IMPACT OF FOUR FACTORS ON PHYSICS STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN JOS METROPOLIS OF PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the impact four factors on physics students' academic achievement in senior secondary schools in Jos Metropolis of Plateau State, Nigeria. Of particular interest to the researchers were the factors of students 'interest, availability of physics laboratory facilities, teachers' qualifications and teaching methods. The study adopted the cross sectional survey design. The population ofthe study comprises physics teachers and students of senior secondary II (SSII) in one hundred and seventy (170) schools situated in Jos Metropolis of Plateau State. Out of this population, ten (10) subject teachers (physics) and two hundred and twenty-three physics students were sampled from five schools randomly selected from the area of study. Three instruments were used for the study namely Physics Teachers 'Bio-data (PTB), Physics Students' Interest Rating Scale (PSIRS) and Physics Achievement Test (PAT). The instruments were validated by three experts in the Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Jos. Data collected was analyses using mean and standard deviation for the research questions while t-test was used to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results of the study among others revealed that students' interest, availability of physics laboratory facilities, teachers' qualifications and teaching methods have positive impact on the achievement of students studying physics in senior secondary schools