Animation and the Restructuring of the Junior Secondary School Basic Science Curriculum in Rivers State

Animation and the Restructuring of the Junior Secondary School Basic Science Curriculum in Rivers State

Chapter One

Objectives of the study

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the implementation status and restructuring of the Basic Science component of the Basic science curriculum in Rivers State. The specific objectives are:

1. To determine the qualifications of Basic Science teachers.
2. To find out Basic Science teachers’ teaching experiences.
3. To examine the teaching strategies employed by Basic Science teachers in classroom teaching
4. To evaluate the assessment methods (in terms of tests and examinations) used by Basic Science teachers  in the assessment of Basic Science

5. To find out the available instructional materials for the implementation of Basic Science       curriculum in rural and urban schools in Rivers state.
6. To determine the extent of usage of the available instructional materials
7. To determine  students’ attitude to Basic Science
8. To determine students’ achievement in Basic Science
9. To determine the effect of teachers’ gender on the implementation status of Basic Science.

10. To determine the effect of school location on the implementation status of Basic Science.

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction  

This chapter contains a review of literature that is relevant to this study with a view to elucidating the background to the study as well as the theoretical and conceptual basis for this study. The review of the related literature for this study will be examined under the following sub-headings: the theoretical/conceptual framework, empirical studies and summary.

Theoretical Framework

This section discuses the theories that back up the study and concepts that are pertinent to the study. Bruner’s discovery learning theory and Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory give the theoretical backing to this research work and thus will be considered in this chapter.

 Bruner’s Discovery Learning Theory (1961)

Bruner (1961) was one of the founding fathers of constructivist theories. Constructivism is a broad theoretical framework with numerous perspectives, and Bruner’s is one of them. Bruner’s theoretical framework is based on the theme that learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon existing (previous) knowledge. Bruner sees learning as an active process. Facets of the process include selection and transformation of information, decision making, generating hypotheses, and making meaning from information and experiences.

Four key themes emerged in Bruner’s early work:

• The role of structure in learning and how it may be made central in teaching. Structure refers to relationships among factual elements and techniques.
• The ideas of readiness for learning and spiral curriculum. Bruner believed that any subject could be taught at any stage of development in a way that fits the child’s cognitive abilities.

Spiral curriculum refers to the idea of revisiting basic ideas over and over, building upon them and elaborating to the level of full understanding and mastery.

• That intuitive and analytical thinking should both be encouraged and rewarded. Here, the intuitive skills were under-emphasized and he reflected on the ability of experts in every field to make intuitive leaps.
• Investigation of motivation for learning and the idea that interest in the subject matter is the best stimulus for learning. Bruner did not like external competitive goals such as grades or class ranking.

Some characteristics of effective instruction which emerged from Bruner’s theoretical construct are:

1. Predisposition to learn:  This feature specifically states the experiences which move the learner toward a love of learning in general, or of learning something in particular. Motivational, cultural, and personal factors contribute learners’ predisposition. Bruner (1961) emphasized social factors and early teachers and parents’ influence learners’ predisposition. Bruner emphasized that instruction should be personalized. This means that instruction should relate to learners’ predisposition, and facilitate interest toward learning. Bruner believed that learning and problem solving emerged out of exploration.
2. Structure of knowledge: It is possible to structure knowledge in a way that enables the learner to most readily grasp the information. This is a relative feature, as there are many ways to structure a body of knowledge and many preferences among learners. Bruner offered considerable detail about structuring knowledge. Understanding the fundamental structure of a subject makes it more comprehensible. Bruner viewed categorization as a fundamental process in the structuring of knowledge. Details are better retained when placed within the context of an ordered and structured pattern.
3. Modes of representation: This refers to the use of appropriate instructional materials in form of visual, words and symbols by science teachers in order to make science teaching more meaningful and real. If these teaching aids are not readily available, Basic Science teachers are expected to improvise from local materials around them.
4. Effective sequencing: Sequencing is an important aspect of presentation of learning materials. Sequencing, or lack of it, can make learning easier or more difficult. This refers to thematic and spiral patterns of arrangement of curriculum content from simple to complex across the school levels. Thematic arrangement means that the contents, principles, facts and concepts are organized in themes i.e. broad themes and sub-themes. While the spiral or concentric arrangement refers to the organization and sequencing of contents in the meaningful order so as to reoccur at different levels of education.

This type of arrangement, according to Adeniyi (2012), ensures sustenance of learner’s interest and meaningful learning.  The material learnt by the child earlier provides strong base for future learning and reflective thinking exploration.

5. Reinforcement: Another characteristic of effective instruction which emerged from Bruner’s theoretical construct is the aspect of reinforcement.  He emphasized that rewards and punishment should be selected and paced appropriately.

The implication of Bruner’s theory for this study is as follows:

1. Science teachers should ensure that the recommended teaching strategies/methods – which are learner-centred are always adopted in their classrooms. Varied opportunities should be provided for students to engage in hands-on and mind-on activities that will enable them make new discoveries, develop interest and critical thinking skills.  More so, doing science gives good opportunities for the teaching and learning of science processes – skills and attitude.

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CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHOD

Introduction

This chapter presents the research design, area of study, population, sample and sampling. The chapter also specifies instruments of the study, validation of instrument, reliability, method of data collection and method of data analysis.

Research Design  

The research design adopted for this study is descriptive survey design. This type of design is used to gather data from a large number of subjects. The purpose is to gather information about variables rather than information about individuals. In survey research design, sampling is involved, that is, a group of people or items is studied by collecting and analysing data from only a few people considered being a representative sample of the entire population.

Area of Study   

The area of study for this research is Rivers State Education zones A, B and C.  Rivers State, also known simply as Rivers, is one of the 36 states of Nigeria. According to census data released in 2006, the state has a population of 5,198,716, making it the sixth-most populous state in the country. Its capital and largest city, Port Harcourt, is economically significant as the centre of Nigeria’s oil industry. Rivers State is bounded on the South by the Atlantic Ocean, to the North by Imo, Abia and Anambra States, to the East by Akwa Ibom State, and to the West by Bayelsa and Delta states. It is home of many ethnic groups: Ikwerre,Ekpeye, Etche etc subgroups of the Igbo people, Ijaw Subgroups, Ogoni people and other ethnic groups. The people from Rivers State are known as “Riverians”.

The inland part of the state consists of tropical rainforest; towards the coast, the typical Niger Delta environment features many mangrove swamps.

Population

The population of this study is all the junior secondary schools in Rivers State. Rivers State has a total of 1,133 Junior Secondary Schools with BECE centers in the three education zones of the State as at the time of data collection for the study. This population comprises 352 government schools, 623 private schools and 158 mission schools. The target population for this study is 64,349 JSS3 students and all their Basic Science teachers. (Source: Rivers State Examinations Board, 2016)

CHAPTER FOUR

ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION

Introduction

This chapter presents the data collected for the study, analysis of data, interpretation and discussion of findings. Presentation begins with analysis and interpretation.

Analysis and Interpretation

The data analysis and interpretation are presented according to the research questions and hypotheses formulated for the study. Data related to each research question and hypothesis are presented on a separate table to aid comprehension of the analysis and interpretation of results.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS  

Introduction

This chapter gives the summary of the study and the conclusion drawn from the result of the investigation. It also includes the recommendations and suggestions for further studies.

Summary

This study was designed to empirically evaluate the implementation status of Basic Science curriculum in rural and urban Junior Secondary Schools in Rivers State with a view to identifying its strengths and weaknesses as well as teachers’ perception of the implementation status of the Basic Science programme.

The study is of importance because Basic Science is foundational to further science beyond basic science and its findings will document the implementation status, the strengths and weaknesses of the implementation of Basic Science curriculum so that adjustment could be made for better results.

The study was mainly anchored on the theory of constructivism based on the discovery learning theory of Bruner and experimental ideas of Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory. Bruner’s theoretical framework is based on the theme that learners construct new ideas or concept based on existing knowledge and Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory deals with the nature of knowledge itself and how humans gradually come to acquire, construct and use it.

The review of related literature focused on Stufflebeam’s CIPP evaluation model, Tyler’s model, concept of evaluation, Basic Science curriculum (Objectives, structure and features), Curriculum implementation, factors affecting curriculum implementation, assessment and evaluation.

In order to realise the objectives of the study, a descriptive survey design was carried out in education zones A, B and C of Rivers State involving 731 students (423 males and 305 females) and 18 Basic Science teachers (15 males and 3 females) randomly drawn from the study area.

A structured questionnaire – Basic Science Curriculum Implementation Questionnaire (BSCIQ) and Basic science Teaching Observation Schedule (BTOS) were used to collect data from the teachers while Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT) and Students’ Attitude to Science Questionnaire (SATSQ) were used to collect data from the students.

Frequencies, means and standard deviations were used to answer research questions while research hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level using ANOVA and t-test.

The following are the major findings of the study:

1. There is no significant difference in implementation status of Basic Science curriculum as viewed    by teachers with different qualifications.
2. There is a significant difference in implementation status of Basic Science curriculum as viewed by   teachers with different years of experience.

• Most teachers teaching Basic Science are not professionally qualified.

1. Many teachers are frequently using lecture (textbook and discussion) method in classroom           teaching of Basic Science.
2. There is no significant difference in implementation status of Basic Science curriculum based   on  the assessment methods used by Basic Science teachers.
3. There are inadequate instructional materials for the implementation of Basic Science curriculum vii. Male and female students have favourable attitude towards Basic Science as a school subject.

• There is no significant difference between curriculum implementation status and the assessment methods used by Basic Science teachers.

1. There is a significant difference between the attitude of male and female students towards Basic Science.
2. There is a significant difference in the achievement of male and female students in Basic Science. xi. There is no significant difference in the implementation status of Basic Science curriculum as viewed by male and female Basic Science teachers.

xii. There is no significant difference on the implementation status of Basic Science curriculum as viewed by Basic Science teachers in rural and urban schools in Rivers State. 

  Conclusion

It has been established that in both rural and urban school locations in Rivers State, most teachers teaching basic science are not professionally qualified. Although the majority of the teachers teaching Basic Science in the study area are teachers with education qualifications, it was too pathetic to discover that no single teacher, in the sampled schools specialized in Basic Science. Furthermore, many of the instructional materials for the implementation of upper Basic Science curriculum are not available while the available few are under-utilised or not put into use at all probably because the teachers lacked the professional skills necessary to do that. The teachers are also frequently adopting lecture teaching method while the psychomotor domain of educational objectives is the least assessed.

It was also established that male and female students in the study area displayed favourable attitude towards Basic Science and they demonstrated a high mastery of the Basic Science curriculum content.

Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the implementation status of Basic Science curriculum in rural and urban secondary school locations of Rivers State are not significantly different. And that male and female teachers’ views of the implementation status of Basic Science curriculum are not significantly different.

Recommendations

Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are made:

1. Efforts should be intensified by the state government to produce and employ more qualified Basic Science teachers. This can be done by encouraging every educational institution of higher learning in the state to mount Basic Science education program in order to facilitate the effective implementation of the upper Basic science curriculum in Rivers State.
2. Teachers of upper Basic Science who did not specialize in Basic Science should be exposed to in-service training through seminars, workshops and conferences, aimed at enabling them to acquire the necessary skills to effectively implement upper Basic science curriculum.
3. The state government, school administrators and other agencies responsible for education in the state should provide enough instructional materials for effective implementation of Basic science curriculum

4. Basic Science teachers should take the advantage of STAN annual conferences and workshops on how to improvise Basic Science instructional materials by regularly attending the workshops.
5. There is also the need for Basic Science teachers to adopt the recommended teaching methods which are learner-centered in the classroom teaching of Basic Science for effective teaching.
6. More courses on assessment methods should be included in the teachers’ training programmes and sending teachers for in-service/workshops on assessment may help to improve teachers’ skills and use of desirable assessment practices.

  Limitations

The limitations observed in this study was  that a number of Students’ Attitude to Science Questionnaire (SATSQ) were invalidated due to wrong completion such as two or more responses to one question by some respondents, this reduced the sample size and these might have affected the general result of the study to some extent.

Another constraint that was encountered in the process of carrying out this study was the uncooperative attitude of some of the basic science teachers in the sampled schools in the study area. Their unwillingness to be observed for classroom interaction also reduced the sample size and this might have affected the general result of the study to some extent.

Suggestions for Further Studies

The following suggestions have been made for further research work:

1. A similar research can be carried out in the lower and middle basic of the 9-year Basic science curriculum of the UBE with a bigger sample size to improve on the limitation observed in this study.
2. A study of this type could be replicated in other states of Nigeria to authenticate the findings reported for Rivers State.
3. A similar research can be carried out to investigate other subjects of the Basic Education Curriculum.

 Contributions to Knowledge

This research work is unique and novel as it has comprehensively addressed the level of accomplishment of the Basic Science curriculum in the junior secondary schools of the Universal Basic Education in Rivers state. This research work has empirically established the fact that there is no significant difference in the level of accomplishment of the Basic Science curriculum in rural and urban secondary school locations of Rivers state. The research work has also proven that although both male and female students have favourable attitude towards Basic Science as a school subject yet a significant difference was empirically established in both their attitude and achievement in basic science.

 More over, this study has been able to refute the assertion of some researchers on the increase in the students’ failure rates in STM and established a consistent improvement in BECE result in agreement with BECE result analysis.

REFERENCES

• AbduRaheem, B. O. (2012). The influence of gender on secondary students’ academic performance in South West Nigeria. Journal of Social Sciences, 31(1), 34-39
• Aboluwodi,  A.  (2015). Political will and strategic planning in the implementation of Universal Basic Education in Nigeria: The Obafemi Awolowo example.  Journal of Education and Research, 5 (1), 6-22.
• Achuonye, K. A. (2015). The predominant teaching strategies in schools: Implications for curriculum implementation in Mathematics, Science and Technology. Journal of Educational Research and Review, 10 (15), 2097-2103. Retrieved on June 30, 2017 from http://www.academicjournal.org/ERR
• Adebule, S. O. & Aborishade, O. J. (2014). Gender comparison of attitude of senior secondary school students towards Mathematics in Ekiti State, Nigeria. European Scientific Journal, 10(19), 153-160.
• Awoderu, J. B. & Oludipe, D. I. (2012).  Effectiveness of cooperative learning strategies on Nigerian junior secondary students’ academic achievement in basic science. British
• Ayodele, M. O. (2016).  Attitude, self-concept and achievement of junior secondary school students in Basic Science in Ekiti State, Nigeria.  Journal of Education and Social Research,  6(1), 167-171
• Bamidele, A. D. & Adekola , F. F. (2017). Effects of teacher’s qualifications and teaching experience on students’ academic achievement in Basic Science in junior secondary schools. International Journal of Education and Evaluation, 3(2), 1-9.  Retrieved on January 15, 2018 from  www.iiardpub.org

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