EFFECT OF LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION SCHOOL LOCATION AND GENDER ON PUPILS’ ATTITUDE AND ACHIEVEMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION IN CAMEROON

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect oflanguage of instruction,  school location, and  gender  on  pupils’  attitude  and  achievement   in  environmental   education  in  Cameroon.  It sought to find out the relative  effect  of French and English as languages  of instruction,  rural and urban  location of schools,  and gender  (male  or female)  on pupils’ attitude  and achievement  in environmental  education. The study adopted the quasi experimental  design  specifically, the non randomised  pre-test- post test control design. Thirteen research questions and their corresponding hypotheses  were  formulated  to guide the study. The population  for the study was 31,996 pupils comprising  15,966 boys and 16,030  girls from 134  primary schools in Fako Division.  The sample for the study was 291  class six pupils  pupils  (153 girls  &  138 boys),  from the nine sample schools. Multi-stage  sampling  consisting of  the  stratified,  simple  random,  purposive and  cluster  sampling techniques were used for the selection of the schools and classes for the experiment. An Environmental Education  Achievement  Test,  (EEAT)  and an Attitude  Scale (ATS) were designed  and used  for data collection.  Data were subjected  to descriptive  and inferential statistical analysis using means and standard deviation and Analysis of covariance  (ANCOVA).  Means and standard deviation of scores were  used  to  answer  the research  questions,  and the null  hypotheses  were  tested  using ANCOVA.  The  results  revealed  that  pupils  taught  environmental  education  in  English  had  a higher achievement  scores than those taught in French;  Pupils from rural schools achieved  better than the pupils  from urban  schools;  male pupils  achieved  better than the female pupils.  Results also indicated  that English pupils  have more positive  attitudes towards  environmental  education than   the   French   pupils;  urban   pupils   had   more  positive   attitudes   towards   environmental education than their rural counterpart; and female pupils had more positive attitudes towards environmental   education   than  males.  There  was  no  interaction  effect   between   language   of instruction and location; language  of instruction and gender and  school  location and gender  on pupils  achievement  in environmental  education.  The results  however  revealed  that there  was a significant  interaction  effect  between  language  of instruction  and  school  location  on  pupils’ attitudes  towards  environmental  education. No  significant  interaction effect  was  seen  between language  of instruction and gender  and  school  location and gender  on pupils’ attitude  towards environmental  education.  Lastly,  it  was  discovered  that  there  is a significant  interaction effect between   language   of  instruction,   school   location  and   gender   on  pupils’   achievement    in environmental  education.  Based  on the results,  it  was recommended   amongst  others  that  more emphasis  should be placed  on teachers’  communication skills in the planning  and designing  of teacher   training   programs    and   that   curriculum   planners   should   consider   locations   when developing  syllabuses.  One of the recommendations was for teachers  and educational  authorities to encourage the female pupils to take their lessons in environmental  education  seriously so as to improve their achievement  and that parents  should help encourage  children at home so they can develop more positive  attitudes  towards  environmental  education. It was also recommended  that workshops  be  organised regularly  for the teachers  in Fako  Division  to  acquaint  them  with the necessary  skills for the effective teaching of environmental  education concepts.

CHAPTER  ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background  to the study

The environment has become one of the major concerns in the world today.  This is as a result of the increase in population over the years and man’s quest for more comfort and luxury  in form of development,  which is exerting a lot of pressure on the environment. Lambi (2001) explains that the environmental problems confronting human civilisations today are enormous  and range from the pollution  of land and water resources,  to the widespread  deforestation  and biodiversity  loss,  and the over-exploitation  of planetary resources against the back drop of an increasing global population. According to Nwafor (2007),  these problems result from the fact that humans have taken control of the things of the earth,  (both living and non living) and subdued them to the extent of destruction rather than preservation  of the environment  which  God gave him to control and rule. Lambi (2001) also emphasizes  that the major  environmental  problem today is the fact that  human  activity  is taking  resources  from the  environment  faster  than  nature  can replenish them, and producing wastes faster than the earth can absorb them.

Many of these problems are the result of irresponsible environmental behaviour which is highly influenced by the attitudes people possess (Meinhold & Malkus, 2005; Ramsey & Rickson,  1976).  In other words,  people’s  decision making is also guided by the values and attitudes  they possess  (Rennie,  2005,  2007).    It  is evident  from this  fact that  if

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nothing is done in future to remedy the situation;  life on earth will be difficult if not impossible.

Lambi (2001) points out that, environmental problems may be driven by many factors including   economic   growth,   population    growth,   urbanization,   intensification   of agriculture, rising energy use and transportation.  Poverty also, still remains a problem at the root of several environmental  problems.  The majority  of the people of this planet, earth, especially Africa live below the poverty line, and her environment is now in a state of chaos such that some have called the manipulation of the environment an irreversible human experiment (Caldeira, 2003).

Cameroon  is not  free from these  environmental  problems,  despite  its high  economic growth relative  to the population;  it is still  facing a familiar  string of environmental problems,   which   are  tightly  connected  to  socio-economic   factors  that  afflict   the population.      According   to  the  United   Nations   Organisation   estimates   for  2009, Cameroon’s  population  is placed  at  19,522,000.  The  population  is youthful  with  an estimated 40.9% under  15years  and 96.7% under 65years.  The birth rate is estimated at

34.1  births per 1,000 people,  while the death rate stands at 12.2.  The life expectancy is

53.69 years (52.89 years for males and 54.52 years for females).  (United Nations, 2009)

The  only  way  there  may  be  a  possibility  of reversing  the  human  effects  on  the environment,  and improving  the quality  of life is by  changing the way  of life to be compatible with that of the natural environment,  that is, managing the natural resources in a sustainable manner. Present generations while extracting the resources necessary for

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their wellbeing  from the environment  should  ensure  that the needs  of future  generations are guaranteed  (Lambi,  2001 ).  This implies  that man can no longer  continue  consuming the existing  resources  and producing  waste  at the rate it is doing now without  control  as our human population  continues  to grow at an alarming  rate.  Sustainable  development  is an appropriate  option towards a solution to this dilemma.

The  introduction  of Environmental Education  (EE)  in primary  schools  in Cameroon  in

1996 was considered  to be one of the best ways of involving  this very powerful  and most concerned   group  in  the  environmental  protection   and  conservation   process.   It  was incorporated  into the school curriculum  so that pupils and students would  learn about the environment,  develop  skills  to investigate  and  solve  issues  in the  environment,  acquire attitudes  of care and concern  for the environment, adopt behaviours  and practices  which protect  the environment  and finally understand  the principles  of ecologically  sustainable development  (Living Earth Foundation,  2006).

The  World  Wide  Fund  for Nature  (WWF),  an  international   Environmental  Education charity  group was  involved  in producing  the  1996 Environmental Education  curriculum package  for Cameroon  primary  schools which was in use from  1996 to 2001 when it was modified  and a new  one was  introduced.  The need  to fully involve  children  and youths who  are the main  stakeholders  of the environment  is more than just  an imperative.  The young people  have a lot to do with environmental protection  and conservation  given how long they still have to live on planet earth.  That is why the introduction  of Environmental Education  in primary  schools  is seen to be the most important  tool in the effort  towards

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the  conservation  and protection  of the  environment.  Despite  the  fact  that  the young people are owed a sustainable  environment in the years to come, they are also supposed to be involved in its conservation and protection, hence the necessity of instilling positive attitudes towards the environment in them.

It  is worth  noting  that young people,  with their  enthusiasm  and energy,  can have an important influence on others, notably their friends, peers, parents, extended family members and the society as a whole.  It should not be forgotten that it is the young people who have more to gain or lose by either addressing or ignoring the development of more sustainable ways of doing things.  They are therefore likely to be good ambassadors,  for today’s young people are those who will be the farmers, industrialists, teachers, administrators and politicians of tomorrow.

These environmental problems, whose effects are so enormous on man’s survival, can be explained by political, cultural, social, historical and religious causes or factors for the world, Africa and Cameroon.  From a historical point of view, the coming of the colonial masters to Africa in general and Cameroon in particular had a great influence on their behaviour, attitudes and educational systems. Cameroon had a complex history of colonialism. After the Berlin Conference of 1884, it was formally colonised by Germany. Cameroon is a multilingual  country comprising 247 indigenous languages; two official languages and Cameroon Pidgin English (see Breton and Fohtung, 1991; BoumNdongo• Semengue  and Sadembouo,  1999).  According  to   Ngoh,  (1996) the First World War brought to an end German colonial authority,  but ushered in a dual British and French

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colonial mandate that partitioned the country into two:  Britain ruling a fifth of it together with its larger colony, Nigeria,  and France governing the rest of the country.  Various linguistic and political policies were adopted during the colonial period and that shaped the development of the colonial languages of English and French.

Language is the primary means of communication  among people.  It is a central topic of study in cognitive psychology because it is closely connected with perception, memory, thinking, problem  solving and other mental processes  (Moore, 2001). Consequently, to study pupils’  achievement  in environmental  education  it is important  to consider  the language of instruction used in teaching environmental education concepts to the pupils.

Teachers  communicate  with  learners to bring  about learning.  Language  of instruction may or may not be the official  language  of the country  or territory.  Where  the first language of students is different from the official language, it may be used as the medium of instruction  for part  or all of schooling  (Moore,  2001;  Borich,  2011).  Bilingual  or multilingual  education  may involve the use of more than one language  of instruction. UNESCO  considers  that  “providing education  in a child’s  mother  tongue  is indeed  a critical issue”.   Language of instruction and hence effective communication  is therefore one of the aspects to consider when teaching and learning are expected to be effective, producing individuals who can think critically and make decisions that can solve real life problems.  It is also possible that being a male or female might affect  achievement  of pupils and students when using particular languages.

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Gender is one of the factors that might affect pupils’ achievement in school;  it refers to being a male or a female.  The  relationship  between  gender  and  student   achievement has  not  been given much attention in educational   studies   in  Cameroon.  Gender has been  associated with  school participation  more  than with  achievement.  It  is common practice in most cultures that the woman stays in the home and it goes with the saying that “a woman’s place is in the home”.   The few women who have been to school have proven this wrong and so it is important to find out their achievement in school especially in particular subject areas.

Care for the environment needs some values that an individual must possess to be able to protect the environment.  To protect the environment, people should be interdependent, compassionate,   nurturing   so   that   they   can   have   positive   feelings   towards   the environment. Based on the socialisation theory, Zelenzny, Chua & Aldrich (2000), discovered that female pupils and female secondary school students perform significantly stronger in environmental attitudes and greater participation in pro-environmental behaviours  than their male counterparts.  This is because  females  socialise better than males and when these attitudes are brought to the classroom they are expected to affect the achievement of these students in one way or the other.  The South West Region in general and Fako Division in particular,  has a population with more females than males and the pupil population has a gender distribution of 15,966 boys and 16,030 girls (South West Regional Delegation  for Basic Education, 2012; appendix I).   The population  of female pupils  in Fako Division  is more than that of males,  so if the attitude  of girls

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towards  the  environment   is  positive   it  will  be  good  for  the  area  considering   their numbers.

School location  simply refers to where the school is and in this study the urban and rural locations were  considered.  The location  of schools is said to have a lot to do with what and how children  learn.  The rural  school children  have very few distractions;  however, they lack some basic  facilities  that motivate  the pupils to learn.  Some localities  in Fako Division  still  lack  basic  necessities  like  electricity,  and  so  modem   facilities  like  the computers,  radios and television  cannot be used in such areas.  Pupils learn through a lot of observation  and modelling  and these facilities are good for such.  Conversely the urban children  are exposed  to these  modem  technologies  and they learn  from them but at the same  time   some   of  the   facilities   constitute   a  distraction   for  them.   Environmental education is a subject that needs a lot of practical  experience,  pupils learn best when they see,  hear  and  touch.  The  children  in urban  areas  might  have  problems  understanding some issues about the environment because they have never had an opportunity  of seeing, for example,   an elephant,  a tiger,  or some types  of trees.  But a child from a rural area who has seen all of the above will understand  the concepts  and issues better  and faster. Therefore it is a necessity to investigate the effect of school location (urban and rural) on pupils’ attitude and achievement in environmental  education.

An attitude can be defined as a positive  or negative evaluation  of people, objects,  events, activities,  ideas  or just  about  anything  in  your  environment  (Zimbardo  et  al.,  1999). Attitudes  are  expected  to  change  as a function  of experience.  They  are  shaped  by  our experiences  (Crooks  and  Stein,   1991 ).    Learning  is  defined  by  most  researchers  as  a

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change  in behaviour  resulting  from  experience  (Santrock,  2000).  Experience  can be obtained  in the classroom  (lessons  from teachers,  ie language  of instruction),  friends (gender),  environment (urban or rural location of school) and others.  Attitudes influence how people see the world and the attributions they make to explain events (Wade and Tavris, 1990). Attitudes help us to appraise people, objects and situations, thus providing structure  and  consistency  to  our  social  environment.   Improvement   of  the  current condition  of the environment  depends  on the  changing  of people’s  attitudes  towards positive  reflection  upon  themselves  and  also  on  their  surroundings.  Environmental attitudes  are therefore  a big  concern  in  significant  environmental  education  research (Bradley,  Waliczek,  &Zajicek,  1999;  Clarke,  1996;  Dienno& Hilton,  2005).  The attitude of pupils’ towards their environment and environmental  education could be affected by the language used in disseminating the concepts to the pupils, the gender of the child and the location of the school. Positive attitudes will most likely have similar effects on the achievement of pupils in environmental education.

Cary, J. Roseth, W.  J. David,  & T. J.  Roger (2008),  define academic  achievement  as performance  on task with measures  including comprehension,  quality and accuracy of answers  of tests,  quality  and accuracy  of problem  solving,  frequency  and quantity  of desired outcome, time or rate to solution, time on task, level of reasoning  and critical thinking, creativity, recall and retention  and transfer of tasks.  It refers to a successful accomplishment  or performance  in particular  subject  areas.  It  is indicated  as grades, marks and scores of descriptive  commentaries.   Academic performance  refers to how students accomplish  different  tasks  given to them by their teachers  in a fixed time or

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academic  year   (Hawis   and  Hawes,   1982).   This   study   focuses   on  the  academic achievement in the form of grades and marks in examinations,  Since learning is supposed to be the acquisition of  new knowledge,  skills, attitudes and values, or preferences and may   involve   synthesizing   different   types   of  information   leading   to   behaviour modification. The curricular concept of integrating or connecting school subject areas has gained significant  attention in recent years as a plausible  solution to develope a more relevant  approach  to  teaching  and  learning  (  Emeh,2006,  Enu,  2005,  Cheek,  1992, Adelman,  1989) It therefore  implies that a change in the pupils’  behaviour  should be assessed before concluding that Environmental Education knowledge, skills and attitudes have been transmitted to the pupils.

In a study carried out by Chongong (2002), on the evaluation of the extent of implementation of the 1996 Cameroon primary school Environmental Education Syllabus in Fako Division, it was discovered that syllabus coverage ranged between 41 and 90%, while pupils’ achievement in EE skills and positive environment attitudes were found to be low.   It is imperative therefore to investigate the plausible factors that might influence the change in behaviour  that will positively  affect pupils’  attitude and achievement  in environmental education in Fako Division.

Statement of the Problem

The primary  school pupils whose  activities  can greatly determine  how our immediate environment will be in future, form a greater fraction of the active population as revealed by the 2009 Cameroon population statistics.  As a result,  Environmental   Education was

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introduced  into the pnmary  school  curriculum  to  create  and  reinforce  environmental awareness amongst the pupils so that they could develop a positive change in behaviour towards the environment, by emphasizing cognitive achievement and acquisition of attitudes,  values  and  the  skills  relevant  to  sustainable  environmental   attitudes  and behaviour.

Environmental Education is taught in Cameroon primary schools as a basis for instilling environmental awareness in the younger population. In Fako Division like in most areas around the country,  the attitude and behaviour of people especially the youths,  towards the environment  is not what is expected.  Living Earth reports  still  show that there is indiscriminate hunting,  felling of trees, reasons fishing and dumping of waste in some areas of the Division.  The question is “what could account for these negative attitudes when  environmental  education  is  being  taught  in  schools”.  Could  the  language  of instruction  have  an  effect  on  their  understanding  of the  concepts  in  environmental education? If so, is gender and school location of any importance to their attitudes and achievement in environmental education? Consequent on the above question,  this study set out to find out whether language of instruction,  school location and gender,  among other  factors,  have  effects  on  pupils’  attitudes  and  achievement  in  Environmental Education in Fako Division.

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Purpose of the Study

The main purpose  of this study is to investigate  the effect  of language  of instruction, school location and gender on pupils’ attitudes and achievement in environmental education.

Specifically, this study seeks to determine:

1.   The  effect  of language  of instruction  on pupils’  achievement  mean  scores  1n

Environmental Education.

2.   The   effect   of  school   location   on   pupils’   achievement   mean   scores   1n

Environmental Education.

3.   The  effect  of gender  on  pupils’  achievement  mean  scores  in   Environmental

Education.

4.   The  effect  of language  of instruction  on pupils’  attitude  mean  scores towards

Environmental Education.

5.   The   effect   of  school   location   on   pupils’   attitude   mean   scores   towards

Environmental Education.

6.   The  effect  of gender  on  pupils’  attitude  mean  scores  towards  Environmental

Education.

7.   The interaction  effect  of language of instruction  and school location on pupils’ achievement mean scores in Environmental Education.

8.   The   interaction   effect   of  language   of  instruction   and   gender   on  pupils’ achievement mean scores in Environmental Education.

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9.   The interaction  effect  of school location and gender on pupils’  achievement  in

Environmental Education.

10. The interaction  effect  of language of instruction  and school location on pupils’ attitude mean scores towards Environmental Education.

11. The interaction  effect  of language  of instruction  and gender on pupils’  attitude mean scores  towards Environmental Education.

12. The  interaction  effect  of school  location  and  gender  on pupils’  attitude  mean scores towards Environmental Education.

13. The interaction effect of language of instruction,  school location and gender on pupils’ achievement mean scores in Environmental Education.

Significance of the study

The findings of this study are expected to have both practical and theoretical significance. The study should be beneficial to teachers,  curriculum designers,  pupils,  policy makers and the community.

The  results  may  help  teachers  to  use  the  appropriate  language  of  instruction  to disseminate the concept of environmental education to pupils so that meaningful learning is ensured.  Language is a major  component  of verbal communication  in the classroom and also a basic contributor to effective  teaching and learning. A consideration  of the language  of instruction,  the  location  of the  school  and  gender  is  necessary  for  the effective teaching of Environmental Education because this might also help the pupils to understand easily and make meaning out of what is taught.

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The results  of this study might help  curriculum  designers  in planning  and designing  the curriculum  with  regards  to  the  language  of instruction  that  is best  understood   by  the pupils  and teachers,  even if it is not one of the official  languages.  It is also believed  that the results  will  guide them  in the  selection  of teaching  methods,  teaching  materials  and learning  activities  according  to their availability,  depending  on the location  of the school (rural or urban).

The results of the studyis also expected to lead to immense prospects  for improvements  in pupils’  achievement   in  Environmental  education,  since  it  is  directed   at  finding  the appropriate    language   of  instruction    to   be   used   in   the   teaching   and   learning   of Environmental education  concepts.  The results  will lead to the choice  of the appropriate language   which   will   enable   pupils   understand   their   lessons   well   and  consequently improve their achievement  in environmental  education.

The  findings  are  expected  to help  policy  –  makers  to  make  appropriate  decisions  with regards   to   the   existing   political,   economic    and   socio   –    cultural   diversities    and backgrounds  of pupils  to create  an enabling  environment  that will  support  and motivate the  young  people  to  learn  Environmental Education  and understand  the  environmental crisis in Cameroon.

The  community  is also  expected  to benefit  from  this  study  because  the pupils  will  act positively  in the  environment  after understanding environmental   education  concepts.  A better   understanding  of  EE   will   change   their   attitudes   and   behavior   towards   the environment  and the community  as a whole will benefit from the changes.

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Generally, the results of this study shall help to expand the body of knowledge  in the area of pupil  achievement  and attitudes  towards  environmental education  as supported  by the views of Vygotsky, Bandura,  Piaget and Bronfenbrenner.

Scope of the study

The  study will  be  limited  to  investigating  the  effect  of language  of instruction,  school location   and   gender   on  the   achievement   and   attitudes   of pupils   in  Environmental Education   in  Fako  Division  of Cameroon.  It  takes  into  consideration   urban  and  rural locations  of schools,  English  and French  as languages  of instruction, and the  gender  of pupils.

The  content  scope  of the  study  consists  of the  eight  topics  from  the  environmental education  syllabus for classes five and six.  The topics are;  living things, transpiration,  the seed,  seed germination, the plant, pollution,  environmental  hazards and waste disposal.

Research Questions

The following research  questions were posed to guide the study.

1.   What  is the effect  of language  of instruction  on pupils’ mean  achievement  scores in environmental  education?

2.   What  is  the  effect  of school  location  on  pupils’  mean  achievement   scores  1n

environmental  education?

3.  What is the effect  of gender on pupils’ mean achievement  scores in environmental education?

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4.   What  is  the  effect   of  language  of  instruction   on  pupils’   attitudes  towards environmental education?

5.   What is the effect of school location on pupils’ attitudes towards environmental education?

6.   What is the effect of gender on pupils’ attitudes towards environmental education?

7.   What is the interaction  effect  of language of instruction and school location on pupils’ mean achievement scores in environmental education?

8.   What is the interaction  effect  of language  of instruction  and gender on pupils’ mean achievement scores in environmental education?

9.   What  is the  interaction  effect  of school  location  and  gender  on pupils’  mean achievement scores in environmental education?

10. What is the interaction  effect  of language of instruction and school location on pupils’ attitude towards environmental education?

11. What is the interaction  effect  of language  of instruction  and gender on pupils’ attitude towards environmental education?

12. What is the interaction  effect  of school location and gender on pupils’  attitude towards environmental education?

13. What  is the  interaction  effect  of language  of instruction,  school  location  and gender, on pupils’ achievement in environmental education?

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Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance:

Ho:  There is no significant difference  between the mean achievement  scores of pupils taught environmental education in English and French languages in Fako Division.

Ho:  There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of rural and urban pupils in environmental education in Fako Division.

Hos. There is no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of male and female pupils in environmental education.

Ha:  There is no significant difference between the attitude mean scores of pupils taught environmental education in English and in French.

Hog:  There is no significant  difference  between  the attitude  mean scores of rural  and urban pupils in environmental education.

Hoe:  There is no significant  difference  between  the attitude mean scores of male and female pupils taught environmental education.

He–:  There is no significant interaction effect of language of instruction and school location on pupils mean achievement scores in environmental education.

Hog:  There is no significant interaction effect  of language of instruction and gender on pupils mean achievement scores in environmental education.

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Has:  There is no significant interaction  effect  of school location and gender on pupils mean achievement scores in environmental education.

Hoo:   There  is no  significant  interaction  effect  of language  of instruction  and school location on the mean scores of pupils’ attitude towards environmental education.

Hou:  There is no significant interaction effect of language of instruction and gender on the mean scores of pupils’ attitude towards environmental education.

Hon:  There is no significant interaction effect of school location and gender on the mean scores of pupils’ attitude towards environmental education.

Hots. There is no significant interaction effect of, language of instruction,  school location and gender on the mean scores of pupils’ attitude towards environmental education.

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