Teachers Perception of Difficult Areas in Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum

Teachers Perception of Difficult Areas in Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum

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Reference ID: PS-9077-TM

DEDICATION

This research material titled “Teachers Perception of Difficult Areas in Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum” is dedicated to God for his enabling grace, and to all computer enthusiasts who contributed to make life a pleasant experience during my research documentation.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I extend my sincere gratitude to all those who contributed to the completion of this project. Special thanks to my Supervisor (Name of your Supervisor), the Head of Department (Name of your HOD), the Lecturers in the department of Education, Book Authors and Profound Scholars of existing or related project material on “Teachers Perception of Difficult Areas in Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum” for their invaluable guidance, support, and expertise throughout the journey.

I am also grateful to your study area (mention any funding organizations, if applicable) for their financial assistance. This research would not have been possible without the encouragement and assistance of some stakeholders (mention any mentors, teachers, or colleagues). Additionally, I would like to acknowledge the understanding and patience of my family and friends during this endeavor. Your unwavering support has been a constant source of motivation. Thank you all for being part of this meaningful endeavor.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PRELIMINARY PAGES

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

    CHAPTER TWO

    LITERATURE REVIEW

    • 2.1 Introduction
    • 2.2 Conceptual Review
    • 2.3 Theoretical Framework
    • ⋮
    • 2.4 Empirical Studies

    CHAPTER THREE

    RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

    • 3.1 Introduction
    • 3.2 Research Design
    • 3.3 Population of Study
    • 3.4 Sampling and Sampling Technique
    • 3.5 Validation of Research Instrument
    • 3.6 Method of Data Collection
    • 3.7 Method of Data Analysis
    • 3.8 Questionnaire Administration
    • 3.9 Ethical Consideration
    • 3.10 Statistical Analysis

    CHAPTER FOUR

    DATA ANALYSIS, RESULT AND DISCUSSION

    • 4.1 Introduction
    • 4.2 Presentation and Analysis of Data
    • 4.3 Re-statement of Research Questions
    • 4.4 Test of Hypotheses
    • 4.5 Discussion of Findings

    CHAPTER FIVE

    SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

    • 5.1 Introduction
    • 5.2 Summary of Findings
    • 5.3 Conclusion
    • 5.4 Recommendation
    • 5.5 Suggestion for Further Study

    REFERENCES

    APPENDIX A - “QUESTIONNAIRE”

    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 test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. 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.

    Teachers Perception of Difficult Areas in Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum

    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:

    1. Concept of living
    2. Basic ecological concepts
    3. Plant and animal nutrition
    4. Variations and variability
    5. Evolution
    6. Genetics
    …

    CHAPTER TWO

    2.0 Literature Review

    2.1 Introduction

    This chapter focuses on the review of related literature. A literature review includes the current knowledge as well as theoretical and methodological contributions to a particular topic. It documents the state of the art with respect to the topic you are writing. It surveys the literature in the topic selected. In this research work the literature review includes the …

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