Abstract

This study investigated whether or not academically high-risk students of Junior Secondary School 2 students in Rivers State of Nigeria differed from their mainstream counterparts with regard to their perceptual organisation. The ex post facto research design was used with a hypothesis guiding the study. Stratified random sampling was used in drawing a sample of 1,205 subjects. The survey utilized the Perceptual Organization Visual Battery Test (POVBT) for data collection. The major finding of the study was that there is a significant difference between high-risk and mainstream students in general perception as a complex psychological phenomenon. Recommendations included identifying and fitting the perceptual structure of the learner to the entire learning situation and exposing such instructional techniques to the learners in which they would benefit more.

Key words: Nigeria, perceptual ability, high-risk students, mainstream students.