Physics Students’ Perception of Physics Concepts as Difficult and the Perception of their Performance in the Subject in Benue State, Nigeria

Dr. Benjamin Akura Taangahar and Antonia Okwori

Benue State University, Makurdi, Nigeria

Abstract

The study compares students’ perception of physics concepts as difficult and the perception of their performance in secondary schools in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State. It was guided by five research questions and three hypotheses. The sample of the study was made up of 150 SS2 students from 5 schools in the Local Government Area. The instrument for the study was a researcher-structured questionnaire named: Students’ Perception of Difficult Concepts and the Perception of their Performance in the Physics Questionnaire. The instruments’ reliability using Cronbach Alpha scored a coefficient of 0.62 and 0.75. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions while t-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The study established that students’ perception of physics concepts as difficult provided a high mean score of 2.87 above the benchmark for decision-making of 2.50 and a low students’ perception of their performance in the subject with a mean score of 1.84 below the same benchmark. Physics students’ mean perception score of physics concepts as difficult did not significantly differ from the mean perception of their performance score in the subject (p = 0.12 > α = 0.05). Physics students’ perception of physics concepts as difficult and the perception of their performance in the subject did not significantly differ based on gender. It was recommended that teachers should reduce abstraction in the teaching physics concepts perceived by students as difficult.

Keywords: Physics Education, Difficult Concepts, Academic Performance, Difficult Physics Concepts, Gender

How to Cite this Article: Taangahar, B. A. & Okwori, A. (2022). Physics Students’ Perception of Physics Concepts as Difficult and the Perception of their Performance in the Subject in Benue State, Nigeria. VillageMath Educational Review (VER), 4(1), 16-25. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7108848