EFFECT OF CLASSROOM CLIMATE ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN FEDERAL COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA
Abstract
The study aimed to find out the effect of classroom climate on students’ achievement in language and communication skills in Federal Colleges of Education South East Nigeria. Three research questions and three null hypotheses were posed to guide the study. The study adopted a survey research design. The area of the study was the South East Zone of Nigeria with all the year two (2) students of 2019/2020 session as the target population totaling 2,733. By proportionate stratified sampling technique, twenty percent (20%) of the students were sampled in each college making a sample size of 546. The research instrument used for the study was the researchers’ developed questionnaire, trial tested on thirty students of year two from Federal College of Education (Technical) Asaba. Cronbach Alpha was used to analyze the data collected and this gave an overall reliability coefficient of 0.71 and was considered adequate for the study. Data collected were analyzed using percentage, means, standard deviation and correlation analysis. All hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test and ANOVA. The findings revealed that the academic achievement of students in language and communication skills was determined by classroom physical environment and teachers’ leadership style. Secondly, there was a significant interaction between the classroom physical environment/teachers’ leadership style and academic achievement of students in language and communication skills. The recommendations made included that the Federal government should provide all necessary resources and facilities in the colleges to enhance academic excellence in the colleges and that teachers should be well equipped with knowledge and skills in management and leadership in order to improve on school performance