Evaluation Of The Implementation Of Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum In South East, Nigeria

ABSTRACT

This study evaluated the implementation of senior secondary school Biology curriculum in South- East Nigeria. Seven research questions were answered and four null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance. The population of the study was 81,523 comprising of 1372 Biology teachers and 80,151 Biology students in 1006 public secondary schools in South- East Nigeria. The sample for the study was 1630 respondents made up of 815 Biology teachers and 815 Biology students. Data for the study was collected using structured questionnaire titled: Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum Implementation Evaluation Questionnaire (SSTBCIEQ) for Biology teachers and Biology students. The questionnaire was face validated by three experts, two experts in Department of Science Education in Educational Measurement and Evaluation and Biology Education units. One expert in Department of Adult and Continuing Education in Curriculum Studies and Instruction unit, from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike. The internal consistency of the questionnaire items was determined using Cronbach Alpha. A total of 1,630 copies of questionnaire were administered and 1,625 copies were retrieved indicating 97 percent retrieval rate. Administration and retrieval of the questionnaire lasted for four weeks between July — 31St July, 2018.Data generated for the study was analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Precisely, mean and standard deviation were used to answer the seven research questions, while t-test statistics was used to test the four hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings indicated that Biology curriculum has not been implemented in senior secondary schools in South-East Nigeria, to a very greater extent as to adequately improve students' performance in external examinations. As a result, some recommendations were made which included adequate funding of education ; adequate teaching of basic science at the basic education level; in- service training for Biology teachers; teaching Biology concepts with local language; provision of well-equipped library; regular supervision of teachers for better implementation of the senior secondary schools Biology curriculum in South-East, Nigeria.