STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of lecturers towards the academic writing skills of undergraduate students. The sample size consisted of 50 lecturers from Education, Physical Science and Life Sciences in the University of Benin. The study utilized a questionnaire as a research instrument to gather data from the participants. The results revealed that the majority of the lecturers perceived undergraduate students' academic writing skills to be poor, with deficiencies in critical thinking, research, and organization. However, the study also showed that lecturers recognized the importance of academic writing skills and believed that they play a significant role in students' academic success. The study suggests that there is a need for increased emphasis on academic writing skills in undergraduate curricula and the provision of additional resources and support for students to improve their writing skills. The findings of this study have implications for teaching and learning practices in higher education, highlighting the importance of developing effective strategies to enhance
undergraduate students' academic writing skills.

The study investigates “the influence of instructional materials on the academic performance of junior secondary school students in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State”. Four (4) research questions were raised to guide the study. The respondents comprised of students who were one hundred (100) in number. Also, the descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. In organizing and presenting collected data, tables and percentages were used. The study was motivated by the necessity to establish the essence at which instructional materials affects the academic performance of students. To solve the research problem, various methodology was used such as population of the study and sample and sampling techniques. The research instrument used in collecting data were questionnaires. The questionnaires were divided into two sections, Section A and B. Section A was designed to generate personal information of the respondents, while Section B comprised of items on the topic under investigation. The instrument was reviewed and validated by the project supervisor and other experts in the Faculty of Education, University of Benin, Benin City. The findings of the study revealed that instructional material are not available in schools for teaching English Language. Such materials like computers and projectors. It was also found that though teachers are experienced in teaching English Language in schools, some of them only come to class with either a textbook or a lesson note. Findings of the study also revealed the non-adequacy of the materials available in schools for teaching English Language. Based on the findings, the following were recommended; that government should organize seminars and workshops for training and retraining teachers on the effective use of instructional materials for teaching. Also, it was recommended that schools should ensure they make available and adequate instructional materials for teaching and learning English Language in junior secondary schools. Lastly, it was recommended that teachers should develop a positive attitude towards the usage and improvisation of instructional materials for teaching.

The study investigated class size and students’ academic performance in public senior secondary school in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. To guide the study, four research question were raised, two of them were answered while one (1) was turned into hypothesis and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Descriptive survey research design and the correlation research design for the study. The population of study co sisted of five thousand, two hundred and twenty one (5,221) students from twenty eight (28) public senior secondary schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. A sample of 783 students from two public senior secondary schools in Ovia North East Local Government of Edo State which is constituted seven point five (7.5%) percent of the total population was purposively selected. Two research instruments were used for this study. The study revealed that the level of student – teacher ratio is high in public senior secondary schools in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State, the level of students’ academic performance in public senior secondary school was moderate with 57.7%, there is a significant relationship between class size and students’ academic performance in public senior secondary school in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State. Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations were made; government should provide adequate facilities and classes to correspond with the student population, government should employ more trained teachers to cater for the student – teacher ratio in schools and the school management should be encourage to adopt a maximum of 40:1 student – teacher ratio for effective teaching and learning