parents’ socio-economic status. It also has nothing to do with their gender. These
are in sharp contrast to the outcome of the research conducted by Ozioma (2011) who
reported that students’ attitude to vocational subjects are related both to the socio-
economic status of the parents and gender.
Research Question Four: Is there any relationship between academic performance of
students in Agricultural Science and their attitudes to the subject?
The results are presented in Tables 4.4 and 4.5.

TABLE 4.4 : Grades obtained by Agricultural Science students
Frequency Percent Percent
Cumulative
Percent
less than 40 19 19.0 19.0 19.0
40-44 19 19.0 19.0 38.0
45-49 10 10.0 10.0 48.0
50-54 16 16.0 16.0 64.0
55-59 6 6.0 6.0 70.0
60-64 17 17.0 17.0 87.0
65-69 1 1.0 1.0 88.0
70-74 3 3.0 3.0 91.0
75 and above 9 9.0 9.0 100.0
Total 100 100.0 100.0
TABLE 4.5: Results of Chi-Square tests of independence (the significance level is
0.05) on the sets of hypotheses
Hypothesis Ho Statistic p-value Decision
1. There is no association between grades
obtained by the students and sustained
students’ interest in Agricultural
Science throughout the lesson period.
40.594 0.018 Reject Ho
obtained by the students and the
teacher uses relevant instructional
materials.
24.887 0.412 Accept Ho
3. There is no association between grades 25.455 0.381 Accept Ho

Findings
From Table 4.4, 19(19%) of the respondents scored less than 40 marks, 19(19%) also
scored between 40 and 44 marks, 10 (10%) had scores ranging from 45 to 49, 16(16%)
scored between 50 and 54 marks, 6(6%) had between 55 and 59 marks, 17(17%)
scored between 60 and 64 marks, only one respondent (1%) was in the range of 65 to
69 marks, 3(3%) respondents had between 70 and 74 scores and 9(9%) of the
respondents obtained 75 and above scores.
From Table 4.5, the p-values of null hypotheses 2-5 were greater than the significance
level = 0.05 while the reverse was the case for null hypothesis 1.
Discussion of Results of Research Question Four
A large percentage of the respondents (52%) had above average scores but just 9%
had 75 and above scores. This suggests that a lot still needs to be done in terms of
motivation, to increase the performance of the students in Agricultural Science.
Weiner (2006) stated that highly motivated students in any area of interest may
perform more difficult task than those who have low motivation in the same area.
There is association between the grades obtained by the students and sustained
students’ interest in Agricultural Science throughout the lesson period. This implies
that for better performance, teachers should device innovative methods of teaching to
obtained by the students and
Agricultural Science is not a major
requirement for admission into higher
institutions
teacher is always punctual for
Agricultural Science lessons
27.099 0.300 Accept Ho
20.536 0.666 Accept Ho

sustain the students’ interest throughout the lesson period. This is supported by
Modebelu and Duvie (2012) that recommended the use of innovative teaching
methods which include; Information transformation and reception method, Cognitive
strategies development method, Attitudes development method, Cognitive and motor
skills development method. These also agree with Egbule (2004) who insisted that
teaching and learning of agricultural science must be geared towards competence-
based, skilled and production-oriented.
On the other hand, from this study, no association was found between grades obtained
by the students and the following attitudinal variables namely: use of relevant
instructional materials by teachers, Agricultural Science is not a major requirement for
admission into higher institutions, the Agricultural Science teachers are always
punctual for Agricultural science lessons and the teachers give too much note.

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES
In this chapter, we present a summary of major findings, conclusion reached
and suggestions for further studies on challenges facing Agricultural Science as a
subject and students’ attitudes to Agricultural Science in Ibadan North local
government area of Oyo State.
5.1 Summary of Findings
From the study, it was found that the four major challenges confronting
Agricultural Science education in Ibadan North Local Government Area were:
i. Use of mainly traditional methods of teaching (lecture in confines of
classroom/ laboratory)
ii. Irregular practice of students in farms or gardens.
iii. Inadequate farmlands for practical lessons
iv. Inadequate fund to manage practical oriented Agricultural Science
Nine ways of managing the challenges were proposed. They were:
 Agricultural Science teachers should be professionals and holders of
B.Sc.(Ed.) in Agriculture
 Repositioning teacher preparation institutions for qualitative Agricultural
Science teachers production
 Teachers should be sound in concepts and pedagogy
 Agricultural Science teachers should be adequately motivated through
improved working conditions
 The teachers should be given opportunities for updating of knowledge and
skills so as to move with the new trends in Agricultural Science education
 Every school must have adequate farm lands
 Agricultural Science should be adequately funded
 Instructional aids should be made available by government
 Teachers should be adequately sensitized on the importance of Agricultural
Science as a subject
Also, major students’ attitudes to Agricultural Science in the local government area
were obtained. They were:

1. The number of students that take Agricultural Science as a subject is very few
2. Practicals in Agricultural Science as a subject is interesting and fascinating
3. The school farm is available for Agricultural Science practicals
4. The teacher is always punctual for Agricultural Science lesson
5. The teacher uses relevant instructional materials for teaching
6. The teacher gives too much note to write during the lesson
7. Students’ interests in Agricultural Science are not sustained throughout the
lesson period.
Finally, relationship between students’ academic performance in Agricultural Science
and some of their attitudes were obtained. We found out that there exists significant
relationship between “grades obtained by the students in Agricultural Science
Achievement Test” and “Students’ interests in Agricultural Science are sustained
throughout the lesson period”.
5.2 Conclusion
From these findings, the study, teaching and learning of Agricultural Science
as a subject in the secondary school curriculum can be made more effective in Ibadan
North local government area if the solutions proposed for the challenges are
implemented and factors leading to negative students’ attitude to the subject are
addressed.
Also, since a significant relationship exists between grades obtained in the
subject and sustained students’ interest in the subject throughout the lesson period,
innovative teaching methods should be introduced by the teachers so that students’
interest in the subject can be sustained throughout each lesson period.
5.3 Suggestion for Further Studies
Since this is a practical study, this same study should be carried out on a wider
scale (Oyo State or Nigeria as a whole) so as to be able to identify and proffer
solutions to all challenges observed to be hindering the study, teaching and learning of
Agricultural Science subject in Nigeria

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APPENDICES
APPENDIX I
CONSTRAINTS OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE IN PUBLIC SECONDARY
SCHOOLS (CASPSS)
This questionnaire is for investigating challenges to effective teaching and learning of
Agricultural Science in public secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government
Area of Oyo State. It is solely for research purpose and all information shall be treated
with utmost confidentiality.
A. Challenges to effective teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in
Public secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo
State.
I. Inadequate
qualification
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
1. Majority of
agricultural science
teachers are not
professionals
2. Majority of the
teachers are not
holders of B.Sc. (Ed.)
in Agriculture
3. Majority of the
teachers are still
holders of NCE or
HND in Agriculture
II. Inadequate
Technical Know-how
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
teachers are not very
proficient in the
teaching and learning
of Agriculture
5. These teachers do not
possess adequate
modern skills for
practical oriented
teaching
6. The teachers are less
resourceful
III. Inadequate Teaching
Method
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
7. These teachers use

mainly traditional
methods of teaching
(lecture in confines
of classroom/
laboratory)
8. Teaching and learning
of the subject are
rarely learner-centered
9. Teaching and learning
are mainly teacher-
centred
IV. Inadequate
Instruction Aids
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
10. Instructional aids are
not available
11. Instructional aids
available are not
adequately utilized
12. Teachers rarely
improvise
V. Inadequate farms STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
13. There is adequate
farm lands for
practical lessons
14. Students do not
regularly practice in
farms or gardens.
VI. Inadequate fund STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
15. There is inadequate
fund to manage
practical oriented
Agricultural science
VII
.
Poor students’
Attitudes
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
16. Students do not show
adequate interest in
the subject
B. Managing the challenges facing effective teaching and learning of Agricultural
Science.

STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
teachers should be
professionals and
holders of B.Sc.
Ed. in Agriculture
18. Repositioning teacher
preparation
institutions for
qualitative
Agricultural
teachers production.
sound in
concepts and
pedagogy
teachers should be
adequately motivated
through
improved working
conditions
21. The teachers should
be given opportunities
for updating of
knowledge and skills
so as to
move with the new
trends
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
22. Every school must
have adequate farm
lands
should be adequately
funded
24. Instructional aids
should be made
available by
government
adequately sensitized
on the importance of
agricultural science as
a subject

APPENDIX II
STUDENT’ ATTITUDE TOWARDS AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
(SATAS)
This questionnaire is for investigating students’ attitudes to Agricultural Science in
public secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State. It is
solely for research purpose and all information shall be treated with utmost
confidentiality.
Students’ attitude to Agricultural Science
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
1. The number of
students that take
Agricultural
Science as a
subject are very
few.
2. Practicals in
Agricultural
science as a subject
is interesting and
fascinating.
3. Students’ interest
in Agricultural
science as a subject
are sustained
throughout
the lesson period.
4. Agricultural
Science is not a
major subject
required for
gaining admission
into higher
institution
5. My parents would
want me to take up
agriculture as a
career
6. My parents react
negatively to my
study of
Agricultural
Science

7. Parents see
Agricultural
Science subject as
the subjects for
children from poor
parents.
8. Agricultural
Science as a
subject is for boys
alone
9. Boys want to study
core sciences than
Agricultural
science.
10
.
The School farm is
available for
Agricultural
Science practicals
STRONGLY
AGREED
AGREED STRONGLY
DISAGREED
DISAGREED
11
.
The teacher is
always punctual for
Agricultural
Science lesson
12
.
The teacher uses
relevant
instructional
materials for
teaching
13
.
The teacher gives
too much note to
write during the
lesson.
14
.
The time allotted
for the subject on
the time-table is
too small
15
.
The teacher does
not know how to
teach very well

APPENDIX III
AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT TEST (ASAT)
1. Which of these is NOT an importance of Agriculture to the farmer? Provision
of……
(a) clothing materials (b) food for the family (c) income to care for other needs
(d) industrial raw materials
2. The following factors encourage subsistence farming EXCEPT (a) insufficient
farm machinery (b) long term loan facility (c) poverty level of farmers (d)
small farm land size
3. Which of the following is a physical property of sandy soil? (a) it contains
much plant nutrients (b) it has large pore spaces (c) it is granular in structure
(d) it is sticky when wet
4. Which of the following is not a soil living organism? (a) centipede (b)
earthworm (c) millipede (d) round worm
5. Which of the following is not a way of conserving water in the soil? (a)
addition of organic manure (b) clean clearing (c) cover cropping (d) mulching
6. Which of the following is not an organic fertilizer? (a) cow dung (b) decayed
waste (c) poultry droppings (d) super-phosphate
7. The movement of nutrients in soluble form beyond the reach of the roots of
plants is called (a) erosion (b) irrigation (c) mulching (d) leaching
8. Which of the following crops does not require nursery operations? (a) cocoa
(b) coffee (c) maize (d) pepper
9. Which of the following is not a physical method of controlling weeds? (a) crop
rotation (b) hand pulling (c) hoeing (d) slashing
10. The following are symptoms of a diseased crop, except (a) chlorosis (b)
dormancy (c) patch yellowing (d) stunted growth
11. The inability of an animal to see clearly in dim light is a symptom of ………..
disease (a) beri beri (b) grass tetany (c) night blindness (d) scurvy
12. The difference between subsidy and loan is that subsidy……. (a) is a short
term credit while loan is a long term credit (b) is not refundable while loan is
(c) is only in cash while loan is always in kind (d) requires a collateral while
loan does not
13. Domestic fowls reared mainly for meat production are called (a) breeders (b)
broilers (c) cockerels (d) layers
14. The primary organ of reproduction in female farm animal is the (a) cervix (b)
ovary (c) oviduct (d) uterus
15. Which of the following tools is BEST used for transplanting seedlings? (a)
cutlass (b) handfork (c) hand trowel (d) hoe

16. The relative proportion of soil particle in a soil sample is called (a) catena (b)
porosity (c) profile (d) texture
17. The following are chemical processes of weathering EXCEPT (a) carbonation
(b) glaciations (c) hydration (d) hydrolysis
18. The following are signs of ill-health in farm animals except (a) uncoordinated
gait (b) dull eyes (c) high body temperature (d) increased appetite
19. Demand is said to be price elastic if the absolute value of price elasticity of
demand is (a) greater than one (b) less than one (c) one (d) zero
20. The correct sequence for the use of coupled implements for land preparation is
(a) plough, harrow and ridger (b) harrow, ridger and plough (c) plough, ridger
and harrow (d) harrow, plough and ridger
21. The following crops will enrich the soil with nitrates except (a) calopogonium
(b) pueraria (c) centrosema (d) axonopus
22. In which layer of soil profile do most biological activities occur? (a) D-
horizon (b) C-horizon (c) B-horizon (d) A- horizon
23. Yellow colouration of the lower leaves of a growing maize plant may be due to
deficiency in….. (a) potassium (b) phosphorus (c) zinc (d) nitrogen
24. Mating in poultry is known as (a) servicing (b) treading (c) tupping (d)
breeding
25. Streak disease of maize is caused by (a) virus (b) nematode (c) fungus (d)
bacterium
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STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE: A CASE STUDY OF PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE