[1]
UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION WINNEBA
COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION KUMASI
DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION AND WOOD TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF FORM TWO STUDENTS OF ST
GEORGES SENIOR HIGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL IN BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
MICHAEL KWOFI BRECHUM
AUGUST, 2014
[2]
UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA
COLLEGE OF TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION, KUMASI
FACULTY OF TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF CONSTRUCTION AND WOOD TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION
IMPROVING THE PERFORMANCE OF FORM TWO STUDENTS OF ST
GEORGES SENIOR HIGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL IN BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION
AN ACTION RESEARCH SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF
CONSTRUCTION AND WOOD TECHNOLOGY OF UNIVERSITY OF
EDUCATION, WINNEBA IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT
FOR THE AWARD OF BACHALOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE IN TECHNOLOGY
EDUCATION
BY
MICHAEL KWOFI BRECHUM
4111270010
[3]
AUGUST, 2014
DECLARATION
STUDENTS DECLARATION
I hereby declare that this work is my own research to be presented for a degree in this university
and that no portion of it has been reserved for any other certificates in the university or
elsewhere.
NAME OF STUDENT: MICHAEL KWOFI BRECHUM
SIGNATURE: ……………………………… DATE: …………………………..
SUPERVISORS DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the preparation and supervision of this action research was supervised in
accordance with laid down guidelines on supervision of action research by the University of
Education, Winneba.
NAME OF SUPERVISOR: MR. STEPHEN J. MITCHUAL
SIGNATURE: ……………………………… DATE: ……………………….
[4]
DEDICATION
My dedication goes to the Almighty God, my newly born baby Daniella K. Brechum
and finally to all my friends for their encouragement and assistance given to me
throughout the period of this project work.
[5]
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
My profound gratitude goes to the Almighty God for seeing me through this programme
successfully and to come out with this project work.
I am very much grateful to my supervisor, Mr. Stephen J. Mitchual for his corrections,
encouragement and dedicated time given me in supervising my project work.
I also express my sincere appreciation to my dear wife Irene Eleme A. Buorokuu for
her moral support given to me throughout the period of this research work. I will also
not forget all my friends and love ones of University of Education, Winneba, Kumasi
Campus for their numerous contributions towards this project.
May God shower His abundant blessings upon all that are concerned in Jesus name.
[6]
ABSTRACT
This research was conducted at St Georges Senior High Technical School at Kuntenase
in the Bosomtwe District of Ashanti Region in line with poor performance of second
year technical students in Building Construction. Having identified the problem, the
researcher decided to research into the root courses, its effects on the individual
students, the school, the community in which the school is situated and the country as
a whole.
The main objective of the research was to design effective intervention to
improve the student’s performance. The research therefore covered five different
chapters. The first chapter provided the general overview of the introduction that
constituted the background to the research, the statement of problem, the objectives of
the study as well as the purpose and significance of the research. Chapter two was set
up to provide adequate and up to date information on present status relevant to the
proposed topic, soliciting the views of others through literature searching, observations
and so on. Chapter three discuss the various methods and techniques employed to
select the targeted population for the research, the research designed and instruments
used to gather and analyze the research findings. Chapter four discussed the results
of data collected and its findings. Chapter five also covered the conclusions, the
recommendations/suggestions laid down for further study. The research work has
indeed left a legacy which could be followed at any level of education and in any
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subject to create, capture and sustain the interest of students to learn harder, thereby
improving their performance not in only Building Construction but in all other subjects.
TABLE OF CONTENT
TABLE OF CONTENT PAGE
TITLE PAGE ………………………………………………… i
DECLARATION …………………………………………….. ii
DEDICATION ……………………………………………….. iii
ACKNOWLEDGE …………………………………………… iv
ABSTRACT ……………………………………………………. v
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study ……………………………….. 1
1.2 Statement of the problem................................................. 2
1.3 Objective of the study……………................................... 3
1.4 Purpose of the study ……………………………………. 3
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1.5
1.6 Significance of the study ………………………………. 3
1.7 Research questions ……………………………………... 4
1.8 Delimitation of the study ………………………………... 4
1.9 Limitation of the study …………………………………... 4
1.10 Organization of the study ………………………………… 5
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction …………………………………………………. 7
2.2 Meaning of Building Construction …………………………... 8
2.3 Rationale for teaching and learning Pre Technical Skills at first Cycle
institutions………………………………………………………. 8
2.4 Factors leading to the poor performance of students in Pre Technical Skills and way
forward ………………………………………………………..... 9
2.5 Methods and Techniques Employed in teaching skills ………... 13
CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction …………………………………………………….. 19
3.2 Research Design ………………………………………………… 19
3.3 Population and sample size ……………………………………… 20
3.4 Instrumentation and data collection …………………………….. 20
3.5 Data collection Techniques ……………………………………… 21
3.6 Intervention Design ……………………………………………… 21
3.7 Implementation of Intervention …………………………………. 22
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CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction ……………………………………………………… 27
4.2 Comparison of First and Second Term’s Examination Results for form two Technical
students ………………………………………………………. 27
4.3 Results from Questionnaire given to form two technical students …. 30
4.4 Observations made by the Researcher …………………… 35
4.5 Analysis of Interview with the Permanent Building Construction Teacher …… 36
4.6 Analysis of Interview with the Headmistress ………………….…. 37
CHAPTER FIVE
5.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………… 39
5.2 General Over view of the study ……………………………………. 39
5.3 Summary of Findings ………………………………………………. 40
5.4 Implication for Practice ………………………………………… 40
5.5 Recommendations/Suggestions ……………………………….... 41
APPENDIX I …………………………………………………………… 43
APPENDIX II …………………………………………………………... 45
APPENDIX III …………………………………………………………. 47
LIST OF TABLES ……………………………………………………… 48
REFERENCE ……………………………………………………… 49
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background to the study
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To many scholars, education is considered as the key to the development of every nation.
According to Taba (1962), education should lead learners to the development of a democratic
way of life, civic responsibility and economic self – sufficiency. In this direction, education is
meant to develop the entire well – being of the individual learners in order to be able to fit well
into his/her society. For instance, it aims at enabling the youth to play a more effective role in
the development of the nation by imparting to them the necessary skills and knowledge and
inculcating the right attitudes in them.
According to Adentwi K. Impram (2005), “Successful accomplishment of educational
task often depends on a clear conception of the purpose or end that the group or individual has
in view”. The task of education is therefore to change the behaviour of learners in desirable
ways, with the aim of adding to the stock of knowledge they possess, equipping them with
needed skills and developing in them a sense of positive values and attitudes.
It is against this background that the Government of Ghana, right from pre –colonial, colonial
and post – colonial era to present day has established the various education committees with
the aim of improving upon the education of the citizens to ensure total growth and development
of the country. As part of these objectives of the New Educational Reforms introduced in 1987
to provide structures for schools in every community of the country gave the greatest
opportunity to the people of Kuntenase, a small town located in Bosomtwe District of Ashanti
to embrace the idea. St Georges Senior High Technical School was established in order to
embrace the idea of improving upon the Technical knowledge the students had acquired from
basic school level so as to develop their manipulative skills and creativity to curb the
unemployment situation in the country as this is one important priority of the New Education
Reform programme. Although the New Educational system was set up to develop the learners
manipulative skills and creativity at the basic level and continue to improve upon them at the
Second Cycle Institution in order to become self – employed, this had not been so with the
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second year technical students of St Georges Senior High Technical School with particular
reference to Building Construction. Through the systematic careful study made by researcher
into this poor performance, it was realized that the problem is not the same as the other
Technical Institutions but centered on St George’s Senior High Technical School, with
particular reference to Building Construction. It is in that direction that the researcher decided
to find out why the second year technical students of St George’s Senior High Technical School
have such low level of performance in Building Construction compared to their performance
in other subjects and design intervention to improve upon their performance in the subject.
1.2 Statement of the problem
The researcher seeks to find out why the performance of the second year technical students of
St George’s Senior High Technical School in Building Construction was so low. The parents
and the entire community members of Kuntenase where St George’s Senior High Technical
School is located do not endorse the performance of their wards in Building Construction, this
situation has called for discouraging students to take the study of the subject very serious and
even pursue it for further studies. The results from these observations and interviews made by
the researcher indicated that the claim of poor performance of the second year technical
students was actually true. About 60% of the students did not show any interest in studying the
subject and therefore did other things while lessons were in progress. Due to the numerous
sketches involve, about 70% of the students claimed the subject was too difficult , also it was
clearly find out that about 80% of the students do copying work during class tests, class
exercises, homeworks, etc. Again, most of the students were inactive in class and therefore did
not pay attention which made them asked irrelevant questions.
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Finally, 70% of the students have conceived the notion that the subject was mainly
designed to train masons. These findings from the observations and interviews helped the
researcher to identify the root causes of the abysmal performance of the students in the subject.
1.3 Objectives of the study
The objectives of this study is crucial in the life of every technical student offering Building
Construction, because it is aimed at;
1. Identifying the root causes of the poor performance of student in Building Construction.
2. Designing interventions that would improve their performance in the subject.
1.4 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to improve the performance of the second year technical
students of St Georges Senior High Technical School. This purpose is intended to be achieved
by investigating into the causes of the poor performance of students and based upon the
information gathered, designed interventions that would enhance their performance.
1.5 Significance of the study
It is very important to understand the study into the topic in the sense that its consequences and
benefits has direct impact on the individual learners, teachers, heads of technical departments,
policy makers and implementers and the nation as a whole. The research findings would
serve as a guide for learners, parents, teachers and other educational stakeholders to reconsider
their conceived attitudes towards the teaching and learning of Building Construction at the
second cycle institutions. The findings of the study will further help parents and learners to
make well informed career choices. Again, it will enable the government of the day to invest
in Technical Education right from basic level to tertiary level for making Technology a
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priority for tackling the numerous and untapped resources for enhancement and improvement
in socio – economic activities in the country.
1.6 Research Questions
The inability of most students in Senior high Technical School level to perform properly in
Building Construction has prompted me to do this research work. This has made it possible to ask
the following questions:
How will appropriate use of teaching and learning materials help to motivate students to
become very active in lessons?
How will the use of motivation arouse students’ interest and help them take active part in
teaching and learning?
How will the career guidance workshops help improve students’ performance?
What methods of teaching will best help to improve the students’ performance?
In what ways will the organization of remedial teaching for weak students help improve their
performance?
1.7 Delimitation of the study
The study is delimited to improving the performance of students in Building Construction in
the Senior High Technical Schools. It is therefore not possible to generalize the results of this
study to the teaching and learning of other subjects.
1.8 Limitation of the study.
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The result of this study is that the intervention was limited to only St George’s Senior High
Technical School, even though other students in other Senior High Technical Schools might
be facing the same poor performance in the Building Construction. The small size of the sample
and the fact that the sample representativeness could not be ascertained also limit the
generalization of the study.
1.9 Organization of the study.
This research work attempts to provide hands-on activity that can aid Technical teachers as
well as any other stake holders, deliver with ease the teaching and learning of Building
Construction in the second cycle level of education in Ghana. The study is therefore organized
into five chapters.
The first chapter is devoted to the background of the study and the statement of the
problem. Other areas such as research questions, the purpose of the study and the significant
of the study are included. Also included here are, the organization of the study, limitations and
delimitations.
The second chapter addresses review of related literature which involves the systematic
identification, location and analysis of documents containing information related to the
research problem that has been written by scholars, educators and experts in the field of study.
It also points out research strategies and the specific procedures and measuring instruments.
The third chapter focuses on the methodology of the study. Areas covered here include
the research design, the identification of the population, the sample and the sampling
procedure, instrumentation and data collection.
The fourth chapter talked on data analysis and discussion of the findings. The chapter
also presents the results of the qualitative analysis of the data collected for the study.
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The last chapter is the summary of the study. The areas covered include the summary
of findings based on the analysis of the data collected, the conclusion drawn from the findings
and recommendations made. Finally, suggestions which focus on the improvement in the
performance of students in Building Construction at the second cycle schools.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
Undertaking research without consulting other books, magazines, newspapers and journals in
which the topic has been dealt with makes the work more difficult. To overcome these
difficulties, this chapter seeks to look into detail, other views about the problem, its
impacts on the individuals and the nation as a whole and ways forward to address it, i.e.
Interventions. It also talks about the meaning of Building Construction, the rationale for
teaching and learning Building Construction in second cycle institutions, factors leading
to poor performance of students in Building Construction and various methods and
techniques employed in teaching Building Construction to improve performance of
students. In fact, the development of every course, for instance, Technical and
Vocational Education at higher level depends mostly on its solid foundation in the basic
or lower level of education, therefore much attention should be given to every course at
the lower level. Technical and Vocational Education was once considered the tool for
sustainable growth and development of the country. But of late the plight of this type
of education has seriously reduced and is being considered as reserved for school
dropouts and unintelligent people. The government, stakeholders and other opinion
leaders, in this context, will agree with the writer of this research that Ghana cannot
boast of any industrial growth, until the provision and acquisition of employable skills
are enhanced to build the manpower development and to reduce the rate of
unemployment in the country. It is against this background that the current government
based upon the Anamuah Mensah Committee (2002-2006) on New Education Reform
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that is the Junior High School and Senior High School to replace the last reform which
started in September, 1987. According to a report in Daily Graphic made by Papa
Owusu – Ankomah, 2007, “the new reform is said to put right failures of the latest
reform by improving related subjects such as Science and Technology to in turn
strengthen Technical and Vocational Skills and for that matter Technical and
Vocational Education in the country.
2.2 Meaning of Building Construction
Building construction is a subject designed to train school children to acquire
knowledge and skills to handle construction tools safely, avoid waste of materials and
solve problems involving construction through planning, designing, making and
evaluating. Building Construction as a subject was introduced into the curriculum of
Junior High School in 1987 as it has been fused in Pre – Technical Skills. With this,
pupils are provided with basic ideas and concepts that will be a foundation or a stepping
stone to advance levels of industrial development. At second cycle level, Building
Construction equips students with the knowledge and skills with the full knowledge in
the current technological dispensation to become fully acquainted with occupational
skills in the field of construction.
2.3 Rationale for teaching and learning Building Construction at the Second
Cycle Institutions.
The rationale for teaching and learning Building Construction at the Senior High
Schools could be numerous. The study of the subject assists students to:
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Acquire knowledge that will lead them to further studies to tertiary
institutions.
Acquire skills in construction that will serve as a source of employment in
case they are unable to continue their education after second cycle level.
Take care of and maintain constructional tools.
Acquire skills of solving contemporary problems of Building Construction
through planning, designing, making and evaluating.
It could be seen that the subject was designed to prepare students with skills and
knowledge prior to the world of work in the field of construction for a living and to
solve certain problems in their immediate environment and beyond.
2.4 Factors Leading to Poor Performance of Students in Building Construction
and Way Forward
From the research findings, the following factors were considered as the main factors
leading to the poor performance of students in Building Construction at the Senior High
School level although there were other factors.
Absence of appropriate teaching and learning materials during Building
Construction lessons in the various schools.
Lack of motivation for students in the study of Building Construction.
Inadequate career orientation and guidance for parents and students in
studying the subject.
Laziness of some students especially in the practical lessons.
Lack of proper monitoring and supervision of activities assigned to students
in the part of the teachers.
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Absence of workshop and training materials and equipment to engage the
students in practical activities.
Negative attitudes of parents and students towards the subject.
Effects of teaching and learning materials on teaching and learning
Amoakohene, et al (1998), Teaching and learning materials, are considered as effective
tools for promoting students’ understanding and enhance their performance in a
particular subject. They described teaching and learning materials as items that can be
seen and touched and used to make teaching and learning more understandable and
successful to reinforce learning. Since Building Construction is a subject which
involves variety of skills and activities, the use of teaching and learning materials should
be relevant to the topics and expected to be used to facilitate individualized teaching
and in turn assist both slow and gifted learners. The use of appropriate teaching and
learning materials in lessons, apart from bringing the world into the classroom in very
exciting, informative and authentic ways can also make teaching and learning more
enjoyable rather than the use of the abstracts materials in teaching.
Effect of Motivation on Students Performance.
Annoh (2004), illustrates motivation from psychologist point of view as a term to
describe the forces that move people. “He defined motivation as the forces that energize
and direct behavior. Annoh explained that those learners who know they perform well
in an activity make effort to repeat their performance or to perform more satisfactorily
in subsequent tasks while those who performed poorly make effort to improve upon
their performance in subsequent tasks. Motivation, according to Annoh plays the
following roles in teaching and learning.
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i. It offsets fatigue and boredom, especially when challenging activities are
given to learners.
ii. It also helps to maintain class discipline and interest of students in a lesson.
iii. It enables the teacher to secure the attention and full participation of the
students during lesson.
iv. It once again stimulates learners to learn harder and with enthusiasm.
Some techniques for motivating learners include establishing good teacher – learner
relationship, using reinforcement by rewarding students to increase desirable behavior
and punishing them to decrease or eliminate undesirable behavior, making school work
real, practical and concrete by using suitable and adequate teaching aids, providing
prompt feedback to students after activities. The absence of these in teaching and
learning have great adverse effects on the students’ performances.
Laziness of students.
The word laziness, according to Macmillan English Dictionary means not willing to
work or do anything involves effort. For successful accomplishment of any work or
learning of any subject, much effort must be put in as it is an engine or a tool for
improvement. Spending time relaxing and not involving in any activity that needs effort
could yield poor performance especially when it comes to the study of Building
Construction. Students should therefore demonstrate the spirit of hardworking in the
subject to enable them improve upon their performance.
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Lack of monitoring and supervision of students activities.
In as much as the study of Building Construction involves a lot of practical activities,
there is the need for effective monitoring and supervision. To monitor is to advise or
warn someone undertaking certain activity in a continuous manner and also to
supervise, is to look after, manage and direct activities of an individual a group or an
organization. Archer (2006), defined supervision as those activities, engaged in by one
or more individuals, who have as their main purpose the improvement of a person,
group or programme. It is therefore very important for every teacher to monitor and
supervise his/her students’ activities effectively because teachers’ inability to do this,
will greatly retard the progress and performance of the students in a given set up.
Absence of workshop and training materials
Another key factor leading to low performance of students in Building Construction in
our various Senior High Schools is the absence of workshop and training materials.
Students learn and understand better when they feel, touch and handle materials to
discover things themselves. Archer (2006) said the presence and maintenance of
physical facilities and educational materials is one of the administrative task of the
school heads. In this direct-ion, the school head is responsible for ensuring that the
school plant including workshop and resources for practical activities are in good shape
and that improvements and expansion are made to ensure effective engagement of
students in a practical activities when necessary which will go a long way to improve
upon the performance of students in Building Construction.
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Inadequate career orientation or information and guidance for students.
Inadequate career information and vocational guidance is one of the major causes of
poor performance of students in the subject. Makinde (1987) asserts that guidance is for
individuals who want to understand themselves and their world and to become effective,
more productive and happier beings. It is therefore very vital in any academic setting
to create awareness of world of work in relation to the subject in question through
heredity and environment could play an important role in person’s career. Therefore,
feeding students with adequate information about the future career for studying the
subject could motivate them to study hard which will at the end improve upon their
performance.
Students’ attitude towards the subject
According to Annoh (1991), many people have the perception that office work carries
more prestige or has social recognition than manual work, their respect for those who
do manual work is less. He further stated that most students and even parents saw
Technical and Vocational Skills which Building Construction is part as something
meant for the unfortunate or academically weak students, this notion makes many
parents not willing to send their wards to Technical Institutions. Annoh went further to
say that negative attitudes towards any subject eventually produce or yield poor results.
2.5 Methods and techniques employed in teaching skills
There are numerous strategies that could be employed in teaching and learning skills.
Among these methods include activity method, project method, Demonstration method
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discussion method and other methods such as educational visit or field trips, remedial
tuition, information feedback and so on.
Activity method
According to Amoakohene S.K (1998), activity method helps learners to study best by
doing so for them to remember what they learn very well, learners must see, touch, taste,
smell and hear the things they are learning about and things connected with them.
Farrant J.S (1980), says activity is one of the keynotes of modern education. He said
that teachers use activities because they know that learners learn best by doing and find
interest and enjoyment in activity. Always, the good teacher uses activity as a means to
an end and select with care the activities he uses so that they serve the best process of
learning. Farrant enumerates features that identify a good activity and distinguish it
from a poor one as follows.
It allows the learners ample freedom to express themselves.
A good activity helps learners to gain a firmer grasp of what learnt leading
to a deeper understanding.
A good activity is the one that is within the competence of the age and ability
of the leaner.
It does not attract attention to itself at the expense of what is being learned.
It can sustain the interest of the learners involved for as long as it takes them
to succeed in what they are learning.
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Project Method
Project method is one of the effective approaches in dealing with subjects which involve
practical skills like Building Construction. Fianu (1993) says that the project method
develops the curiosity, initiative, enterprise and imaginative faculties of the learners as
well as spirit of inquiry. To him, the method puts responsibility on the leaner and gives
scope for their initiative and thereby trains them in qualities of leadership. This method
also provides opportunity for team work for which the task assigned to learners should
be within their capabilities. He further explained that in planning the project work, it
should be made to embrace a variety of syllabus items to enable learners appreciate the
relevance of theory to practice.
Demonstration method
Demonstration method is one of the best method for teaching practical and new skills.
Sackey (1994), demonstration is one of the effective means of presenting new skills to
students by means of explanation and questions and answers. Demonstration is carried
out by the teacher while students observe the techniques and procedure showing how a
new skill should be performed. Sackey further explained that an effective demonstration
must be accomplished by clear explanation by the teacher of how the skills are being
demonstrated for better understanding. The teacher’s reasonability is to prepare
adequately in advance in terms of lesson plan with well and clearly stated objectives
and make ready tools, equipment and materials to ensure effective, efficient and
uninterrupted demonstrations.
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Discussion method
With discussion method the teacher first introduces the topic and invites the views of
the students, in this wise the students actively get involved throughout the lesson. Fianu
(1993), says during discussion, both the teacher and the learners bring out their ideas,
knowledge, experiences, attitudes, opinions and insights about the topic under
discussion by exhibiting what they know, what they can do and what they feel about
the topic. The main role of the teacher is to ask students questions based on the
instructional objectives stated and tries to listen and answer questions from the learners
for clearly and better understanding of the topic. The method therefore encourages
active and full participation of the learners in the lesson and thereby making them have
interest in the lesson. Involving students in the lesson and capture their interest strongly
encourages creativity and promote greater understanding and performance on the part
of the learners. In the opinion of Dondieu (1998), though discussion method is effective
and useful techniques in teaching, it needs advanced preparation and proper planning
because it could be time consuming.
Field Trip/Educational visit
The use of field trips in teaching and learning processes is to broaden the scope of
students learning experience and thereby enhancing their understanding and
performance. Akinade (1996), field trip is a technique use to provide career
information. He explained field trips as tours or excursion organized for students to
some industries, institution and other places which could assist students to gain
firsthand information about occupations or specific area of study. Students visit to work
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places, offer them the opportunity to interact with the workers in a very cordial
atmosphere, watching the workers’ attitudes as they move towards work and the kind
of behavior the occupation demands. Field trips are therefore meant to boost student’s
confidence, morale and motivate them to clear off some misconceptions that they might
have perceived earlier on and thus develop their interest in studying the subject to the
highest level of education. Adu Stephen (1996) also refer to field trips, as “educational
visit” which helps to consolidate abstract concept learnt in the classroom or workshop.
He further explained that educational visit as a means of collecting accurate data from
resource person who cannot be brought to the classroom or workshop at the learner’s
own school premises.
Remedial tuition for students
Remedial tuition is an additional teaching giving to learners who are found to be lagging
behind in particular areas in class outside the normal contact periods. It is mostly done
to correct certain identified weakness in such learners with the aim of bridging the gap
between the low and the higher learners who have already understood the concept
taught.
Information Feedback
To the researcher, the use of information feedback is another vital teaching technique
which motivate learners to study hard to improve upon their performance. Giving
feedback to learners particularly in skills and drawing activities motivate them to put in
more effort in the subsequent activities. Feedback is very effective if it is given
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immediately after the activity has been completed. It makes students to become aware
of their progress and stimulates them to put much effort in their studies. It is
accompanied by remarks indicating the success or failure of students, suggesting the
way forward or even asking them to contact the teacher concern for remedial tuition
where necessary. “Immediate reinforcement promotes learning and as a result, enhances
learners performance” as Adentwi (2005) quoted from wheeler (1983). When students
are not motivated to improve, whatever feedback is given becomes meaningless.
However, when feedback is given as corrective measure with all sincerity of purpose,
the students accept it as rewarding.
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CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction
This chapter looks at the methods employed for collecting data for the study. Although there
are many methods, the researcher used observation, interview and questionnaire to conduct the
investigation into the poor performance of the students Building Construction.
Observation is a way of finding information yourself and it involves the use of all the senses to
find out whatever goes on in and around ones surroundings. Interviewer on the other hand
involves face –to –face meeting between the interviewer and the interviewee for information
seeking. Interview is appropriate and reliable method as it brings quick and factual response.
Questionnaire was chosen as it is less time and less energy consuming, and its distribution and
return cost is relatively low and affordable on the part of the researcher. Questionnaire for
students was to encourage them and develop their spirit of individualism and also enable them
feel free to decide on own choices in life.
3.2 Research Design
The model for this study is action research since it seeks to find solution to students’ inability
to perform properly in Building Construction. Kannae (2004) described action research as a
process by which practitioners attempt to study their problems scientifically in order to guide,
correct and evaluate their decision and actions. It involves the application of appropriate
intervention strategies aimed at finding solutions to problem(s) identified in teaching-learning
situation in order to bring about a change. Action research is preferred in this context because
it deals with a small scale intervention which is appropriate to one classroom situation in which
the researcher carried out the study. As a teacher in the field, one aspect of the design involved
a series of interviews conducted on some randomly selected students who did not do well in
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the subject in the classroom. The students were interviewed on their level of understanding of
the manipulative materials used to present practical lessons in Building Construction.
3.3 Population and Sample Size
The research study attempts to examine the performance of second year technical students of
St George’s Senior High Technical in Building Construction. The population covers all the
student in technical two, permanent Building Construction Teacher and the Headmistress of
the school. The total number of technical two students is ten. The total population on the whole
is twelve. The second year technical class was chosen by the researcher because their
performance in the subject as compared to that of third year technical class was generally low.
3.4 Instrumentation and Data Collection
The instruments used for collecting the data are as follows:
Observation: The researcher critically and closely observed the attitudes of students to
find out whether they have interest in the subject or not. He did that by observing the
way the students behave when lessons were in progress, the way they asked and
answered questions in class, their attitudes towards class tests, class exercises,
assignments, quizzes and practical activities. The performance of students in first term
examination also gave the researcher a fair assessment of the students in the subject.
Questionnaire: Questionnaire were distributed to the students to complete with the
purpose of developing their interest in the subject. (Appendix I) is the sample of the
questionnaire.
Interview: The permanent Building Construction teacher from the school was granted
an interview just to find out the problems he encountered over the years with the
students he handled in the subject. The interview assisted the researcher to employ
[30]
strategies at his disposal to reduce the situation to a minimum level, if not completely
eradicated. (Appendix II) was the interview conducted. The Headmistress of the school
was also granted an interview to assist the researcher to have fair assessment on how to
improve the performance of the students in Building Construction (see appendix III)
3.5 Data Collection Techniques
The researcher used tables and charts to analyze the data collected. Each question under the
questionnaire for students was critically analyzed and the number of respondents with
particular responses was quantified into percentages and degrees. In this regard, the responses
with the highest percentage or degree was considered as the general and acceptable opinion to
that effect. Taking these opinions and responses into consideration, statements about findings
were therefore made.
3.6 Intervention Design
The researcher, in an attempt to address the problem of poor performance thus to enhance the
performance of second year technical students of St George’s Senior High Technical School
employed the following interventions;
The use of appropriate teaching and learning materials and techniques
Motivation
Career information and guidance
Proper monitoring and supervision of students’ work
Giving enough exercises and quizzes to students
Organization of field trips
Giving immediate feedback to students
Organization of remedial tuition for deserving students.
[31]
3.8 Implementation of Intervention
The researcher employed and implemented the following interventions in an attempt to address
the problem of poor performance of the students in the Building Construction.
The use of appropriate teaching and learning materials and techniques.
The researcher employed variety of teaching and learning materials such as charts, relia,
models and pictures in all lessons. For example, when students were taken through the
staircase, a model of staircase was provided and through that, the attention and interest of
students were captured and sustained throughout the lesson. The researcher also employed
variety of teaching techniques, notably; the activity–based methods such as demonstration and
project methods when dealing with practical lessons.
Typical example of implementing the demonstration method in delivering a lesson was
when students were taken through the manufacturing processes of Sandcrete blocks. The
researcher demonstrated to the students, the batching of cement and sand using gauge box and
spade, spreading of sand on the hard flat platform and spread cement on it, mixing them to
become a uniform colour before adding water to get workable mortar, filling of mould box
with the mortar, compacting and evening the top of the mould box to get the Sandcrete block
were followed. Two students were allowed to practice the activity while the other students
looked on. Actually, that promoted the understanding of students better in the topic as clear
explanation and questioning techniques were used during the demonstration exercise.
The researcher also employed discussion method to ensure full participation of the students
in the various lesson by introducing the topics and guided the students to discuss while giving
them explanations for clarification of key points.
[32]
Motivation
The researcher used motivation to keep the students busy in studying the subject all the time.
Students who performed best in class tests, class exercises, end of term examination and
quizzes were given note books, pens and mathematical instruments. Again, attractive charts
and models were used in all kinds of lessons to capture and sustain students’ interest throughout
the lessons. The philosophy of the researcher is to teach the students how “to fish but not how
to eat fish” which means that the researcher is to guide, motivate and direct the course of his
students to discover new facts to manipulate any resources available to them to enhance their
performance. Assisting students to discover new facts on their own was the aim of the
researcher but not to spoon – feed them. The researcher as far as possible secured the attention
of the students, encouraged group and individual participation, developing and maintaining
interest of students, creating free, fair but a firm interaction gap between himself and the
students. All the motivational skills employed assisted students to study the subject all the time.
Career information and guidance
Career information and guidance is a very vital tool in any educational setting to create
awareness of a given subject. In this regard, a Building Construction Teacher of St George’s
Senior High Technical School was invited as a resource person to give the students some career
information and guidance through verbal communication. He elaborated the various
opportunities in studying the subject, he pointed out that, Building Construction when seriously
studied at second cycle institutions could help the students get admission into tertiary
institutions more easily as a few students attend technical schools at the second cycle level in
spite of the aim of the Government to improve Technical Education for the enhancement of
socio – economic development in the country. Students could also become engineers in
Building Technology, Teachers, Contractors, Architects, Artisans, Designers of all kinds,
Masons and so on. He made it clear to the students that carefully taking into consideration the
numerous opportunities in studying the subject, it is not true that the subject was designed for
unfortunate students who could not make it to the next stage of education but designed for
[33]
potential students on the grounds of academic. Indeed, looking at the students’ behavior and
attitudes towards the subject, they became more active, determined and highly spirited in
learning the subject after the career information and guidance exercise.
Proper monitoring and supervision of students’ work
The researcher has instituted a proper and an effective monitoring and supervision mechanism
with the intention of having fair assessment of the students’ progress. The researcher made sure
that the students did the right thing at the right time. He made students to understand that
hardworking and determination in the study of the subject is their success in the examination.
Students were also advised that, copying work and all kinds of examination malpractices would
never help them in anyway and they were given tight supervision and monitoring in all kind of
activities assigned to them as measures to discard the habit of malpractices from them.
Giving Enough Exercise and Quizzes to students.
Series of exercises and take – home assignments and quizzes were given to the students in
order to identify their strengths and weaknesses and thus making necessary correction and
thereby enhancing their performance. That was also done to keep the students abreast with the
daily activities and awaken them always to be active. Students’ confidence in writing
examination was built through a series of class exercises and quizzes as fears and shivering in
writing examination was completely eradicated.
Organization of Field Trips
The researcher organized a field trip for students as part of measures to arouse students’ interest
and improving their performance in the subject. The trip was made to Adom Blocks Company
Limited at Tepa. The owner of the company, Mr. Okyere Darko Ampem took the students
[34]
through series of activities. The students were provided with concrete materials to prepare
concrete mixture. They were also allowed to mould Sandcrete blocks using manual operated
block machine. They again used tape measure to take the sizes of blocks and bricks to ascertain
what they had already been taught theoretically in classroom. The students were again had
opportunity to observe the various types of concrete product such as concrete blocks, paving
slabs, coverts and other concrete products. The operational manager, Mr. John Boateng Peprah
took the students round to observe all kinds of activities in the various departments and sections
of the firm. They also had a direct encounter with the labour force and they were taught about
the operational principles of the various constructional machines such as tilted and non –tilted
concrete mixers. Students were allowed to ask all questions that bordered their minds for
clarifications. The students were really overwhelmed, interested and well-motivated by the
work done and how they were being carried out at the various departments and sections of the
company. The students submitted very interesting reports after the trip and indicated the
numerous advantages they had from it. Their high level of achievement in personal – social
development was also noted in the report.
Giving immediate feedback to students
The researcher marked exercises, assignments, quizzes and examination scripts promptly and
discussed the questions with them thoroughly, making all the necessary corrections. Students
were able to assess their performance and tried to improve upon it in daily basis. It enabled
them identify their strengths and weaknesses and based upon that the researcher assisted the
weaker students to improve their study habit.
[35]
Organizations of remedial tuition for deserving students
The researcher organized a series of remedial tuition for deserving students every Saturday
evening to bridge the gap between weaker students and brilliant students. It is the responsibility
of every good teacher to be aware of the progress of his/her students so that he/she will be able
to identify those who are lagging behind in the class. It was in this direction that the researcher
took the trouble upon himself to organize the Saturday evening classes for the weak students.
Saturdays were chosen so that enough time could be given to the students and be free from
interference from the gifted students.
[36]
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS
4.1 Introduction
This chapter deals with the results of the study conducted for form Two
Technical Students of St George’s Senior High Technical School. The results of
the study were based on the outcome of first and second terms’ examination,
the information obtained from the questionnaire given to students, the
interview for permanent Building Construction Teacher and the Headmistress
of the school, together with the observation made by the researcher within the
period of the research.
4.2 Comparison of First and Second Terms’ Examination Results for form
two Technical Students
The table 1.1 below indicate the average performance of the second year
Technical students for the first and second terms respectively. The results were
analyzed in grades. A (Excellent), B (very good); C (Good); D (Average); E
(Below average and F (Fail).
[37]
Table 1.1 First Term Examination Results
NUMBER OF STUDENTS GRADE PERCENTAGES %
1 B 12.5
2
3
C 25.0
D 37.5
1
1
Total 8
E 12.5
F 12.5
100
Table 1.2 Second Term Examination Results
NUMBER OF STUDENTS GRADE PERCENTAGE %
2 A 25.0
3 B 37.5
3 3 37.5
Total 8 100
[38]
(%)
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
A B C D E F
(Grades)
Fig 1.1 A bar chart showing the first and second term’s examination results
for second year Technical Students.
KEY First term Second term
Examination examination results
When the tables and bar chart above were closely observed and critically
analyzed, it could be seen that none of the students had grade A in the first term
examination results. Only one student had grade B representing 12.5%, two
students had grade C representing 25%, three students had grade D
[39]
representing 37.5%, one student had grade E representing 12.5% and one
student had grade F representing 12.5%. Taking the second term examination
results into consideration, two students had grade A, three students had grade
B and three students had grade C representing 25%, 37.5% and 37.5%
respectively. None of the student had either grade D, E or F in the second term
examination results.
It could then be concluded that, there had been much improvement of
students’ performance in the second term examination results. The main reason
for that significant improvement of students’ performance was the
implementation of the interventions designed at the very beginning of the
second term.
4.3 Results from Questionnaire given to form two technical Students
Table 1.3 Responses from Questionnaire Given to Form Two Technical
Students
Questionnaire item Responses No of
students
Percentage (%)
1 Many people consider
Building Construction as a
subject for people with less
Agreed
Strongly Agreed
Disagreed
1
1
2
12.5
12.5
25.0
[40]
intelligent: do you agree to
that?
strongly disagreed 4 50. 0
2 Have you been given
enough exercises,
homework and regular
quizzes?
Yes
No
7
1
87.5
12.5
3 How often have you been
taken through practical
research
Very often
Not very often
2
6
25.0
75.0
4 Have you ever been encouraged
by your teachers and parents to
study Building Construction?
Yes
No
6
2
75.0
25.0
5 Have you ever embarked on
an industrial visits with your
teacher?
Yes
No
0
8
-
100
6 How often have you been
involved in teaching and
learning of Building
Construction?
Always
Sometimes
8
0
100
-
[41]
From table 1.3 above, one students representing 12.5% out of eight students
and one students agreed and strongly agreed respectively to the fact that,
Building Construction was meant mostly for people who were less intelligent,
two students representing 25% disagreed and four students representing 50%
strongly disagreed. Considering whether students have been given enough
exercises, homework’s and regular quizzes to keep them studying all the time,
seven students representing 87.5% responded positively while only one
students representing 12.5% responded negatively.
Again, from the table, only two students representing 25% affirmed they
have been taken through practical lessons very often while six students
representing 75% declared not very often. As to whether students have been
encouraged to study the subject by both teachers and parents, six students
representing 75% said yes while two students representing 25% said no.
Finally, as to how often students were involved in teaching and learning
of Building Construction, all the eight students representing 100% said they
were always involved in the lessons. Through the responses from the students,
the researcher had more insight into the factors militating against effective
teaching and learning of Building Construction and the way forward.
[42]
Table 1.4 Responses from questionnaire for students
Questionnaire item Responses No of students and
Percentage
Reasons for
choice of answer
1. Do you consider Building
Construction as a difficult
subject?
Yes 2 (25%) i. it involves a lot
of sketches
ii. it involves a lot
of physical
activities
No 6(75%) i. it provides
many job
opportunities for
people
ii. it is easier to
study as it is not
required much
written
[43]
2.
Would you like to pursue
Building Construction to
the tertiary level?
Yes
No
6 (75%)
2 (25%)
i. we want to
become
architects in
future.
ii. We want to
be self-
employed
iii. we want to
become wood
work
technologist
From the table above, two students representing 25% Considered Building
Construction as a difficult subject as it involves a lot of sketches and physical
activities. The remaining six students representing 75% who said the subject
was not difficult, they were of the view that it could provide them with many
job opportunities and it is easier to study as it does require more written than
sketches. As to whether students would like to pursue the subject to tertiary
level, six students representing 75% responded affirmatively. Their reason for
[44]
the choice of answer were based on the fact that they want to become architects
in the near future and be self – employed as they believed in entrepreneurship.
The remaining two representing 25% were of the view that they want to become
woodwork technologists.
4.4 Observations made by the Researcher
The researcher established indirect observation mechanism to obtain
information on both the permanent teacher and the first year students to find
out what will happen when they also get to the second year. It was realized that
the students were provided with all the necessary information without
allowing them to find things for themselves. They were spoon –fed as the
teacher always copy the notes from the textbooks onto the chalkboard for
students to copy after which he explained it to them and gave them some work
to do. Sometimes he could give them about three or four different exercises at
a time with different dates to ascertain his output of work. That was not the best
method of teaching Building Construction according to the researcher’s opinion
since that could only encourage hasty work and also help students to develop
the habit of copying.
[45]
4.5 Analysis of Interview with the Permanent Building Construction Teacher
The structured interview conducted for the permanent Building Construction Teacher revealed
that he was very much aware of the poor performance of the students. He then attributed the
dismal performance of his class to lack of interest in the subject right from the day they were
introduced to the subject.
The researcher asked him during the interview to explain why the problem has been
existing for such a long time. According to him, he tried to make use of various teaching and
learning techniques such as the demonstration and discussion methods, but he made some
reservations that lack of basic tools and equipment, materials, and more importantly, absence
of workshop in the school were the major problems of practical activities which form the basis
of the subject. To him students could learn better when they are engaged in practical activities
as far as Building Construction is concerned but the absence of materials and facilities to
ensure practical activities have damped the interest of students in studying the subject. As to
whether he has ever embarked on any educational visits or field trips with the students, the
teacher responded categorically no. He however cited lack of funds as the main hindrance. In
the case of giving immediate feedback to students, he responded affirmatively and said he did
that to enable him identify and attended to those who needed remedial tuition. According to
him, he usually attended to deserving students during the remedial classes’ period while
assigned more challenging task to the gifted students. After the interview, the researcher
deduced and concluded that the permanent Building Construction teacher was largely
depended upon the effort of the government and for that matter Ghana Education Service in
solving the problem instead of planning and finding out from some pragmatic solutions to the
problem himself.
[46]
4.6 Analysis of Interview with the Headmistress
The researcher had an interview with the Headmistress of the school in an attempt to address
the problem of poor performance of second year technical students in Building Construction.
Concerning the preparations she has made so far about the construction of workshop for the
school to enable practical activities to take place, she claimed indeed that she had made a lot
of appeals to the appropriate offices and quarters to come to their aid, but to no avail. According
to her, it was the responsibility of the government in collaboration with the School management
Committee (SMC) and the Parents Teachers Association (P.T.A) to put up and furnish the
workshop but not for the school to do that. She said due to that the SMC /PTA of the school
had raised some funds towards that project but it has left with the government to fulfill his part.
She said information reaching them at that particular moment indicated that plans were far
ahead in erecting the workshop soon. Concerning funds for the preparation of teaching and
learning materials and for purchasing basic stools and equipment for teaching Building
Construction, she explained that the only source of income for the school was the “Government
Grant” which was inadequate to purchase the tools and equipment, but she said there was no
problem with the funds to prepare teaching and learning materials if requested for. The
researcher, during the interview asked the Headmistress whether she was aware of the poor
performance of second year technical students. She responded that she had closely monitored
them right from the first day school was reopen and had become aware of the problem. She
said that measures have been put in place to arrest the situation. She stated some of the
measures to curb the situation as motivation of students at the end of every term, organization
of career orientation and guidance for the students, institution of proper monitoring and
supervision of the students, talking to parents to have closely observations for their children’s
performance in the subject and encouraging them to study hard all the time. In a whole, through
[47]
the findings from the various observations and interviews conducted, the researcher deduced
the following results as the root causes of the poor performance of students in the subject.
Absence of workshop and training materials and equipment to engage the students in
the practical activities.
Absence of appropriate teaching and learning materials during Building Construction
lessons.
Inadequate career orientation and guidance for parents and students in studying the
subject.
Laziness of some students especially in the practical lessons.
Lack of proper monitoring and supervision of the activities assigned to students.
Lack of motivation for students in the study of Building Construction
Negative attitudes of students towards teaching and learning of the subject.
[48]
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATION/SUGGESTIONS
5.1 Introduction
This chapter consists of the summary of the research findings, conclusion as well as
recommendations and suggestions for further research works.
5.2 General Over view of the Study
The research conducted has indeed been fruitful since it was able to reveal certain causes of
the problem, its effect on individual students, the society and the nation as a whole, as well as
the measures adopted for curbing or improving the situation. A critical analysis of the abysmal
performance of the students clearly indicated that no single or a particular group of individual
should carry the blame. The Government, the Ghana Education Service, the community in
which the school is located, parents, the Headmistress of the school, the subject teachers as
well as the students themselves should share the blame. In the first place, it was noted that the
Government, the Educational Body (GES) and the community in which the school is located
did not make any effort in providing certain basic necessities that could have boosted students’
morale and thus attracted them to take the subject very serious. Their inability to provide
quality and well equipped infrastructure and workshop furnished with sufficient tools and
equipment as well as materials to enhance teaching and learning of the subject was the first
and major setback of the students’ poor performance.
In addition, some of the teaching and learning strategies used by the permanent teacher
was not helping the students to understand the lesson better, for instance route teaching and
learning as well as lecture method. There was no proper monitoring and supervision measures
in place to check students’ progress and discipline. Students were not guided properly in most
of the activities taking place in both classroom and the site.
[49]
However, upon careful observation of those factors, the researcher with his interventions
designed has been able to elevate the students to a certain height which needs constant checking
for sustaining the interest of the students and capture their attention in the subject.
5.3 Summary of Findings
In conclusion, it was the researcher’s reservation that the study has not being in vain. The
intervention designed and their implementation have really proven positive outcome. The
perception of some students and parents that the subject was too difficult and it was meant for
dropouts and less intelligent people have now been reduced to the barest minimum. Again, the
subject has now been made simpler for students who were unable to make freehand sketches
of simple structures. The students frequently asked for quizzes which were the main indications
of their interest being sustained in the subject. Though there were some hindrances here and
there in the course of the research work, the general overview has proven it to be a very
successful one indeed. Thus motivation, the use of adequate and appropriate teaching and
learning techniques as well as materials, proper monitoring and supervision of students’
activities and progress in learning the subject are very keen factors and way forward to enhance
the performance of the second year technical students of St George’s Senior High Technical
School.
5.4 Implication for Practice
Teachers who are not used to using concrete materials during teaching of Building Construction
should try as much as possible to employ the use of the appropriate concrete teaching and
learning materials as part of their instructional materials in their planning and delivering of
lessons. This is because students turn not to relate what they have learnt to the environment but
rather think in abstract.
[50]
5.5 Recommendations/Suggestions The researcher came out with the following suggestions for further research on ways of
improving performance of students in Building Construction which will in turn help build the
nation as a whole.
i. The government in collaboration with the SMC/PTA should try to put up well and
furnished workshop for the school to promote and enhance the practical activities.
ii. Heads and subject teachers should work hand –in –hand to create enabling
teaching and learning environment and develop the habit of giving students
positive reinforcement when it is due, in order to motivate and sustain their
interest in the subject.
iii. Teachers handling the subject should make very good use of instructional
techniques and materials to make teaching and learning of the subject more real
and interesting.
iv. Regular training workshops should be organized for teachers handling the subject
to make them abreast with current development in terms of technological
advancement as techniques and studies in Building Construction keep on changing
as a result of technological development.
v. Some portion of the syllabus of Building Construction for Senior High School are
not clearly explained, amendments should therefore be made to make teachers
work with more ease and faster.
vi. Funds should be made available from the coffers of government for future
researchers to extend their population sample in order to obtain more reliable data
to help find lasting and permanent solutions to such a problem since the problem
of poor performance in Building Construction at St George’s Senior High
Technical School could be the same in other Technical Schools.
[51]
vii. Teachers handling the subject should as much as possible give enough practical
exercises to the students all the time to reduce their attitudes of laziness.
viii. Heads and teachers should closely monitor the progress of the students and provide
them with adequate information about the opportunities available when they study
the subject very serious.
[52]
APPENDIX 1
QUESTIONNAIRES ITEMS FOR SECOND YEAR TECHNICAL
STUDENTS AT ST GEORGE’S SENIOR HIGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL
The items are in two folds. You are to tick the correct answer in the brackets
provided and provide short answers to items where applicable
1. Do you think there is the need to maintain Building Construction on the
school time table?
Yes ( ) No ( )
2 a. Do you consider Building Construction as a difficult subject?
Yes ( ) No ( )
b. State any two reasons for the choice of your answer.
i. ……………………………………………………………………….
ii. ……………………………………………………………………..
3a. Would you like to pursue Building Construction to the tertiary level?
Yes ( ) no ( )
b. State any two reasons for the choice of your answer.
i. ……………………………………………………………………….
ii. ……………………………………………………………………..
[53]
4. There has been a perception that Building Construction is meant for
people who are less intelligent; do you agree to that?
Agreed ( ) strongly agreed ( )
Disagreed ( ) strongly disagreed ( )
5. How often have you been involving in teaching and learning of Building
Construction lessons?
Always ( ) Sometimes ( )
6. Have you ever been encouraged by your teachers or parents to study
Building Construction?
Yes ( ) No ( )
7. Have you been giving enough exercises, take – home assignments and
regular quizzes?
Yes ( ) No ( )
8. How often have you been taking through practical lessons?
Often ( ) very often ( ) Not very often ( )
9. Have you been taking through sketches when you were in form one?
Yes ( ) No ( )
10. Have you ever embarked on an industrial visit with your teacher?
Yes ( ) No ( )
[54]
APPENDIX II
AN INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR THE PERMANENT BUILDING
CONSTRUCTION TEACHER AT ST GEORGE’S SENIOR HIGH
TECHNICAL SCHOOL
1. What are the students’ attitudes towards teaching and learning of
Building Construction?
……………………………………………………………………………………….…
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
2. Are you aware of students’ low performance in the subject?
……….………………………………………………………………………………….
3. What methods do you normally use in delivering your lessons?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. Have you been making use of appropriate teaching and learning
materials in all your lesson?
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
5. Have you ever embarked on an industrial visits or field trips with
the students?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
[55]
6. Have you been organizing any remedial teaching for the weaker
students?
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
7. What are some of the reason for giving immediate feedback to
students?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
8. Why some of the students do not show any interest in studying the
subject?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
9. What effort have you made towards the provision of workshops
and training materials for the student?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………….
10. What are the attitudes of other teachers towards the subject
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
[56]
APPENDIX III
AN INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR THE HEADMISTRESS OF ST GEORGE’S
SENIOR HIGH TECHNICAL SCHOOL
1. Please, are you aware of the low performance of second year
technical students?
………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. Could you please give some of the measures put in place to curb the
situation?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
3. What preparation have you made so far towards the construction of
workshop for the school?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………....
4. What is the main source of funds for running the school?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
[57]
5. Do you have enough funds for preparing teaching and learning
materials and for purchasing basic Building Construction tools?
…………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. What measures are you putting in place to develop the students’
interest in the study of the subject?
..........................................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................................................................
[58]
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1.1 First Term Examination Results
Table 1.2 Second Term Examination Results
Table 1.3 Responses from Questionnaire Given to Form two Technical Students
Table 1.4 Responses from Questionnaire for students
[59]
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