Özet:

The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of students on the causes of their poor performance in external chemistry examinations in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State. Descriptive survey design was used for the study. Two hundred and forty (240) students were selected through simple random sampling for the study. A self-constructed questionnaire titled investigation of Perceived Causes of Poor Performance of Students in Chemistry was used to collect data.  Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage and mean as well as Pearson Product moment correlation was used. The findings revealed that teachers’ poor qualification, poor method of teaching, lack of teaching experience, and failing to use the instructional materials were some of the perceived causes of students’ poor performance.  Based on the findings, it was recommended that attempts should be made by the government and private school proprietors to ensure that qualified and experienced teachers should be recruited for the Senior Secondary Schools in the area. In addition, teachers are implored to teach with adequate teaching aids and instructional materials, when they are available, to improve their methods of teaching and where they are not available the government and private proprietors’ of schools should endeavor to purchase instructional materials for the teachers’ use in schools. Keywords: Perceptions, Causes, Poor performance, Chemistry, External examination

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