INFLUENCE OF MENTORING AND ROLE MODELING IN PROMOTING SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL GIRLS ATTITUDES AND SELF–EFFICACY IN CHEMISTRY

CHAPTER ONE

1.1 INTRODUCTION

The role of chemistry as a requirement for technological advancement of a nation cannot be over emphasized and Nigeria is not an exception (Nbina J, 2012). Eke (2008) stated that any nation aspiring to be scientifically and technological developed must have adequate level of chemistry education. Based on this, the Federal government through, her national policy on education, made chemistry a compulsory science subject at the secondary level (NPE 2004). According to Adesoji & Olatunbosun (2008) Chemistry is one of core science subjects at the senior secondary level and plays significant role in unifying other science subjects. This calls for the need to teach it effectively.

Thomas & Tinu (2008) opined that the senior secondary school is to prepare student for the future activities in the area of science and technology. At this level, teaching ought to be activity oriented and centered on the student. Saage (2009) reported that despite the increasing important of chemistry, the performance of Nigerian students in the subject at secondary school remains considerably poor. According to Betiku (2002), the available report from West African Examination Council(WAEC) shows that student achievement in chemistry worsen as years go by and many students seem to have negative attitude towards the subject.

Farhana W & Zainum M (2013) stated that many factors contributed to student success and one of the factors is students’ attitude to learning. They opined that understanding students’ attitude is essential in supporting students’ achievement and interest towards a particular subject .Papanastasious (2001) reported that those who have positive attitude towards science perform better in the subject. The teachers play an important role during the learning process and they can directly or indirectly influence the student interest towards the subject, which in consequence can influence student performance. Britner &Pajares (2006) showed that self-efficacy is especially important in learning difficult subjects, such as biology and other sciences, given that students enter courses with varying levels of fear and anxiety. As concepts in the course become increasingly complex, self-efficacy becomes a more important variable that influences the potential for student learning. They demonstrated that students’ self-efficacy is a strong predictor of their academic performance. Poor academic performance of student in science subject is of great concern to parents, educators, scholars and government. More worrisome is the poor performance of female students. Orodho A (1996) reported that poor performance in chemistry is attributed to several factors. These include inappropriate syllabus, students’ poor attitudes towards the subject and inadequate resources.

Bashir & Kabir (2009) posited that gender difference in science, technology and mathematics is characterized by under representation and under achievement in these areas by female. Findings from studies on science education revealed that female enrollment in science subjects are very low. Reporting National Educational and development research council (NERDC, 1992) reveals that between years 1987 and 1991 only about 40% of students that sat for the science subjects of the final school certificate examination were female students. Irowi (1991) noticed that the rate of female participation in school science worldwide is lower than male participation.

Onekutu(2002) wrote that achievement test results over the years have shown an ever increasing gap between the performance of boys and girls in chemistry at senior secondary school level. According to Eriba & Ande (2006), this has resulted to a situation where there are more boys than girls doing chemistry at this level i.e. boys dominated chemistry and science classes while the girls go into reading languages and Arts. This perceived low achievement of girls in chemistry is an unpleasant development which spells doom for those who would have like to pursue careers in science programs in the universities.

Some factors have been identified to be responsible for this and are discussed below:

1.1.1 Factors that negatively influence female participation and performance in science and technology. 

(a) According to Bashir & Kabir (2009), women play numerous roles at home, leading to the assumptions that women’s place is in the kitchen, which implies that home duties and family responsibilities should be her sole priority. This assumption negatively affects women active participation in national development in general and scientific field in particular. As an individual, educated woman scientists have numerous roles to play alongside their home duties. She can be a professional science teacher, doctor, engineer, nurse, mid-wife etc.

(b) Bashir & Kabir (2009) stated that the assumptions that female are biologically not designed for energy exerting and hazardous occupations also militates against female participation in science and technology and mathematics. This argument may not be true anymore because, with the age of information technology (IT), intellectual ability counts more than physical energy.

(c) Catherine W (2008) reported that, in many African countries, girls’ exclusion from science can be attributed largely to the construction of feminine identities, ideologies of domesticity and gender stereotypes. According to UNESCO, “TIMSS 2011 Such gendered stereotypes are often ingrained early in life and are difficult to overcome. There is a prevalent view in Nigeria that women’s and men’s traditional roles in society should be preserved, and therefore girls should not compete with boys in class. Those who do pursue science can be stigmatized as aberrant or, at best, deemed “exceptional,” whereas boys are presumed to have a “natural ability.

(d) According to Bashir & Kabir (2009) the home contributes to female lack of participation in science, technology and mathematics. At home, some parents discourage their female children from entering for science subjects at secondary school level. This attitudes exhibited undermines female confidence and conveying strong messages that science and technical subjects are no go areas. Some parents only educate male children at the expensed of female. In the northern part of the country, education of majority of the female children ends at post primary school level. They are married out at a very early age and there education disrupted. The school portrays teacher bias which affects females’ confidence and performance. Teachers’ different expectation for females affects their achievement.

(e) Lastly, Ekine, A(1999) asserted that  with more women accessing science education and careers, even if in small numbers, these views are beginning to change. Nigerians are increasingly able to point to female role models such as Grace Alele Williams, who was the first Nigerian woman to obtain a doctorate, in mathematics education, and who then rose to become the first female vice chancellor of the University of Benin. Nonetheless, Nigerian women’s lack of visibility in the sciences, and the lack of recognition that they can play a part in the sciences, at both the local and national levels, persists. These different forms of cultural bias and discrimination against girls in relation to their participation in science greatly exacerbate their lack of self-confidence, which often translates into a lack of interest and leads them to drop out of science classes. As girls get older, they tend to become less confident in their abilities, even if

they are performing at the same levels as their male peers, and thus they often show science and

mathematics related anxieties, and come to believe that science is not for them. Mentoring and role modeling can be used as intervention strategies to encourage girls’ interest and self efficacy in chemistry, thereby improving their performance.

1.1.2 Mentoring in promoting girls attitude and self-efficacy in chemistry

According to Mentorset (2014), mentoring is a powerful personal development and empowerment tool. It is an effective way of helping people (students) to make progress in their careers and is becoming increasingly popular as its potential is realized. Mentoring is a partnership between two people (Mentor and Mentee) normally working in a similar field or sharing similar experiences. It is a relationship based upon mutual trust and respect. A mentor is a guide, who can help the mentee to develop solutions to career issues. A mentor helps the mentee (female students in this work) to believe in herself, boost her confidence while providing guidance and encouragement. Mentors help keep students in school, helps with homework and can improve their mentees’ academic skills. A number of studies have revealed a correlation between a young person’s involvement in a quality mentoring relationship and positive outcomes in the areas of school, mental health, problem behavior and health. Also, Marshall (2001), define mentoring as a process of people helping people; where helping teaching, advising counseling, instructing and guidance are provided by one person to another. He suggested that mentoring increases networking and social interaction. Lough( 2001),describes mentoring as a process that links an experienced individual with someone who needs support and guidance. Abbey (1991) proposed that mentoring schemes as a mechanism for developing females’ careers and providing a genuine opportunity to become significant leaders in sport. Bauldry & Hartman (2004) reported that mentoring programs have achieved extensive public recognition due to their remarkable success in increasing positive behaviors in youth and reducing negative behaviors. According to Jekielek, Moore and Hair (2002), youth participation in mentoring relationships improved important educational measures such as unexcused absences and better attitudes. They noted that mentoring also helped develop healthier behaviors (less drug and alcohol use) and improved social and behavioral outcomes, such as better relationship with parents and peers. Wood and Mayo-Wilson (2012) in their meta-analysis of school based mentoring programs for adolescents similarly found small to modest positive changes in student attendance. Wheeler, Keller, Dubois (2010), Funk and Ek (2002) and Jekielek et al. (2002) also reported reductions in truancy in their studies.