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FACTORS INFLUENCING REASONING ABILITY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background to the Study

Academic achievement of students especially at the elementary school level is not only a pointer to the effectiveness or otherwise of schools but a major determinant of the future of youths in particular and the nation in general. Learning outcomes have become a phenomenon of interest to all and this account for the reason why scholars have been working hard to untangle factors that militate against good academic performance (Aremu & Sokan, 2019).

This phenomenon has been variedly referred in literature as academic achievement, or scholastic functioning. Academic achievement of learners has attracted attention of scholars, parents, policymakers and planners. Adeyemo (2018) opined that the major goal of the school is to work towards attainment of academic excellence by students. According to him, the school may have other peripheral objectives but emphasis is always placed on the achievement of sound scholarship. Besides, virtually everybody concerned with education places premium on academic achievement; excellent academic achievement of children is often the expectation of parents (Osiki, 2017).

Gender is one of the personal variables that have been related to the differences found in motivational functioning and academic achievement. Different researcheshave demonstrated the existence of different attribution patterns in boys and girls, such that while girls tend to give more emphasis to effort when explaining their performance (Lightbody, Siann, Stocks, & Walsh, 1996; Georgiou, 1999; Powers & Wagner, 1984), boys appeal more to reasoning ability as cause of their academic achievement (Burgner & Hewstone, 1993).

Many researches have also pointed out that girls usually make external attributions for successes and failures, and that when they make internal attributions, these refer not so much to effort, but to ability (Wiegers & Friere, 1977; Postigo, Perez &Sanz, 1999). However, boys usually attribute successes to stable internal causes like effort, thus showing an attributional pattern which enables them to enhance their own image of themselves (Smith, Sinclair & Chapman, 2016). Researches on gender differences in cognitive processes, intellectual abilities, area of interest, stereotypical perceptions of every-day behaviours and the ability to perform various tasks has been a neglected area. Two theories explaining personality differences between men and women have been proposed. The first suggests that the male is the prototypical human, and females should be understood in relation to men. The second discourses that men represent the cognitive domain, which is positively valued in Euro-American culture, and women represent the less-valued affective realm (Klein, 2018).

The differences in the scholastic achievements of boys and girls are generally attributed to biological causes and/or to cultural and stereotypes (Klein, 2004). The last two decades have been devoted to addressing gender inequality in education (Nayar U 1996). Some studies have shown an all – time low participation of women in education. Educators have therefore expended tremendous efforts in the study of the personal factors affecting academic achievement. A rich harvest of explanation of causes, understanding of cost to the society and possible intervention has brought about several researches, workshops, seminars and training in this area. The influence of home environment on students’ academic achievement at the individual level is still prevalent, but less strong in much of the literature. There is an awareness of the importance of the home environment or family structure on student’s academic achievement. The home has a great influence on the Journal of Education and Practice students’ psychological, emotional, social and economic state.

In the view of Ajila&Olutola (2000), the state of the home affects the individual since the parents are the first socializing agents in an individual’s life. This is because the family background and context of a child affect his reaction to life situations and his level of performance. Although, the school is responsible for the experiences that make up the individual’s life during school periods, yet parents and the individual’s experiences at home play tremendous roles in building the personality of the child and making the child what he is. Thus, Ichado (1998) concluded that the environment in which the student comes from can greatly influence his performance in school. The state of the home may affect individual since the parents are the first socializing agents in

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