Abstract

The title of this research is the effects of reinforcement on student’s academic performance in the Buea municipality. It has three objectives which are; how positive reinforcement affects student’s academic performance; how negative reinforcement affects student’s academic performance and how punishment affects student’s academic performance.

The sample for this study was 120 students from four government institutions in Buea Bilingual Grammar School Molyko, Government Technical High School Molyko, Government High School Bokwoango, and Government High School Bokova,

A survey research design was used for collecting data. Data collected was analysis using simple frequencies and percentages and was presented in a tabular and graphical form. The findings of the research showed that reinforcement affects student’s academic performance in the Buea municipality.

From the conclusion of the research’s findings, the following recommendations can be made administrative state holders and experts should improve on the quality of the students learning activities by using appropriate methods of reinforcing them to enhance high academic performance, parents should also give quality home training to their children and should not rely on a particular type of reinforcers so that can help foster students performance.

Finally, teachers should be more flexible with the use of reinforcers to cause students to learn better and should also avoid the misuse of reinforcers rather they should choose an appropriate method that works well for each individual for individuals who have different needs and priorities.

CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

The idea that learning can be stimulated and enhanced through the use of rewards dates back as far as the educational practices of the Ancient Greeks. Learning has always held a high place in Jewish culture and edible rewards were provided to students of Torah as far back as the twelfth century.

Numerous other accounts supported the idea that instructional reinforcement such as praise, clapping for a student in class, adding a mark, verbal praise, or material reward, have been used throughout history in trying to increase student’s achievement or performance in a classroom setting.

Thus, this study will be investigating if students’ performance is affected in any way by reinforcement. This chapter will look at the background of the study, the statement of the problem, the purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, hypotheses of the study, scope of the study, the significance of the study, and operational definition of terms.

Background Of The Study

Micro-teaching  is  a  process  that  offers  trainee teachers  the  opportunity  to  acquire teaching  skills  in  order  to  be  competent  in  the teaching process. Teaching skills are part of the competences to be exhibited by the student teachers in a micro-teaching session. This concept is viewed  by  different  authors as overt specific behavioral activities  or actions  exhibited  in  the  classroom  to  enhance lesson  presentation  in  order  to  achieve a specific goal.

There exist a catalogue  of  teaching  skills,  such  as  set induction,  stimulus  variation,  closure, questioning,  planned  repetition  skill, reinforcement skills among others which the teacher very much needs. These skills fall out of the monumental works undertaken by Cooper (2007) in the field of teaching.

The  skill  of  reinforcement  which  is  the  focus  of this study was clearly illustrated in B. F. Skinner(1948) Behaviorism theory of  Operant  Conditioning.  Skinner (1948)  was particularly  interested  in  showing  the  effects  of the  reinforcement  skill  as  the  basic  principle involved  in  the  formation  of  associations, especially as it relates to teaching and learning. In this landmark study by Skinner’s theory as described by Nwachukwu in “Psychological fundamentals in Nigerian education” (2000),  a series  of  experiments  were  developed  to observe  the  effects  of  presentation  of  foods (reinforcer) on a hungry rat.

The actions (or responses)  of  the  rats  were  reinforced  by allowing the dropping of food into the cage when the bar is pressed and the increased activity of the rat was noticed through the rate at which the rat presses  the  bar.

On presentation of the food when the bar was pressed, this food became a reinforcer and strengthens the likelihood that that particular action will be continues. The frequency of the reward that is how fast the food is been presented immediately the bar was pressed was also noted and discovered that the more frequent the reinforcer was presented after the event decreased with frequency.

Thus reinforcement affects a required behavior or performance. Later intervention by Skinner to reinforce according to aroutine schedule by deciding to reward the rat every time the bar was pressed. This showed that there was a likely hood that the rat will keep pressing the bar since it was continuously rewarded each time it pressed the bar. This reinforcement caused an  alteration  of  the  pattern  and  rate  of response  from  the  rat as  the  rat  learnt  to  press the bar more frequently when its behavior was reinforced.

The response rate and capabilities of the rat, if not continually reinforced, would have gone into extinction. This means if reinforcement is taken away or is not continuously repeated, the required behavior from the student or the students performance may be affected.

The teacher is expected to apply the appropriate teaching skills to enable them present their lessons effectively to achieve high performances from his or her students thus achieving goals and objectives of the educational system. Skinner’s study clearly shows that reinforcement strengthens a required act or behavior which immediately proceeds to increase high performances.

Thus teachers’ knowledge of reinforcement- praise, rewards, and gifts may have a great effect on student’s academic performance or achievement. Teachers’  ability  to recognize only correct responses is vital because it  will  prevent  students  from  associating  the reward  with  inappropriate  responses  since  the teacher  should  make  students  aware  of  the particular  aspect  of  their  behaviors  that  is desirable.

In other words, students should be made to know exactly what behavior(s) of theirs is being reinforced so as to encourage them. The  spontaneity  of  reinforcement  is  a  very important  aspect of the learning situation that is often  overlooked  by  most  teachers.  The best time to encourage students to repeat or continue a particular response or desirable behavior is immediately following the response.

Teachers should be able to recognize within the classroom setting, desirable responses and reinforce them immediately following such response(s).  If what needs to be reinforced is a written work, then the scripts should be returned within a few days so as not to delay the reward for too long because the longer the scripts and results are delayed the less the reinforcing value will be to the students.

The implication is that if reinforcement is delayed for  too  long  or  feedback  is  completely  withheld, the  students  will  not  know  which  behaviors  or responses  to  be  repeated  and  which  should  be extinguished.

It is  therefore  important  for teachers to recognize that effective application of the  reinforcement  skill  is  a  crucial  aspect of  the learning  process  and  that  feedback  should  be valued, frequent and fairly immediate.

Reinforcement,  which  is  one  of  the teaching  skills  that  can  be  applied  to  modify  or change behavior of the learner, may be positive or negative, Eze et al (2003). This study thus shall seek to investigate how or to what extend reinforcement affects secondary school student’s academic performance within the Buea Municipality.

Statement Of The Problem

It  is  a  universally  acknowledged  fact  that reinforcement  can  bring  about  positive  changes in  the  behavior  of  the  learner,  if  applied appropriately.  Both professional and trainee teachers ought to apply reinforcement in the teaching and learning process. Depending on the situation and response from the learner, the teacher in the classroom should apply positive or negative reinforcement as well as punishment to foster a particular behavior or to stop a negative behaviour during the teaching-learning process.

It has been observed in secondary schools in the Buea municipality in Fako Division that, reinforcement   plays   a significant role in the academic performance of students. Many secondary school students tend to work extra hard in order to succeed because of gifts offered to them in return, others are-more interactive  and participate  well in class when the teacher offer praises to them for their efforts by their teachers. Some others perform even better when they are being rewarded with marks by their teachers in the classroom or are promised to go on vacation to the park or zoo by their teachers for field trips.

All of these tend to affect a students academic performance. It has also been noticed that the rate at which students who portray bad characters in school such as late coming to school, indecency, bullying of students has greatly reduced caused by use of rein forcers such as punishment. Good characters are been portrayed in school because of the use of praise, and rewards to boast good behavior.   Thus, this study is necessary to find out the effect of reinforcement on secondary school students within the Buea municipality in Fako Division in the South West Region of Cameroon.

Purpose Of The Study

The purpose of this study is to find out whether negative reinforcement, positive reinforcement such as praise, gifts and rewards, and punishment has an effect on students’ academic performance in secondary schools within the Buea municipality.

Objectives Of The Study

General Objectives;

This research   seeks to investigate the effects of reinforcement on students’ academic performance or achievement in secondary schools within the Buea municipality.

Specific Objectives;

The specific objectives of this study are;

1. To find out whether positive reinforcement has an effect on students’ academic performance or achievement in secondary schools within the Buea municipality.
2. To find out whether negative reinforcement has an effect on students’ academic performance or achievement in secondary schools within the Buea municipality
3. To find out whether punishment affect students’ academic performance or achievement in secondary schools within the Buea municipality