Evaluation of the Factors Influencing Students’ Performance in Map Reading in Selected Public Senior Secondary Schools, Tarauni, Kano State

Abstract

The study investigates the factors that influence Geography students’ performance in Map Reading in some selected public senior secondary schools, in Tarauni Local Government Area of Kano. The study was achieved through establishing teachers teaching experience and teaching methodology influences their performance in Map Reading. Twelve (12) teachers of geography who are handling SSS 1-2 and 198 SS II Geography students from six public Senior Secondary Schools in Tarauni formed the sample of this study. Descriptive survey design and purposive sampling technique was employed in obtaining information needed since the researcher is studying events and circumstances that is people’s thoughts, feelings and options about the nature of existing conditions. The data obtained from the study were analyzed using descriptive statistics on the other hand inferential statistic ANOVA and T-test was used to test the hypothesis of the study. The findings of the study revealed that teaching/learning resources were inadequate in most secondary schools in Tarauni. The study further revealed that text books, cartographic equipments, geography laboratories were inadequate and by large extent some were not applicable in most schools, performance is a function of how factors such as student’s characteristics, teacher’s characteristics and Teaching/Learning resources interact in the school environment influences students performance in map reading, If the interaction is healthy, the performance should be good. The observed t-value of 28.6 and p-value of 0.01 revealed a significant difference between the performances of male and female students exposed to different skills in favour of male students. In conclusion, students’ performance in map reading can be improved. Improving performance, therefore, depends on changing some of these influences pedagogically. The study further recommends that more female teachers take up a map reading teaching combination because this influences the students decisions, especially the female students who want to take up geography as a subject but they have no inspiration from the teachers; hence this could affect students’ performance and attitude toward map reading, and teaching methodology should be well diversed to cater for the needs of the students.