IN-SERVICE TEACHERS PERCEPTION ABOUT THEIR COMPETENCIES IN DELIVERY OF BIOLOGY LESSONS (A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LAGOS STATE)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Teachers’ competency in teaching and learning is an important factor in determining the success of a teaching session. Their ability and wisdom in handling
learning activities will have a direct impact on students’ active involvement in learning activities. Therefore, the development of teacher’s competency involving the sorts
of fostering positive attitudes (Awang, Jindal-Snape & Barber, 2013) was a major agenda to strengthen the teaching profession and to ensure great development of the education quality in many countries around the world. In the Indonesian context, the government has set specific standards in determining the implementation of quality education in accordance with the education laws which related to education curriculum, competency of
teachers, educational infrastructure, organization of learning activities and educational assessment. Everything is interconnected in assuring the standard of
quality. To this regard, particular attention is given on the quality of science subjects in order to create a scientific-minded citizen. Science subject is covering
general science and pure Science of Biology, Physics and Chemistry subjects. Science subjects require practical training as well as theoretical studies.
Therefore, to be competent, teachers need to be efficient in designing, planning and implementing the lesson. Apart from that, teachers need to assess the
practical training and laboratory experiment. The country needs more scientific-minded people to accomplish the national mission for Nigeria to be a
developed nation. Therefore, students need to be nurtured to love science and to positively practice scientific culture. According to Kamisah, Zanaton and
Lilia (2007) positive attitudes towards science and scientific activities will exist through constant monitoring of experiments and continuous assessment of
practical activities. In accordance with the goals of the National Education System in providing quality education, hence it is the responsibility of teachers to
have a comprehensive plan, to implement and evaluate every subject. In the context of globalization and industrial world today, knowledge and
understanding of the scientific aspects can enhance Nigerians to be more competitive in the global arena. One of the ways to improve teachers’ competency
especially in Biology is the teachers need to be well versed with the content of the Biology curriculum, skilful in using a variety of teaching methods and teaching aids, efficient
in coordinating all the necessary equipment and ensure safety of students while conducting laboratory experiments. Students are unable to conduct experiments and predict the outcome because they are not accustomed to the laboratory activities. During laboratory activities, students should be given the opportunity to ask questions, make hypotheses, experiments and deduce experimental results through observation, data processing and
making inferences (McDermott et al, 2013). The instruments and apparatus needed for an experiment should be ready before the actual lesson. Data, information or test results on student’s performance will be taken as the basis for Biology performance for future students (Popham, 2009). Preparation involves pre perception of an activity to create interesting learning experiences that arouse student’s interest for a successful learning process (Mulyati Arifin, 2012). In addition to preparing and conducting the learning process, assessment is the process of collecting data to determine the achievement of
educational goals. Sudijono (2013) defines learning assessment as a process or an activity to get a feedback to determine a progression. This is in line with
Djamarah (2014) which says that the function of evaluation or assessment is to provide feedback to the teacher in order to improve the learning process and
implement remedial programs for unsuccessful students until they are able to improve their own performance. According to Popham (2013), the capacity and efficiency
of teachers in conducting the activity and learning process will have a positive impact on students learning orientation. Teachers are also required to provide authentic learning experiences and create active learning through active interaction with the subject matter. Therefore, teachers need be really competent in their subjects. For Biology subject, teacher’s competency in creating and planning will greatly provide significant impact on the teaching process and will greatly influence students to change their behaviors.
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IN-SERVICE TEACHERS PERCEPTION ABOUT THEIR COMPETENCIES IN DELIVERY OF BIOLOGY LESSONS (A CASE STUDY OF SELECTED SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN LAGOS STATE)
