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DIFFICULTY AREAS IN SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY
CURRICULUM
ABSTRACT
This study identified difficult topics in senior secondary
school biology curriculum. Biology students and teachers in Ikwo Local
Government Area of Ebonyi State of Nigeria were used for the study. Two
research questions were formulated to guide the study. Two hundred students
(200) and thirty (30) biology teachers formed the subjects of this study. There
are twenty-two public secondary school in Ikwo Local Government Area out of
which ten schools were selected for the study through simple random sampling technique.
The researcher used mean and standard deviation to answer the research
questions and the result of the study showed that the students find most topics
difficult. Revelation from the study shows that some topics were perceived
difficult by the teachers. It recommended that more professionally qualified
and experienced teachers be employed and sent to secondary schools. Also,
teachers were advised to use appropriate teaching materials and teaching
methods in order to encourage the students to study biology effectively.
Teachers and students are advised to be more dedicated to their study. Students
should also be made to understand the importance of biology, as this will
encourage them to be serious with the learning of biology.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF
THE STUDY
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.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE
PROBLEM
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.
1.3 PURPOSE OF THE
STUDY
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.
1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF
THE STUDY
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.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE
STUDY
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.
1.6 RESEARCH
QUESTIONS
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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