JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING VOL. 33, NO. 6, PP. 665-675 (1996)

Students’ Ranking of and Opinions about the Standards of Learning in Nigerian Science Education Program

Olugbemiro J . Jegede

Distance Educution Centre, The University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba QLD 4350. Australia

Peter A.O. Okebukola

Faculty of Education, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how postsecondary school science education students rank some identified science education program standards, as well as to seek their opinions regarding their perception of the desirability and achievement of the standards in Nigeria. A total of 265 final-year science education students in 10 colleges of education selected through stratified random sampling participated in the study. The Science Education Program Assessment Model containing 13 identified program standards of science education was used for data gathering. The instrument developed for use in Virginia State science education and adapted for the Nigerian situation was found to be highly reliable using the internal consistency and test-retest procedures. The results indicated that encouraging students to become self- directed learners and emphasizing the utilization of scientific values were prioritized as first and last, respectively. Paired r-test comparing opinions of the students about the desirability and achievement of standards indicated significant differences at p < .01. No significant gender differences were found in the study sample’s perception of the desirability and achievement of the science education program standards in Nigeria.

A critical analysis of the literature on science curriculum development reveals that the ferment and series of innovations in science education which began in the 1960s have resulted in the crystallization of major factors and trends which have affected and shaped science education globally (Bowyer & Karplus, 1980; Harms, 1978; Helgeson, Blosser, & Howe, 1977; Klopfer, 1969, 1980; Weiss, 1978). Some of these factors and trends include: (a) focus on conceptual change and understanding in learning; (b) use of metacognitive strategies in teaching; (c) increasing emphasis on recognition of the learner’s prior knowledge, worldview, and active participation in the teaching-learning process; (d) emergence of study of the classroom environ- ment; (e) acceptance of the paradigm of constructivism within the mainstream of the philosophy of science teaching; and ( f ) the stress now being placed on teacher perception and pedagogic content knowledge (Izak & Chia, 1994). These factors and trends, together with several others, are in part responsible for determining the scope and content of school science instruction worldwide.

8 1996 by the National Association for Research in Science Teaching Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. CCC 0022-4308/96/060665-11

666 JEGEDE AND OKEBUKOLA

One of the consequences of the apparently stable nature of global curricula factors and trends is the determination and refinement of the basic functions of science education within national educational systems. In the United States, since the adoption by the president and the nation’s governors in 1990 of six national educational goals as part of a decade-long campaign to increase educational performance at all levels, a lot of effort and resources have been directed toward developing voluntary, national world-class education standards (National Council on Education Standards and Testing, 1992). The fourth of the six goals specifically focuses on science and mathematics education, and states that “By the year 2000, U.S. students will be first in the world in science and mathematics achievement” (Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1993). A specialized clearinghouse-the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for Mathematics and Science Education-has been established, curriculum frameworks have been developed, and a number of conferences for policy makers on improving mathematics and science education have been held.

In the United Kingdom, the general unifying objectives for the inclusion of science educa- tion as part of general education have been well articulated (Association for Science Education, 198 1). Several other countries and professional science education associations have made simi- lar efforts, particularly in developing regions of the world where science education is seen as a potent force in national development. In Nigeria, for example, where a centralized science education curriculum up to the senior secondary school level exists in the educational system, calls and efforts by individuals and organizations, according to Abdullahi (1982) and Oderinde (1985), have resulted in formulation of the National Policy of Education (NPE). The NPE spells out the national standards of education in relation to other sectors and the centralized core curricula at the various levels of the educational system.

The NPE, which was initiated in 1973 and completed as a document in 1979, was a post- colonial attempt to provide structure, focus, and direction to education and its role in national development in an emerging Nigerian nation state. Nigeria, the most populous African country, with over 90 million inhabitants, became independent of its British colonialists in 1960. Since 1985, Nigeria has replaced the British system of school with a two-tier system of 3 years of junior secondary school and 3 years of senior secondary school. It has a 6-year primary educa- tion and a basic 4-year undergraduate education. This new system is euphemistically labeled the 6-3-3-4 system. The then newly independent country emphatically tied the achievement of its national philosophy and objectives to the use of education as a tool. Nigeria’s philosophy of education is rooted in five main national objectives, the building of: (a) a free and democratic society; (b) a just and egalitarian society; (c) a united, strong, and self-reliant nation; (d) a great and dynamic economy; and (e) a land of bright and full opportunities for all citizens. The 49- page document governs education at the national, state, and local government levels and details the aims, objectives, and plans for education at different school levels and types, including subjects of study within the curriculum at various levels (Agholor, Okebukola, & Jegede, 1993). With regard to science education, the NPE expects that standards especially at the junior secondary school should reflect a course which: (a) is relevant to the learner’s need and experi- ence, (b) stresses the fundamental unity of science, (c) lays adequate foundations for subsequent special study, and (d) adds a cultural dimension to science education (Federal Ministry of Education core curriculum for integrated science at junior secondary schools, 198 1, p. 3).

What the NPE has in relation to science education bears some characteristic similarities with that which science education curriculum standards elsewhere have. Educational standards describe what all students should know and be able to do, and consequently what we should expect students to learn and teachers to teach. These have been well summarised by Exline (1986), who stated that most educators are agreed that a science education program should:

STANDARDS AND NIGERIAN SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM 667

(a) be consistent with intellectual, social, emotional, and physical development of the student; (b) be consistent with the nature of science which includes its philosophy, methods of investiga- tion and verification, and accumulated knowledge; and (c) should reflect an involvement with both immediate and future life needs in terms of addressing persona1 and social problems.

Although it is true that evaluation practices have been compared for educational innova- tions, the use of assessment tools to determine the effectiveness of the totality of a science education program has only just gained the attention needed. Before, there had been heavy reliance on the use of paper and pencil achievement tests for students as a major source of judging the suitability or otherwise of science education programs (Hueftle, Rakow, & Welch, 1983). The emerging trend is a movement toward appraisal of the total curriculum package and its associated variables (Exline & Tonelson, 1987; Hurd, 1986; Linn, 1987; Thier, 1984). The new dispensation involves measuring a school’s delivery system as well as providing informa- tion regarding students’ progress in the use of the inquiry process.

The need for a systems approach to measurement of the school delivery system and the realization that a sound long-range plan is the first crucial step in the improvement of science education have prompted the Science Service of the Virginia Department of Education to develop the Science Education Program Assessment Model (SEPAM). SEPAM is rooted in some basic philosophical reasonings. First, certain important educational decisions often have long-range consequences in a rapidly changing scientific-technological society. Second, al- though science and science education research continue to affect what is taught about certain topics and how the topics are taught, the general concepts on which the broad framework of the science subjects are based are relatively stable. Third, the movement from ought to action necessitates the development of a support system for effective delivery of science instruction (Exline, 1986; Exline & Tonelson, 1987). The instrument designed for the systems approach to program evaluation focuses on six areas of a science education support system necessary for process science to occur. The instrument also contains as part of the assessment model 13 identified program standards of learning which have universal application.

However, the program standards have not been ranked to determine which standards of science education need emphasis and greater focus. The need to tailor science education to certain societal and personal problems presupposes that while some science education objectives are in the forefront, others are to be confined to the backseat of the education vehicle. For realization of an effective science education, therefore, and also for communitywide assessment of such a program, the need for ranking of the 13 program standards, well before prioritizing them for and by different groups by perceived level of desirability and perceived level of achievement, cannot be overemphasized.

With regard to perception of desirability and achievement levels by different groups, a particularly stimulating issue about which to enquire is the role of gender in science education (Kahle, 1987). The differential perception of, achievement in, and motivation and attitude of males and females to science and science education have long been sources of debate (Fraser- Abder, 1994; Haggerty, 1987; Jegede & Inyang, 1990; Mushaghu, 1994). Several studies have been carried out to date, and major meta-analytic syntheses have been undertaken on the issue (Becker, 1989; Fraser 62 Giddings, 1987; Ramsden, 1990; Reap & Cavallo, 1992; Shaw & Doan, 1990). An aspect of this unresolved continuing debate about gender differences in science and science education concerns the attitudes and perceptions held by preservice teachers about standards in science learning. Bitner (1992) found no gender differences in the attitudes of male and female preservice elementary science methods teachers toward science and science teach- ing. Other studies indicate no significant differential gender orientation, attitudes, and achieve- ment outcomes in science (Levin, 1991; Tamir, 1990; Theberge, 1993). It might be interesting

668 JEGEDE AND OKEBUKOLA

to find out whether such differences are also lacking regarding standards of learning in science. Finding out whether gender differences exist in the perception of science education standards would extend the literature on gender and science education beyond achievement efforts to a needed dimension of opinions about standards for science education, especially in a developing traditional society.

The purpose of this study, therefore, was to find out how postsecondary school science education students rank the identified program standards in Nigeria as well as their perception of the desirability and achievement of the standards. Specifically, the study sought answers to the following research questions:

1. How do the College of Education science education students rank the 13 identified

2 . To what extent are the 13 standards perceived as desirable and achieved? 3. Are there significant differences between the perceived level of desirability and per-

4. Are there significant gender differences in the perceived level of desirability and

science education program standards?

ceived level of achievement of the 13 standards?

perceived level of achievement of the 13 standards?

Methods

The study involved a total of 265 final-year science education students in 10 randomly selected colleges of education in Nigeria. Colleges of education are a cadre of tertiary institu- tions which train middle-level secondary education teachers. Some of them have now been granted degree-awarding status with affiliation to faculties of education in universities. The undergraduate science education students in these degree-awarding colleges were, however, exempted from the population of the study. The 10 colleges of education (representing about 25% of all colleges of education in Nigeria) were selected using stratified random sampling to reflect the three main geographic areas of the country. In each of the colleges used, all students in a science class randomly chosen from among the science classes to be conducted on the day a college was visited were used as subjects to complete the instrument.

An initial trial with secondary school students indicated an unsatisfactory response, which disqualified them from being suitable to rate program standards. This necessitated the use of colleges of education students who by training, age, and maturity are superior to the secondary school students. The sample design resulted in a total of 130 men and 135 women.

Instrumentation and Procedure for Its Completion

The instrument used for data collection was an adaptation of the SEPAM instrument organized into a questionnaire containing four sections. Section 1 was for the biographical data of respondents; Section 2 contained the 13 program standards respondents were asked to rank according to their importance. The standard with the highest ranking was to be designated 1, the next highest 2, and so on; the one with the lowest rank was designated 13. Sections 3 and 4 solicited for respondents’ opinions regarding their perception of the desirability and achieve- ment, respectively, of the standards. For example, in line with SEPAM, each student responded to the 13 standards and indicated his or her perception of (a) whether it is desirable for science education program in Nigeria to encourage students to become self-directed learners and (b) whether the science education program in Nigeria actually achieved the objective of encourag- ing students to become self-directed learners.

STANDARDS AND NIGERIAN SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM 669

The instrument underwent two-stage validation processing by 20 expert judges who were science educators, scientists, science teachers, science inspectors, science curriculum devel- opers, lecturers of English, and mass communication specialists in and around Ahmadu Bello University, where the first author was a staffmember. The first stage of validation required the experts to: (a) examine and comment on the suitability for inclusion of each item with regard to whether it covered the areas and sections of the National Policy on Education appropriate to science education; (b) examine and comment on the suitability for inclusion of each item with regard to whether it reflected the objectives of the study; (c) give advice on the format and layout of the items and section of the questionnaire; and (d) check on the appropriateness of the language used regarding the ease of understanding by the group who formed the sample of the study. This is particularly important, because the English language, the official language of Nigeria, is a second or third language for everyone in the country.

The second stage of the validation process involved only the science educators, English lecturers, and mass communication specialists who teach at the college of education from which the sample was drawn. They used the third and fourth criteria to validate the draft of the final instrument constructed after all necessary modifications were made on the basis of comments, suggestions, and recommendations received during the first stage of validation. The instrument was found to be highly reliable, with a Spearman rank correlation internal consistency coeffi- cient ( r ) of .89 for Section 2, which requested respondents to rank standards according to their importance. Sections 3 and 4, which solicited respondents’ opinions regarding their perception of the desirability and achievement of the standards, yielded reliability coefficients of .91 and .92, respectively, using Cronbach alpha. The stability of the instrument over time was found by the test-retest method within a 6-week difference between administrations using a different but equivalent (to the study sample) group of 75 students in another degree-awarding college of education not included in the final sample. The stability of the instrument was found to be .9 I (Spearman rank r ) for Section 2, .93 (Cronbach alpha) for Section 3, and .91 (Cronbach alpha) for Section 4. The final instrument requested responses to be indicated on a 5-point Likert-type scale with anchor points such as: 5 = Strongly agree, 1 = Strongly disagree for Sections 3 and 4.

Results

Table 1 shows the ranking of the 13 science education program standards by the study sample. Encouraging students to become self-directed learners had the highest ranking; the standard of emphasizing the utilization of scientific values was ranked as deserving the lowest attention.

The means ( M ) and standard deviations (SD) for the 13 science education program stan- dards regarding their degree of desirability and achievement in the Nigerian secondary school science education program are given in Table 2.

The standard of recognizing the growth characteristics of students had the highest levels of desirability and achievement, respectively, M = 2.81, SD = 1.16; and M = 2.42, SD = 1.06. Although emphasizing the development of scientific values had the lowest rating for desirability, M = 2.21, SD = 1.16, the same standard was rated as least achieved, M = 1.57, SD = 0.76. Table 2 compares significant differences between the perceived level of desirability and per- ceived level of achievement of the 13 standards. The standard which ranked as the least important (Table 1 ) had the highest level of desirability (Table 2).

The paired t-test analysis as shown in Table 2 indicated a range off values between -4.50 and -9.95. The differences between the desirability and achievement of the 13 standards were all highly significant, p < .01. The multivariate analysis of variance results comparing the

Table 1 College of Education Students' Ranking oj' Science Education Program Standards

Standards

Encourage students to become self-directed learners Integrate appropriate concepts, processes, values and skills of other discipline into science Include experiences which foster group interactions Integrate concepts, processes, values, and skills among the various areas of science Emphasize the utilization of scientific values as guides for the examination of the prob-

Emphasize process skills beginning with basic processes and ending with integrated skills Emphasize the development of scientific values Develop the overall conceptual themes of science Emphasize the role of humans and science in the natural world Contribute to the development of positive and realistic self-concept in students Provide information about careers and vocations in various areas of science Integrate physical and biologic sciences with special emphasis upon environment Recognize the growth characteristics of students

lems and experiences in a rapidly changing scientific-technological society

Ranking

I 2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13

Table 2 Means, Standard Deviations, and Paired t-Test Comparison of College of Education Students' Perception of the Desirability and Achievement of Science Eduction Program Standards

Standards Desirability Achievement Mean M SD M SD Difference t

Encourage students to become self-directed learners

Include experiences which foster group interact ions

Contribute to the development of positive and realistic self-concept in students

Recognize the growth characteristics of students

Emphasize process skills beginning with basic processes and ending with integrated skills

Develop the overall conceptual themes of science

Integrate physical and biologic sciences with special emphasis upon the environment

Emphasize the development of scientific values

Emphasize the utilization of scientific values as guides for the examination of the prob- lems and experiences in a rapidly changing scientific-technological society

Emphasize the role of humans and science in the natural world

Provide information about careers and voca- tions in various areas of science

Integrate appropriate concepts, processes, values, and skills of other disciplines into science

Integrate concepts, processes, values, and skills among the various areas of science

2.72

2.49

2.49

2.81

2.53

2.44

2.39

2.21

2.51

2.24

2.36

2.72

2.34

1.29

1.01

1.13

1.16

1.20

1.15

1.14

1.16

1.28

0.46

1.21

1.23

1.13

1.87

1.99

1.76

2.42

2.07

1.80

1.87

1.57

1.63

1.92

1.97

2.27

1.81

1.05

0.80

0.46

1.06

0.93

0.87

0.90

0.76

0.87

0.86

0.93

1 .11

0.81

-0.85

-0.50

-0.72

-0.38

-0.46

-0.64

-0.52

0.63

-0.87

-0.22

-0.39

-0.45

-0.53

-9.93*

-7.18*

-8.11*

-4.99*

-5.32*

-7.99*

-6.2*

-7.66*

-9. IS*

-4.69*

-4.50*

-4.91 *

-6.69*

* p < ,001

STANDARDS AND NIGERIAN SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM 67 I

perception of the 13 standards by men and women indicated no statistical differences for desirability, F = 1.70, p = .18, and achievement, F = -0.75, p = .39, of the standards.

Discussion and Implications

In this study we set out to investigate how college of education science education students rank the 13 identified science education program standards, to what extent the 13 standards are perceived by students as desirable and achieved, whether there are significant differences between the perceived levels of desirability and achievement of the 13 standards, and whether there are significant gender differences in the perceived levels of desirability and achievement of the I 3 standards.

The results of this study showed that it is possible and worthwhile to rank science education standards. The standards with the highest and lowest ranking were, respectively, for encourag- ing students to become self-directed learners and recognizing the growth characteristics of students (Table 1). The standards for integrating appropriate concepts, processes, values, and skills of other discipline into science and including experiences which foster group interactions were ranked second and third in importance, respectively, for science education in Nigeria by the sample of college of education students used in this study. The students perceived the standards of recognizing the growth characteristics of students and emphasizing the develop- ment of scientific values to be most and least desirable, respectively (Table 2). The standards of recognizing the growth characteristics of students and emphasizing the development of scientific values were also perceived by the students as most and least achieved, respectively (Table 2). It is apparent from the results that there is a wide gap between ought and action in the formulation and implementation of science education program objectives (Table 2). The results also indicate that there are no significant gender differences in the perceived levels of desirability and achievement of the standards.

The ranking of the standard of encouraging students to become self-directed learners as the highest is in agreement with the spirit of the Nigerian National Policy of Education, as well as those of other science education programs worldwide which aim to use science education for self-directed growth. The students’ ranking seems to support a section of the National Policy of Education, which states that individuals should be:

geared towards self-realization, better human relationship, individual and national effi- ciency, effective citizenship, national consciousness, national unity, as well as towards social, cultural, economic, political, scientific and technological progress. (Federal Re- public of Nigeria, 1979, p. 7)

Self-directed learning, an issue which now receives a great deal of emphasis within the curriculum in use in science classes and science teacher education, is certainly an ingredient for national development, inculcating the right type of values and attitudes for survival of the individual and the society of which she or he is a part, and acquiring the appropriate skills, abilities, and competencies needed in an understanding of the world.

The standards ranked as second and fourth (Table 1) seem to reflect the prevailing shift in science education toward science-technology-society education (Lewis, 1981 ; Solomon, 1983; Yager, 1985); the standard ranked third indicates the preferred and prevalent mode of associa- tion and interrelationship within the traditional African culture (Jegede, 1994; Jegede & Okebukola, 1991, 1992, 1993; Okebukola, 1986).

The results indicate that the standard which the students ranked as the least important (Table 1) has the highest level of desirability (Table 2). This is interesting and worthy of further

612 JEGEDE AND OKEBUKOLA

examination, as what normally should have resulted is that the standard with the highest ranking would also have been the one with the highest level of desirability. Although it is impossible to be definitive about why the students hold these perceptions, it is possible to hazard a guess based on our experience with the educational system in Nigeria, and especially the teacher education area. Given that almost all students in the undergraduate programs in the colleges of education are holders of the Teacher Education diploma who have taught in schools before embarking on their studies, it could be said with a high degree of reliability that the results must represent reality as seen from the classroom and teacher education experiences of the students in the sample. It may well be that although the officially stated, centrally designed and controlled science curriculum reflects the need to encourage students to become self-directed learners, the NPE also states that the daily experiences of the teachers might point to the need to recognize the growth characteristics of students as most desirable. This seems plausible in a traditional environment such as that in Nigeria, where the nonwestern culture expects a child only to be seen and not heard and to show complete deference to authority whether in the larger society or in the classroom. Thus, if a nation wishes to encourage students to become self-directed learners, the obvious way to begin, as the colleges of education students are saying, is to recognize the growth characteristics of students, including individual differences and the choice to be different. The students’ opinion that the standard of recognizing the growth characteristics of students has the highest degree of achievement compared with the other 12 standards seems to tally with our explanation of their opinion about the most desired standard. Our explanation based on the classroom experiential model of teachers would seem to support the idea that the teachers agree that their effort to recognize the growth characteristics of students is bearing dividends. The standard least achieved is to emphasize the development of scientific values. This is an unexpected result, given the emphasis science has received in schools lately, and the huge investment made by the government. Do the obstacles rest with the sociocultural factors which affect science learning (Jegede, Fraser, & Okebukola, 1994) or with the curriculum, or both? The importance of the need to resolve this issue which is the bedrock of science teaching points to the desirability of further research in this direction.

The significant differences between desirability and achievement as shown in Table 2 confirm the unfortunate gulf that exists between ought and action as Exline (1986) noted. It might also be as a result of some deficiencies in the essential areas of the science education support system. For example, areas such as teacher education, equipment, and other resources for science laboratory activities, student, and teacher motivation, and the provision of out-of- school science activities might need reexamination.

The nonsignificant gender differences found in the perception levels of the desirability and achievement of the science education program standards mean that it really does not matter whether a respondent is male or female; their perceptions of the program standards are about the same. A reaction, therefore, to the realities of an educational system seems to be independent of gender. The results of nonsignificant differences are consistent with their taking similar courses and their professional outlook as science teachers. This result is contrary to “the adoption of different learning styles” (Ormerod & Duckworth, 1975), the “differential course-taking hypoth- esis” and the “subject-matter specificity” (Becker, 1989; Parker & Offer, 1987; Tobin, 1988) found in other studies. If, as expected, standards of science education should be similarly perceived by male and female teacher trainees even within a traditional society, the puzzle of why, when, and how differential achievement and attitudinal outcomes arise, as other people claim, needs further in-depth investigation, especially at the college of education level.

Several implications arise from this study. First, the instrument developed through an adaptation of SEPAM has proven useful and reliable in collecting data from college of education students. A further test of its validity would be its reuse with a similar sample or with other

STANDARDS AND NIGERIAN SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAM 67 3

groups of people involved with science education curriculum development and implementation in Nigeria and other countries with similar circumstances. Cross-national studies as suggested by Hurst (1987) should be a useful addition and would make valuable contributions to this line of research, especially as several countries are currently focusing on standards on education.

Second, the ranking of the 13 standards and the students’ perception of levels of desirability and achievement of the science education program standards point to the need to take another look at our science curricula and the implementation of the objectives of science education to reduce, if not completely eliminate, the unwanted gap between intention and actuality. The NPE, whose formulation began in 1975 and was finalized in 1981, has now been in use in the educational system for about 1.5 decades. Since its conception and beginning of implementa- tion, several changes have taken place within the science education scene as dictated by the emerging trends and factors mentioned earlier. Because policy statements as general statements of intent to guide specific actions are not meant to be static, and considering that Nigerian society continues to evolve daily, it would not be out of place to suggest that another major review of the NPE within the foreseeable future will be timely.

Third, although the results of this study have provided a useful insight into some areas of program evaluation, it is difficult to claim with certainty that the apparent gap between intention and actuality as claimed by the sample did not arise by chance. Replicating the study with a larger and more varied sample within a comprehensive program evaluation umbrella is recom- mended.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the support of Dr. Joseph D. Exline of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Education for useful materials on SEPAM which he so willingly made available for this study.

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Received April 26, 1994 First revision September 24, 1994 Second revision September 12, 1995 Accepted November 16, 1995