INNOVATIONS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MATHEMATICS EDUCATION IN NIGERIA by Ebele C. Okigbo, Nneka R. Nnorom, Ernest O. Onwukwe (fantasy novels to read TXT) 📕

school teachers in developing countries like Nigeria will be able to take advantage of the opportunity provided by the year 2020 technology. In recent past, Anambra state government sent many of its workers including teachers on ICT training, but the trainings these teachers received seemed not to have impacted their use of these technologies. Fakomogbon (2005) opined that providing pedagogical training for teachers rather than simple training in ICT is an important issue.  Mallow (2009) in a study on assessment of secondary school teachers use of ICT, found that teachers lack skills and knowledge in the use of computer and software and the result is lack of confidence required for utilizing ICT tools for the application in our classrooms. Other studies indicated that there is lack of facilities, infrastructures and equipment (Jegede & Omolabi, 2008). These obstacles in the use of ICTs for effective delivering of instruction, if properly looked into would bring about increase in ICTs usage for teaching Biology in secondary schools, thus leading to discoveries of new possibilities in biology (Abbot et al, 2001).

 

However, despite significant investment in Information and Communication Technological devices, in reality, schools are still far below the level of ICT use for teaching Biology. The present study therefore, sought to determine the availability and the use of ICT technological devices for teaching Biology in senior secondary schools in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.

 

Statement of the Problem

Despite the numerous advantages in enhancing biology teaching and learning with ICT facilities, it is surprising that in many schools biology teachers do not employ Information and Communication Technological devices in their teaching. They still prefer the traditional educational practice of using chalkboard instead of using these devices (Mallow, 2009). Moreso, Anambra State Government has donated some ICT materials to many secondary schools in the state, but in reality, its usage is still not guaranteed. This study aims at finding out the availability and use of Information and Communication Technological devices for teaching biology in senior secondary schools in Idemili North Local Government of Anambra State.  

 

Purpose of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to determine the availability and use of Information  and  Communication  Technological  devices for teaching biology in senior secondary schools in Idemili North Local Government Area. Specifically, the study aims at:

1.  Determining the availability of ICT devices in senior secondary schools in Idemili North Local Government Area.

2.                 Examining the extent of use of Information and Communication Technological devices by biology teachers for teaching Biology.

3. Identifying the factors militating against the use of Information and Communication Technological devices in teaching and learning biology.

4.  Finding out the possible strategies for enhancing the use of ICT devices for teaching Biology.

 

Research Questions

What ICT devices are available in the school for teaching biology to senior secondary school students in Idemili North Local Government Area?

To what extent are ICT devices used by biology teachers for biology instruction?

What are the hindrances to effective use of ICT devices in teaching biology to senior secondary students?  

What are the strategies for enhancing the use of ICT devices for teaching biology?

 

Method

The study employed survey research design. The study was carried out in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State which is situated in East of the Niger in Southern part of Nigeria. It is bounded in the South by Idemili South Local Government Area, West by Ogbaru Local Government Area and North by Onitsha South Local Government Area. The people of Idemili North Local Government Area are known for farming and trading as their occupation. Idemili North Local Government is made up of Ten (10) communities. This study is carried out here because they have elites in this place who know the value of education and also there are many private and public secondary schools located there and these schools are well populated. Therefore, they need a lot of these ICT devices and so is a good area for study. There is thus the need to find out if these gadgets are available and used by teachers for teaching their students.

 

The population of the study is thirty-six (36) secondary school Biology teachers in twenty three (23) secondary schools in Idemili North Local Government Area. (Planning and Research Statistics PPSSC, 2014).

 

The sample for this study consists of the entire population, that is, all the thirty-six (36) biology teachers from the twenty three schools in Idemili North Local Government Area. This is possible because there are sufficient resources to study the entire population of the study and the number is relatively small and manageable. Therefore there is no sampling technique.

 

The instrument for data collection used for the study was a structured questionnaire which consists of parts A and B. Part A consists of personal and demographic data of the respondents and part B covered questions concerning the study with four sub-sections. Sub-section A is for availability of ICT devices, sub-section B is for information on extent of use of ICT devices, sub-section C is on hindrances to the use of ICT devices and sub-section D covered questions on strategies for enhancing the use of ICT devices. Part B was a forty-three item questionnaire. Sub-section A was structured on a two point scale of available and not available. Sub-section B was designed on a four point scale ranging from Very High Extent to Very Low Extent. Sub-sections C and D were structured on a four point scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree.

 

The research instrument and the purpose of the study were sent to three experts from Measurement and Evaluation, Science Education, and one from Educational Technology, all from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, for face and content validation. The experts were specifically requested to examine the items with respect to the extent to which the statements on the instrument answer the research questions, the suitability of the instrument to the research work and the extent to which the instrument covers the scope of the research work. They made corrections in some of the items after which their input led to certain modifications like compressing the item in the final production.

 

The reliability of the instrument was determined using test-re-tested method. This was used to estimate the extent to which the instrument would be able to elicit the same information always from the same respondents. Copies of the questionnaire were distributed to a sample of six biology teachers in secondary schools in Oyi Local Government Area which is outside the research area to be sampled. After two weeks, the same questionnaire was re-administered to the same teachers and the sets of scores were correlated using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient statistics. The correlation co-efficient value of 0.74 was got and this considered high enough to confirm the instrument adequate for the study.

The researcher personally administered the questionnaire on the Biology teachers in the selected schools. Thereafter, instructions were given to the respondents on how to complete the questionnaire items and were collected back on the spot .This ensured a hundred percent return of the questionnaire administered on the respondent. Due to the relatively small size of the sample, the researcher did not use research assistants.

The data collected by the researcher were presented in tables. The presentation followed the sequence in which the research questions were drawn. The data obtained from the study were analysed using mean and standard deviation was used in the study. This is because mean is the most reliable measure of central tendency and standard deviation, the most reliable estimate of variability (Nworgu, 1991). The mean response on each item was computed by multiplying the frequency of each response mode with the appropriate scale value. The sum of the value obtained for each was divided by the sample size to obtain the mean.

 

In answering research question 1, it was weighted as 2 - available and 1 - not available, thus, having a cut off of                   = 1.5

 

Any response with mean greater than 1.5 is termed available and any opinion less than 1.5 is not available. Also, for research question 2, it was weighted as 4- Very High Extent, 3- High Extent, 2- Low Extent and 1- Very Low Extent, thus having a cut of  4 + 3 + 2 + 1  = 2.5

                4

The mean rating above 2.50 indicated a High Extent while a mean below 2.00 indicated to a Very Low Extent.

For research questions 3 and 4, it was weighted as 4 – strongly agree, 3 – agree, 2 – disagree and 1 – strongly disagree, thus, giving a cut of  4 + 3 + 2 + 1  = 2.5

                 4  

The mean rating of 2.5 and above indicated accepted (agree) and a mean below 2.5 indicated insignificant and therefore not accepted (disagree).

 

Results

Research Question 1: What ICT devices are available in the school for teaching Biology to senior secondary school students in Idemili North Local Government Area?

Research Question 1: What ICT devices are available in the school for teaching Biology to senior secondary school students in Idemili North Local Government Area?

 

Table 1: Mean rating and standard deviation of the respondents responses on the available ICT devices in school in Idemili North Local Government Area.

S/N

Items

Mean

SD

Decision

1

E-mail

1.81

.40

A

2

Computer

2.00

.00

A

3

Interactive whiteboard

1.00

.00

NA

4

Videotaped lessons

1.00

.00

NA

5

YouTube

1.00

.00

NA

6

Video conferencing

1.00

.00

NA

7

Facebook

1.00

.00

NA

8

Twitter

1.00

.00

NA

9

Internet browsing

2.00

.00

A

10

Multimedia Television

1.00

.00

NA

11

Multimedia Projectors

1.44

.50

NA

12

Tape recorder

1.19

.40

NA

13

Interactive CDs

1.00

.00

NA

14

Television

1.42

.50

NA

15

Radio

1.11

.32

NA

Cut off mean = 1.50

From Table 1, the item with a mean response above the cut-off mean of 1.50 is said to be available (A) and those below are not available (NA). The data  showed that  the  Email with a mean of 1.81, computer with a mean of 2.00 and internet browsing with a mean of 2.00 have mean above the cut off mean of 1.50. This indicated that they are the only available ICT devices in the school in Idemili North local government area. Other items such as interactive white board, video tapped lessons, video conferencing, interactive CDs etc. are not available.

 

Research Question 2: To what extent are ICT devices used by Biology teachers for biology instruction?

Research Question 2: To what extent are ICT devices used by Biology teachers for biology instruction?