PRESCRIBED TEXTS AND STUDENT FACTORS AS DETERMINANTS OF LEARNING OUTCOMES IN PROSE LITERATURE-IN-ENGLISH AMONG PUBLIC SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

Abstract

Prose Literature-in-English (PL) is taught in Senior Secondary (SS) schools partly to promote holistic and humanistic development of students. Records have shown that the learning outcomes of many public SS students in PL are not satisfactory in the Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria, which partly accounts for the non-realisation of the objectives. Previous studies have focused more on interventions and psycho-social factors than on the influence of prescribed texts and student factors. This study, therefore, was carried out to investigate Prescribed Texts- PTs (perception of PTs) and student (aliteracy, Participation in Reading Clubs-PRC and Proficiency in English-PE) factors as predictors of learning outcomes (achievement and attitude) in PL among public SS students in the Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. The Reader-response, Facilitation and Engagement theories provided the framework, while the study adopted the mixed methods design. The multistage sampling procedure was used. The five Local Government Areas (LGAs) in the Ibadan metropolis were enumerated. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 50 public SS schools (10 from each LGA), using the two prescribed PL texts and having functional reading clubs at the time of the study, while 1500 students in 50 intact classes were purposively selected. The instruments used were Prose Literature-in-English Achievement (r= 0.83) and English Language Proficiency (r=0.78) tests; Attitude to Prose Literature-in-English (r= 0.75) and Perception of the Prescribed Prose Literature-in-English Texts (r=0.77) questionnaires; Students’ Aliteracy (r=0.79) and Participation in Reading Clubs (r=0.87) scales. In-depth Interview was held with 10 class captains. The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson product moment correlation and Multiple regression at 0.5 level of significance, while qualitative data were contentanalysed. The age of the participants was 16.80 + 2.06 years, and 52.7% were female. Students’ attitude to PL (𝑥̅=2.72) was negative, while their perception of the PTs (𝑥̅=2.98) was good, at the threshold of 2.50. Perception of PT(r= 0.19; 0.18), aliteracy (r= 0.34; 0.42), PRC (r=0.28; 0.59) and PE (r= 0.11;0.38) positively correlated with achievement and attitude, respectively. The joint contributions of perception of PTs, aliteracy, PRC, and PE to achievement (F(3;1496) = 15.04; Adj. R2= .51) and attitude (F(3;1496) = 151.50; Adj. R2 = .66) were significant, accounting for 51.0% and 66.0%, respectively of the variances. There were relative contributions of PT(β =0.12;0.27), PRC (β =0.10; 0.19), aliteracy (.β=0.26;0.36 and PE (β =0.32;0.46) to achievement and attitude, respectively. The benefits of PRC were opportunities for collaborative activities and shared reading of the prose texts in informal and tension-free atmosphere that helped students to engage with the texts, while students were motivated to read PL texts when the texts contained interesting stories, simple plot, themes that were related to their life experiences, and when texts were not too voluminous. Perception of prescribed texts, aliteracy, participation in reading clubs and proficiency in English influenced achievement in and attitude to prose Literature-in-English in the Ibadan metropolis, Nigeria. Teachers should focus on these factors to improve learning outcomes in prose Literature-in-English.