A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF MALE AND FEMALE ATTENDANCE IN PHYSICS IN SOME SECONDARY AND TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA

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1 A COPARATIVE STUDY O ALE AND EALE ATTENDANCE IN PHYSICS IN SOE SECONDARY AND TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN NIGERIA By Osabuohie Idehe Departmet of Physics, College of Educatio, Ekiadolor, Bei. Abstract This paper chleges the feme ad those i authority that as the percetages of wome i politics ad other fiacily boomig vetures icrease rapidly, the effects of the feme i Physics ad Physics related disciplies do ot follow that same tred. Hece, this comparative study of me ad feme erolmet i Physics i the West Africa Examiatio Coucil/Seior School Certificate Examiatio (WAEC/SSCE) i secodary schools ad udergraduates ad postgraduates i Physics i tertiary istitutios, ad the distributio of me ad feme academic staff i Physics Departmet i tertiary istitutios. This paper reves that feme erolmet ad achievemet i Physics eed much to be desired whe compared with the erolmet ad achievemet of their me couter parts. A soud Physics educatio is ecessary for a atio like Nigeria which aspires toward developmet i techology. To produce feme Scietists ad Egieers for techologic developmet, much has to be doe i the erolmet ad distributio of feme studets ad staff i Physics i secodary ad tertiary levels. Geder is socily ad culturly costructed cocept based o biologic differeces of sexes primarily me ad feme. To be sesitive towards ay oe s sexu or reproductive differeti capability (abd) roles while actively tryig to remove l types of discrimiatios ad stereotypes that affect the growth of a perso particularly feme could be cled or classified as geder sesitivity. However, the traditio ad socily approved roles of the Nigeria wome are that of child bearig, agriculture ad house-keepig. or may years, societ culture, traditio, orms ad vues restricted the Nigeria wome to the aforemetioed traditio roles. However, sice old prejudices, habits, customs ad vues die hard, the few educated Nigeria wome were for a log time restricted to professios such as teachig, ursig, etc as it was believed that certai professios were exclusively for me. Because of this erroeous belief, wome who costitute approximately hf of the huma race were grossly uderutilized.

2 Academic Excellece The plight of wome today has attracted the attetio of the Uited Natios (UN) which declared the Nigeria decade for Wome. Sice that decade eded, a lot has bee achieved at admiistrative, legislative ad etworkig levels. Is there ay sigificat impact, achievemet or improvemet by wome i Physics i both secodary ad tertiary levels? This is where this study is of iterest. Accordig to the i Report of the orum (996:6), Despite the Solem commitmets of world leaders to ivest more i educatig wome ad girls, ad despite l the research idicatig the tremedous beefits to society of such ivestmet, this seems to be the area where least progress has bee made. r. A Choksi, Vice-Presidet, World Bak asserted that there has bee lots of tk ad rhetorics o girls educatio, but ot a lot of actio. He said that the Bak will be ledig.5 billio US dollars a year over the ext five years to educatio, ad 60 percet will go to girls educatio. The orum cled for a substati icrease i fuds, as well as better use of existig fuds for the educatio of girls ad wome. Review of Literature The fidigs i previous studies show that some factors are resposible for the poor feme attedace i Physics. The major factor is cultur. Nervig (973) i her work reveed that some girls abadoed the study of athematics before they etered the seior classes of secodary school ad far fewer girls tha boys choose to study physic scieces ad mathematics. Aysis by Husse (97) o Secodary School grades reveed that o idividu subject basis, boys achieved better results i Physics ad other sciece subjects compared to girls. The reasos give iclude cultur ad societ factors. These factors made the people believe that sciece subject like Physics, ad a professio like egieerig, are mostly for mes while Art subjects ad Soci Scieces are icompatible with femiiity. The work of Carey (958) idicated that society discrimiates agaist feme scietists, egieers, etc. Accordig to him, femes themselves have adapted by shuig success cosciously ad ucosciously by havig poor performace i the field cocered. Tamir et, reported sigificat differece betwee boys ad girls about their attitude towards physics. Girls had ideed less positive attitude towards Physics ad Physicists. At the same time they refused much more strogly tha boys to adopt the image of Physics as a masculie subject to view girls doig Physics as less femiie. I additio to this, Corie (97) proouced boys ad me more proficiet at mechaic tasks I umeric ad mathematic abilities too, boys ad me fare better It is oteworthy that i may coutries, creative artists scietists, thikers have bee ad are me. There are, of course exceptios, it is oly at literary figures that wome have made substati cotributios.

3 A Comparative Study of e ad eme Smith (976:8) suggested that wome s exclusio from ideologic productio is seed by the fact that people oly pay re attetio to, ad treat as sigificat, what is said or doe by me. or istace, Goldberg (97:6) foud that the same essay was rated as impressive whe the readers thought the author a ma ad mediocre whe they thought the author a feme. e have authority of the istitutioized goverig structures. Accordig to Scott ad Jogeward (979), feme executives are i fact harder o members of their ow sex tha o mes. Also me do ot like wome bosses ad wome do ot like wome bosses. The latter was so supported by the commet of Suday Triumph of October 7, 99 o guberatori electios i Nigeria, that wome, whe they fid themselves i positios of authority, ted to be very hard, hostile ad arrogat to l wome they cosider below them i status. Labour activists chastised ad cled wome eemies of themselves. Socio-cultur factors which ecourage early marriage, plurity of childre, excess depedece o the me for support i the absece of access to educatio ad icome-geeratig activities weigh the wome dow ad costitute a serious hadicap to ay spirited effort to improve her lot. Statemet of the Problem The major problems this paper iteds to examie iclude:. The performace of studets (me ad feme) i O/L Physics i some secodary schools i Bei City.. The erolmet of studets i Physics (me ad feme) i some secodary ad tertiary istitutios, ad 3. The distributio of academic staff (me ad feme) i Physics departmets i some tertiary istitutios. Purpose of the Study The mai purposes of the study are:. To fid out if there is ay sigificat differece i the studets performace i Ordiary Level (O/L) Physics betwee me ad feme i some secodary schools.. To fid out if there is ay sigificat differece i the erolmet of mes ad femes i Physics i some tertiary schools. 3. To fid out if there is ay sigificat differece betwee the distributio of me ad feme academic staff i Physics departmet i some tertiary istitutios, ad. Highlight the cotributory factors leadig to the differeces, if ay, ad make recommedatios. Academic Excellece Research Questios The questios this study is iterested i fidig aswers to are:. If there is ay sigificat differece betwee the performace of boys ad girls i O/L Physics i 98 ad 985.

4 . If there is ay sigificat differece i the erolmet of mes ad femes i Physics i tertiary istitutios. 3. If there is ay sigificat differece betwee the distributio of me ad feme academic staff i Physics departmet i tertiary istitutios.. What are the major factors resposible for this differece if ay? 5. How ca the situatio be improved upo? Hypotheses or the purpose of this study, the followig hypotheses are postulated.. There is o sigificat differece betwee the performaces of boys ad girls i O/L Physics i 98 ad There is o sigificat differece i the erolmet of mes ad femes i tertiary istitutios from There is o sigificat differece betwee the distributio of me ad feme academic staff i Physics i tertiary istitutios Populatio ad Sample The populatio of this study cosists of l the Secodary Schools i Oredo Loc Govermet Areas of Edo State that offered Physics i the Leavig School Certificate O/L at least five (5) years before the time specified here, l Colleges of Educatio i Nigeria, ad l Uiversities i Nigeria. However, the sample cosists of six (6) Secodary Schools which are radomly selected (two boys schools, two girls schools ad two co-educatio schools), five (5) Colleges of Educatio, ad oe () Uiversity, which would be quite represetative of the istitutios offerig Physics at the differet levels. Istrumet Used for Data Collectio Sice the study is to compare the academic performace, the erolmet ad the distributio of academic staff of both sexes i Physics i secodary ad tertiary istitutios respectively; the iformatio eeded were obtaied from each of the schools. Questioaires were ot used. Data Collectio The researcher collected data from the various istitutios. Statistic summary of the grades were obtaied i WAEC ad NCE Statistic Digest o Colleges of Educatio i Nigeria. A Comparative Study of e ad eme ethod of Data Aysis or ease of the aysis ad iterpretatio, percetages were used. Based o the formulated hypotheses, the ivestigator made use of the t-test for idepedet samples as the Statistic ethod for the aysis.

5 t X X Y Y where dif. degree of freedom P Level of sigificace probability No. of No. of occurrece () occurrece () X ea vue of item () Y ea vue of item () X Summatio of ( X X ) Y Summatio of ( X Y ) Presetatio of Results Table I Erolmet ad Performace i Physics i West Africa School Certificate (WASC) i some Secodary Schools Schools Year Tot Tot Physics Tot Passes Tot % % ICC, Bei (Boys oly) Adolor College (Boys oly) I.G.G.S. (Girls oly) Baptist High School (ixed) Asoro Grammar School (ixed) Erolmet Erolmet ailures Passes ail Source: WACE Board Bei ad each school Data i Table I shows studets erolmet ad performace i Physics i Seior School Certificate Examiatio (SSCE) i two Boys Secodary Schools ad two Girls Secodary Schools i 98 ad 985 i Bei City. rom the table the ratio of percetage pass of boys to girls is 8.3% boys, 5.7% girls. The erolmet of girls is so poor.

6 Academic Excellece Table Natio Commissio for Colleges of Educatio, Kadua 998/99 Distributio of Studets Erolmet i Physics by Istitutios, Subject ad Sex Istitu tio COE Ekiadolor COE Gashua COE Gidawaya COE Gidiri COE Gumel Tot Sex Tot Tot Tot Tot Tot No % Source: Statistic digest o Colleges of Educatio i Nigeria. Data i Table shows studets erolmet i Physics i five (5) Colleges of Educatio i Nigeria i 998/999 sessio. The percetage of me erolmet to feme erolmet is 8.% ad 7.6% respectively. Table 3 Uiversity of Bei, Bei City Tot Studets Erolmet i Physics, Sex ad Level Udergraduate Post Graduate Level I II III IV Sub- % Higher Tot % Tot Degree Sex 9/ / / Source: Academic Plaig Uiversity of Bei 88 Data i Table 3 further shows the poor erolmet of both udergraduate ad post-graduate feme studets i Physics as compared with their me couterparts for three sessios at the Uiversity of Bei. The percetage of me to feme is 89% to %

7 A Comparative Study of e ad eme Table Natio Commissio for Colleges of Educatio, Kadua 998/99 Distributio of Academic Staff i Physics by Istitutios, Subject ad Sex Istituti o COE Ekiadolor Sex Tot COE Gashua Tot COE Gidawaya Tot COE Gidiri COE Gumel Tot Tot Tot No % Data i Table shows a great gap betwee me ad feme Physics Lecturers i five (5) Colleges of Educatio. The percetage of me to feme is 00% to 0%. This is so amplified by Table 5 which aysed the Physics Lecturers i Uiversity of Bei i 000, rak ad sex. e 00% ad feme 0%. Table 5 Uiversity of Bei, Bei City ull-time Academic Staff (i Physics) Rak ad Sex 000 Professor Asst Professor Seior Lect. Lecturer Tot % Source: Bursary Departmet, Uiversity of Bei Hypothesis (I) Table 6: t-test Aysis of Percetage Pass of Boys/Girls i Physics i Secodary Schools Boys (X) Girls (Y) X - X (X - X ) Y - Y (Y - Y ) X = 8.5 Y = O ull hypothesis, t, by computatio of formula t = 09 Df = 6, t =.5, at 5% Hece our vue is ot sigificat, that is there is o sigificat differece betwee the performaces of boys ad girls schools i Ordiary Level (O/L), therefore hypothesis (I) is ot discredited. Academic Excellece Hypothesis () Table 7: T-test Aysis of Studets Distributios i Physics i Colleges of Educatio ad Uibe Istitutios e eme X - X (X - X ) Y - (X) (Y) Y (Y - Y ) 5 (COE), tot Udergraduate (Uibe) Postgraduate (Uibe)

8 O ull-hypothesis, t test by computatio is.8 Degree of freedom (d.f) =, t =.78 at 5%. X=89.3 Y= The vue is very highly sigificat. The ull hypothesis is therefore ot cofirmed. The terative hypothesis implies. That is, there is sigificat differece betwee the distributio or the erolmet of mes ad femes i _Physics i tertiary istitutios. This so tlies with the percetage compariso. Hypothesis (3) Table 8 T-test Aysis of the Distributio of e ad eme Academic Staff i Physics e (X) eme (Y) X - X (X - X ) Y - Y (Y - Y ) X =. Y = t-test computatio is 3.9. d.f = 6, t =. at 5%. The t- vue is highly sigificat which implies that there is sigificat differece betwee the distributio of me ad feme academic staff i Physics i tertiary istitutios. This so tlies with the percetage compariso. Therefore hypothesis III is ot cofirmed. A Comparative Study of e ad eme Coclusio This study shows that oly few feme studets eroll i Physics i both secodary ad tertiary levels. As academic levels get higher, the umber of feme ivolvemet markedly reduced. Worse still, o feme Physics lecturer was employed i Physics departmet of five (5) Colleges of Educatio ad Uiversity of Bei. Despite the progress i expadig primary educatio durig the 990s, the ALL dimesio of the JOTIEN Visio of Educatio for ALL still eeds greater attetio, ad despite the rhetoric s i high places, the geder gap is closig very slowly. Uless there is a truly major effort to chage this situatio, educatio for ALL will remai a illusive go well ito the st cetury. Recommedatios The differet level of govermet should make a policy that every boy or girl should be taught Physics, pure ad applied; l pupils should be taught Physics to the age of 6. The atio, state ad loc govermets, i partership with a rage of loc actors ad exter doors, should work to boost girls erolmet. A iter-miisteri committee charged with studyig the geder gap i educatio should be established. To reduce drop-out rate, pregat girls ad youg mothers should be lowed to cotiue their studies ad speci stipeds should be give to icrease girls erolmet i athematics ad Physics. All levels of govermet should egage i strategies, such as usig o-form educatio,

9 itroducig flexible school hours, providig urseries ad day-care facilities for the childre of youg mothers, recruitig more feme teachers, improvig the heth ad utritio for girls so that they are better able to lear, abolishig fees ad school uiforms, provisio of adequate mater care ad leave for mothers to regai their heth, etc. There should be positive chage i societ attitude toward wome i maagemet ad scieces (Physics). ore fuds should be made available for the educatio of girls ad wome. Employers of labour could provide crèches, Day-care Cetres, i their work areas to ehace productivity of feme employees ad curtail time wastage. Refereces Adeleke,. R. A. (996). Wome i idustri developmet i Nigeria aagemet i Nigeria, 6 (6),. Akade, J. (996). Wome i the maagemet of Nigeria ecoomy. aagemet i Nigeria, 3 (), 5. Awe, B. (990). The role of Nigeria wome i maagemet i the 90 s. aagemet i Nigeria, 6 (6), 9-0. Carey, G. L. (958). Sex differece i problem solvig, performace as a fuctio of attitude differece. Jour of aborm ad soci pschocology. 56 (). Academic Excellece Clarke, G.. & Cooke, D. (99): A basic course i statistics: Third editio, Lodo, Sydey Auklad: Edward Armorld, 7 ad 7. Goldberge, P. (99). Are Wome prejudiced agaist wome, The chagig experiece of wome. Uit 6 (6). Heaves, O. S. (97 ). Educatig our childre. Physics bulleti, 8 (). Husse et (97). Sex differece i sciece achievemet ad attitude, Comparative educatio review, 8 (). Idehe, O. (99). A survey of the studets performace i WASC ad GCE O/L physics i selected secodary schools/cetre i Oredo LGA of Edo State, 3 7. Jogeward, D. & Dru Scott (eds) (979). Affirmative actio for wome: A practic guide for wome i maagemet. Addiso-Wesley Publishig Coy. Netri,. (973). Sex Differeces i participatio rates i mathematics ad scieces at Irish schools ad uiversity, iteratio review of educatio, XIX (I). Osudahusi, D. (97). Wome exclusio form itellectu life ad their relegatio to a mediatig role. The chagig experiece of wome, Uit 6 (6). Ractiffe, J.. (97). Elemet of mathematic statistics: Secod editio, Oxford Uiversity Press, Lodo: 0 6. Tamir, Arzel & Zhoto: Attitudes of Israel high schools studets awards i physics. Sciece educatio jour 58 ().

10 Wigls, G. R. (977). A cl for more teachers, Physics bulleti, 8 (). Basic Educatio for Girls ad Wome i Report, Educatio for Al, achievig the Go. 6 9 Jue 996 Jorda. id-decade meetig of the iteratio cosultative forum o educatio for l, 6-0. Natio Commissio for Colleges of Educatio (NCCE) (000): Statistic digest o colleges of educatio i Nigeria, 7 67.Suday Triumph, October 7, 99:9.