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IMPLICATIONS OF SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEARNING OF PHYSICAL AND HEALTH EDUCATION IN LANGTANG SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF PLATEAU STATE

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

• Background to the Study

The place of a qualitative education in the life of the growing child especially in the rapidly changing Nigerian society and the world at large has remained a major area of interest among both parents and educators alike. The world is simply on the move at such a speed that one who has hopes of moving on with the times must necessarily build capacity to change with and also move with the times as well.

          In the education sector itself, there is no subject area or field of study that is exempted, but only those which are worst. One particular subject area that has suffered considerably is Physical and Health Education. As a subject of study in the secondary school, Physical and Health Education is given the status of a core subject (Fed. Govt. of Nig., 2004) and is also considered as a pillar of the science. Unfortunately, the education policy that makes Physical and Health Education a core subject as yet suffers from improper implementation including the very provision that designated Physical and Health Education as a core subject that should be studied by all students. This is so even when it is a known fact that the teaching and learning of Physical and Health Education greatly improves physical fitness. Thus the gains of the teaching and learning of Physical and Health Education are far reaching to say the least.

The bulk of the content of Physical and Health Education as a subject in the secondary school can broadly be divided into two; practical and theory. However, the teaching and learning of this important subject, like the others in the country, is today being faced with a lot of problems and challenges ranging from the quality of teachers to the availability of equipment and other teaching materials. There is also the issue of attitude from among the teachers as a greater majority of them would rather not teach Physical and Health Education. This is not unconnected to the abominable culture of great disinterest, if not phobia, for exercise in the country (Wikipedia, 2018). In plain terms, the exercise culture in Nigeria is all but dead. Students would rather watch movies or engage in social media than physical exercise. And since offering Physical and Health Education is seen as a boring if not senseless venture that involves a lot of stress, only a few, if not negligible number of teachers offer to study and teach Physical and Health Education. More so, the little interest that a few of the teachers have in the subject is not spread evenly across theory and practicals.

Physical and Health Education is considered to be a main branch in education taking its theories from the different sciences through the guided physical activity to prepare individuals in all levels and to enable them from adjusting with their daily life requirements. Physical Education in school plays an important role in educating and developing students’ attitudes and awareness towards sports, as the student learn and practice sports in school or in pastime will enable him to practice it in his daily life outside school (Al-shinawi, 2006).

Physical and Health Education teachers hold the main responsibility in conducting different educational activities. Therefore, they must obtain the need knowledge as well as skills which are the main requirements in teaching. Therefore, taking care of education is the first step in reforming education and providing teachers with needed competencies is the most efficient method in improving learning especially in physical education (Al-tamimi, 2009: 2). Moreover, teachers’ trends and attitudes play important role in guiding and developing their teaching

behavior. Attitudes can be defined as (A feeling accompany individual ‘s attention to the issue of what is the direction of myself or characterized by a concentration of attention on a particular topic (Al-sawari,1996, 23).

Further, they are a predisposition or a tendency to respond positively or negatively towards a certain idea, object, person, or situation. Attitude influences an individual’s choice of action, and responses to challenges, incentives, and rewards (Sylibeh, 1999:56). Four major components of attitude are (1) Affective: emotions or feelings. (2) Cognitive: belief or opinions held consciously. (3) Conative: inclination for action. (4) Evaluative: positive or negative response to stimuli (Ahmad, 2000:56). Those issues are of a great interest to scholars and teachers in physical education as it is related closely to the motivation of carrying out all sports activities as they differ from one person to another and can effect (effective teaching) greatly (Jaber, 1998).

 Attitude is described as “Way of thinking or behaving”. Psychology, the science of Mind and Behavior (Pesser and Smiths, 2007) gives a more elaborate explanation that an attitude is a positive or negative evaluative reaction toward a stimulus, such as a person, action, object, or concept. Attitude has been a very difficult concept to describe since it cannot be directly observed. Attitudes will affect the choices that a teacher makes and acquire from a variety of sources (Gagne, 2005). Koballa (2015) further explained that attitudes; are behaviors that are associated with critical thinking. The effective variables according to Koballa (2015) are: attitude, belief, opinion, value, behavioral intention, practice and behavior. The interaction of the effective variables helped to determine the attitudes and practice of teachers either negatively or positively.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

      Today, there is a noticeable phobia for the teaching Physical and Health Education among teachers. At both formal and informal discussions about the teaching of Physical and Health Education, stake holders have often decried the difficulty of subject, especially the practical aspect where it requires rigorous exercise (Tisan, 2018). Some Physical and Health Education teachers have poor attitudes and practice towards teaching Physical and Health Education. this is because some of them teach the theory part of the subject and ignore the practical aspect of it. This behaviour encourages laziness among teachers and the students as well.

It is in line with the above scenario that has interested the researcher to examine the attitudes and practice of teachers towards teaching Physical and Health Education in Secondary Schools in Langtang South Local Government Area. This project therefore seeks to establish some of the problems associated in the teaching and learning of Physical and Health Education in secondary schools in order to provide a simple format of teaching Physical and Health Education that will arouse the interest of students in Physical and Health Education. 

1.3 Purpose of the Study

          The main purpose of this study is to investigate the implications of senior secondary school students’ attitudes towards learning of Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

          Specifically, this study seeks to:

1. To determine teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
2. To uncover factors that positively affect teachers’ attitude in teaching of Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

• To determine factors that negatively affect teachers attitude in teaching of Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State.
  • Research Questions

The following research questions were formulated in order to guide the study:

1. What are teachers’ attitudes towards the teaching of Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State?
2. What are the factors that positively affect teachers’ attitude in teaching of Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State?
3. What are the factors that negatively affect teachers’ attitude in teaching Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State?

1.5 Significance of the Study

It is believed that the findings of this research work will be of great benefit to the following; Teachers, students, community, government, and researchers:

To the Students, it will motivate and give them enthusiasm in the learning process of Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State so that their performance can encourage teachers’ attitude to teach Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State. Again, it will help to boost the students’ competence in Physical and Health Education in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State.

It will enhance teachers’ attitude in teaching Physical and Health Education. It will also be of benefit by providing them with the added knowledge, skills method and techniques needed for effective teaching of Physical and Health Education.

It is equally believed that this work will be of benefit to the government who are the overseers of all academic activities in the society. It will enable them to design the curriculum in a way that it will ensure effective teaching and learning of the Physical and Health Education at all levels of education.

This research, after completion, will serve as reference materials to future researchers who will want to carry out further research in this field.

1.6 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

          This study covers the factors affecting teachers’ attitude in the teaching of Physical and Health Education in secondary schools. The study was restricted to selected secondary schools in Langtang South Local Government Area of Plateau State. Despite the fact that the study is restricted to the selected local government area, the findings of the study will be applicable to other parts of the state and country at large.

1.7 Operational Definition of Terms

Factors:      Things or circumstances contributing to result.

Affecting:   Produce effect on or to bring about.

Quality:      Degree of excellence.

Teaching:   Guidance or training given to someone.

Students:    A school pupil or a person studying at a place of higher education

Secondary School:        Level of education that comes after the basic or results from the primary education.