PERCEPTION AND ATTITUDE OF STUDENTS TOWARDS UNSEEN POETRY IN SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN IBADAN NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE

Abstract

This study examined the perception and attitude of students towards Unseen poetry in selected schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The study sample consisted of three hundred and fifty (350) students randomly drawn from ten (10) secondary schools in Ibadan North Local Government Area of Oyo State. The instruments used for data collection were Students’ Perception about Unseen Poetry Questionnaire (SPUPQ); Students’ Attitude to Unseen Poetry Questionnaire (SAUPQ); and Unseen Poetry Achievement Test which had reliability co-efficient values of .77, .76 and .77 respectively. Data was analyzed via descriptive statistics of frequency count, mean and standard deviation; Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC); and Multiple Regression at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that students’ perception of and towards unseen poetry were positive. However, the level of students’ achievement in unseen poetry was low. There was a significant positive relationship between students’ perception of unseen poetry and their achievement in unseen poetry. Additionally, there was a positive relationship between students’ attitude and their achievement in unseen poetry. The composite contribution of students’ perception of and attitude to unseen poetry and their achievement in unseen poetry was not significant. Students’ perception of unseen poetry had a significant relative contribution to their achievement in unseen poetry. On the other hand, students’ attitude to unseen poetry had a negative relative contribution to their achievement in unseen poetry. Based on these findings, this study recommends that Unseen poetry should be independently taught and assessed in Literature-in-English classrooms, and The National Education and Research Development Council (NERDC) should include unseen poetry in the Literature-in-English curriculum as an independent topic to be taught and assessed in schools.