Influence of Class Size and Teacher Classroom Behaviours on Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievements in Biology in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

Despite the importance accorded to biology, several factors were attributed to poor students’ academic achievement. Guided by six research questions, this study investigates the influence of class size and teacher classroom behaviours on senior secondary school academic achievement in biology in Ibadan Metropolis, Oyo State. A descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. Teachers' Questionnaire on classroom behaviours (? = 0.92), Students' Questionnaire on teacher classroom behaviours (? = 0.82), and Biology Students Achievement Test (r=0.79) were the instruments used to collect data for the study. The results revealed a negative, moderate significant relationship between classroom size (r = -0.52; p<0.05) and students' achievement and weak, non-significant relationships between teacher classroom behaviours and students’ achievement: instructional methods (r = -0.02), teacher questioning (r = 0.03), classroom interaction (r = -0.07), and teaching effectiveness (r = -0.02). Based on these findings, for students’ achievement in biology to improve, class size needed to be reduced.