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CHALLENGES FACING JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS IN IMPLEMENTING BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM IN QUA’AN-PAN EDUCATION AREA, PLATEAU STATE

ABSTRACT

This study seeks to investigate the challenges facing Junior Secondary School Science Teachers in implementing Basic Science and Technology curriculum in Qua’an-pan Education Area, Plateau State. The study used the survey method with seventy (70) science teachers’ respondents as sample size and the questionnaire was used as research instrument. In the data analysis, percentage score was used in analyzing personal data and mean score was used in answering the research questions. The result of the study revealed these findings. Basic Science and Technology curriculum in Qua’an-pan Local Government Area are being implemented to a large extent; facilities available for the implementation of Basic Science and Technology curriculum are not adequate. It has been proved that there is no adequate non-human resource for the implementation of Basic Science and Technology in Qua’an-pan. Furthermore, it has been proved that science teachers and laboratory assistants are not adequate in the schools in terms of qualification, number and experience. The study also revealed that problem-solving method and team teaching are the methods of teaching commonly adopted by the teachers. Finally the study recommended among others that government should provide enough resources, employ qualified and trained teachers, pay teachers remuneration and promote Basic Science and Technology teachers in order to ensure effective implementation of the Basic Science and Technology achievement of its objectives.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study        –           –           –           –           –           –           1         

1.2       Statement of the Problem       –           –           –           –           –                       4

1.3       Purpose of the Study –           –           –           –           –           –                       6

1.4       Research Questions    –           –           –           –           –           –                       6

1.5       Limitation of the Study          –           –           –           –           –           –           7

1.6       Significance of the Study       –           –           –           –           –           –           8

1.7       Delimitation of the Study       –           –           –           –           –           –           9

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms         –           –           –           –           –           10

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

CHAPTER THREE

METHODS AND PROCEDURE

3.0       Introduction    –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           39

3.1       The Research Design –           –           –           –           –           –           –           39

3.2       Population       –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           40

3.3       Sampling Techniques  –           –           –           –           –           –           –           40

3.3.1    Sample            –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           41

3.4       Instrument for Data Collection           –           –           –           –           –           41

3.4.1    Description of the Instrument             –           –           –           –           –           42

3.4.2    Procedure for Instrument Development         –           –           –           –           42

3.5       Validity of the Instrument      –           –           –           –           –           –           43

3.6       Procedure and Data Collection           –           –           –           –           –           44

3.7       Method of Data Analysis        –           –           –           –           –           –           44

CHAPTER FOUR

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

4.0       Introduction    –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           46

4.1       Results –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           46       

4.2       Discussion       –           –           –           –           –           –           –           –           57       

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.1       Summary of Findings –           –           –           –           –           –           62       

5.2       Conclusion      –           –           –           –           –           –           –           63

5.3       Recommendations      –           –           –           –           –           –           64       

5.4       Limitation of the Study          –           –           –           –           –           66       

REFERENCE –           –           –           –           –           –           –           67       

APPENDIX    –           –           –           –           –           –           –           70                   

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1       Background of the Study

            The development of Basic Science and Technology as a subject area occurred in Nigeria in the late 1960s and its teaching and learning have since been entrenched in schools. A child they say is the father of a man. The education which the child receive today will shape his understanding and vision of life and this in turn will enable him to pay a significant role in the making of himself and in the development of his father land. The child learns to perform and improve on the quality of the activities and lifestyle of his forebears, thus, pushing forward the frontiers of the cultural disposition of the people.

            In 1968, a committee was formed under a cooperative agreement between the then comparative education study and adaptation centre (CESAC) now merged into the Nigerian Education Research Development Council (NERDC) and the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN). The committee produced the first Basic Science and technology curriculum (STAN, 1990). The STAN document was far more comprehensive and integrated. It also used the nomenclature for the title of the subject in line with happenings in the developed countries of the world. According to the STAN document earlier referred to a number of questions informed the need for the basic science and technology curriculum.

            Functional education determined by the quality of the curriculum content and its implementation. Functional curriculum content must be valid, significant learnable and consistent with social realities, useful and reflects the interest of the learner (Offorma, 2005). Also valid curriculum content must be related to the philosophy and objective of educational curriculum.

            Curriculum planners and developers attempted to take care of the mentioned issues but there are still some barriers to attainment of goals of education in Nigeria. Some of these set-backs are curriculum overload, overcrowded classrooms, poor method of instruction, lack of adequate laboratories and equipment etc. Literature shows that process-oriented activities are not usually carried in integrated science classrooms in Nigeria. Obioha and Bamide (2002) in Shaibu and Meri (2009), reported that pupils are seldom confronted with first-hand concrete experience which could allow them perceived relationship, predict event and draw conclusions. This is as a result of lack of adequate laboratories and equipment, inappropriate teaching methods, overcrowded classrooms, lack of textbooks, lack of qualify teachers that has seriously lead to the challenges facing Junior Secondary School Science Teachers in implementing basic science and technology curriculum in Qua’an-pan Education Area, Plateau State.

            Though the junior secondary school curriculum specifies, hands on process and skills acquisition, most children are not exposed to these real situation in the schools. This means that scientific, vocational and technological aspects of education are not effectively implemented. Hence, curriculum reviews to make it relevant to national development in line with the global national demand of this era.

            Curriculum review become imperative as a result of Federal Government of Nigeria decision to introduce the 9years of basic education and the need to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the year 2015 together with the need to meet the critical target of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategies (NEEDS) summarized as follows; value re-orientation, poverty eradication, job creation, wealth generation and using education to empower the people. It become obvious that the existing curriculum for junior secondary school should be reviewed, restructured and realigned to fit into a 9year of basic education. The National Council on Education (NCE) and its meeting in December 2005 directed the NERDC to carry out this assignment. The NCE also approved the new curriculum as basic education curricula. Consequently, a high level policy committee on curriculum development meet and produced the guideline for the curricular restructuring (Dauda and Udofia, 2010). When this was done, NERDC convened between January and March 2006, experts from various fields and works of life who worked assiduously to produce the curricula. This curricula were to take effect from September 2007. In the re-structuring, basic science replaced integrated science curriculum, and therefore, the need for basic science curriculum at the junior secondary schools in Nigeria became imperative.

            According to Obioma (2007), basic science and technology curriculum reflects depths, appropriateness and inter-relatedness of the curricula contents. Since the curriculum represents the total experiences to which all learners must be exposed, the content, performance objectives, activities for both teacher and learners evaluation guides were provided.

1.2       Statement of the Problem

            Basic science evolved from integrated science. Some relevant themes in integrated science curriculum are still maintained in basic science curriculum. Integrated science is science presented to the child such that the child gains the concepts of the fundamental unity of science, the commonality of approach to problems of scientific nature and an understanding of the role and function of science in everyday life and the world in which they live (National Policy on Education, 2013). Basic science on the other hand is basic training in scientific skills required for human survival, sustainable development and societal transformation. Basic science combines science and technology. Consequently, the problem of this study was to find out the challenges facing junior secondary school science teachers in implementing basic science and technology curriculum.

            For the past years, the basic science and technology curriculum has been in use in the Nigerian school system. Over the years the performances of the students in basic science and technology related subject and the curriculum implementation have been observed persistently low, discouraging and as well disturbing (Akpan, 1999; Ifeakon, 2007).  This trend has posed a problem and concern to science educators and researchers. What could be the cause of this trend? Are the objectives of the junior secondary school basic science and technology no longer relevant? Is it lack of qualify teachers to teach the basic science and technology? Is it lack of instructional materials? Are there no sufficient textbooks for the teaching of basic science and technology curriculum? Is it poor teaching methods used in teaching basic science and technology curriculum? Or could the implementation of the curriculum be the problem? If it is, what are the likely constraints that affected the effective implementation of the basic science and technology curriculum at the junior secondary school? Answer to these questions necessitated this study.

1.3       Purpose of the Study

            The purpose of this study is to assess the challenges facing junior secondary science teachers in implementing basic science and technology curriculum in Qua’an-pan education area, Plateau state. Specifically the study sought to:

1. Assess the teaching methods the science teachers use in teaching basic science and technology at the junior secondary schools
2. Examine the adequacy of non-human resources in the schools
3. Examine the science teachers and science laboratory assistants in terms of number, qualification and experience in the school
4. Determine the perception of the teachers on the adequacy of the content of the basic science and technology curriculum in attaining the objectives of basic science and technology at the junior secondary schools in Qua’an-pan Local Government Area, Plateau State.
5. Determine the perception of teachers on the relevance of the objectives of the basic science and technology curriculum at the junior secondary schools in Qua’an-pan Local Government Area, Plateau State.

1.4      Research Questions

           This study attempted to provide answers to the following research questions:

1. What teaching methods do science teachers use in teaching basic science and technology in junior secondary schools in Qua’an-pan Local Government Area, Plateau State?
2. Are there adequate non-human resources for teaching basic science and technology curriculum in Qua’an-pan Local Government Area, Plateau State?
3. Are science teachers and science laboratory assistants adequate in the schools in terms of number, qualification and experienced?
4. What are the teacher’s perception of the adequacy of the content of the basic science and technology?
5. What are the teacher’s perceptions of the relevance of the objectives of the basic science and technology curriculum?

1.5       Limitation of the Study

It should be note that the verse effect of the challenges that has led to the implantation problems of basic science and technology curriculum in the junior secondary schools covers a very wide range of investigation because it is common in most of our present day secondary education in Nigeria. Meanwhile, for the purpose of this study the researcher does not intend to cover the whole schools in Qua’an-pan Local Government Area but rather it will cover some selected secondary schools in the area of study, specifically the research will focus on Junior Secondary Education level. Furthermore, the researcher restricted her study to Qua’an-pan education area due to limit of time and finance since the researcher is combining the study with her academic work.

1.6       Significance of the Study

            The finding of this study would form part of the efforts that are being made to have greater achievement of students in basic science and technology development. The result would also provide the federal and state ministries of education, principals, policy makers, teachers, educators, parents, curriculum developers and students with the necessary information on the extent of coverage to which the junior secondary school basic science and technology curriculum is being implemented to achieve the aims and objectives of the curriculum. The findings would also serve as a feedback to curriculum designers, planners and developers. The strengths and weaknesses of the implementation of the programme would be examined for future improvement and modification of the curriculum development process. The finding of this study would assist to provide information on the adequacies or pitfalls of the basic science and technology curriculum implementation process for the government to address.

            The findings would also help to provide information on the extent of the availability of curriculum resources both human and non-human that are needed for the effective implementation of the junior secondary school basic science and technology curriculum. This would serve as a strong empirical basis for the improvement and modification of the resources especially in science laboratory.

            Furthermore, the findings would also reveal the enabling factors and the constraints in the course of the curriculum implementation. Also, the findings of this study would provide data for educational authorities to make solid decision on in-service and improve pre-service training programmes for basic science and technology teachers and laboratory assistants in the schools. The findings would serve as a reference point for future evaluation of the curriculum at this level and among other educational levels.

1.7       Delimitation of the Study

            The study was delimited to the evaluation of the challenges facing junior secondary school science teachers in implementing basic science and technology curriculum in Qua’an-pan Education Area, Plateau State. in pursuance of this purpose, the researcher limited of investigation to the objectives of basic science and technology curriculum, the content of the basic science and technology curriculum, the adequacy of science teachers and science laboratory assistants in terms of number, qualification and experience, the adequacy of non-human resources and the teaching methods used by science teachers. The study covered all junior secondary schools at Qua’an-pan Education Area, Plateau State.

1.8       Operational Definition of Terms

Basic Science and Technology: Is the type of science programme for primary schools and junior secondary schools covered in Nigeria.

Junior Secondary: Is the upper basic education in Nigeria.