AN INVESTIGATION OF INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES FOR TEACHING ECONOMICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

AN INVESTIGATION OF INFRASTRUCTURAL FACILITIES FOR TEACHING ECONOMICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NIGERIA

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BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

In many African countries, inadequate education has proven to be the most significant impediment to political, social, and economic reform. School infrastructure has been identified as a significant influence in quantitative education. The necessity of providing suitable educational facilities and resources for teaching and learning cannot be overstated and is undeniable. Economics education in Nigerian secondary schools must be effectively managed (Nkem, 2009). At the basic and secondary levels of our educational system, the materials used by teachers to pass on knowledge and drive home their subject points are undeniably a critical factor in successful classroom engagement and knowledge transfer from teachers to students.

According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, infrastructure is the underlying basis or fundamental framework (as of a system of organization), as well as the resources (such as employees, buildings, or equipment) of a country's, state's, or region's public works.

Infrastructural facilities refer to the equipment and supplies that are accessible to help pupils learn economics in secondary schools.

It contains good classrooms, labs, books, instructional technology software and hardware, experiment supplies, tables, seats, chalkboards/whiteboards, chalks/markers, and so on (farrant,I991 and Farombi,1998).

Infrastructure facilities, according to Oni (1992), are a strategic aspect in the operation of a secondary school system. This is because they influence the smooth operation of any teaching and experimental demonstrations, as well as other extra-curricular activities, to a great amount. He went on to say that the availability of the aforementioned infrastructural amenities, as well as their appropriateness and relevance, have an impact on both teacher and student efficiency and high performance. Farombi (1998) asserted that a nation's or society's wealth can influence the quality of education in that country, emphasizing that a wealthy society will establish good schools with professional personnel (quality teachers) and learning infrastructures, allowing students to learn more easily and resulting in good academic achievement. When facilities are provided to meet the relative needs of a school system, students will not only have access to the reference materials required of them by the teachers, but individual students will learn at their own pace and be able to develop themselves, and the teacher will have room for necessary improvement in the form of additional research and constant practice. The kids' overall performance improves as a result of this.

Economics as a discipline was born in 1776 with the publication of Adam Smith, the founder of the classical school of thinking; since then, it has played a variety of roles, particularly in political and educational circles. Microeconomics and macroeconomics are the two branches of economics. Microeconomics investigates the behavior and operations of particular economic units (households, businesses, and government agencies), whereas macroeconomics examines the overall economy in aggregates and averages (Umoh, 2007). The three primary languages utilized in teaching and presenting economic ideas, according to Aromolaran (2006), are theory or verbal, geometry or graphical, and algebraic or mathematical language.

Students must credit Economics before being admitted to any higher institution, particularly a university, to pursue related courses such as Accountancy, Business Administration, Insurance, and so on. Because of the relevance and difficulty of this topic, it is required to employ the relevant infrastructural facilities, such as instructional materials, to teach it rigorously to the students. Visual aids, according to Macaulay (1989), bring teachings to life and help pupils learn more effectively. As a result, it is clear that these infrastructural elements that aid in the teaching and learning process are quite important.

This study seeks to investigate the extent to which the provision of adequate infrastructural facilities may increase the performance of public senior secondary school students in Economics, as well as the performance of the instructor. Teaching Economics without adequate infrastructure will almost surely result in low academic performance. According to Franzer, Okebukola, and Jegede (1992), a professionally competent scientific teacher, no matter how highly prepared, would be unable to put his or her ideas into practice if the school environment lacked the essential equipment and supplies for him or her to do so.

According to Bassey (2002), science is resource heavy (and Economics is a social science), and it may be difficult to provide enough technological devices and equipment for the teaching and learning of economics in schools during a period of economic hardship. This scenario is exacerbated by the country's high inflation, which renders some imported materials and equipment prohibitively expensive, necessitating the production of goods domestically.

According to researchers like as Obioha (2006) and Ogunleye (2002), there are insufficient resources for teaching science topics in Nigerian secondary schools. They went on to say that the ones that are available are typically in poor shape. As a result, improvisation is required.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The essential goal of teaching is to transfer ideas, skills, information, and attitudes from the instructor to the student. For example, in Nigeria, experience has shown that using spoken words alone to communicate concepts is wasteful and unproductive in achieving intended learning outcomes (Bassey, 2010). There have been failures in official examinations like as WAEC, GCE, and NECO in Economics, among other courses. This might be due to the prevalence of topics that students find difficult to comprehend, and the provision of acceptable quality infrastructural facilities as well as relevant instructional materials is essential for successful teaching of some of these topics. According to research, students consider Economics to be a dull, difficult, and unimportant topic. Large class numbers, insufficient money, insufficient curricular materials, poor teaching skills, and a lack of teacher support, among other reasons, all contribute to the low quality of Economics teaching and learning in Nigerian schools (Okebukola 2001).

To fix this deteriorating situation, one must first build a realistic image of what is now taking place in our Nigerian schools in terms of economics teaching and learning.

However, we must ask ourselves: does the presence of high-quality infrastructure have an impact on students' academic performance? Is adequate infrastructural support beneficial to the teacher's effectiveness and efficiency? Is it true that having good infrastructure motivates students and instructors to achieve better in their studying and teaching? The entire challenge of this study is to find solutions to these and other problems.

1.3. PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this study are:

1. To examine if there is adequate infrastructural facilities for teaching Economics in Nigerian public senior secondary schools.
2. To identify the relationship between infrastructure and performance in economics in public senior secondary schools in Nigeria.
3. To examine the effects of adequate quality infrastructural facilities on the teaching and learning of Economics and also the effects of poor and inadequate infrastructural facilities on the teaching and learning of Economics in public senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

1.4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the following research questions were raised to guide the research:

1. How does adequate infrastructural facility become relevant in the teaching and learning of a social science subject like Economics?
2. What is the relationship between infrastructure and performance of learners of Economics in public senior secondary schools in Nigeria?
3. How adequate are the infrastructural facilities for teaching of Economics in public senior secondary schools in Nigeria?

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The following are the significance of this study:

The outcome of this study will educate stakeholders in the education sector and the general public on the state of infrastructural facilities available for the teaching and learning of Economics in public senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

This study would help enhance the teachers’ teaching, effectiveness, efficiency and productivity. Consequently, a teacher who has adequate infrastructural facilities and instructional materials at his or her disposal to supplement his or her teaching will help improve students’ innovative and creative thinking as well as help them become plausibly spontaneous and enthusiastic. Oremeji (2002) supportively asserts that any teacher who takes advantage of these resources and learns to use them correctly and effectively will find that they make almost an incalculable contribution to instruction.

This study is also significant to the society at large because when teachers back up their teaching with adequate infrastructural facilities and instructional materials and the learners’ experience effective learning, the knowledge acquired will reflect in the society positively. Students will be able to understand the functioning of the economy, interpret government’s economic policies and activities and perform economically better in the choice of life and work. They will not become nuisance in the society.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is focused on investigating the effect of infrastructural facilities on advancing senior secondary school students’ performance in Economics in Lagos state. Due to time and financial constraints, the study covers only selected schools in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The study was conducted in majority of the schools in Mushin Local Government Area of Lagos State only. Thus its outcome may not reflect the national outlook of Nigerian secondary schools perfectly.

1.8. DEFINITION OF TERMS

Below are the definition of relevant terms of this study:

1. Effect: This is the change that is brought about in a person(s) or something by another person(s) or thing; that is the way in which an event, action or person changes someone or something.
2. Infrastructure: is the underlying foundation or basic framework (as of a system of organization), also: the resources (such as personnel, buildings, or equipment) of the public works of a country, state, or region.
3. Teaching: It is the act, practice, occupation, or profession of a teacher.
4. Teacher:  A teacher is a person who provides education for students.
5. Learning: It is the activity or process of gaining knowledge or skill by studying, practicing, being taught or experiencing something: the activity of someone who learns.
6. Learner: A person who is learning a subject or skill.
7. Economics: It is the social science that determines the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. According to Professor Lionel Robbins,Economics is defined as a social science that studies human behavior in relation to ends and scarce means which have alternative uses.
8. Academic Performance: This is regarded as the display of knowledge acquired or skills, shown in the school subjects, such achievements are indicated by test scores or by marks assigned by teachers. It is the evaluation of students’ classroom work as quantified on the basis of marks or grades.
9. Utilization: The act of using something to achieve a purpose.

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