EVALUATION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL YÒRÚBA LANGUAGE CURRICULUM IN OYO STATE, NIGERIA (2014-2018)

Abstract

Yorùbá Language is included in the Nigerian junior secondary school curriculum to enable students acquire the knowledge of language usage in speaking ,reading and writing in the indigenous language. However, students achievement and interest in Yorùbá Language seemed unimpressive, although; Yorùbá is the major indigenous language in Oyo State. Past studies on improving students interest and achievement in Yorùbá focused largely on students acquisition of Yorùbá cultural values with little attention on school factors, teacher competence and classroom management. The study was, therefore, designed to evaluate the extent to which Yorùbá curriculum has been implemented with respect to teacher factors, school factors and language usage on students interest and achievement in Yoruba among Junior Secondary Schools in Oyo State. The study was anchored to Input, Process and Output Evaluation Model, while survey design was adopted. Three educational zones were randomly selected, while two co-educational junior schools with experienced teachers were purposively selected from each of the LGAs. Simple random sampling technique was used to select 763, 745, 737 JS I, II and III students. Forty-eight Yoruba teachers, 24 each from public and private schools were enumerated. The instruments used were: Yorùbá Language Implementation Questionnaire (r=0.85), Teachers Attitude Towards Yorùbá Language Questionnaire, (r=0.71) Yorùbá Language Classroom Interaction Checklist Sheet (r=0.61), Resource Availability Inventory (r= 0.76), Resource Adequacy Checklist (r=0.71), Yorùbá Language Students Perception Questionnaire (r=0.73), Student Interest towards Yoruba Language (R=0.78) and Yorùbá Language Achievement Tests: JS1 (r=0.71), JS2 (r=0.82) and JS3 (r=0.79), and interviews were held with teachers.Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression at α ≤ 0.05 Ten percent of the teachers had at least five years teaching experience,48.6% specialise in Yorùbá Language while others have different areas of specialisations. Àte kóńsònáńtì (73.6%), Ìwé Àkọmọlédè Yorùbá (72.2%) and Ìwé Àṣàyàn Lítírésọ (75.0%) were the most available texts while only Àte kọńsònátì (35. 0%) and Ìwé Akọmọlédè (44%) were adequate. About JSl (51.0%) JSll (76.6%) and JS lll tr(67.0%) students indicated Yoruba lesson as their acquired major source of Yorùbá speaking ability. Most teachers (75.0%) showed positive attitude towards the teaching of Yorùbá. Adequacy of textual materials (β = 0.34), and Teacher experience (β= 0.18) significantly contributed to interest in Yoruba among JS1 students. Teachers area of specialisation (β = 0.34) competence, (β=0.25), and experience (β = 0.32) were significant contributors to interest among JS2, while language usage only contributed significantly to interest among JS3. Adequacy textual materials contributed significantly to Yorùbá achievement among JS1 (β= 0.17), JS2 β= 0.14) and JS3 β= 0.18) students. Class management, school location and school type were not significant factors to interest and achievement among JS1, JS2 and JS3 students. The Yorùbá Language curriculum was not effectively implemented in Oyo State owing to inadequate texts to teach the subject. Therefore, school owners should provide adequate Yorùbá Language texts to sustain students’ interest and achievement. Teachers should enhance their areas of specialisation and competence.