THE IMPACT OF BIOLOGY EDUCATION IN TERTIARY INSTITUTION OF LEARNING IN ENUGU STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF STUDY
Science education deals with sharing of science content and process with individuals who are not considered traditionally to be member of the scientific community; the individuals could be students, farmers, market women or a whole community. Science education in Nigeria concentrates on the teaching of science concepts, method of teaching and addressing misconceptions held by learners regarding science concepts.
Science education is very important to the development of any nation  that is why every nation must take it very serious in all institutions of learning. Many of the developed worlds were able to achieve so much in science and technology because of science education. Launching of sputnik by the Russian government in October, 4 1957 would not have been possible if not for the position they placed physics in science education .
Science education comprises three subjects namely biology, chemistry and physics which are combined with education and over the year there has been low enrolment of these courses in our institutions as identified by ; causes of this low enrolment include society disdain, mockery of teacher and low prestige of teachers .
Interestingly, as important as these courses are, students’ performance has not been encouraging in them and this is worrisome and called for investigation .
Biology education is very important for any growing economy like that of Nigeria. About 70 percent graduates of biology education are self employed and employers of labour (Okenyi, 2012). Many graduates of biology education also own schools of their own where people work and earn their living while some are into fishery business. These contributions of biology to the Nigerian’s economy will be highly improved through analyzing the challenges and prospects of biology education in Nigeria.
Biology deals with the study of many varieties of lives. It is a natural science concerned with the study of living organisms including their structure, function, growth, distribution and taxonomy (Magna, 2002). Biology is the study of the structure, function, heredity and evolution of all living things: micro-organisms, fungi, plants and animals. However, despite the broad scope of biology, there are certain general and unifying concepts within it that govern all the studies and researchers that consolidate it into simple and coherent field. In general, biology recognizes the cell as the basic unit of life, genes as the basic unit of heredity, evolution as the engine that propels the synthesis and creation of new species. It is also understood today that all organisms survived by consuming and transforming energy and by regulating their internal environment to maintain a stable and vital condition. Sub-disciplines of biology are defined by the scale at which organisms are studied, the kinds of organisms studied and the methods used to study them. For example Biochemistry examines the rudimentary chemistry of life, molecular biology studies the complex interactions among biological molecules:- Botany is the study of the biology of plants: cellular biology which examines the basic building-blocks of all life cells, physiology which examines the physical and chemical functions of tissues, organs and organ systems of an organism. Evolutionary biology, examines the processes that produced the diversity of life: Ecology examines how organisms interact in their environment: Zoology, the study of animals: Pathology the study of disease of plants and animals and methods of controlling them. Entomology, the study of insects: Algaelogy which is the study of algae, parastology, the study of parasites and microbiology the study of microorganisms. Biology Education therefore is education in biology which generally aims at training individuals to understand himself or herself, the parts of his or her body and how the body parts function. Hence, the application of principles of education in teaching and learning of biology is known as biology education. It is the art of teaching and training in order to inculcate or transfer the knowledge of biology to students Journal of Assertiveness: ISSN: 2276 – 9684 3 (Okenyi, 2012). For this can afford them the opportunity of contributing meaningfully to the development of the society in one way or the other.
STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.To determine the impact of biology education in University of Nigeria, Nsukka(UNN)
- To determine the role of biology education to National development
3.To determine the challenges and prospects of biology education in University of Nigeria, Nsukka(UNN)
RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1.What is the impact of biology education in University of Nigeria, Nsukka(UNN)
- What is the role of biology education to National development
3.What are the challenges and prospects of biology education in University of Nigeria, Nsukka(UNN).
