Influence of Library Resources on Students’ Academic Performance in Secondary Schools in Ilala District, Tanzania 2023

Influence of Library Resources on Students’ Academic Performance in Secondary Schools in Ilala District, Tanzania 2023

Lucy A. Masud, Haule Festo, Kiggundu Zaharah Faridah, Kayindu Vincent
Kampala International University

DOI: https://doi.org/10.47772/IJRISS.2023.70604

Received: 03 April 2023; Accepted: 22 April 2023; Published: 16 June 2023

ABSTRACT

This report presents part of the findings of a study carried out to investigate the influence of library resources on students’ academic performance in selected secondary schools in Ilala district, Tanzania. The study took a cross-sectional survey design. The data were gathered from teachers and students who provided quantitative and qualitative data. The quantitative data banalysed using pearson correlation coefficient revealed that there is no significant influence of library resources on students’ academic performance in selected secondary schools in Ilala district, Tanzania.

Key Words: Library Resources; academic performance

INTRODUCTION

Library resources are those materials, both print and non-print, found in school libraries which support curricular and personal information needs. Print items include books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, microfiche or microfilm. Tanzania is determined to eradicate illiteracy from her people and in doing so, compulsory primary and secondary education was introduced. Many schools have been built by the government and by the private sector. Some of which have been stocked with libraries while others do not have such facilities. One of the challenges being encountered is the poor academic performance of students in many rural schools. Could this be attributed to library resources availability and utilization? The study was carried out to answer this question.

Statement of the Problem

The government of the United Republic of Tanzania has invested heavily in the education sector. Free primary and secondary education is being offered and much of that money comes from the tax payers some of whom are men and women who never went to school or who are not rich. By educating their children, they expect, among other things, those children to act as their insurance against old age. Unfortunately, the national examination results indicate students’ poor performance in these examinations (Makoye (2020), Many factors are cited as accounting for this trend of events. The study was therefore carried out to investigate the influence of library resources on student’s academic performance in secondary schools in Ilala district, Tanzania.

Library resources include books, journals, magazines, films, tape, recordings,  Pictures, charts, models, host of other teaching, learning material, pamphlets, and disc which enable transfer of ideas, knowledge and experiences from  one person  to another or one generation to another.

According to the ministry of Education Mission Statement, the original level of secondary school education is required to be the basic for all Tanzania citizens especially the young children.

In order to bring about successive learning process, good environment should be prepared so that everything which make learning easier should be available.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The materials maintained in libraries contain information which people require daily for survival, for without information there can be no knowledge and knowledge empowers living for existence. Human beings require infor-mation to broaden their knowledge, to investigate past events in order to find solutions  to  problems, keep  abreast  of current  happenings  and enjoy  the thoughts and works of others. Information brings about the preservation of civilization, and it is important for upholding legacy. This is what the library has done for mankind, through the sustenance of recorded knowledge and dissemination of this information through many ages.

According to Momoh (1980) who carried out a research on effect of student instruction resources on performance in WASC examination in Kwara state. He correlated students’ instructional resources with academic performance in ten subjects. Information were collected from the subject teachers in correlation to the students instructional resources employed in teaching in five schools in WASC examination for the past five years was related to the instructional resources available for teaching each of the subjects. He concluded that material resources have a significance effects on students’ performance in each of the subject.

Keko Majira (2000) conducted a research in more remote areas of Tanzania. He used case studies in Ukerewe district on the causes of truancy. He collected data from heads of schools in eight schools students and parents. Keko noticed that lack of access to the information as the main cause. To address the problem Keko decide to ask assistance from one big Ngo’s in Tanzania known as Hakielimu to build a library. Relatedly, Otto (1982, 1986) conducted a research in Australia using a wider range of schools and teachers to find out what cause poor teachers and student performance in the area of work. He come with findings like work load, lack of recognition, poor physical environment and shortage of teaching and learning resources.

Vein Popoola (1990) investigated about the effects of student instruction resources on academic performance of a student in Ogum state. Five secondary schools in Abeokuta were used for his study. He collected WASC examination results for five years and compared achievement of the students in schools with adequate student’s instructional resources and the performance of the student. He found a significance differences in the achievement of the two sets of the students.

According to Cooksey and Mmuya (2007), there is a shortage of library resources throughout the school system in Tanzania with some subject having scarce or virtually non-existing text book. Often available books are outdated and not reflect revisions in the curriculum. A study by TADREG found an average of 262 text books per rural school leading its authors to conclude that library resources such as text book distribution has been patchy a best and for many rural schools extremely poor. Fully of the study respondents agreed that the lack of text book and other books was an important or researchers typical comment included books are vary compared to the pupils and most outdated.

 Mediate B (2007) explains that there is the tendency of students becomes under performance, she affirmed that is due to students attitudes or dislike Reading books and other library resources which affects their performance in secondary schools. In her study it was revealed that 67% of the respondents agreed that student’s attitude of dislike reading books leads to low performance in secondary schools why 33% did not agree. This could be as a result of non-provision of student need to encourage learning through text books. According to Sadker  (1997) explains that while national standards in all subject remain the remain a distant prospect, library resources especially books continues to dictate the curriculum in most of today’s classroom times using books and teachers based more than 70% of the instruction decision  of them. Given this there is no doubt that library resources especially books have major daily influence on what is taught in schools in fact there are so pervasive and so frequent used that they constitute the curriculum of their own.

Fagbamoye (1977) noted that schools with stable books usually have better performance than those schools which have unstable books numerous of investigation has also been carried out to find the effects of student academic performance. Eminent scholars have also contributed immensely to report the effect of the variable on other. These claims could not hawever be taken for granted, hence the current study.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study used across-sectional survey design since it involved a large number of respondents, and the data were collected once at a time, to find out the influence of laboratory resources on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Ilala District, Tanzania. This study took place in Ilala District that covers 273 kilometer squares and divided into 22 wards. This is because this region is facing a problem of inadequate library resources that limits the academic performance of students in secondary schools. Ten secondary schools were chosen to participate in the sample and from these schools, 230 students and 100 teachers were selected to provide data to the researcher through questionnaires. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyse the data. Never the less, out of the many questionnaires distributed, 300 usable questionnaires were returned. Therefore, the data were analysed from 300 questionnaires, not 330.

FINDINGS

The findings of the study revealed that there was no significant influence of library resources on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Ilala district, Tanzania., given the sig value of 0.017, as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1 showing the influence of library resources on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Ilala district, Tanzania

*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).

Source: primary data, 2023.

Figure one shows that there is no statistically significant influence of library resources on students’ academic performance in secondary schools in Ilala district, Tanzania. The meaning of this is that library resources do not cause students’ passing or failure so much; that can mainly be explained by other factors.

This was re-affirmed by oral informants who noted that many students have poor reading culture; they do not want to read books especially the text books which are voluminous. They said that they prefer reading the notes their teachers give them. One student said, ‘We always ask our teachers to give us detailed materials/notes which we can read on our own even when we are at home. Those library books are not clear, it takes long to understand what we read’. This statement implies that even if the library resources are there, many students are not interested in utilizing them, they prefer being spoonfed by teachers. This also shows the alarming nature of education these days; that the learners want teachers to pump materials in their heads. They do not want to use their heads for critical thinking.

When the researcher analysed the national examination results of the schools under study, it was realized that some schools which have well stocked libraries many of which were government schools, performed poorly, yet some other private schools which did not have stocked libraries, the students performed well in the national examinations. There were two schools which did not have libraries at all but the students were performing better than those in government schools which had stocked libraries. The teachers, during oral interviews confirmed that they do all the required research, make good and detailed notes which they give to students as confirmed by one teacher thus, ‘Our head teachers are always on our necks as they want us to produce results. We therefore do research, make very good notes and give them to students. A student therefore does not need to go to the library since he/she can get everything he/she needs from the notes we give’. This confirms the issue of spoon feeding in secondary schools today, a practice which has killed students’ utilization of library resources even if they are available.

DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

The qualitative data generated from the schools under study revealed that though many schools do not have very well stocked libraries, many of them have relevant books required by students. In addition, the analysis of students’ results of the national examinations revealed that many students were not performing well. This is in line with the findings of an earlier study done by Laddunuri (from university of Dodoma in sociology department, 2012). He conducted a research on the status of school education in Tanzania and found that, for the past five years, the status of education had not been stable which led to unsatisfactory examination results in summative evaluation. In some schools, especially the community secondary schools, the majority of the students had failed or had not shown good performance in the results hence hindering them for further studies.

Another study was conducted in Arusha Municipal, Tanzania. The study reveals that pass percent of the students had been declining continuously from 82.3% to 50.74% during the last five years. Majority of the teachers are unqualified teachers as revealed through the research study. Certainly, it contributes to poor performance of the students. Many factors are responsible for the student’s failure in their form four examinations such as lack of trained teachers, poor infrastructural facilities in schools, and insufficient books in the school library. It has been found that the cost of books is very high when compared with their economic situation. Frequent changes in the curriculum are also one of the reasons for the less pass percent of the students in Tanzania. Tanzania attained her independence in 1961 from British colony. So, it emerged from the yoke of colonialism with the goal of delivering the fruits of independence to the satisfaction of its people. Its aim was to eradicate the three enemies which are poverty, ignorance and diseases which were the major obstacles towards the national development which was possible only with better education facilities and development programmers.

Indeed, it was revealed that library resources’ availability does not necessarily mean students utilizing them, hence sometimes failing. This relates to what some authors like Kayindu (2017) claim that human beings, especially in Africa south of the Sahara want things on a silver platter; they want quick gains without toiling for them. As related to schools, students do not want to disturb themselves reading books of different types; they want teachers to give them everything. Those who comply, are perceived as the best teachers and are likely to be safe on their jobs since they do accept to dance on the tunes of the learners. Those who want the students to research on their own may be perceived as poor teachers and may easily lose their jobs.

Therefore, the problem of students’’ poor academic performance in secondary schools in the district of Ilala, Tanzania can be explained by other factors, not library resources. Headteachers should therefore hire resourceful persons, such as the markers of the national examinations to train their teachers and talk to the students. This will enable the learners to know the specific techniques required by examiners from the students for them to be able to pass highly.

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