Attitude and Academic Success in Practical Agriculture: Evidence from Public Single-Sex High School Students in Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the attitude and academic performance of public single-sex (Boys’ and Girls’ only) high school students in the teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in the aspect of practical knowledge of Agriculture. We investigated whether there were significant differences in the mean achievement test scores of students in practical Agriculture in the selected schools. We also examined the relationship between their academic performance in practical agriculture and their attitude to the subject. The study was a descriptive survey design carried out at Ibadan Metropolis, Nigeria. Six public single-sex (Boys’ and Girls’ only) schools were randomly selected from three Local Government Areas (LGAs) within Ibadan Zone comprising eleven LGAs in 2018. Sixty-nine Senior Secondary School (SSS III) students were randomly selected in Boys’ only (3) schools while ninety-seven students were randomly selected in Girls’ only (3) schools giving a total of 166 students that participated in this study. Practical Agricultural Science Students’ Achievement Test (PASSAT) and Students’ Attitude towards Practical Agriculture Questionnaire (SATPAGQ) were used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Multiple Comparison techniques and t-test for equality of means. The ANOVA test was significant (p = .00). Post Hoc (Tukey HSD) test, a multiple comparison technique on the ANOVA showed that PASSAT mean scores obtained by one Girls’ only school was significantly different from one Boys’ only schools another two Girls’ only schools’ mean scores at 5% significant level. It was found that availability of school farm, use of instructional materials  were not enough to bring about significant boost in academic success in PASSAT especially in three of the schools with less than average mean scores of 34.51, 40.23 and 44.07. The study therefore recommended that government and relevant stakeholders (Parents-Teachers Association, Old Boys’ and Girls’ Association among others) should provide human resources and needed infrastructural facilities for effective teaching and learning of Agricultural Science in both single-sex and Co-educational schools for better academic performance.