ASSESSMENTS OF LABORATORY FACILITIES, TEACHERS AND STUDENTS' INVOLVEMENT IN BASIC SCIENCE PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study assessed the availability of laboratory facilities for teaching Basic Science practical in junior secondary school in Osun State. It also examined the extent of teachers' involvement in practical activities at junior secondary school in the study area and investigated the involvement of students in practical activities of Basic Science in junior secondary schools in the study area. These were with the view to ascertain and providing empirical information on the availability of laboratory facilities for the teaching and learning of Basic Science in junior secondary schools and the involvement of students in practical activities in the state. The study adopted a survey research design.

The population for the study comprised all Basic Science teachers and students in junior secondary school II in Osun State. The sample size comprised of 300 students and 15 teachers. Multistage sampling procedure was used in selecting the sample for this study. One Local Government Areas (LGAs) was selected from each of the three senatorial districts in the state using simple random sampling technique. Five public schools were selected from each senatorial district through simple random sampling technique, from each school, twenty students from JSS II and their Basic Science teachers were randomly selected through simple random sampling technique to take part in the study. Three research instruments were used for data collection. They are; Basic Science Laboratory Facilities Observation Checklist (BSLFOC),Teachers’ Questionnaire on Basic Science Laboratory Facilities Usage (TQBSLFU), and Questionnaire of Students' Involvement in Practical Activities (QSIPA). Data collected were analyzed using frequency counts and simple percentage. The result from the findings showed that laboratory facilities are not available for teaching of Basic Science in most schools in Osun States (20.0%) of separating funnels, conical flasks, crucible tongs, litmus papers, corks, hand lenses are available while (100.0%) of microscopes, ammeters, voltmeters, plastic model skeletons, hygrometers (wet and dry bulb), insect nets, L.S of skin, rain gauge, wind vane, dentition-teeth types, fruits disposal - different types,lead acid accumulators, electric motors, different types of joint are not available. Also, (26.7%>) of the teachers claimed that Basic Science as a subject in junior secondary schools requires practical activities and they engaged their students in practical activities. More so, (82.7%>) of the students claimed that there is no science laboratory in their schools while (17.3%>) indicated they have science laboratory in their schools.

The study concluded that there is low availability of laboratory facilities for the teaching of Basic Science in most of the JSS in Osun State. Also, Basic Science teachers moderately engaged their students in practical exercises with the few available laboratory facilities and the students' involvement in practical activities in the laboratory is extremely low.