An Appraisal of Nigeria Certificate in Education Students’ Attitudes towards the Value of Poetry

This paper is an appraisal of Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) students’ attitudes towards the value of poetry. It has been observed by the authors that many students of English language dislike poetry as a component of Literature. To ascertain the veracity of this perception, a cohort of fifty (50) NCE II students of the Department of English in the College of Education Gindri responded to the Students’ attitudes towards the value of poetry scale (SAVPS). The findings of the study revealed that over 50% of the students did not have interest in poetry, they doubted its relevance to their academics, and they perceived it as a difficult genre. To help change the students’ negative attitude, it is recommended that the teachers of poetry should use innovative methods and approaches that are student-centred and interest boosting, and they should emphasise the practicality of the essence of poetry in real life so that students are able to see the relevance of the art in their lives.