EFFECT OF COVID 19 ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF PUPILS IN SELECTED PRIMARY SCHOOL

 

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Coronavirus Disease is the transmittable disease which was first recorded from China on 31 December 2019 and later the disease spread in many countries across the world. (World Health Organization, 2020). This pandemic was later declared as “COVID-19” by the World Health Organization. “COVID-19” stands for Coronavirus Diseases-2019. The symptoms of COVID-19 include breathing difficulty, fatigue, coughing, sore throat and runny nose (World Health Organization, 2020). Studies and the world health organizations noted that persons with underlying health problems as well as elders are likely to suffer seriously from COVID-19 (Sun, Tang & Zuo, 2020). At the time of this study, there were no reliable treatments for COVID-19, but many researchers across the globe put their effort in finding the clinical vaccines for treating patients but personal hygiene like frequent washing of hands with running water, medicated soap and the use of hand sanitizer. Also, social distancing, wearing of face masks and close sneezing and coughing were procedures advised to be adhered in reducing the spread of COVID-19 pandemic (World Health Organization, 2020), one of the key proactive measures to the spread of the coronavirus were Social distancing, closure of educational institutions, lockdowns in some countries like United States of America, Italy, Canada, Germany, Kenya, India, Uganda, South Africa, and Rwanda.

In another perspective, the issue of academic achievement has become a focus of many educators. The alarming issue in mathematics could be discussed from the social aspect and each individual point of view (Murugan & Rajoo, 2013). The social aspect includes learning environment which seems to affirm the consistency of relationship between learning environment and pupils  ’ cognitive as well as effective outcomes (Ashby, et al, 2011). Thus, learning environment could be an essential key determinant to the pupils ’ achievement. In fact, Frenzel, Pekrun & Goetz, (2007) attributed underachievement in academic as a result of poor learning condition. This also affirmed that most scholars are of the opinion that educational attainment/achievement is likely to be determined by the idealness of the learning environment.

Due to the suspension of classroom teaching in many schools, a switch to the online teaching for pupils   basically pupils   from advanced private schools becomes effective (Sahu, 2020). This form of learning provides an alternative way to minimize either the contact between pupils   themselves or between the pupils   and lecturers. However, many pupils   have no access to the online teaching due to lack of either the means or the instruments due to economical and digital divide.

Pupils   who are confined at home with their parents due to COVID-19 may feel more stressed and anxious. Sprang and Silman (2013) show that children who were isolated or quarantined during pandemic diseases are more likely to suffer from acute stress disorder, adjustment disorder, and grief. Such adverse psychological factors may in turn have a detrimental effect on learning (Kuban and Steele 2011).

It may be possible to compare these stress symptoms to those developed in the aftermath of hurricanes or earthquakes. For instance, as regards primary  education, Di Pietro (2018) uses a standard difference-indifferences approach to examine the effect of the L’Aquila earthquake on the academic achievement  of the pupils   of the local university. Following this event, many pupils   are likely to have developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms that include poor concentration, depression, anxiety, and insomnia.

It is well known that the school environment influences achievement through peer effects. Being in a classroom and hence having the opportunity to interact with classmates may produce important positive externalities. Peer effects may operate through many different channels. Pupils   may teach each other and get improvement together. Classmates’ high achievements may motivate the pupils  (through competition or social influence) to work harder. The pupils  can also develop an interest in reading or in mathematics thanks to his/her peers (Sacerdote 2011).

Additionally, classroom activities provide a central role in helping pupils   acquire social skills that have important implications for their future personal and professional growth (Goodman et al. 2015). The interaction with teachers and other pupils   is found to be essential for the development of positive self-esteem, self-confidence, and a sense of identity. It also improves pupils  ’ ability to work in groups in collaborative and productive ways. There is significant evidence showing that social skills are positively associated with cognitive skills and school achievement (Malecki and Elliot 2002; Cunha and Heckman 2007). It is, however, important to observe that also online learning platforms offer socialization opportunities. Not only do they incorporate class-based interaction and communication (including one-to-one contacts and group projects), but often provide also extra-curricular activities such as, for instance, online clubs. One advantage of online socialization is that it eliminates, or considerably reduces, social barriers among pupils   (Watson and Gemin 2008).

Statement of the problem

The outbreak of coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought many changes across several industries including the education sector. One of these changes is that the physical classroom has begun to lose its value as the place of teaching and learning. The internet, as well as the world wide web, has brought substantial changes to all areas of life from an individual, political, socially as well as economical as a source of information and learning (Nguyen, 2015). The internet has made teaching and learning conceivable, and many educators and scholars are interested in online learning to enable the accessibility of learning resources and improve pupils   learning (Page, 2010). In this regard, many countries around the globe are inventing different innovations in education to help their pupils   thrive at this historical time of coronavirus.

Most of the streets have no light, insufficient facilities, sick buildings and no ventilation to develop pupils   reading skills during the Covid19 pandemic. This makes it difficult for pupils   to read during the Covid19 lockdown. Most pupils   were motivated by their educated parent through provision of educational materials like text books, exercise books, computer etc. and other were not. Although some pupils   prefer online education which provides opportunity for self-study during Covid19 lockdown. But the main challenge online education faces is how to give practical lessons. Since most of the subjects are practical; therefore, it is not easy to learn it online.  Also, Oselumese et al.(2016) opined that pupils   cannot study unless the level of lighting is adequate. This also applies to pupils   who take classes online. A good level of lighting, in conjunction with proper ventilation, helps to improve the academic achievement  of pupils  . On the other hand, when the improvements in lighting levels inside the house are relatively scarce, it is insufficient to improve the academic achievement  of pupils

On the other hand, Braat-Eggen et al. (2017) found that during the Covid19 lockdown pupils   at home get distracted easily due to noise when they were reading or performing cognitive tasks. This also applies to pupils   who take online classes, since they are exposed to a higher level of noise at home, and therefore, a higher level of distraction when taking online classes from home affect pupils   reading skills.

Purpose of the study

The main objective of the study is to find out the effect of Covid 19 on academic achievement of pupils in selected primary school in  Ado local government area of Ekiti State.

Specifically, the study sought to;

i.                   examine pupils  academic achievement  before and after Covid19

ii.                  find out the relevance of online education during the pandemic lockdown

iii.              determine the extent to which pupils   read at home during Covid19 pandemic

iv.              find out the extent to which parent influence pupils   achievement  during Covid19 pandemic.

Research Questions

Based on the above objectives, the following questions were raised to guide the study.

i.                   What is the level of pupils   academic achievement  before and after Covid19?

ii.                 How does online education improve pupils ’ academic achievement  during covid19 lockdown?

iii.              Do pupils   read at home during Covid19 pandemic?

iv.              To what extent does parent occupation influence pupils   achievement  during Covid19 pandemic?

Research Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated for the study

i.                   Covid19 has no significant influence on pupils   academic achievement

ii.                 Online education does not have significant effect on pupils   academic achievement  during Covid19 lockdown

iii.              Parent occupation does not have significant influence on pupils   academic achievement  during Covid19 pandemic.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study would be important to teachers and teacher educators who need to understand the factors which may affect pupils ’ academic achievement  in school subjects. It will help them to work toward providing experiences that are motivating to pupils   against the backdrop of gender and self-concept differences. This will thereby contribute to pupils  ’ interest, self-confidence and effective learning as individual differences are considered in the course and planning and delivery of academic instructions.

The findings of this study may have important implications for understanding the role of gender and self-concept differences in pupils   academic achievement which provides rich opportunities for real-world experiences. They would be of immense value to the school counselors as they offer career counseling, vocational guidance and occupational information to pupils  .

It is believed that the findings of this study have brought to the fore the need to re-assess the curriculum and other pre-vocational subjects taught in primary schools should be taking into consideration the learners’ personal variables. Such a re-assessment may have implication for pupils   who may wish to change their perception toward education and the teachers, their instructional strategies. But without empirical investigation of pupils academic achievement  as may be differentiated by gender and self-concept, there exists little basis for teachers to develop appropriate instructional strategies to help pupils   achieve the curriculum expectations.

Teachers would have great reluctance to change the status quo of their teaching without adequate proof of need. It was against the background of helping teachers bring enthusiasm and varied teaching strategies into the classroom, addressing different pupils  needs and ensuring sound learning opportunities for every pupils  that the study identified gender and self-concept variables vis-à-vis academic achievement  for investigation

The researcher expects that this study will be useful to primary  school pupils   as it will suggest some remedial measures knowing full well the influence of socio-economic status and this will enhance effective and better academic achievement  of the primary  school pupils .

It will also be of benefit to education authority in location of schools in rural and urban areas by providing educational facilities to both areas to facilitate effective learning and spirit of competition in urban and rural areas.

Scope of the Study

The study on effect of Covid 19 on  academic achievement of pupils will be carried out in selected primary school in Ado local government area of Ekiti State.

Definition of Terms

·        Pupils  : These are learners in primary  school within age thirteen and eighteen years of age.

·        Primary  school: This refers to as the post-primary education where children learn before tertiary level.

·        Academic Achievement : academic achievement  is the extent to which a pupils, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals.

·        Socioeconomic: In this study Socioeconomics means the studies of how economic activity affects and is shaped by social processes.

·        Pandemic:  is defined as “an epidemic occurring worldwide, or over a very wide area, crossing international boundaries and usually affecting a large number of people.

 

 


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