AN INVESTIGATION INTO SS2 STUDENTS DIFFICULTY IN LEARNING ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF BIOLOGY IN IKWO LGA OF EBONYI STATE

AN INVESTIGATION INTO SS2 STUDENTS DIFFICULTY IN LEARNING ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF BIOLOGY IN IKWO LGA OF EBONYI STATE

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BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Biology is a branch of science that studies life. According to Maduabum (2006), science (Biology) constitute the bedrock of the National development which in its broadest sense refers to all human activities which involves organized knowledge of natural phenomena. It simply implies that, science is the systematic study of nature with the purpose of accumulating an organized body of matter, their interaction and outcomes. Omiko (2011) sees science as the way of knowing the facts and theories of the nature. According to him, this knowledge of facts and theories promote attitudes of reality, objectivity, curiosity, self-examination and search of truth.

Eweleukwa (2005) defined biology as a science subject that deals with life. It was derived from two Greek words: “Bios” which means life and “logos” which means study. Biology therefore means the study of life or living things. Ekwu (2012) defined biology as a natural science which deals with the study of living organisms. According to him, it is derived from two Greek words “Bios” which means life and “logos” which connotes knowledge.  It is a fascinating study that ranges from microscopic cellular molecules to the biosphere, encompassing the earth’s surface and its living organisms.

The oxford advanced learners dictionary defined biology as the scientific study of life and structure of plants and animals. Taylor (2012) defined biology as a science devoted to the study of living organisms. As a natural science, biology is the individual life forms within the world of life known as nature. Biological studies cover all that is known about plants, animals, microbes, or other living things of the past and present. It is the science of fishes, grasses, flies, grasshoppers, humans, mushrooms, flowers, sea stars, worms and moulds. In fact, biology is the study of the life on top of the highest mountains and at the bottom of the deepest sea.

William (2012) stated that at different levels of education, all learners are exposed to the following levels of biological organization: cellular level, molecular level, tissue and organ level, the community level and the world biomes. Biology programmes prepare students for several fields of life such as: agriculture, medicine, veterinary science, dentistry, food production industries, horticulture, biochemistry, biotechnology and teaching.

In our Secondary Schools today, biology as a subject is made compulsory for the science-inclined and optional compulsory to arts students. This is because of its over whelming importance to human life which cannot be over emphasized. This is in cognizance with the findings of Shayer and Adeu (2014) who grouped biology at the “soft” side of a spectrum of the sciences while chemistry and physics are at the “hard” side. Biology is the only science subject which art students optionally select to meet their Senior Secondary School (SSS) Certificate examination requirements. This is because most students generally see biology as a relatively easy subject when compared to other science subjects.

Egbujor (2006) stated that biology usually has the highest enrolment and also the highest failure rate compared to other subjects at the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate examination.

Also in Chief examiners reports of 2008 on practical biology, he commented “many candidates could not give the distinguishing features of the vertebra some wasted their time in describing the features instead of pointing out the relevant things required as regards teaching practical biology, the Chief examiner (2006) observed that most of the candidates who were to study the diagrams in the stage of germination of seeds and draw a graph for it, avoided the questions. The few that attempted it used inconsistent seeds in drawing the graph. Also these students were unable to spell correctly the labels of their diagrams.

Ecology is basically a branch of biology. It deals with study of interactions among organisms and their biophysical environment. This biophysical environment includes both biotic and abiotic components. The word "ecology" ("Ökologie") was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel. It is derived from the Greek words Oikos- home + logos- study.

Currently in Nigeria, biology teaching syllabus is organized into the following segments: topics, performance objectives, content, activity and notes. The principal reasons for including performance objectives in the segments are to enable teachers to self-evaluate their own teaching and the achievements of the students after the lesson. In spite of the careful planning and organization of teaching the subject, some teachers and students still find some content areas of biology difficult to teach and learn. For instance, teachers are not sound in anatomy and genetics in the curriculum and when they do, they usually do not devote the adequate time and attention to the teaching of the concepts. Oyewole (2011) stated that some teachers give the impression that genetics is an abstract and difficult area that requires a lot of brainstorming and need not be studied.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Biology is the science of life. Ecology is basically a branch of biology. It deals with study of interactions among organisms and their biophysical environment. This biophysical environment includes both biotic and abiotic components. The word "ecology" ("Ökologie") was coined in 1866 by the German scientist Ernst Haeckel. It is derived from the Greek words Oikos- home + logos- study. The Biophysical environment in which all interactive mechanisms happen is called as an ecosystem. Since the ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscapes, work together to form a bubble of life, earth science becomes the backbone of ecology. Ecology deals with organisms, populations, communities, ecosystems and the biosphere. The place of living is the organism's environment. Hence, ecology is sometimes, called as environmental biology. In general, ecology is recognized as one of the natural sciences. It is considered to be a science concerned with the nature and the interrelations of living world. The term ecology has been derived from the Greek word "oikos" meaning 'habitation' or 'house' or 'living place'. One of the first ecologists may have been Aristotle or perhaps his student, Theophrastus, both of whom had interest in many species of animals. Theophrastus described interrelationships between animals and between animals and their environment as early as the 4th century BC. Ecological thoughts are mostly derived from established concepts of philosophy, ethics , politics and natural history. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Hippocrates and Aristotle laid the foundations of ecology in their studies on natural history. Modern ecology became a much more rigorous science in the late 19th century. Evolutionary concepts relating to adaptation and natural selection became the lead areas of study. In its early stages, the field was dominated by scientists trained as botanists and zoologists.

Past studies that have been carried out on biology curriculum in Nigeria particularly in Ikwo Local Government of Ebonyi State have revealed the nonchalant attitude of teachers in the secondary schools towards certain concepts in biology curriculum especially ecological aspects of the subject. There is problem of content areas in biology curriculum teachers find difficult to teach and problem of the content areas in biology curriculum students find difficult to learn.

a. Then what could be responsible for this?

b. Could it be that teachers themselves neglect or do not teach some concepts in the class?

c. Are the methods the teachers use in teaching some areas or concepts in biology inappropriate?

Well, this research is an attempt to answer the above questions.

This study therefore, sought to investigate into SS2 students difficulty in learning ecological aspects of biology in Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The study's overall purpose is to investigate into SS2 students difficulty in learning ecological aspects of biology in Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi.

The study, on the other hand, was focused on achieving these precise goals:

1. Examine whether lack of adequate instructional materials makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult.
2. Examine whether lack of qualified teachers makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult.
3. Examine whether lack of science laboratory makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult.
4. Examine whether method of teaching  makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

An hypothesis refers to an experimental statement, tentative in nature, showing the relationship between two or more variables. It is open to test and can be accepted or rejected depending on whether it agrees or disagrees with the statistical test.

The study will test the validity of the following null hypothesis:

H01: There is no positive relationship between lack of adequate instructional materials and difficulty in learning of ecological aspects of Biology.

H02: There is no positive relationship between lack of qualified teachers and difficulty in learning of ecological aspects of Biology.

H03: There is no positive relationship between lack of science laboratory and difficulty in learning of ecological aspects of Biology.

H04: There is no positive relationship between method of teaching and difficulty in learning of ecological aspects of Biology.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study will be of significance to ministry of education, owners of schools, principals and biology teachers by bringing to their knowledge most of the factors that made learning of ecological aspects of biology difficult not only Ikwo LGA of Ebonyi state but to the entire states of the federation. This study will also serve as reference material for further studies.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses on examining whether lack of adequate instructional materials makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult. This study will also examine whether lack of qualified teachers makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult. This study will further examine whether lack of science laboratory makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult. Finally, this study will examine whether method of teaching  makes the learning of ecological aspects of Biology difficult. This study will therefore, be delimited to SS2 students from selected senior secondary schools in Ikwo LGA, Ebonyi State.

1.7 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. Insufficient funds tend to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection (internet, questionnaire, and interview), which is why the researcher resorted to a moderate choice of sample size. More so, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. As a result, the amount of time spent on research will be reduced.

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