CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The desire of any country is to attain and sustain national development through education. Education, particularly in science and technology, remains an essential tool for scientific and technological development all over the world. This is due to the fact that individuals who are scientifically and technologically literate acquire useful skills, knowledge, and attitudes that can transform society scientifically and technologically. In the 1980s, the old integrated science program was introduced as a core subject at the junior secondary school level. The purpose of an integrated science course, as specified in the core curriculum for integrated science (Federal Ministry of Education; 1981), is to introduce scientific concepts to students at the early secondary level.
According to the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2004), the goals of Basic Science (Formerly Integrated Science) should be to help students acquire the following skills: observe carefully and thoroughly, What is observed must be reported completely and accurately. Organize the information you’ve gathered. On the basis of the information gathered, generalizations are made. As a result of the generalization, we can make predictions. Creating experiments (including controls as needed) to test predictions, Using models to explain phenomena when appropriate; and carrying on the investigation when new data does not conform to predictions. To achieve these goals, it is suggested that appropriate teaching methods be used in the teaching and learning of basic science.
Teaching methods are ways that teachers use to create a learning environment and specify the nature of the activity in which the teacher and the learner will be involved during the instructional delivery process. It is primarily a description of learning objective-oriented activities and the flow of information between the teacher and the learner(s), and O’Banon (2002) classified teaching methods into two approaches: student-centered approach and teacher-centered approach. Teacher-centered approaches are based on behaviorism and encompass all teaching methods that regard the teacher as a source of knowledge. These methods include lectures/explanations, demonstrations, discussions, recitations, and so on. While student-centered approaches are based on constructivism and include all instructional methods that emphasize teachers as decision makers and problem solvers, they also emphasize teachers as guides in the learning process. In a student-centered learning environment, the teacher’s role is primarily that of a facilitator and guide. The students are in charge of their own learning, and they are concerned with power and responsibility. Learning can be self-directed, collaborative, cooperative, or competitive. Importantly, the use of an appropriate teaching method can help to facilitate and make learning more meaningful. To support this view, Sander (2001) opined that effective teaching method helps the learner learn better, whereas poor teaching naturally leads to poor learning and, as a result, poor achievement.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Over the years, there has been a high rate of underachievement among students in basic science in the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE). This could be because teachers use ineffective methods and strategies in science teaching, which, among other things, has contributed to students’ poor performance in basic science at the junior secondary level. Because of this low achievement in integrated science, the Federal Government has mandated the inclusion of basic science in junior secondary school. According to Ohuche (1978), “the results of investigations and research findings undertaken by many educational researchers, among other things, demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that the disadvantages or failure of many students is caused by ineffective handling of the teaching on the part of secondary school teachers.” This is due to teachers’ nonchalant attitudes toward the use of appropriate teaching methods that suit the age, maturity, ability, and environment condition of the students, such as discovery, problem-solving, open-ended field trips, and laboratory methods, among others.
Omebe and Omiko (2015) observed that the integrated science teachers have been using these suggested methods of teaching basic science for several years, but the results of the students in the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination (JSSCE) have not been encouraging. As a result, the available literature on teaching methods in science education suggests the need to employ new and innovative teaching strategies such as guided inquiry method owing to the fact that basic science is a new area in the Nigerian educational system, it evolved from integrated science, which was reviewed to provide a holistic presentation of science and technology with the theme “you and technology”. It is against this backdrop that this study seeks to present a review on teaching methods for basic science in junior secondary school.
