INFLUENCE OF AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL STUDIES LABORATORY ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SOCIAL STUDIES AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN ONDO STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of availability and Utilization of Social Studies Laboratory on Academic Achievement in Social Studies among Junior Secondary School Students in Ondo State, Nigeria. The study is a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised of 582 Social Studies teachers from a total of 3945 teachers in Ondo State, the research instrument used for this study was a self-constructed questionnaire tagged ‘Social Studies Laboratory Questionnaire” (SSLQ).  The study was guided by two research questions and two hypotheses formulated in line with four specific purposes for the study. A standardized Social Studies objective questions were also administer to JSS 2 students. Data was analysed using standard deviation and Multiple Regression. A reliability coefficient of 0.78 and 0.72 were use respectively for the study. Results indicates a significant combined influence of availability and Utilization of  Social Studies Laboratories  on academic achievement in Social Studies  in JSS 2 Students  F_{(1,581)= 1699.311.} Results also indicates a significant relative influence of availability and Utilization of  Social Studies Laboratories  and academic achievement in Social Studies  in JSS 2 Students  (b=0.34, t(582)= 4.32, P< 0.05) and b = 0.16, t(582) = 7.61, p< 0.05). In conclusion, it was observed that availability and utilization of social studies laboratory materials determined students’ academic achievement in social studies among junior secondary schools in Ondo state. The inadequacy of needed social studies materials for academic achievement is still common in secondary schools.  Based on this, it is recommended that government should improve on the provision of adequate social studies infrastructural facilities in order to enhance academic achievement in social studies.