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Full Project – EVALUATION OF BIOLOGY CURRICULUM PROBLEMS AS PERCEIVED BY SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IJEBU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OGUN STATE

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Over the years, science education which includes subjects like biology, chemistry and physics in Nigeria has faced various challenges. The school curriculum as guaranteed by the national policy on education offers a child-centered teaching-learning approach as students are expected to get the best of teaching from qualified teachers in other to perform academically. In Nigeria, the inclusion of science subjects in the school curriculum is to promote national development as the nation adopts more science oriented policies and programmes in education (Oriahi et al., 2010). Poor performance of students in science subjects can be as a result of motivation for teachers; poor infrastructural facilities for teachers; lack of teaching skills and competence by science teachers; and lack of opportunities for professional development of science teachers (Braimoh and Okadeyi, 2001; Olaleye, 2002).

Other factors include syllabus, teacher’s qualifications, workload, experience and disposition, general lack of teaching skills and ineffective style of delivery of subject matter are also identified as some of the causes (Adepoju, 1991; Salau, 1996). Scientific issues involve the teaching of biological concepts through technology so as to develop science through interesting contexts. The inclusion of science technology-society (S-T-S) issues in the school curriculum (Osborne and Collins, 2000) will achieve the engagement of students in problem solving activities. Ideal teaching refers to the teaching and learning process as it is expected to take place in a classroom in an ideal situation with all necessary conditions to enhance teachers’ performance. Actual teaching is the teaching and learning process that actually takes place in the classroom in relation to the prevailing academic and environmental conditions. Quality teaching is the process of continuously improving teaching and learning in order to enhance educational attainment in the school system. It is the principal measure of the effectiveness of education and the most attribute to suffer.

“Because of the importance of biology in the lives of every educated citizen and its increasing eminence in the scientific explosion, it behooves professional biologists to provide a challenging scholarly and yet attractive undergraduate education both for nonbiologists and biologists” With this statement, many years before, Johnson (1986) pointed out the importance of biology which will have a profound impact on our lives through advances for the next few decades. Biology is the science of living things among which human has the strongest place. Biological sciences stimulate human interest to find the truth with an intellectual rigor therefore has an important cultural and educational function. Accordingly, the purpose of science is “to discover the laws that govern the natural world and so increase our understanding of it” (Liras, 1994).

Everyone accepts that “biology is the science of twenty-first century”. There have been many developments which form an important base for both medicine and health issues. In the past few years many issues have been biology-based such as biodiversity, genetically modified organisms, reproductive technologies, the prolongation of life. All of these improvements meet human needs and so these times have been considered as ‘the Age of Biology’ (Jarman, Ruth, McClune and Billy; 2001).

Educators have been trying to provide a better education to the youth for a better future. A better education lies in motivating students and involving them in the process of learning. Developing individual creativity at the heart of continuous innovation, and encouraging students to use this skill in shaping their lives should be defined as the foremost goals of today’s education (Marchaim, 2001). Science educators have made studies for meaningful understanding of science disciplines. It has been exposed thatscience education should enable pupils to understand the nature of science and to think like scientists (Roberts, 2001).

It is evident that for a meaningful understanding and learning of science there should be meaningful science teaching. Learning is defined by Haladyna (1997) as “any change in mental behavior that is lasting and the product of experience”. On the other hand, he defined teaching as “the coordinated set of activities that require measuring student behavior reflecting instructional intent”. In recent decades, it has been aimed for not only biological sciences but for all science disciplines that students should apply the acquired knowledge to everyday issues. Furthermore science education should make students gain a criticizing mind about the scientific developments. This aim has been stressed by Millar and Osborne (1998) that science education should “help young people acquire a broad general understanding of the important ideas of science …. so they can understand, respond critically to, media reports of issues with a science component”. What is more, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1993) defined achieving scientific literacy as the central goal of science education, that is, student understands of the nature of science.

It is therefore likely that, based on the above information, the primary goal of science education is to educate scientifically thinking and literate students who can apply their knowledge to everyday life. Thus, instead of teaching and learning isolated bits of “inert knowledge”, recent science education underlines the need for “quality over quantity, meaning over memorizing, and understanding over awareness” (Mintzes, Wandersee, James and Novak, 2001). For that reason science education should include practical activities as well as theory for a real understanding of nature of science. Liras (1994) stated that the student must connect the theoretical concepts with the practical aspects of real word via the motivation of teacher and subject discipline. Thus, aims of science education should be defined: to stimulate and excite pupils’ curiosity about events in the world; to satisfy this curiosity with knowledge; to engage learners at many levels; to provide critical and creative thinking; to make pupils understand how major scientific ideas contribute to technological change-impacting on industry, business and medicine improving quality of life; to make pupils learn to question and discuss science-based issues that may affect their own lives, the direction of society and the future of the world (Osborne, 2000).

Kept these objectives in mind, therefore, science/biology teachers have responsibilities. They should provide real teaching- learning process by meeting the following aims (Liras, 1994):

To provide sessions that: are active, interesting, and participatory; allow full discussion and stimulate the students; establish the essential basic concepts; use the instrumentation adequately to illustrate important and basic aspects of modem biology; develop a greater interaction between teacher and student; increase the student’s capacity.

In the light of these objectives, as has been aforementioned, to be able to judge about scientific issues someone has to possess an understanding of ideas and procedural understanding. Accordingly, biology education should aim this. For that reason aims of biology education should be clarified. Development of biological literacy in all pupils is among the aims of biology education (Roberts, 2001). Biologically literate people can have ideas and judge about important issues such as healthcare, environmental protection, pollution and controversial issues for example cloning. In addition, they can also make, at least, some critics on issues of other science disciplines. Development of biological literacy should be the prevalent most important aim of biology education, because it follows the occurrence of sub-aims. Biology knowledge, applying this knowledge to everyday life, critical thinking, looking for scientific resolutions to problems, scientific self concept, the skills of using equipment properly, the skills of experimental techniques are among the aims of biology education that should be gained by students through biology education. On the other hand, it should be noted that biology education should prepare some pupils for becoming working biologists (Roberts and Gott, 1999).

In the developing world with the appreciable increase of importance of biology through huge developments, it has been given greater considerable value to biology in Nigeria. In the recent years Nigerian science educators have made many studies for a better biology education including instructional methods, fundamentals, problems and curriculum of biology education. For example Tekkaya, Çapa and Yılmaz (1999) demonstrated that Nigerian science education had many problems which were categorized into five groups as problems depending on administrative factors, problems depending on teachers, problems depending on students, problems depending on social factors, and problems depending on institutions that educate teachers. They stated that the disconnection between modern science disciplines and science disciplines taught in schools accounted for the problems met in science education. In addition, they emphasized the importance of making relations with daily life, getting rid of memorization, using computers and applying acquired knowledge for a meaningful science education. What is more, they suggested that to increase the interest in science, especially biology, the number of science questions in university entrance exams should be increased.

Besides the goals and the curriculum of Nigerian biology education have been identified as a consequence of appreciable efforts. The curriculum has been reconstructed after many studies starting in 1993. At that time, the Educational Research and Development Directorate (ERDD) prepared a curriculum model with the help of the Ministry of National Education. Needs-assessment and analyses had been made. As a result necessary changes had been done (Model for Curriculum Development, 1993, ERDD).

The new biology education with the new curriculum was started to be implemented from 1998-1999 educational year. The goals and objectives of the new biology curriculum were identified in the way that would give rise to learning far from memorization and students would not only grasp the subjects in the best pattern but also use the knowledge in daily life. New curriculum aimed at getting students to gain consciousness of health care, thus topics are made linked to human health. Teaching learning strategies of each topic were explained in detail and supported with different kinds of examples and questions. Furthermore films, transparencies, experiments, field trips, and observations were suggested as supportive aids. All the information about the new curriculum was announced in the curriculum guide (Journal of Announcements of Ministry of National Education-T.C. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Tebliğler Dergisi, 1998, No: 2485). In this guide it was stated that biology education aimed to make students active learners through the provision of learning not only by just hearing but also by seeing, doing and searching. Since only by this way is the retention of knowledge possible. Furthermore the curriculum aimed to educate pupils trying to find resolutions to the problems with a “scientific approach”.

In the guide, the following goals were stated as the fundamentals for the development of the biology curriculum: The student, through biology education, should be able to; comprehend basic structure of living organisms; recognize and protect the environment, comprehend the importance of environment for human life, gain conscious o health care; think critically and approach the resolutions to the problems that he/she met through the life with scientific method; Suggest resolutions to the biological problems that Nigeria meets; relate the gained knowledge to everyday life.

Among these, the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) was the largest and the most comprehensive comparative international study of education ever undertaken. TIMSS 1999 was designed to provide a base for better understanding of educational systems of 41 countries including Nigeria. TIMSS 1999 compared the mathematics and Biology achievement of students in these countries. It was designed to provide trends in eighth-grade mathematics and Biology achievement in an international context. The aim was to improve the teaching and learning of mathematics and science for students everywhere by providing data about what types of curricula, instructional practices, and school environments result in higher students’ achievement (TIMSS, 1999). There were six content areas in the study:

Earth science: Earth features, earth processes, and earth in the universe

Life science: Diversity, organization and structure of living things; life processes and systems enabling life functions; life spirals, genetic continuity and diversity; interactions of living things; and human biology and health

Physics: Physical properties and transformations; energy and physical processes; and forces and motion

Chemistry: Classification and structure of matter; chemical properties; and chemical transformations

Environmental and resource issues: Pollution; conservation of land, water; and sea resources; conservation of material and energy resources; world population; food supply and production; and effects of natural disasters

Scientific inquiry and the nature of science: The nature of scientific knowledge; the scientific enterprise; interactions of Biology, technology, mathematics, and society; and the tools, procedures, and processes used in conducting scientific investigations.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Due to the increasing nature of poor academic performance among senior secondary school students in Biology especially in external examinations like the West Africa Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), many educationists tend to shift the blame on the teaching methodology adopted by teachers and lack of funds from the government to provide quality textbooks. However, these might not be the main reasons why students perform poorly in examinations. Observations and interactions with students indicate that most senior secondary school students in Biology have problems with Biology Curriculum which might lead to their poor academic performance. Hence, the need to survey how the Biology Curriculum affects the students’ academic performance in Biology in Ijebu East Local Government of Ogun State, and possibly aid in finding solution to students’ poor academic performance in Biology and help in the improvement of the quality of education.

1.3 Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the Biology Curriculum Problems as perceived by secondary school students: A case study of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State.

1.4 Research Questions

In order to achieve the above objectives, the questions below were raised to guide the study:

What are students’ views about biology curriculum?
What are the students’ opinions about the reasons of low achievement of students in biology?

1.5 Significance of the Study

Although this study is limited with biology teachers and students, the results of this study provide insights about not only the reasons of low achievement in biology but also the problems that both students and teachers face as a result of Biology Curriculum. In the light of the results of this study educators, curriculum developers, and teachers can try to improve Nigeria biology education to make it more meaningful by trying to get rid of the problems which interfere with higher achievement in biology. Accordingly, both students and teachers will have more positive feelings toward biology which will contribute to a better biology education.

1.6 Research Hypothesis

The following hypothesis was formulated for the study

Ho: Students’ opinions have no significant impact on low achievement in Biology.

H₁: Students’ opinions have significant impact on low achievement in Biology.

1.7 Delimitations of the Study

This study was limited to assessing Biology Curriculum Problems as perceived by secondary school students: A case study of Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State. It was limited to four (4) randomly selected senior secondary schools in Ijebu East Local Government Area of Ogun State and involved only hundred (100) students.

Limitations of the study

Financial constraint– Insufficient fund tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire and interview).

Time constraint– The researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.

1.8 Organization of the Study

The study was presented in five chapters. The first chapter constituted the introduction, and comprised the background to the study, statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research questions, significance of the study, as well as delimitation of the study. The second chapter constituted a review of related literature on Biology Curriculum Problems as perceived by secondary school students and summary of the literature reviewed. In chapter three, the methodology for the study was explained. This comprised the research design, population, sample and sampling procedure, instrumentation, validity, reliability and mode of collecting data and its analysis. Chapter four dealt with data presentation and analysis, and finally, the fifth chapter discussed summary of the study, conclusions, discussion of the results and implications for practice and future studies.

Operational Definition of Terms

Biology: Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary information encoded in genes, which can be transmitted to future generations.

Curriculum: In education, a curriculum is broadly defined as the totality of student experiences that occur in the educational process. The term often refers specifically to a planned sequence of instruction, or to a view of the student’s experiences in terms of the educator’s or school’s instructional goals.

Problem: Problem is a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.

School: A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools.

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