Table of Contents

Repositioning Nigeria’s Education Policy: Constraints and the Road to Success

Olu Adesola Famade and Samson Olumuyiwa Oyeromi                                                        1 – 10

The Importance of English Language in the Nigerian Educational System

Maria Olanrewaju Ewulo                                                                                                         11 – 20

Effects of Group Learning Strategies on Secondary School Students’

Attitudes to Geography

Peter Adewale Amosun                                                                                                           21 – 38

Relationship between Learning Styles and Gender among Senior

Secondary School Biology Students in Jigawa State, Nigeria.

Ado Gambo Maruta, Safyanu Shuaibu Sara, Yusuf I.Z.                                                            39 – 44                                   

Effects of Practice-Invention Strategy on Students’ Process Skills

in Basic Science in Oyo State

Ogundiwin Oluyemi Akinleye, Okediji Adejare Alabi, & Odubanjo Oduwole Funmilade       45 – 59

Impacts of Laboratory Method on Students Achievement and Attitude in the

Teaching of Probability in Nasarawa State

Omotosho, Gabriel Akinlolu                                                                                                    60 – 68

Effects of Buzz Groups and Case-Based Learning Strategies on Student’s

Attitude to Overpopulation, Conservation and Waste Management

Concepts in Biology

Olajide Saidat Bolaji                                                                                                               69 – 85

EFFECTS OF BUZZ GROUPS AND CASE-BASED LEARNING STRATEGIES ON STUDENT’S ATTITUDE TO OVERPOPULATION, CONSERVATION AND WASTE MANAGEMENT CONCEPTS IN BIOLOGY

Olajide Saidat Bolaji

Department of Integrated Sciences

Mufutau Lanihun College of Education, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Email: sbolajide@gmail.com

                                                                  ABSTRACT

In spite of different instructional strategies employed by Biology teachers in teaching Biology has consistently led to low students attitude to the subject. Hence, need to employ Buzz groups and case-based instructional strategies. This study therefore, investigated the effect of buzz groups and case-based learning strategies on students’ attitude to overpopulation, conservation and waste management concepts in biology. Experimental – control group design involving pretest and posttest was used for the study. The population consists of 121 students. Three schools from three local governments were selected by stratified random sampling technique. The instruments used for data collection are Student Biology Attitude Questionnaire (SBAQ) with reliability coefficient of 0.80, Mental Ability Test (MAT), with reliability coefficient of 0.87; Null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. The data collected were analyzed using inferential statistics of Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) of the posttest scores with the pretest scores as the covariates and Scheffe post hoc analysis were obtained. There is significant effect of treatment on students’ attitude to conservation, waste management and over population (F_{(2, 108)} = 105.26; p < .05). The result shows that case-based had higher adjusted mean of 79.24, Buzz Group had higher adjusted mean of 73.00, while the control group had higher adjusted mean of 57.14. Based on these findings, it was recommended that Biology teachers should adopt the methodology involve in Buzz group and Case-based strategy as the two strategies that are essentially effective for the improving attitude to Biology.

IMPACTS OF LABORATORY METHOD ON STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDE IN THE TEACHING OF PROBABILITY IN NASARAWA STATE

Omotosho, Gabriel Akinlolu

Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia

Email: Jogbodoakinlolu@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The concept of laboratory approach as a method of teaching probability is said to be a social situation where the teachers and or the pupils perform moves, countermoves, and other maneuvers, which are by certain rules prescribed or agreed upon. Laboratory learning enables students to handle, feel, participate, discover, reasons, deduce and infer fact and ideas in the learning processes. Mathematic Achievement Test (MAT) consisting 20 items, 4-options objectives questions in the area of knowledge, comprehension and application levels in probability was used as instrument. These reliability co-efficient showed that the instruments were reliable. In order to answer the research questions and test hypotheses posed, the researcher adopted the descriptive statistics, inferential statistics of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and t-test. Based on the data collected and analyzed, it was observed that Laboratory method was found to have significant effect on students’ achievement and attitude in probability. Also Students’ attitude in probability was not significantly dependent on gender by the use of laboratory method. It was recommended that schools should emphasize the need to improve and sustain attitude through the use of laboratory method.

EFFECTS OF PRACTICE-INVENTION STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ PROCESS SKILLS

IN BASIC SCIENCE IN OYO STATE

Ogundiwin Oluyemi Akinleye, Okediji Adejare Alabi, & Odubanjo Oduwole Funmilade

Department of Teacher Education, University of Ibadan.

Department of Integrated Science, Federal College of Education (Tech.) Akoka, Lagos.

Department of Physics, Federal College of Education (Tech.) Akoka, Lagos

Email: yemiogundiwin@yahoo.com, adejare.okediji@yahoo.com, woleodus2002@yahoo.com.

ABSTRACT

Junior Secondary School Students’ process skill in Basic Science seems not to be encouraging, a trend attributed to persistent usage of teacher-centered instructional methods. This necessitates the adoption of students-centered instructional strategy such as Practice-invention strategy. The effectiveness of this instructional strategy in the teaching of Basic Science has not been properly documented. This study, therefore, investigated the effects of Practice-invention (PIIS) Instructional strategy on students’ process skills in Basic Science in Oyo State. The moderator effect of gender was also examined. The study adopted a pretest-posttest, control group, quasi experimental design.  Six Junior Secondary Schools (JSS) were randomly selected from the Oyo North district, while six intact classes of JSS II student participants were randomly assigned as follows: Practice-invention Strategy (185) and control (186) groups. The five instruments used were Basic Science Process Skills Rating Scale (r = 0.76), and instructional guides for Practice-invention Strategy (π =0.76) and conventional (π =0.78) strategy. Two null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. Data were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance. Treatment had a significant main effect on science process skills (F(_1,369) = 29.40; η² = 0.14)., participants in Practice-invention Strategy performed better in process skills than those control ( =6.24). Practice-invention strategy enhanced student’s process skill in Basic Science. Therefore, it should be adopted in teaching Basic Science to junior secondary schools students.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEARNING STYLES AND GENDER AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY STUDENTS IN JIGAWA STATE, NIGERIA

¹Ado Gambo Maruta, ²Safyanu Shuaibu Sara, ³ Yusuf I.Z.

¹Jigawa State Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, Dutse-Jigawa State

²Department of Educational Foundations, Abubakar T/Balewa University, Bauchi

³Department of Science Education, Abubakar T/Balewa University, Bauchi

Email: marutaado03@gmail.com, ssara068@yahoo.com, yusuf@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study is to determine the relationship between cognitive style, and gender amount senior secondary school biology student in Jigawa State, Nigeria. Three objectives and three Hypotheses guided the study. Correlation survey was employed as the design for the study. Group embedded figure test (GEFT) was used as instrument for data collection.  .216 student selected by proportionate random sampling were as subject for the study. The findings revealed that, cognitive styles of filed dependence and filed neutral were significantly related to gender. The study recommends that, efforts should be made to improve secondary school students’ cognition by teachers employing variety of learning content presentation methods.

EFFECTS OF GROUP LEARNING STRATEGIES ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDES TO GEOGRAPHY

Peter Adewale Amosun

Department of Teacher Education

University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

E.mail: amosun2002@gmail.com; pa.amosun@mail.ui.edu.ng

ABSTRACT

Geography as a subject is seen to be wide in nature and scope. This fact appears to make both teachers and students in Nigeria and elsewhere have negative attitude towards geography. This has eventually led to poor performance in the subject. This study, therefore, determined the effect of three group learning strategies on students’ attitude to geography in Ibadan. Three hundred and sixty students participated in the study from eight schools which were purposively selected and randomly assigned to treatment. Seven hypotheses were tested at P<.05. Data were collected using a test instrument measuring students’ attitude to geography questionnaire administered on the subjects.  Findings from the study show that group learning strategies, especially integrated group learning and cooperative learning strategies helped in improving the students’ attitude to geography better than mastery learning and control group. The high mathematical ability students performed better than low ability ones but gender has no difference in the study. The implications of these findings were discussed in the paper.

THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN THE NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

Maria Olanrewaju Ewulo

Ogun State Institute of Technology, Igbesa, Ogun State

E-mail: ewulomaria1960@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

Several decades post-colonial era, it is significant that the English language is an invaluable colonial legacy which has been used to express Nigerian culture. The English language is so indispensable to Nigeria that it still serves as a unifying language in the country. This paper examines the advent of English language into Nigeria and its role in the Nigerian educational system. The concepts of language and education are discussed; the Nigerian Language Policy (NLP) and the place of the English language in Nigeria are examined. In conclusion, possible steps to enhance the standard of English as a medium of consolidating Nigerian education are proffered. In response to the call for a unified Nigerian language, if there is going to be a change from the existing system, the change must be strategic taking into consideration the socio-political, economic, educational factors, along with linguistic pluralism and international connectivity. On the whole, the English language is found to be invaluable in Nigerian educational system and must be given proper attention in policy making and curriculum development.

REPOSITIONING NIGERIA’S EDUCATION POLICY: CONSTRAINTS AND THE ROAD TO SUCCESS 

Olu Adesola Famade and Samson Olumuyiwa Oyeromi

National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA NIGERIA), Ondo State

Email: solamade63@gmail.com ; Iamforchrist@gmail.com