Biology is a branch of
science that studies life. According to Maduabum (2006), science (Biology)
constitute the bedrock of the National development which in its broadest sense
refers to all human activities which involves organized knowledge of natural
phenomena. It simply implies that, science is the systematic study of nature
with the purpose of accumulating an organized body of matter, their interaction
and outcomes. Omiko (2011) sees science as the way of knowing the facts and
theories of the nature. According to him, this knowledge of facts and theories
promote attitudes of reality, objectivity, curiosity, self-examination and
search of truth.
Eweleukwa (2005) defined
biology as a science subject that deals with life. It was derived from two
Greek words: “Bios” which means life and “logos” which means study. Biology
therefore means the study of life or living things. Ekwu (2012) defined biology
as a natural science which deals with the study of living organisms. According
to him, it is derived from two Greek words “Bios” which means life and “logos”
which connotes knowledge. It is a fascinating
study that ranges from microscopic cellular molecules to the biosphere, encompassing
the earth’s surface and its living organisms.
The oxford advanced learners
dictionary defined biology as the scientific study of life and structure of
plants and animals. Taylor (2012) defined biology as a science devoted to the
study of living organisms. As a natural science, biology is the individual life
forms within the world of life known as nature. Biological studies cover all
that is known about plants, animals, microbes, or other living things of the
past and present. It is the science of fishes, grasses, flies, grasshoppers,
humans, mushrooms, flowers, sea stars, worms and moulds. In fact, biology is
the study of the life on top of the highest mountains and at the bottom of the
deepest sea.
William (2012) stated that
at different levels of education, all learners are exposed to the following
levels of biological organization: cellular level, molecular level, tissue and
organ level, the community level and the world biomes. Biology programmes prepare
students for several fields of life such as: agriculture, medicine, veterinary
science, dentistry, food production industries, horticulture, biochemistry,
biotechnology and teaching.
In our Secondary Schools today,
biology as a subject is made compulsory for the science-inclined and optional
compulsory to arts students. This is because of its over whelming importance to
human life which cannot be over emphasized. This is in cognizance with the
findings of Shayer and Adeu (2014) who grouped biology at the “soft” side of a
spectrum of the sciences while chemistry and physics are at the “hard” side.
Biology is the only science subject which art students optionally select to
meet their Senior Secondary School (SSS) Certificate examination requirements. This
is because most students generally see biology as a relatively easy subject
when compared to other science subjects.
Egbujor (2006) stated that
biology usually has the highest enrolment and also the highest failure rate
compared to other subjects at the West African Senior Secondary School
Certificate examination.
Also in Chief examiners reports of 2008 on practical
biology, he commented “many candidates could not give the distinguishing
features of the vertebra some wasted their time in describing the features
instead of pointing out the relevant things required as regards teaching
practical biology, the Chief examiner (2006) observed that most of the
candidates who were to study the diagrams in the stage of germination of seeds
and draw a graph for it, avoided the questions. The few that attempted it used
inconsistent seeds in drawing the graph. Also these students were unable to
spell correctly the labels of their diagrams.
Currently in Nigeria,
biology teaching syllabus is organized into the following segments: topics,
performance objectives, content, activity and notes. The principal reasons for
including performance objectives in the segments are to enable teachers to self-evaluate
their own teaching and the achievements of the students after the lesson. In
spite of the careful planning and organization of teaching the subject, some
teachers and students still find some content areas of biology difficult to
teach and learn. For instance, teachers are not sound in anatomy and genetics
in the curriculum and when they do, they usually do not devote the adequate
time and attention to the teaching of the concepts. Oyewole (2011) stated that
some teachers give the impression that genetics is an abstract and difficult area
that requires a lot of brainstorming and need not be studied.
Past studies that have been
carried out on biology curriculum in Nigeria particularly in Ikwo Local
Government of Ebonyi State have revealed the nonchalant attitude of teachers in
the secondary schools towards certain concepts in biology curriculum. There is
problem of content areas in biology curriculum teachers find difficult to teach
and problem of the content areas in biology curriculum students find difficult
to learn.
a.
Then what could be responsible for this?
b.
Could it be that teachers themselves neglect or do not teach
some concepts in the class?
c.
Are the methods the teachers use in teaching some areas or
concepts in biology inappropriate?
Well, this research is an attempt to
answer the above questions.
This study therefore, sought to investigate those
content areas in senior secondary school (SSS) biology curriculum perceived
difficult by students and the teachers.
The main purpose of the
study was to find out the difficult content areas in Senior Secondary School
biology curriculum that science students and teachers find difficult to learn
and teach respectively. Specifically, the study was aimed at finding out:
1.
The difficult content areas in Senior Secondary Schools
biology curriculum as perceived by the biology students.
2.
The difficult content areas in Senior Secondary Schools
biology curriculum as perceived by the teachers.
The researcher was moved to
engage in this study work of difficult content areas in the Senior Secondary
School biology curriculum, due to the present alarming increase in the failure
of biology subject by students in Senior School Certificate biology examinations.
The findings of this study will be beneficial to all students of biology, and biology
teachers through active participation in teaching and learning biology.
As earlier noted, the
knowledge of biology prepares students for various fields like pharmacy,
agriculture; medicine etc. For instance, if the problem of cells, genetics,
meiosis and mitosis are dealt with as regards to heredity and cell division,
the people in the society will be about to choose the best life partner and be
aware of cell divisions in them during embryonic formation in the area of
reproduction. Diseases among the population will be prevented and also living
conditions will improve. The suggestions will be of great help to the students
and teachers in those areas of difficulties.
Meanwhile, the findings of
the study will be of immense benefits to the students, teachers, curriculum
planners and the government even researchers.
For student: It will help to understand some difficult
concepts in biology and the possible measures to tackle them. It will help the
biology teachers to see ways in which they can make teaching and learning of
biology simpler, more interesting and more relevant to the needs of the
society.
The findings of this study will help curriculum planners
in biology to understand the instrument with which society can foster
worthwhile ideas and values that would enable them progressively attain those
social and economic goals as they pertain to academic progress of an
individual.
For government: it will lead to sustainable development
and improvement in the teaching and learning of biology in Senior Secondary
Schools and will yield good performance on the part of the student in Secondary
School certificate biology examination.
Finally, for researchers it will serve as reference
material.
This study primarily sought
to find out the difficult content areas in Senior Secondary School biology
curriculum as perceived by the teachers and students in Ikwo Local Government
Area of Ebonyi State. Specifically, the scopes covered are summarized thus:
1.
The areas in the biology curriculum which students find
difficult to learn
2.
The areas in the biology curriculum which teachers find
difficult to teach.
1.
What content areas in the Senior Secondary School (SSS)
biology curriculum do students find difficult to learn?
2.
What content areas in the Senior Secondary School (SSS)
biology curriculum do teachers find difficult to teach?
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