ABSTRACT
This study sought to identify teachers’ perceptions of difficult
areas in senior secondary school biology curriculum in Lagos state of Nigeria.
Based on a review of literature, five research questions guided the study while
three hypotheses were equally tested. A survey design was used for the study. A
multistage sampling procedure involving simple random sampling techniques by
balloting and cluster sampling techniques were adopted to compose the sample of
120 biology teachers in four Education Zones of Lagos State. A Structured
Questionnaire Titled Biology Topic Assessment Questionnaire (BTAQ) was used to
collect data from the respondents. The data collected were analyzed using mean,
standard deviation and one-way ANOVA to t-test the hypotheses at 0.05 levels of
significant. The analysis of the data yielded the following results: the
teachers find the teaching of chromosome, Evolution, Glycolysis, Germination,
Genetics and Skeleton difficult. Gender, academic qualification and location of
services of the teacher have no significant influence in the difficulty levels
of topics in the biology curriculum. It was recommended that in-service
training, constant workshops, higher degree programmes, provision of modern
instructional materials, use of computer and its softwares, re- equipping of
school library, using teachers past performance for promotions, frequent
supervisions by ministries, employing more qualified teachers, supplying
relevant textbooks, holiday tutorials and Biology laboratory are necessary for
improvement on the difficult topics. Suggestions for further research and
limitations were also given.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
Title page i
Approval page ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgments v
Abstract vi
Table of Contents
vii
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1
Background of the Study 1
1.2 Statement
of the Problem 6
1.3 Purpose
of the Study 7
1.4 Research
Questions 8
1.5 Research Hypothesis 8
1.6 Significance of the
study 9
1.7 Scope of
the Study 10
1.8 Definition of terms 10
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE
REVIEW
2.1 Perceived
Difficulty of Science Contents 11
2.2 Academic
Qualification 17
2.3 Gender as a Factor Influencing Perception of Difficulties 20
2.4 Problems with Implementing
New Biology Curriculum 30
2.5 Summary
of Reviewed Literature 35
CHAPTER
THREE: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1 Introduction 38
3.2 Study Design 38
3.3 Study Population 38
3.4 Area of Study 38
3.5 Sampling Selection 39
3.6 Data Collection
Instrument 39
3.7 Validity of the instrument 40
3.8 Reliability of the
instrument 40
3.9 Method of
Data Collection 41
3.9 Method of Data
Analysis 41
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS
Introduction 42
Test of
Hypothesis 46
CHAPTER FIVE: DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATION AND
SUMMARY
5.1
Discussions of Findings 50
5.2
Conclusion 51
5.3
Educational Implication of the Study 52
5.4
Recommendations 52
5.5
Limitations of the Study 53
5.6 Suggestion
for Further Research 54
5.6 Summary 54
References 56
Appendix
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Science provides a
body of knowledge
for use in
addressing various forms of
human, material and
environmental problems. It
can also be
viewed as composed of
two major complementary
modes: accumulation of
knowledge through exploration and
discovery efforts about the natural world,
and the use of such
knowledge for human
and material development.
Science is studied
and practised in all
parts of the
world, including Nigeria.
Nigeria is a
developing nation with an
increasing demand for
science based skilled
manpower. The achievement of
this can start
with the learning
and application of
science subjects as in
biology, chemistry, integrated
science, and physics
at secondary school level.
Among these science
subjects: biology, chemistry,
integrated science and physics
taught in Nigerian
secondary schools, only
biology was discussed. This is because; the study was focused on
biology curriculum.
Biology is one
of the senior
secondary school subjects
taught in Nigeria. Biology is
an integral science
subject which provides
contents in the
training of students who
want to study
medicine, nursing, pharmacy,
forestry, fisheries and so
on. Requirement for
a credit pass
and above in
biology is needed
for science related vocational
discipline. Majority of
senior secondary school
students choose biology in
the West African
Senior School Certificate
Examinations (WASSCE) or National
Examination Council’s Senior
School Certificate
Examinations (NECOSSCE). Also,
for some senior
secondary school students, biology is
a subject of
first choice because
they find it to be
an interesting subject as
a subject that
is more related
to nature. Biology
is one of
the subjects in the
national curriculum for
senior secondary schools,
first published by the
Federal Ministry of
Education in 1985.
Biology curriculum was first introduced in 1977. At that time the
duration for secondary school education was five years. The biology
teaching was started in
class four and
in class five
the students took
the West African
School Certificate Examination. In
keeping with the
dynamics of social
change and demands on
education, there was
the need to
broaden the curriculum.
The quest for improving
the method of
teaching and learning
of secondary school
biology began in 1982 by the
Nigerian Education Research
Council (NERC, 2005).
The Federal Government in
collaboration with Esselte
(Swedish non-governmental organization) initiated
the National Secondary
Science and Mathematics
Project (NSSMP). They worked
hand in hand
with the federal
government of Nigeria. The
basic aim of
that project was
to inculcate learning
through the use of a wide
variety of instructional
materials. The outcome
of this was
the emergence of the
new biology curriculum
in 1985 published
by the Federal
Ministry of Education. In
this 1985 curriculum,
many more topics
in biology were introduced and
the number of
years to be
spent in secondary
school increased from five
years to six
years. It is
the implementation of
National curriculum for 13 Secondary School
Biology that the
present study is
designed to evaluate.
The biology curriculum has a spiral arrangement of content.
The content of biology
curriculum are: Concept
of living; Basic
ecological concepts; Plant and
animal nutrition; Variations and
variability; Evolution and Genetics. Based
on this spiral
arrangement, the concepts
to be taught
are arranged in
such a way that
topics are repeated
yearly, throughout the
three years of
the course; to cover
the 62 units
in the biology
curriculum. Any repeated
concept is discussed in
greater complexity and
depth as the
course matures over
the three year period.
The contents of
the senior secondary
school biology curriculum places emphasis
on field studies,
guided discovery, laboratory
techniques and skills. The
curriculum for teaching
biology in senior
secondary schools emphasized the
relationship between living
and non-living things;
relevance of biology to
agriculture; the structure
and physiology of
organisms; some basic ecological concepts;
the use of
natural resources; lands,
plants and animals-their variations, populations
and implications, adaptation;
theories of evolution
and application of the principle
of heredity in
agriculture and medicine.
The objectives of secondary
school biology curriculum
have been derived from
the National Policy
on Education first
introduced in 1977
and revised in 1981,
1998 and 2004
(FRN,2004). The cardinal objectives
are to
prepare students to acquire:
1.
Adequate laboratory
and field skills in
biology;
2.
Meaningful and
relevant knowledge in
biology
3.
Ability to
apply scientific knowledge
to every day’s
life in matters
of personal and community health and agriculture.
4.
Reasonable and functional
scientific attitude. Biology is the study of living things.
It is the study of life.
Biology can also be
defined as the
study of plants
and animals. Content of biology
curriculum The content of
biology curriculum are:
i. Concept of
living
ii. Basic ecological
concepts
iii. Plant and
animal nutrition
iv. Variations and variability
v. Evolution
vi. Genetics
The objectives
of the biology
curriculum have been
adjudged as laudable according to
Agu (2006), Soyibo
(2008) and Yabugbe
(2009); and there
is evidence to show
that even though
many students find
biology interesting, thereby registering
for it in
the senior secondary
schools, many of
them obtain poor results,
year in and
year out in
it as shown
by Okebukola and
Akinbola (2008).
In the recent past government and non governmental agencies in
most developing countries in the world, recognizing the importance of science
and technology are putting much in terms of resources and fund to encourage
teaching and learning of science in senior secondary schools. This justifies
its inclusion in the school curriculum, right from primary to tertiary levels
in Nigerian schools.
Biology has come to take a vital place among the three basic
science, more so since the national policy on education requires secondary
school students to offer at least one basic science subject of secondary school
level.
Nigeria educational research and development council NERDC (1993)
was organised because of recurring annual poor performance of students in
science, Workshop on "Difficult concepts" in science and mathematics.
It was then reported that, some concept are difficult and claimed this to be
responsible for students poor performance.
The NERDC classified the reasons for the perceived difficult
biology curriculum to be: student related reasons, teachers in the field
reasons, learning environment, nature of concepts and resources materials.
Emphasis was also placed on teachers misconceptions, poor knowledge of subject
matter, non currency of the teachers in the field. Poor teacher made tests and
teaching methods as factors responsible for poor students performance in
examination.
Biology learning and teaching
in secondary school includes many factors which are determinants of learning
quality. These can be classified as affective
and cognitive factors. For the
cognitive domain, reasoning
ability, information
processing and academic
achievement are among the most
studied constructs. Under the
affective title, some well-defined constructs are included. Those among
the most frequently
emphasized factors of the
affective domain in
the science and
biology education literature are
attitude, self-efficacy, anxiety
and motivation. As
an affective factor,
giving more importance
of motivation for science education over the other affective today’s world. Biology learning
includes understanding biological
organization from molecules to
ecosystems. To understand systems
and their organs are one of the
most important steps
of learning the
organization of life. So,
to learn and
teach organs as a school subject are important task
for biology teachers..
Although learning and teaching
biology begin at
elementary grades, under the
title of biology,
they begin to
occur in secondary school years. Motivational
preparedness of teachers as mediators
of curriculum to
teach and learn
any subject matter of
a curriculum and related perceptions
on the subject matter
are important to
reach aims of a curriculum, because every
curriculum is needed to be
considered in instructional level and
teachers are important factors in
this level, above scenario moved the
researcher into difficult areas in senior secondary school (SSS) biology
curriculum from the perception of the biology teachers.
1.2 Statement of the
Problem
Several research works carried out on curriculum in Nigeria
particularly in lagos State have revealed the nonchalant attitude of teachers
in the secondary schools towards certain areas in biology curriculum. One of
the major goals
of science education
in Nigeria is to produce scientists for
national development (FRN,
2004). In spite
of Nigerian government’s desire
to promote science
education programme in
the country, the quality
of science students
produced by the
secondary schools seem
to be deteriorating. In the particular case
of biology, one is
led to observe
that despite the
importance of biology
as a science
subject, evidence have
shown that students are
not doing well
in this subject
at both West
African Secondary School Certificate
Examination (WASSCE) and
National Examination Councils’
Secondary School Certificate
Examination (NECOSSCE).In Nigeria
today, teachers attitude and students lack of interest have been reported to be
major factors responsible for students perceived difficulty in sciences. teachers
attitude towards science(biology) can either motivate students or discourage
them, such recurring annual poor performance of students. There is therefore a
problem of which concepts did teachers find difficult to teach. Then what could
be responsible for this? Could it be Teachers academic qualification?, teaching
experience? or gender?. Could it be that teachers themselves neglect or do not
teach some areas in the class? Are the
methods the teachers use in teaching some areas in biology inappropriate? Well,
this research is an attempt to answer the above questions.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to identify the difficult
content areas in secondary school biology curriculum that science teachers find
difficult to teach. It also sought to determine whether teachers academic
qualification, teaching experience and gender as factors responsible for
perception of difficulty which leads to poor performance of students in science
courses (biology). Specifically, the study was directed at finding out;
1.
The areas in biology
curriculum which senior secondary biology teachers find difficult to teach.
2.
Whether academic qualification
and teaching experience of teachers, are factors which influences the area of
difficulty in senior secondary school biology curriculum.
3.
Whether gender of teacher, is a factor
which influences the area of difficulty in senior secondary school biology
curriculum.
4.
Strategies to
be employed in
solving the problem
of difficult topics
found in the senior secondary school biology curriculum.
1.4 Research Questions
The following research questions were raised.
1.
What content areas in the senior secondary
school (SSS) biology curriculum do teachers find difficult to teach?
2.
To what extent does academic qualification of
the teachers influence perceived area in biology curriculum?
3.
To what extent does gender of
the teachers influence perceived area of difficulty in senior secondary school
biology curriculum?
4.
What strategies to be employed
in solving the problem of difficult areas found in senior secondary school
biology curriculum?
1.5 Research Hypothesis
The following hypotheses were formulated to guide the study
H01: Teachers`
gender has no
significant influence on
the perception mean scores
of the teachers
in the senior secondary school biology
curriculum.
H02: Teachers
academic qualification has
no significant influence
on the perception
mean scores of
the teachers in
the senior secondary school
biology curriculum.
1.6 Significance of the
study
The researcher was compelled to engage in this study work of
difficult content areas in the secondary school biology curriculum, by the
present alarming increase in the failure of biology subject by students in
senior school certificate biology examinations.
As earlier noted, the knowledge of biology prepares students for
various fields like medicine, pharmacy; agriculture etc. For instance, if the
problem of cells, genetics, mitosis and meiosis are dealt with as regards to
heredity and cell division, the people in the society will be able to choose
the best life partner and be aware of cell divisions in them during embryonic
formation in the area of reproduction. Disease among the population will be
prevented and also living condition will improve. The suggestions will be of
great help to the teachers and students in those areas of difficulties.
Moreover, the findings of the study will be of immense benefits to
biology researchers and book writers in biology. It will also help institutions
preparing teachers of biology to be familiar with important data for planning
biology course for potential and present biology teachers in our secondary
schools.
Governmental bodies entrusted with curriculum planning will know
where to amend while planning biology curriculum when this work must have been
completed by the researcher. And this will eventually lead to a sustainable
development and improvement in the teaching of biology in schools.
1.7 Scope of
the Study
The scope of
this study was
delimited to thirty biology teachers in
Lagos State. This
work was also
limited to gender, location,
academic qualifications and
experience as factors that
influence teachers perceptions
of difficult areas
on the senior secondary school biology curriculum.
This work also
intended to provide possible remedial
strategies that may be employed
as means of
alleviating the perception
problems and the difficult contents of the biology curriculum.
1.8 Definition
of terms
1.
Perception: conscious understanding of something.
2. Teacher:
a person who teaches, especially one employed in a school.
3. Difficult:
hard, not easy, requiring much effort.
4. Curriculum: the set of courses,
coursework and content, offered at a school or university.
5. Biology:
study of all life or living matter.
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