Security Challenges and Students’ Academic Achievement in English Language in the Senior Secondary Schools in Ebonyi State

Abstract

The study examined security challenges and students’ academic achievement in English language in the senior secondary schools in Ebonyi state. The study was a descriptive survey study. The population of the study consisted one thousand and thirty-seven language teachers out of which a sample study of 205 English language teachers with the school administrators were randomly selected in Eighteen (18) secondary schools in the three Education Zones. In each zone 6 schools were selected making it a total of 18 secondary schools. Three research questions and a null hypothesis were formulated to guide the study. The research instrument was security challenges and students’ academic achievement English language questionnaire (SCSALQ). The instrument was validated by experts in the Arts and Social Science Education and Measurement and Evaluation units in the Ebonyi State University. The instrument was further subjected to a reliability test in a test-retest and an index of .082 was realized and this certified the use of the instrument. Data collected were analyzed using percentages, rank order and t-test statistics respectively. Findings revealed that different security challenges existed in secondary schools in teaching English language in the State and that there were many causes of these security challenges. These security challenges had adversely affected students’ academic achievement in the State. The implications were that brain drain and students’ poor academic achievement were experienced in schools and the State as a whole. It was recommended that government should seriously and in all honesty put to a stop insecurity in the State. School administrators and individual students should be at alert and instill discipline in the students. More teachers should be recruited, trained and retrained to guard students’ irrational behaviours and ensure effective teaching and learning.

Keywords: Security Challenges, English language teaching, academic achievement, school administrators

DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-23-06

Publication date:August 31^st 2022