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THE EFFECT
OF SOCIAL INTERACTION ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF ADULT LEARNERS
ABSTRACT
This study
investigated the effect of social interactions on the academic performance of
adult learners in Lagos state. The objectives of this research were to
establish the extent to which social interaction affect the academic
performance of adult learner; examine how do social interaction contributeto
the academic performance of adult learner; identify how adult learner utilize
social interaction in class room and examine the relationship between social
interactions and the performance of adult learners. Four research questions and
research hypotheses were stated for the study. The descriptive survey research
design was adopted in the study. A total sample size of 120 part-time students
was randomly selected using confidence interval of 5 and confidence level of
95% (0.05) from the total population of part-time students in the University of
Lagos. The sampling technique used for the study was the simple random sampling
(SRS), where 120 postgraduate part-time students were randomly selected from
different department in Faculty of Education. A self-developed Likert-type
scale titled “the effects of social interactions on the academic performance of
adult learner Questionnaire” thoroughly scrutinized by the project supervisor
was used for data collection. The instrument was validated and found to be
reliable. It was personally administered by the researcher. The data collected
were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics of frequency counts and
percentages were used in analyzing demographic variables and research questions
while t-test was used to test hypothesis one and correlation coefficient to
test hypothesis two at 0.05 level of significance. The results obtained showed
that, there is significant effect of social interaction on academic performance
of adult learners and there is significant relationship between social
interactions and the performance of adult learners. Based on the conclusions
the following recommended were made that Using social interaction to enhance
the academic performance of adult learners is all about the method that should
be encouraged by the adult facilitators. The individual learners should allow
social interaction in teaching and learning process. Adult learners’
facilitators should encouraged social interaction among the adult learners.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.3
Background to the Study
Adult
education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This often happens
in the workplace, through ‘extension’ or ‘continuing education’ courses at
secondary schools, at a college or university. Other learning places include
folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers. The
practice is also often referred to as ‘Training and Development’. It has also
been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy). A difference
is made between vocational education, mostly undertaken in workplaces and
frequently related to up-skilling, and non-formal adult education including
learning skills or learning for personal development. Adult learn in diverse
ways and one of them is by bringing together experience with what they can see.
When it comes to learning, It is believed that children learn faster that
adult. Children find it easier to grap and learn because there is nothing that
takes away their attention or focus from it such as thoughts, worries, etc.
Learning in adulthood is completely different from learning in childhood. In
other to understand adult undergraduates, we must completely, not partially,
look into and understand how adults learn. In this field of study, educators
who specialize in adult education are more experienced and informed. This study
of adult learning theory will make available the foundation to thoroughly
examine, evaluate roles institutional policies, services and the classroom
environment have in persistence. Oftentimes institutions craft out curricula
and services that are in accordance with adult learning that may have an effect
on whether an adult undergraduate insists on graduation. ‘’Understanding
learning in adulthood is like piecing together a puzzle; there are numerous
area that must be put together before the total picture surfaces” ( Merriam
& Caffarella, 1999). The individual learner, the context in which the
learning takes place and the learning procedures are all parts of this puzzle.
Adult learning is like glue that holds together the field of study, adult
education that is numerous in content, clientele, and delivery system. In recent
times, a lot of studies have been done on adult learning and a good number of
the adult learning cantered on intelligence declined with age.
Studies
concerning adult intelligence in the early part of the century were a product
of both stained methodology and stained conclusion about the loss of
intelligence later in life. Such studies were done in an artificial setting and
timed educational tests were used to compare young learners with older
learners. We know now that intelligence is not minimized during the aging
process. Apparently, a large proportion in the kennel research of the 1990s
shows that the more the brain is used, the less likely cognitive function will
be lost.
Today’s
students have taken to social networking like fish to water; yet, from our
perspectives, there is little social interaction taking place in many of
today’s classrooms from kindergarten through college. The model of discourse in
most classrooms is a one-way communication from the teacher to the students.
For example, the first thing one kindergartener said to his mother after his
first day of school was: “All teachers do is talk, talk, talk.” He said the
same thing after his first day of high school and his first day of college. His
observations are not uncommon. As early as 1984, Goodlad wrote “the data from
our observations in more than 1,000 classrooms support the popular image of a
teacher standing in front of a class imparting knowledge to a group of
students” (p. 105). Smith wrote in 1998 that teachers talk 90% of the time in
classrooms. Frey, Fisher, and Allen (2009) observed that “students are expected
to sit hour after hour, taking notes, and answering the occasional question
with little interaction with peers” (p. 70).
The concept
of teachers doing all of the talking in classrooms is in direct contrast to the
philosophy that learning is primarily a social activity (Dewey, 1963; Lindeman,
1926) and the idea that the person who is doing the work is the person doing
the learning (Hurst, 1998). Teachers expend a lot of energy preparing lectures.
They must read various texts and synthesize the information, pick out the most
important points and organize them in a cohesive manner, write lecture notes,
and then deliver the information to students who sit passively often thinking
of everything but what the teacher is saying. Who is doing all of the work in
this process? The teacher. The teacher is the one reading, writing, thinking,
speaking, and therefore, the one who is learning. Vacca and Vacca (2002)
contend that we need to shift “the burden of learning from teachers’ shoulders
to students” (p. 7). Wilkinson, Soter, and Murphy (2010) agree “there needs to
be a gradual release of responsibility for control of the discussion from
teacher to students” (p. 156). Probst (2007) states, “it’s the student who
should be doing most of the work” (p. 43).
One way for
students to shoulder the responsibility for learning is for them to be the
readers, writers, speakers, listeners, and thinkers in the classroom through
active engagement in social interaction with others (Alvermann & Phelps,
2005; Vacca, Vacca, & Mraz, 2011). For the purpose of this study, we define
social interaction as meaningful dialogue among learners. Socially interactive
learners are engaged learners (Vacca et al., 2011). Routman (2005) contends
“students learn more when they are able to talk to one another and be actively
involved” (p. 207). In short, social interaction is vital to the learning
process.
Years ago,
Goodman (1986) stressed that reading, writing, listening, and speaking should
be kept whole (as in whole language) instead of teaching each one separately.
He promoted that reading, writing, listening, and speaking should be
incorporated into everything students do throughout the day. Because reading,
writing, and social interaction are part of everyday life in the real world, it
does not make sense for classrooms to be social interaction-free zones where
the teacher talks while students listen. Gee (2001) contends “reading and
writing cannot be separated from speaking, listening, and interacting, on the
one hand, or using language to think about and act on the world, on the other”
(p. 714).
Kasten
(1997) found it “amusing that the teachers of another era spent so much time
keeping their classes quiet and then wondered why so many students were
terrified of occasional oral reports and even continued into adulthood to be
uncomfortable speaking to a group” (p. 100). She stated “teachers and
principals of the past who worked hard to keep children quiet (myself included)
did not know how critical social interaction and collaboration are in learning”
(p. 99). They also may not have known how to incorporate social interaction
into their classrooms. The problem is not that students are unwilling to talk;
many teachers say they spend the better part of their days trying to get their
students to stop talking (whether in person or texting). The problem is getting
the students to talk about the subject at hand.
Social
Interaction among Teachers
The social
constructivist theory is based on the belief that individuals actively
construct knowledge and understanding and that constructing understandings of
one’s world is an active, mind-engaging process. In other words, information
must be mentally acted upon in order to have meaning for the learner (Piaget,
1979; Sigel & Cocking, 1977). According to constructivist views, learning
involves building on the background knowledge the learner brings to the
situation and restructuring initial knowledge. Since learners have different
background knowledge, experience, and interests, they make different
connections in building their knowledge over time. Brooks and Brooks (1993)
state:
Within a
constructivist framework, the learning of skills and concepts occur within
meaningful and integrated contexts not in an isolated and hierarchical manner.
Learning is built over time as initial knowledge is revised when new questions
arise and old knowledge is challenged. “Deep understanding, not imitative
behavior, is the goal We look not for what students can repeat, but for what
they can generate, demonstrate, and exhibit” (Brooks & Brooks, 1993, p.
16).
One way to
prepare teachers to incorporate social interaction in their classrooms is to
incorporate it into teacher education courses. When social interaction becomes
part of the classroom dynamics, classrooms become active places; teachers need
to experience this for themselves so they know how to create this type of
learning environment in their own classrooms (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin,
1995).
Students are
not the only ones who need to be talking and listening to one another while
learning. Teachers are often left to navigate through a maze of complex
activities. Teachers are bombarded by problems originating from student need
and from various negotiations with students, parents, and administrators.
Furthermore, curriculum is multifaceted with instruction relying on assessment,
management, and effective presentation. Success depends on teachers having a
thorough understanding of a variety of subject areas, learning how to reflect
on their efforts, and developing problem-solving skills regarding any number of
potential problems.
Encouraging
social interaction among teachers is one of the most effective ways for
teachers to learn creative methods to solve complex problems (Darling- Hammond
& McLaughlin, 1995). Teachers, like students, can effectively improve their
learning skills by frequently discussing the dynamics of their classroom with
peers experiencing the same challenges. Good teachers are highly motivated to
improve the content of their curricula for their students and the quality of
their interactions with parents and administrators. They will take the time to
communicate with others when they see the value in the communication; they will
promptly commit to educational activities they think will help them improve
their instruction (Bakkenes, De Brabander, & Imants, 1999).
Two fundamental
processes that help teachers improve their skills are reflection and
collaboration. Teachers need to use reflection to evaluate and inform their
practices and use collaboration to learn to negotiate effective interactions
among themselves, the students, parents, and administration (Askell- Williams,
Murray-Harvey, & Lawson, 2007). Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin (1995)
suggest preservice and inservice courses should focus on developing teachers
who have a deeper understanding of themselves as educators and of the students
they educate. These authors state that effective professional development must
“be collaborative, involving a sharing of knowledge among educators and a focus
on teachers’ communities of practice rather than on individual teachers” (p.
643). Furthermore, they argue:
Teachers
learn by doing, reading, and reflecting (just as students do); by collaborating
with other teachers. This kind of learning enables teachers to make the leap
from theory to accomplished practice. In addition to a powerful base of
theoretical knowledge, such learning requires settings that support teacher
inquiry and collaboration and strategies grounded in teachers’ questions and
concerns. To understand deeply, teachers must learn about, see, and experience
learning-centered and learner-centered teaching practices. (pp. 242-243) A goal
of teacher education programs should be to present curriculum in such a way as
to teach the necessity of social interaction. Preservice and inservice programs
need to model how social interaction encourages collective problem solving and
knowledge sharing (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995). In this study,
instead of the common lecture-centered model, we explored a model of discourse
where our undergraduate and graduate students interacted with each other during
each class period.
A
proliferation of research from Eschenmann (1991) and other scholars suggests
that if teachers take the time to build relationships they can motivate their
students to learn. Further research (Whitaker, 2004) also suggests that
teachers need to have a strong belief that building relationships are important
to the motivation process. There is a need to capitalize on these beliefs for
the child’s benefit. It is important that educators recognize the impact they have
on their students, and consider strongly their students’ perceptions of them
(Eschenmann, 1991). Teachers have to ensure that they are meeting student
needs, both academically and emotionally. Creating classroom environments that
promote positive cultures with healthy interactions can motivate students to
channel their energies and desires to reach their goals. According to Whitaker
(2004), the main variable in the classroom is not the student, but the teacher.
Great teachers have high expectations for their students, but even higher
expectations for themselves (2004). These teachers recognize the importance of
connecting with their students, that if they are unable to connect with them
emotionally then influencing their minds may be impossible (2004). “Good
teachers put snags in the river of children passing by, and over time, they
redirect hundreds of lives… There is an innocence that conspires to hold
humanity together …” (Bolman & Deal, 2002,).
Whitaker
(2004) suggests that teachers are the first and perhaps most important point of
contact in a student’s life. Despite the countless reforms, educational
movements, and programs implemented to improve education, no other element can
be as profound as the human element. He urges, “It’s the people, not the
programs” (Whitaker, 2004,). More profoundly he states, “There are really two
ways to improve a school significantly: Get better teachers and improve the
teachers in the school”.
“A
fundamental question for a student is ‘Does my teacher like me?’ Given a
rigorous, aligned curriculum, the answer to that simple question is our best
predictor of student achievement”— (Terry, 2008,). Teacher knowledge and
efficacy of student motivation and achievement are crucial components to
creating relationships that motivate. Both teachers and students have to value
their contribution. A student has to feel worthwhile and appreciated. A teacher
needs to recognize that he or she can have a positive effect on their students.
Wiseman and Hunt (2001) refer to this as “teacher efficacy” and note that the
more the teacher believes in this, the more they will cause it to happen
Adding the
use it or lose it idea, intelligence can also maximize with increased
intellectual exercise. The physical and psycho-social conditions of adult
definitely influenced how adults learn. Some biological changes, like loss of
hearing and sight or disease, can be dangerous and can also affect the learning
methods. From a psycho-social perspective, life stages can probably have an
effect not only on whether or not adults choose to take part, but on how they
participate in learning.
1.4
Statement of the Problem
Formal
education confronts students with many demands are not a regular or frequent
characteristic of their everyday experience outside the classroom. The practice
of education confronts students with meaningful and necessary discontinuities
in their intellectual, social and linguistic experiences. Reports have shown
that there has been a downward trend in academic performance of adult learners
in Nigerian high institutions. Curriculum experts have expressed considerable
concern about this poor performance. These groups of individuals tend to point
accusing fingers on teachers and lack of social interaction and poor time
management as being responsible for poor academic performance of adult
learners. These factors are suspected for the luring of them into engagement in
negative habits such as examination malpractice, cultist activities and other
maladjusted behaviours. These unhealthy behaviours of adult learners which in
turn impacts poor academic achievement makes the researcher to ask “why
Nigerian adult learners are not very concern about the current trend on their
academic performance? Could it be that they are insensitive to the possible positive
effect of social interaction on their academic performance. It is in view of
these concerns that this study was carried out to determine the need to examine
the effects of social interactions on the academic performance of adult
learners.
1.3. Purpose
of the Study
The main
purpose of the study was to examine the effect of social interaction on
academic performance of adult learners. Specifically, it sought to:
1. Establish
the extent to which social interaction affect the academic performance of adult
learner
2. Examine
how do social interaction contributeto the academic performance of adult
learner
3. Identify
how adult learner utilize social interaction in class room.
4. Examine
the relationship between social interactions and the performance of adult
learners.
1.4 Research
Questions
The
following research questions guide this study:
1. Does
social interaction affect the academic performance of adult learner?
2. How does
social interaction contributeto the academic performance of adult learner?
3. How adult
learners utilize social interaction in classroom?
4. Is any
relationship between social interactions and the performance of adult learners?
1.5 Research
Hypotheses
The
following null hypotheses postulated will be tested at 0.05 level of
significance.
Ho1: There
is no significant effect social interaction on academic performance of adult
learners.
Ho2: There
is no significant relationship between social interactions and the performance
of adult learners.
1.6
Significance of the Study
This study
aims to investigate the effects of social interactions on the academic
performance of adult learners as basis of strategies that may help the adult
learners better adapt in situations requiring high social interactions.The
results of this study will help educators and administrators of academic
institutions provide better learning environment for adult learners in the
country. By understanding the relationship of social interactions and academic
performance, concepts of physical and cognitive ergonomics can help educators
assess, plan, design and implement measures to support adult learners.On the
practical aspect, the findings from this study will be of immense benefits to
teacher, the society, school and researchers. To the teacher-the teacher will
equally benefits from the finding of the study because the finding will help
them know what is expected of them as they are role model.
To the
school-the findings of the study will directly lead to the raising of our
standard of education because experience has shown that disciplined adult
learners learn faster and perform better academically than undisciplined
students. Therefore, the findings of this study will help the school produce
students who can contribute meaningfully towards the development of the nation
in future. The findings of the study will be made known to public by organizing
conferences, workshops and seminars to inform them of effect of social
interactions on academic performance of adult learners.
Finally, the
results of the work will be of great help to future researchers. This will be a
source of research materials or empirical data for them.
1.7 Scope of
the Study
The study
examined the social interactions and the academic performance of adult learners
in Lagos State.
1.8 Definition
of Relevant Terms
Adult
learning is defined as ‘the entire range of formal, non-formal and informal
learning activities which are undertaken by adults after a break since leaving
initial education and training, and which results in the acquisition of new
knowledge and skills.
Social
Interaction is an exchange between two or more individual and is a building
block of society
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