IMPACT OF SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENTS’ PYSCHOSOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE: A CASE STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IKEJA LOCAL GOVERNMENT

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

Our focus in this chapter is to critically examine relevant literatures that would assist in explaining the research problem and furthermore recognize the efforts of scholars who had previously contributed immensely to similar research. The chapter intends to deepen the understanding of the study and close the perceived gaps.

Precisely, the chapter will be considered in three sub-headings:

• Conceptual Framework

School Environment

The increasing school enrolment and students interests in learning from the best kind of environment has generated much research interest in order to put into use by private individuals mission, communities or government proprietors an environment that will be stimulating and will enhance academic achievement of students. Environment is a place where the child functions. This includes home, the school, the peer group, the classroom, the totality of the child’s upbringing including his spiritual life, tissue needs, social needs, psychological needs it is defined not to mean only the place in which the child lives (physical) but also the people with which he comes in contrast with (social) (Akem, 2008). Gagne (1997) states that environment for the child includes a host of structures such as buildings, furniture’s, equipments, instructional materials, the teachers, the peer group and other people involved in the development of a child. Booth and Okely (2005) looked at school environment as the physical environment (e.g. facilities and equipment), school policies (e.g. time allocated for physical and Health Educational Sport) and school practices regulating PE and Sport, banners to participation and strategies to promote participation). This definition encapsulates components of the Health Promoting School Model (NHMRC, 1996) and also how school staff tends to contextualized health, particularly physical activity. Nwangwu (1990) gave the characteristics of school environment to include school buildings, classrooms, furniture’s, playgrounds, sporting facilities, laboratories, libraries and equipments which aid the teachers in effective delivery of lesson. According to State of Maine (2002) school environment includes the physical and aesthetic surroundings and the psychological climate and culture of the school.

Academic Performance

Academic performance or "academic achievement" is the extent to which a student, teacher or institution has attained their short or long-term educational goals. Completion of educational benchmarks such as secondary school diplomas and bachelor's degrees represent academic achievement.

Academic achievement is commonly measured through examinations or continuous assessments but there is no general agreement on how it is best evaluated or which aspects are most important—procedural knowledge such as skills or declarative knowledge such as facts. Furthermore, there are inconclusive results over which individual factors successfully predict academic performance, elements such as test anxiety, environment, motivation, and emotions require consideration when developing models of school achievement.

Other Factors influencing academic Performance

Individual differences influencing academic performance

Individual differences in academic performance have been linked to differences in intelligence and personality. Students with higher mental ability as demonstrated by IQ tests and those who are higher in conscientiousness (linked to effort and achievement motivation) tend to achieve highly in academic settings. A recent meta-analysis suggested that mental curiosity (as measured by typical intellectual engagement) has an important influence on academic achievement in addition to intelligence and conscientiousness.

Children's semi-structured home learning environment transitions into a more structured learning environment when children start first grade. Early academic achievement enhances later academic achievement.

Parent's academic socialization is a term describing the way parents influence students' academic achievement by shaping students' skills, behaviors and attitudes towards school. Parents influence students through the environment and discourse parents have with their children. Academic socialization can be influenced by parents' socio-economic status. Highly educated parents tend to have more stimulating learning environments. Further, recent research indicates that the relationship quality with parents will influence the development of academic self-efficacy among adolescent-aged children, which will in turn affect their academic performance.

Children's first few years of life are crucial to the development of language and social skills. School preparedness in these areas help students adjust to academic expectancies.

Studies have shown that physical activity can increase neural activity in the brain, specifically increasing executive brain functions such as attention span and working memory; and improve academic performance in both elementary school children and college freshmen.

Non-cognitive factors

Non-cognitive factors or skills, are a set of "attitudes, behaviors, and strategies" that promotes academic and professional success, such as academic self-efficacy, self-control, motivation, expectancy and goal setting theories, emotional intelligence, and determination. To create attention on factors other than those measured by cognitive test scores sociologists Bowles and Gintis coined the term in the 1970s. The term serves as a distinction of cognitive factors, which are measured by teachers through tests and quizzes. Non-cognitive skills are increasingly gaining popularity because they provide a better explanation for academic and professional outcomes.

Self-efficacy

Self-efficacy is one of the best predictors of academic success. Self-efficacy is the belief of being able to do something. Stajković et al. looked at the Big Five traits on academic success as well and saw that conscientiousness and emotional stability were predictors of self-efficacy in over half of their analyses. However, self-efficacy was more indicative of academic performance than personality in all of the analyses. This suggests that parents who want their children to have academic achievement can look to increase their child's sense of self-efficacy at school.

Motivation

Motivation is the reasoning behind an individual's actions. Research has found that students with higher academic performance, motivation and persistence use intrinsic goals rather than extrinsic ones. Furthermore, students who are motivated to improve upon their previous or upcoming performance tend to perform better academically than peers with lower motivation. In other words, students with higher need for achievement have greater academic performance.

Self-control

Self-control, in the academic setting, is related self-discipline, self-regulation, delay of gratification and impulse control. Baumeister, Vohs, and Tice defined self-control as "the capacity for altering one's own responses, especially to bring them into line with standards such as ideals, values, morals, and social expectations, and to support the attainment of long-term goals." In other words, self-control is the ability to prioritize long-term goals over the temptation of short-term impulses. Self-control is usually measured through self completed questionnaires. Researchers often use the Self-Control Scale developed by Tangney, Baumeister, & Boone in 2004.

Through a longitudinal study of the marshmallow test, researchers found a relationship between the time spent waiting for the second marshmallow and higher academic achievement. However, this finding only applied for participants who had the marshmallow in plain sight and were placed without any distraction tactics.

High locus of control, where an individual attributes success to personal decision making and positive behaviors such as discipline, is a ramification of self-control. High locus of control has been found to have a positive predictive relationship with high collegiate GPA.

Extracurricular activities

Organized extracurricular activities have yielded a positive relationship with high academic performance including increasing attendance rates, school engagement, GPA, post-secondary education, as well as a decrease in drop out rates and depression. Additionally, positive developmental outcomes have been found in youth that engage in organized extracurricular activities. High school athletics have been linked with strong academic performance, particularly among urban youth. However, involvement in athletics has been linked to increased alcohol consumption and abuse for high school students along with increased truancy.

While research suggests that there is a positive link between academic performance and participation in extracurricular activities, the practice behind this relationship is not always clear. Moreover, there are many unrelated factors that influence the relationship between academic achievement and participation in extracurricular activities (Mahoney et al., 2005). These variables include: civic engagement, identity development, positive social relationships and behaviors, and mental health (Mahoney et al., 2005). In other research on youth, it was reported that positive social support and development, which can be acquired through organized after school activities is beneficial for achieving academic success (Eccles & Templeton, 2002). In terms of academic performance there are a whole other group of variables to consider. Some of these variables include: demographic and familial influences, individual characteristics, and program resources and content (Mahoney et al., 2005). For example, socio-economic status has been found to plays a role in the number of students participating in extracurricular activities (Covay & Carbonaro, 2010). Furthermore, it is suggested that the peer relationships and support that develop in extracurricular activities often affect how individuals perform in school (Eccles & Templeton, 2002). With all these variables to consider it is important to create a better understanding how academic achievement can be seen in both a negative and positive light.

In conclusion, most research suggests that extracurricular activities are positively correlated to academic achievement (Mahoney et al., 2005). It has been mentioned that more research could be conducted to better understand the direction of this relationship (Eccles & Templeton, 2002). Together this information can give us a better understand the exact aspects to consider when considering the impact that participation in extracurricular activities can have on academic achievement.

Influence of School Climate on Academic Performance of Secondary school students’

School climate is critically linked to risk prevention and health promotion (NASBE, 1994). A positive, respectful school climate provides a solid foundation for supporting students’ academic Performance and development of positive attitudes and behaviours. Students who are connected to school (i.e., feel safe, perceive themselves to be treated fairly by adults, are happy to be in school, feel they are a part of the school community, and feel close to people at school) experience less distress and engage in fewer risk-taking behaviours (Blum, 2002, 2005). School climate research suggests that positive interpersonal relationships and optimal learning opportunities can increase Performance levels and reduce high-risk behaviour for students in all demographic environments. According to Megan (2002:78), “research on school climate in high-risk urban environments indicates that a positive, supportive, and culturally conscious school climate can significantly shape the degree of academic success experienced by urban students”. Furthermore, researchers have found that positive school climate perceptions are protective factors for boys and may supply high-risk students with a supportive learning environment yielding healthy development, as well as preventing antisocial behaviour. A positive school climate results in positive outcomes for school personnel as well. Characteristics of school climate, especially trust, respect, mutual obligation and concern for others’ welfare, can have powerful effects on educators’ and learners’ interpersonal relationships (Center for Social and Emotional Education, 2005). Safe, collaborative learning communities where students feel safe and supported report increased teacher morale, job satisfaction, and retention. The interaction of various characteristics of school and classroom climate can create a fabric of support that enables all members of the school community not only to learn but also to teach at optimum levels (Freiberg, 1998). Conversely, a negative school climate interferes with learning and development. Organizational climate is assumed to have some effect upon the success of a school in accomplishing its objectives (Singh, 2006). Various studies documented that students in schools with a better school climate have higher Performance and better socio emotional health. The school climate–student Performance connection has been well-established in the research (Freiberg, Driscoll, and Knights, 1999).

Influence of School Facilities on Academic Performance of Secondary school students

School facilities have been observed as a potent factor to quantitative education. The importance to teaching and learning of the provision of adequate instructional facilities for education cannot be over-emphasized. The dictum that “teaching is inseparable from learning but learning is not separable from teaching” is that teachers do the teaching to make the students learn, but students can learn without the teachers. According to Akande (1995), learning can occur through one’s interaction with one’s environment. Environment here refers to facilities that are available to facilitate students learning outcome. It includes books, audio-visual, software and hardware of educational technology; so also, size of classroom, sitting position and arrangement, availability of tables, chairs, chalkboards, shelves on which instruments for practicals are arranged (Farrant, 1991 and Farombi, 1998). Writing on the role of facilities in teaching, Balogun (2002) submitted that no effective science education programme can exist without equipment for teaching. This is because facilities enable the learner to develop problem-solving skills and scientific attitudes. In their contribution, Ajayi and Ogunyemi (1990) reiterated that when facilities are provided to meet relative needs of a school system, students will not only have access to the reference materials mentioned by the teacher, but individual students will also learn at their own paces. The net effect of this is increased overall academic performance of the entire students. Commenting on why high academic attainment is not in vogue in Nigeria primary schools, Adesina (1991) identified poor and inadequate physical facilities, obsolete teaching techniques, overcrowded classrooms among others, as factors. Throwing more light on school facilities and moral guiding provision, Fabunmi (1997) asserted that school facilities when provided will aid teaching learning programme and consequently improve academic achievement of students while the models guiding their provision to schools could take any form as rational bureaucratic and or political model. According to Hallak (1990), facilities form one of the potent factors that contribute to academic achievement of students in the school system. They include the school buildings, classroom, accommodation, libraries, laboratories, furniture, recreational equipment, apparatus and other instructional materials. He went further to say that their availability, relevance and adequacy contribute to academic achievement of students. He however, quickly added that unattractive school buildings and overcrowded classrooms among others contribute to poor academic achievement of the students in primary and other levels of education.

Psychosocial development

For a concept to be psychosocial means it relates to one‟s psychosocial development and interaction with a social environment. It was first commonly used by Erik Erikson, a psychoanalyst who came up with the stages of social development. This was an improvement of the work originally done by Sigmund Freud who was a neurologist on his work on the theory regarding the structure and topography of personality. According to Erikson, the ego develops as it successfully resolves crises that are distinctly social in nature. These involve establishing a sense of trust in others, developing a sense of identity in society and helping the next generation prepare for the future. The name psychosocial comes about in the nature of the psychological needs of the individual (that is psycho) conflicting with the needs of the needs of the society (that is social.) (McAdams, 2001) The main objective of psychosocial development is to promote student awareness and life skills development around a variety of issues that affect health and well-being.(Danesty; 2004) This is done by making an intentional effort to cultivate a classroom atmosphere uniquely different from other classes to effectively address and explore age-appropriate topics. Topics include teen risk behavior, peer pressure, decision making, stress and time management, interpersonal relationships, communication strategies and goal setting. Students are offered leadership training and meaningful opportunities to provide service in the arenas that include and extend the school community. Psychosocial development provides proactive, reactive and skills based training addressing the psychological and social aspects of human development. (Panahou; 2012). According to Authier (1977) described psychosocial development as a therapeutic approach that does not focus on abnormality diagnosis, prescription, therapy, or cure but on goal setting, skill teaching, satisfaction and goal achievement. Further Colom and Lam stated that psychosocial development focuses on compliance enhancement, early identification of prodromal signs, the importance of life-style regularity, exploring individuals‟ health beliefs and illness- awareness, and enabling the individual to understand the complex relationship between symptoms, personality, interpersonal environment and medication side-effects. In his book Psycho educational Perspective Overview, Morse (2004) explained that the theory behind psychosocial development is based upon individual psychology: a holistic approach to understanding what it means to be human.

Psychosocial development project on students’ academic performance. Mainstreaming psychosocial support (PSS) ensures that children feel socially and emotionally supported in every part of life- at home, in the classroom, on the playground, etcetera (Jonathan; 2007). Traditionally, development emphasizes cognitive and academic objectives. Its overall aims are psychosocial however, because it is ultimately the whole learner (mind, heart, body and soul) being nurtured. (Richards, Bergin; 2000) Once PSS has been mainstreamed, a learning institution should ideally factor in the following; Educator’s knowledge and attitudes: A caring school should take care of educators so they have support and avoid burn-out and hence have their educators motivated to work. Learners supporting one another: Learners‟ attitudes should change and due to sensitization, they do their best to support one another and build a nurturing supportive school environment. Specialized support: The school should identify learners whose health and wellbeing are at risk and make sure they get the necessary attention, communicate effectively with members of the school community so as to derive maximum benefits from them for the benefit of the learner, etc. The entry of psychosocial development was mostly pronounced in the year 2003 through a move by counselors and psychologists in the psychosocial development project to show the clear disparities of a child who pursues education having psychosocial development as opposed to the one without psychosocial training. (Patel and Prince; 2010). In this project, the association picked students to work with for purposes of comparison and results. Psychologists and counselors have been very vocal in this move hence ensuring that the student becomes an all rounded individual with positive resolution. As suggested by Erik Erikson there is a significant amount of influence that happens through the social environment in the academic performance of a student and hence the project has been broken down to four major components that substitute effective psychosocial development in an individual. These are mental, social, emotional and spiritual developments. In this light therefore the study emphasizes on cognitive development, physical development, co-curricular activities and intelligence quotient boosters.

Cognitive development and students’ academic performance

Cognitive development is the process of acquiring intelligence and increasingly advanced thought and problem-solving ability from infancy to adulthood (Michalak; 2005). Jean Piaget created a theory of the stages of cognitive development concerning the intellectual development of children His theory states that as children develop, their cognitive processes change and grow. He identified four stages of cognitive development that have had a huge impact on education. Understanding his theory helps educators understand how children think and learn (Robertson; 2008). The fourth stage known as the „Formal operational stage‟ which comes after sensorimotor, preoperational and concrete operational stages will be of essential focus in this study. In the formal operational stage that begins at about age 12, abstract thinking and deductive reasoning skills develop. However, it is important for educators to understand that moving into this stage does not mean that a student magically becomes an abstract thinker. Instead, this stage begins with the awakening to abstract thought that develops throughout an individual's life. Hypothetical reasoning skills develop as students mature. These become particularly useful in sciences and math. Cognitive development also is determined by mental health. This is the thinking portion of psychosocial health. (Artem, 2005). As proposed in the learning theories by Plato and Locke, they seek to show how information is absorbed, processed, and retained during learning. Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel and act. It also helps determine how we handle stress, relate to others and make choices. Mental health is crucial at every stage of life from childhood and adolescence through adulthood. There are a variety of factors that could contribute to mental health problems like biological factors such as genes or brain chemistry, life experiences such as trauma or abuse and family history of mental health problems. (Weare, 2000).

Positive mental health allows people to realize their full potential, cope with stress, work productively and make meaningful contributions to the society. The psychosocial education project aims at fostering mental health through the following ways; by educating the students on stress relieving measures, feeding the mind right and avoidance of circumstances or thoughts that could cause mental pressure. Through the psychosocial development project, the target beneficiaries in this case the specified children are aided with trainings and favorable circumstances that can boost the cognitive development. (Mkiwa; 2013) They are also equipped with techniques of sharpening their mental capabilities in order to produce better academic performance like the recently discovered strategy of playing chess that has been proven to sharpen the IQ levels and majorly due to the concentration and logical thinking a chess game calls for. (Thompson, 2003). Logic is very important during this developmental stage. This requires the ability to use things that you‟ve learned and use the skills and knowledge to determine an outcome. Hypothetical thinking is very much so present here. This is most required for math and sciences. In abstract thought as is different from previous stages the ability to think abstractly becomes present in the formal operational stage. You now don‟t just rely on previous experience you start to consider possible outcomes and consequences for what you do. This type of thinking is extremely important for development. In matters problem solving as is different from the trial and error methods used in previous stages you are now able to solve a problem logically and by following a method. During this stage you are able to quickly plan an organized method to solve a problem. The observations about the Formal Operational Stage Concrete objects are no longer required. Methods and movements can now be processed in a hypothetical order in your head. "The formal operational thinker has the ability to consider many different solutions to a problem before acting. This greatly increases efficiency, because the individual can avoid potentially unsuccessful attempts at solving a problem. The formal operational person considers past experiences, present demands, and future consequences in attempting maximizing the success of his or her adaptation to the world” (Bergin; 2012)

2.2 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

Humanistic Learning Theory by Carl Rogers

Humanistic theory of learning developed out of the idea that the environment of the learner was indispensable in the enhancement of the learners’ potentials. In other words, the educational environment could contribute meaningfully to the academic achievement of the learners, irrespective of the quality of the individual’s mental status (Nnachi, 2008). The humanistic school of thought considers the importance of the individual’s social feeling and emotion in the teaching-learning situations. If the learner is emotionally sound, learning would easily take place. In other words, the educational environment has nurturant potentials. Carl Rogers was a humanistic psychologist. He was of the view that human beings were born with the natural tendency to be free and have self fulfillment. In his view, human beings find this tendency frustrated in their course of growth and development. This frustration emanates from the parents, teachers and others who tend to constantly affect the self worth of the individuals. According to him, the individual’s sense of self worth depends on the opinion about the self of the person, this brings some identification between the value held by the real self and the value held by others or significant figures, (witting and William, 1984). The task of the parents is to provide a medium for emergence of the self that has been identified, thereby preventing the conditions that inhibit self growth. In this case, the parents (or teachers) provides to the learner unconditioned positive regard, listen to the learner intently, making the learner a point of focus. In this respect, the learners’ self concept is built. Rogers maintained that individuals, due to experience, have self concept of themselves. He defined self concept as an organized pattern of thought and perception about one self. This theory is relevant to this work because if the learner is emotionally stable and sound, learning would easily take place leading to high academic achievement. In other words, the educational environment, (in this case, the home education environment) and parental socioeconomic status play active role in the self actualization of the learner. The emotional stability of the learner which leads to high academic achievement in school to a great extent may be determined by the parental socioeconomic status and in most cases education environment of the home which are the main independent variables for the study.

Theory of Social Learning by Albert Bandura Bandura (1977)

proposed a psychological theory titled “social learning theory”. The major premise of Bandura’s social learning theory, which he has recently renamed social cognitive theory, is that we learn by observing others. His work centers on personality being developed as a result of an interaction between three things. These three things are the environment, behaviour and one’s own psychological processes. Much of his work is built around the experimental method where he will manipulate one of these three areas and measure the effects on the other. A second specific of Bandura’s beliefs is that modeling can have more impact than direct experience. The four variables that are involved in modeling according to Bandura are; attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. One must be paying attention, be capable of retaining what they have observed, be able to translate the observation into action and be motivated to imitate the observed action.

It is Bandura’s view that the learner plays a prominent role in cognitively selecting, organizing and transforming stimuli from the environment in which he is found. Accordingly, we learn by watching the events of the environment. By social learning theory therefore, humans are seen as social animals, who, through observations of their social world or the interpretations of such observations collect large amounts of data or information through which complex and skilled performances are learned. In actual sense, a great amount of what man learns is by observation and imitation. Sometimes, we learn to do good or bad based on what we have observed others do or how those who do those things are treated. Since this study is interested in studying the home education environment of the students and most students learn by watching the events of the environment, this theory (social learning theory) is relevant to the study.

The psychosocial stages of development

This theory was developed by Erik Erikson who was once a student of Sigmund Freud. He modified the Freudian psychosexual stages of development which are the oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital stages; by incorporating the social idea about development. As he was working with children he integrated various backgrounds which helped in understanding the behavior of children. He explained how personality is influenced by social environment and enforcement. (McLeod; 2013) He said that in life stages, one goes through crisis and therefore one has to resolve the crisis at each stage either to the positive or to the negative. If one resolves it to the negative he/she needs to go through counseling but if its positive one gets to be stable and adaptable. He came up with eight stages of personality development; Trust versus mistrust (0-18 months). Here the child is helpless and highly dependent on his mother and the care giver for love, warmth, security, survival, food, etc. if the above needs are provided, the child develops positive resolution and learns to trust the environment and if not provided the child develops negative resolution leading to mistrust which culminates to fear, anxiety and suspicion. This stage is instrumental in developing the physical growth or motor growth which is keen in the development of the child from infancy. The initial stages of cognitive development are also registered in this stage where the lack of the emotional attachment especially with the mother may lead to a questionable state of cognitive development. Autonomy versus shame/doubt (18 months to 3years). Autonomy means that the child is able to do things basically for itself in terms of exploring the environment; walking, climbing, eating, washing, pushing chairs, etc. the child is able to have a sense of pride since it feels a sense of independence. If not well resolved, the child develops shame and doubt. Positive resolution results in the child developing self-want, assertion and pride while negative resolution makes the child develop low self-esteem and a sense of external control that is s/he has to rely on others for decisions. In this stage the child is developing the physical aspect as well as improving gradually on the cognitive development aspect. The ability of the child to do certain tasks by itself shows a positive and a healthy mental state. On the contrary, if the child doesn‟t get encouraged or allowed to do so, mental health might face stagnation and challenges. Initiative versus guilt (3-6 years). At this stage, the child has developed tremendously both physically and mentally. The child develops his own games and projects and is able to move from place to place and is able to explore their own fantasies. Positive resolution leads to ability to initiate activities which leads to enjoyment of achievement and self-competence while negative resolution results in the child‟s efforts being impeached upon without explanation or without guidance. S/he feels guilt and only engages with caution. There is a tremendous degree of cognitive and physical development registered in this stage where the child develops control of the mental processes and starts getting even better acquainted with the social aspect of life. The opposite of the initiative side would be the guilt where the child doesn‟t feel comfortable in social aspects and in retrospect does not have a proper stability in the mental health as well. Industry versus inferiority (6-11 years). At this stage, the child‟s experiences expand and increase due to exposure to other people and places and also to new information. At school, the child becomes industrious; they work hard to please the teacher or the parent. Praise, approval and recognition from parents and teachers propel the child to positive esteem and encouragement builds the child‟s confidence and competence. Children learn to take pride in their work and acquire attitude to do their work well hence being productive. Ridicule of the child‟s endeavors, repeated frustration and failure leads to feelings of inadequacy and inferiority. (Gauthier; 2012). A child who is not productive will develop inferiority that is withdrawal, regress to dependent behavior or direct their energies to socially unacceptable behavior. In this stage, there is observed an effort to maintain and even elevate the cognitive development aspect which is being complemented by the physical development. The child is able to develop an interest in certain extra-curricular activities and depending on the environment that they are being exposed to at this stage, their intelligence level is greatly influenced. In positive resolution, it is observed that the individual is able to elevate the mental, emotional and social health vis-a-vis the negative resolution where there is no progress. Identity versus role confusion (11-18 years). The child at this stage needs to know who they are since they are so concerned with their identity and therefore want to discover themselves. They therefore experiment with various roles; they socialize since there is need to help them get that identity since they may go to role confusion due to physical, emotional, social and intellectual changes; there is also change of social expectations. The adolescent is no longer sure of the role s/he is supposed to play for example when they do childish things, they are reprimanded and when they do adult things they are not approved. The adolescent must resolve the identity crisis or the confusion. Identity grows out of identification with parents, teachers, friends, out of body image and awareness of how others see them. Identity also grows out of one‟s belief about autonomy, initiative and industry. Balancing between cognitive development, physical development an interest or lack of it in co-curricular activities and the intelligence quotient level is the main focus in this stage. Riddled with a myriad of issues ranging from relationships to parents expectations and not forgetting the peers expectations, it is the mastery of this balance or lack of it that will enable the individual to have a stable development or not (Colom; 2005). The other stages are; intimacy versus isolation, generativity versus stagnation and ego integrity versus despair.

CHAPTER SUMMARY

In this review the researcher has sampled the opinions and views of several authors and scholars on the availability and utilization of school library resources. The works of scholars who conducted empirical studies have been reviewed also. The chapter has made clear the relevant literatures.