THE EFFECTS OF LACK OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ON LEARNERS`

PERFORMANCE

Legotlo and Maaga (2002:5) in a province in South Africa explain that a shortage of physical facilities is a major problem. Very few high schools are well equipped with electricity, libraries, laboratories, water or toilets. In some schools learners attend lessons in classrooms without chairs, chalkboards, doors or windows. Many learners do not have all the required books, and sometimes a class of 40 learners is required to share five copies of a textbook. In worse situations, learners depend on writing notes provided by the educator. The learner textbook ratio is around 10:1, i.e. there is one textbook for every ten learners. The impact of basic instructional aids, such as chalkboards and textbooks, is very serious and leads to complex problems such as low morale and lack of commitment. Some learners do not do their work because of

41 inadequate textbooks. For the past decades, researchers have found that unavailability of textbooks has a negative impact on learner achievement in developing countries.

Learning and teaching aids such as posters, charts, audiotapes, computers and E-mail facilities are not available in most schools. Research evidence has shown that this is a common problem in developing countries. Facilities which are clearly inadequate and poorly maintained, together with whilst overcrowding in some schools are a serious problem. However, problems related to overcrowding in schools are caused by a shortage of educators. In some schools, more than 60 learners are crammed into one classroom because of a shortage of relevant qualified educators and/or classrooms. These conditions lead to other problems such as vandalism, theft and other socially-unacceptable behaviour. There is a cronic shortage of experienced and effective teachers in some learning areas like Biology and Mathematics. Literature has shown that developing countries face the challenge of badly trained or under-qualified teachers. Inadequate teacher preparation and general limited academic background, to some extent, contributes to poor teaching and learning in some schools. Educators are themselves also products of a bad education system (Legotlo & Maaga;

2002:5).

According to Jekayinfa (1993:1), education consists of two components and these are grouped into inputs and outputs. Inputs consist of human and material resources and outputs are the goals and outcomes of the educational process. Both the inputs and outputs form a dynamic organic whole. Instructional resources which are educational inputs are of vital importance to the teaching of any subject in the school curriculum. The use of instructional resources helps learners to retain information. A well- planned and imaginative use of visual aids in lessons should do much to banish apathy, supplement inadequacy of books as well as arouse learners’ interest by giving them something practical to see and do, and at the same time help to train them to work things out themselves. Selection of materials which are related to the basic contents of a course or a lesson helps in-depth understanding of such a lesson in that

42 suitable material makes the lesson attractive to learners, thereby retaining their attention and thus motivating them to learn. It is also vital to have sufficient and adequate human resources in terms of teacher quality for the teaching of all subjects in the school curriculum. Without the teachers as implementing factors, the goals of education can never be achieved. In order to achieve a just and egalitarian society, as spelt out in the Nigerian National Policy of Education (1981), schools should be properly and uniformly equipped to promote sound and effective teaching. Suitable textbooks, qualified teachers, libraries which are adequate should also be provided for schools. Scarcity of these constraints the educational systems from responding more fully to new demands. In order to raise the quality of education, its efficiency and productivity, better learning materials are needed.

Jekayinfa continues by stating that, in enumerating the factors that could be responsible for varying intra-and inter-school/academic achievement, there are four important factors, including the acute scarcity of instructional resources which constrain educational systems from responding more fully to new demands. Educational systems will need real resources that money can buy; they will need a fuller share of the nations’ manpower, not merely to carry on the present work of education, but to raise its quality, efficiency and productivity. Educational systems will need buildings, equipment and more learning materials.

Jekayinfa (1993:2) highlights on human resources by saying that various educators have written extensively on the prime importance of teachers to the educational development of any nation be it simple, complex, developed or developing. From the writings of these educators, one can infer that whatever facilities are available, whatever content is taught, whichever environment the school is situated in and whatever kind of pupils one is given to teach, the important and vital role of the teacher cannot be over-emphasized. Assuming that necessary facilities are adequately provided for, the environment is conducive to learning, the curriculum satisfies the needs of the learners and the learners themselves have an interest in learning, learning cannot take

43 place without the presence of the teacher. Teachers represent a large proportion of the input of an educational system. The problem of teacher supply is not one of simple numbers. It is first and foremost a question of quantity and of getting the right quality. It is a truism that teachers are the hubs of any educational system. Their quality and devotion depend on the success of any educational system.

Finally Jekayinfa noted that schools with stable, experienced and qualified teachers usually have better school facilities in terms of school buildings, books and equipment than those schools which have difficulty in attracting experienced and qualified staff. Numerous investigations have also been carried out to find the effects of instructional resources on learners’ academic achievement.

Martin (2006:491) encourages the use of resource materials as much as possible but he emphasizes the two words of caution (1) Be sure the science described is accurate, remembering the principle that says, “Just because it`s in a book doesn`t make it right”, and (2) If you truly are emphasizing the constructivist, process oriented inquiry methodology, the children`s answers are far more important than the answers that come out of a book. He concluded by saying that, it is far better to lead children to their own valid construction than it is to lead them to some preconceived ‘correct’ concept.