WELCOME TO KENTERPRO:
EFFECTS OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ON THE BASIC SCIENCE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS WITH HEARING IMPAIRMENT IN EKAN PRIMARY SCHOOL MANGU

 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Recent research reveals that five percent (5%) of the world’s population, which is about four hundred and sixty-six (466) million people of the world are living with hearing impairment. Out of this population, thirty-four (34) million children are discovered to have hearing impairment or hard of hearing of different degrees. Among this population, thirty (30) million of them are pupils in different schools worldwide (WHO, 2021).

From the last two decades, some important changes have taken place in the educational programs, policies and strategies for pupils with disabilities. The reauthorization of the 1997, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) further re-affirmed the need to promote and enhance access to the general curriculum for pupils with disabilities. Providing access goes far beyond physical presence of pupils with disabilities in the classrooms. In fact, Wehmeyer, Sands, Knowlton and Kozleski (2002) rightfully assert that “teacher must ensure that pupils are actively engaged in learning; that is, the subject matter is cognitively challenging to them, regardless of their developmental level.” In relation to the IDEA Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, section 504 also support the provision of appropriate education service to pupils who have hearing impairment. This support was issued in response to the concerns regarding departmental policy on the provision of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to pupils who have hearing impairment.

Generally, the academic performance of pupils with hearing impairment is usually poor due to methodology, instructional materials and language used in communication. Countries like Kenya,Tanzania, Ghana, and United State of America are few among many countries that were having problem on the education of persons with hearing impairment especially in the science subjects. Many specialists have written books to proffer solution to these challenges, but the challenges are still hovering around. Like Kenya, the basic problem of pupils with hearing impairment was communication, but teachers of pupils with hearing impairment, Special Educators, rehabilitators and parents of pupils with hearing impairment put their heads together to provide solution to the hard of hearing pupils’ problems.

In Nigeria, there are many challenges faced in the education of the pupils with hearing impairment or pupils who are hard of hearing. Problems like poor communication skills, differences in local sign language, grammatical errors in writing and signing and poor performance in some subjects like mathematics, basic science and English, to mention but few, in school, but this research seeks to look at the Effect of Science and Technology on Basic Science Academic Performance of pupil with hearing impairment in Ekan primary school, Mangu LGA of Plateau State.

The National or Nigeria’s ACT on the education of the persons with hearing impairment or those who have difficulty hearing is stated in section 2.3, sub-section II of the National Policy on Special Needs Education in Nigeria, “to provide adequate and qualitative education for all Persons with Special Needs in all aspects of national developmental endeavours”(Federal Ministry of Education 2015). Pupils with hearing impairment being a category of special needs persons, have the right to be trained academically in all fields of endeavour especially in sciences and technologies so that we can have persons with hearing impairment or those who have difficulty hearing as scientists and technologists who can contribute their quota in Nigeria’s national development. Unfortunately for us in Nigeria, the ACT is so far known as policy that has no legal backup or implementation.

The general educational performance of pupils with hearing impairment or hard of hearing is at the average level, this is because those that are hardworking, usually perform well but those that are usually low and not working hard, perform poor academically and those that are at the poor performance level, are more than those that perform high, so when they are put together, the academic performance is at or below average.

On the issue of academic achievement, generally, the achievement is good since there are some of the persons with hearing impairment that have masters and PhDs as their academic achievement. Coming to Basic Science, the achievement is generally poor leading to very miniature achievement in the science and technology either in education or any other profession in the sciences. This miniature achievement may be as a result of lack of trained professional/special teachers, poor lesson delivery, methodology or lack of proper teaching materials.

Science and Technology can be seen as the study of the structure and behaviour of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment and the application of the study (knowledge obtained) for practical purposes. Science and Technology provides us with proper teaching aids that when we apply them in our teaching and learning processes, will go a long way to improve the learning performance of pupils with hearing impairment or those who have difficulty hearing.

• STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study became necessary as a result of poor performance in Basic Science subject of pupils in Ekan primary school in Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau State.This poor performance in Basic Science goes further to affect their learning of science in the senior secondary school and even makes them not to study science courses in the tertiary institution. Scientists with hearing impairment are very few because the bases of teaching sciences in Basic Science at the early stage of life are very poor. There is insufficient application of technological equipment in teaching basic science to pupils with hearing impairment. Where there are few technological equipment for teaching Basic science, the teachers are not equip to handle them effectively, therefore, they lie dormant without being utilized until they cannot be used any longer. Hence, the need for this study becomes necessary in order to determine the effects of science and technology on basic science academic performance of pupil with hearing impairment at their developmental level in the elementary system of education.

• PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of science and technology on the basic science academic performance of pupils with hearing impairment in Ekan primary school Mangu while the objectives of the study is to:

1.     To determine the extent to which the academic performance of pupils with hearing impairment taught using science and technology equipment differ from the academic performance of pupils with hearing impairment taught without using science and technology equipment in Ekan primary school Mangu

2.     To determine the extent to which the academic performance of male pupils with hearing impairment taught using science and technology differ from the academic performance of female pupils taught without using science and technology equipment in Ekan primary school Mangu

3.     To determine the mean performance scores of female pupils taught using science and technology equipment and the mean performance score of male pupils taught without using science and technology equipment in Ekan primary school Mangu

1.4     RESEARCH QUESTIONS

1.     To what extent do the academic performance of pupils with hearing impairment taught using science and technology equipment differ from the academic performance of pupils with hearing impairment taught without using science and technology equipment in Ekan primary school Mangu?

2.     To What extent do the academic performance of male pupils with hearing impairment taught using science and technology differ from the academic performance of female pupils taught without using science and technology equipment in Ekan primary school Mangu?

3.     What is the mean performance scores of female pupils taught using science and technology equipment and the mean performance score of male pupils taught without using science and technology equipment in Ekan primary school Mangu?

1.5      RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The following null hypotheses will be analyzed at 0.05 level of significance:

Ho₁: there is no significant difference between the basic science academic performance of female pupils with hearing impairment taught using science and technology and male pupils with hearing impairment who taught with science and technology.

Ho₂: there is no significant difference between the basic sciences mean score of pupils taught with science and technology and those who were not taught using science and technology.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance or the relevance of this work is seen in the points below:

It will help improve the academic performance of pupils with hearing impairment on Basic Science. It will encourage pupils with hearing impairment to develop interest for science courses in their higher academic endeavour.

`Lesson delivery will become easier to the teachers of pupils with hearing impairment. It will make the teaching and learning process of pupils with hearing impairment in Basic science easy to the teachers. It also encourages workshops, conferences and seminars for teacher on the importance and significance of using science and technology in teaching Basic Science

It will serve as an evaluative material to the school management curriculum planners and policy makers and implementors. This study will benefit other researchers by serving as a reference material, empirical study and can add to existing body of knowledge in the area of science and technology.

1.7 THE DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This research work is delimited to cover only the variables, the effects of science and technology on Basic Science Subject which outcome can be seen on the performance of pupils with hearing impairment in Ekan primary school Mangu.

• OPERATIONAL DEFINITION OF TERMS

Basic Science Academic Performance: The behaviour that causes effective function after learning basic science subject for a given period of time.

FAPE: Free Appropriate Public Education.

Hearing Impairment: Having difficulty hearing or inability to hear as a result of damage to the mechanism of hearing in the ear.

IDEA: Individuals with Disability Education Act.

Instructional Materials: Materials that are used to make learning and teaching easy or simple.

Population: This has to do with the subjects of the study or the characteristic of the phenomenon that the investigation is carried out on which are pupils with hearing impairment in this study.

Pupils with hearing impairment: Primary school children who have difficulty hearing or those whose organ of hearing is damaged, as a result, have reduce hearing or total inability to hear.

Rehabilitators: These are specialists that take care of persons who have special needs. They provide programmes and services that meets those needs

Science and Technology: This is application of equipment in this field that help pupils with hearing impairment to engage in observation and experiment and the application of the knowledge obtained for practical purposes or real life use and function.

Special Teachers/Special Educators: Teachers who are trained specially to take care of learning needs of pupils with special needs such as pupils with hearing impairment.