A RESEARCH INTO THE MOTIVATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ APPRECIATION OF LITERARY WORKS: A CASE OF SELECTED SCHOOLS IN JOS NORTH L. G. A OF PLATEAU STATE

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title Page – – – – – – – – – i
Declaration – – – – – – – – – ii
Approval Page – – – – – – – – – iii
Dedication – – – – – – – – – iv
Acknowledgement – – – – – – – v
Table of Contents – – – – – – – vi
Abstract – – – – – – – – viii

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study – – – – – – 1
1.2. Statement of the Problem – – – – – – 4
1.3. Purpose of the Study – – – – – – 5
1.4. Research Questions – – – – – – – 5
1.5. Research Hypothesis – – – – – – – 6
1.6. Significance of the Study – – – – – – 6
1.7. Scope of the Study – – – – – – – 6

CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.1 Research Design – – – – – – – 31
3.2 Population and Sample – – – – – – 31
3.2.1 Population of the Study – — – – – 31
3.2.2 Sample of the Study – – – – – – – 31
3.3 Sampling Technique – – – – – – – 32
3.4 Instrument for Data Collection – – – – – 32
3.5 Validity and Reliability of Instrument – – – – 33
3.5.1 Validity of the Instrument – – – – – – 33
3.5.2 Reliability of Instrument – – – – – 33
3.6 Procedure for Data Collection – – – – – 34
3.7 Method of Data Analysis – – – – – -34

CHAPTER FOUR
TEXTUAL PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS
4.0 Introduction – – – – – – – – 35
4.1 Data Presentation and Analysis Questionnaires – – – 35
4.2 Test of Research Hypothesis – – – – – 46
4,3 Discussion of Findings – – – – – – 47

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1 Summary of Findings – – – – – – – 50
5.2 Conclusion – – – – – – – – 51
5.2 Recommendations – – – – – – – 51
References – – – – – – – – 53
Appendices – – – – – – – – 57

ABSTRACT
This project was carried out in order investigate into the motivation of Secondary School Students’ appreciation of literary works in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. The population of the study consisted of five selected secondary schools in Jos North Local Government Area. The sample of the study was S. S 2 students and the researchers selected a sample of 100 students to partake in the exercise. The instrument used for the collection of data was the questionnaire. out of the 100 questionnaire distributed, a total of 95 were retrieved from the respondents. The simple table percentage was used for data presentation and analysis while the means score was used as a decision rule. The findings of the research indicated that students are not rewarded with gifts by literature teachers, this therefore is an area which the students can be motivated and do well in their academics (literature), literature teachers in the secondary schools do not encourage the students to work in groups, the students are not praised by most of the literature teachers when they perform well in class, most of the literature teachers explain the objectives of the lesson at the beginning of the lesson before commencing, the environment where literature classes are taken, is conducive as seen from the responses of the students, students of literature do not go for field trip in most of the selected schools, the findings of the study indicated that the students are allowed to share their experiences in the course of the class. In the light of the findings of the research, the following recommendations are proffered: teachers of literature should learn to motivate students through praises and rewards, literature texts prescribed for the students in secondary schools should reflect the experiences of the students, the language of literary texts prescribed for the students should be that of young adult literature, students should embark on excursions or field trips from time to time, the government should make provisions for the books that are prescribed by WAEC, NECO and JAMB in the secondary schools for easy access, there should be provision of instructional materials in literature by school authority and government.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Background of the Study
Motivation has been used as a psychological tool to encourage students to increase academic performance in schools. Motivating students in secondary schools is one of the important issues to be taken in consideration especially now that the country is witnessing mass failure in final examinations. As the study by Mushi (2013) indicates, academic performance in classrooms and schools at national level in literature has been unsatisfactory.
Tilya (2012), in his study about Educational assessment states that recently the cry from parents and other stakeholders has been about poor results from our primary and secondary school in Nigeria. He suggested that if teachers motivate students there will be improvement in academic performance which in turn will benefit community as whole.
The process of creating basic motivational conditions, generating initial motivation, maintaining and protecting motivation has been found to be the best strategy to bring about effective learning (Dorney, 2001). This has been confirmed by scholars who have theorized the motivational strategies in teaching and learning (Crookes, 1991; Dorney, 2001). In many secondary schools in Nigeria, you can find students outside the classroom while a teacher of literature is teaching and even far away from the school environment during school hours. This situation can be attributed to lack of motivation in learning literature. In addition to that some students dislike literature as a subject for the reason that it is difficult and sometimes even tend to avoid the teacher of the subject.
The term motivation has been defined by several scholars as follows: Guay (2010) defines motivation as “the reasons underlying behaviour”. Broussard and Garrison (2004) see it as “the attribute that moves us to do or not to do something”. Kleinginna (1981) defines motivation as an internal state or condition (sometimes described as a need, desire, or want) that serves to activate or energize behaviour and give it direction. Dorney (2000) defined motivation as an abstract, hypothetical concept that people use for a whole range of motives – from financial incentives, e.g. a raise in money to idealistic belief that explains why they do what they do. In associations to definitions given, motivation can also be defined as the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal and elicits, controls, and sustains certain goal directed-behaviours.
According to the literature, motivation can either be intrinsic or extrinsic. Deci (1999) defines intrinsic motivation as the motivation that emanate from personal enjoyment, interest, or pleasure while extrinsic motivation as the force from outside. While intrinsic motivation is based on taking pleasure in an activity, extinct motivation occurs with an expectation of external rewards and common extrinsic motivations are rewards like money, grads and threats of punishment.
Motivation involves a constellation of beliefs, perceptions, values, interests, and actions that are all closely related. As a result, various approaches to motivation can focus on cognitive behaviours (such as monitoring and strategy use) non-cognitive aspects (such as perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes), or both. Teacher’s motivational strategies to students aim at improving academic performance of students hence to increase students’ academic motivation.
Student motivation is an essential element that is necessary for quality education. How do we know when students are motivated? They pay attention, they begin working on tasks immediately, they ask questions and volunteer answers, and they appear to be happy and eager (Palmer, 2007). Basically, very little if any learning can occur unless students are motivated on a consistent basis. The five key ingredients impacting student motivation are: student, teacher, content, method/process, and environment. For example, the student must have access, ability, interest, and value education. The teacher must be well trained, must focus and monitor the educational process, be dedicated and responsive to his or her students, and be inspirational. The content must be accurate, timely, stimulating, and pertinent to the student’s current and future needs. The method or process must be inventive, encouraging, interesting, beneficial, and provide tools that can be applied to the student’s real life. The environment needs to be accessible, safe, positive, personalized as much as possible, and empowering. Motivation is optimized when students are exposed to a large number of these motivating experiences and variables on a regular basis. That is, students ideally should have many sources of motivation in their learning experience in each class. (Palmer, 2007; Debnath, 2005; D’Souza and Maheshwari, 2010).
Emig (2015) overheard the following conversation on his first day in a literature class between two students:
“Have you read the book for the class yet?”
“Nah, I think I’ll just read the summary online.”
He went on to say that the students are not even mindful if the teacher hears them or not. Emig pointed out that students fail to read the literary texts that they are prescribed because they are not concomitant with their age-grade. Texts like Harry Porter and Hunger Games make the reading fun again for secondary school students. Unfortunately, these are not the kind of texts that are given or prescribed for these students. Researchers have shown that students are less motivated to read because of the kind of books they are forced to read and how they are taught (Morgan & Wagner, (2013). This means that teachers have to reevaluate how they choose books for their literary students and find a way to make a connection between the prescribed books and the lives of the students.
Researchers like Emig (2015) have suggested that Young Adult literature is the perfect and valid pathway to engage secondary school students in literary reading. Pitcher (2007) claims that literature used in the classroom has to reflect students’ personal lives. They need to find a connection with the text in order to find a purpose in the text. Along with finding a personal connection, students want to be given a choice in what they read for school.
In the light of the above discussions, it is clear that this research work sets out to investigate into the motivation of secondary school students’ appreciation of literary works.
1.2. Statement of the Problem
The poor performance of students in external and internal examinations in the secondary schools in literature has become a source of concern to both students and educational stakeholders like parents, government and teachers as well. This largely has been attributed to the lack of motivation of the learners. This study has the aim of seeking into factors that hinder the motivation of students’ appreciation of literary works. This motivation could come in different forms like either extrinsic or intrinsic. The researchers therefore, seek to investigate into the motivation of secondary school students’ appreciation of literary works like prose.

1.3. Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to investigate into the motivation of secondary school students’ appreciation of literary works in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
Other purposes include:
i. To find out how students can be motivated to appreciate literary works in secondary schools.
ii. To discover factors hindering students’ motivation to appreciate literary works
iii. To find out the effect of motivation on the literary appreciation of students in secondary schools.
iv. Proffer solutions on how students can be motivated in order to appreciate literary works.
1.4. Research Questions
In order to have a sense of guidance, the researchers have postulated the following questions to guide them:
i. How can students be motivated to appreciate literary works in secondary schools?
ii. What are the factors hindering students’ motivation to appreciate literary works?
iii. What are the effects of motivation on the literary appreciation of students in secondary schools?
iv. What are the solutions on how students can be motivated in order to appreciate literary works?

1.5. Research Hypotheses
Ho There is no significant relationship between students’ motivation and literary appreciation among students in secondary schools.
Ha There is a significant relationship between students’ motivation and literary appreciation among students in secondary schools.
1.6. Significance of the Study
The significance of this study cannot be overemphasized. The findings of this study will be of immense benefit to secondary school students, principals, Heads of Departments, Government, Policy Makers, supervisor, curriculum planners and tertiary institutions. In the same vein it will be of great help to various states, Federal Government and school proprietors so as to improve on their various ways of motivating the students to enable them appreciate literary works.
1.7. Scope and Limitation of the Study
This research is limited to an investigation into the motivation of secondary school students’ appreciation of literary works. The research covered Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State. The schools that will be covered include: G. S. S West of Mines, Jos; St. John’s College, Jos; Government College, Jos; St. Murumba College, Jos; St. Luis College, Jos. However, despite the fact that the research is restricted to the aforementioned area, its findings can be generic – it can be generalized to other parts of the country.