THE PERFORMANCE OF PUPILS IN BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION



Summary of the study
            The abysmal performance of pupils in basic science and technology which leads to poor academic achievement (FME/UNESCO/UNICEF 1997; Odunusi 1997, Salami, 2007; UNICEF, 2001) prompted the researcher to develop interest into searching for ways of enhancing pupils’ academic achievement in basic science and technology. The need for the search is obvious as basic science and technology is the foundation of further studies of science at all levels. Therefore, this study sought to find the effect of experiential teachings approach on pupils’ achievement in basic science and technology. The study explored the influence of gender, and interaction due to teaching methods and gender on achievement of pupils in basic science and technology.

            The quasi-experimental, pretest, post test, non-equivalent group design was adopted for the study. A total of 426 basic six pupils drawn from six schools selected through simple random sampling from Onueke Education Zone were involved in the study. In each school, all the basic six classes were selected and assigned to either treatment or control group. The teaching was done during the regular periods for basic science and technology in each school. The regular teachers who served as facilitators or research assistants taught in each group (treatment and control) Efforts were made to control those extraneous variables which pose threats to the validity of the study. Both treatment and control groups were taught with the same lesson plan but the treatment group was taught with experiential teaching approach while the control group was taught with the conventional teaching method.
            The instrument used for the study was the Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT). It was developed by the researcher and validated (Face and content) by experts in Basic Science and Lecturers in Measurement and Evaluation in Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki. The instrument was used for pretest but reshuffled and used for post test. BSAT had reliability estimate of 0.774 and internal consistency of 0.87.
            Three research questions and three hypotheses were used in the study. The research questions were answered using the mean and standard deviation. The hypothesis was tested using the analysis of co-variance at alpha probability level of 95%.
            The results revealed that experiential teaching approach was more effective than the conventional teaching method in enhancing pupils’ achievement in basic science and technology. It was also revealed that there was no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of male and female pupils taught basic science and technology using the experiential teaching approach. In addition, there was no interaction between gender and teaching methods on pupils’ achievement in basic science and technology.
            The findings of the study have reaching implications for teachers, ministry of education, research institutes and higher institutions that train teachers. Based on the implications, certain recommendations were made. Limitations of the study were indicated while some suggestions for further researches were made.
Conclusion
            From the result obtained in the investigation into the effect of experiential teaching approach on pupils’ achievement in basic science and technology, it is stated that; experiential teaching approach involves hands-on, participatory approach and  pupils are involved in meaningful activities in the classroom which lead to their understanding the concept better and higher academic achievement in basis science  and technology therefore it is more facilitative than the traditional conventional teaching approach. It was also noted that the adoption and use of experiential teaching method in teaching of basic science and technology will help learners to transfer knowledge acquired in the classroom to homes. This will help them utilize the knowledge acquired to solve their problems at home. Moreover, the teaching method is suitable for both male and female learners; it does not discriminate between genders. Teachers are advised to adopt and use this method in a bid to ensure higher achievement for both male and female pupils in our schools. 

Recommendations from the Study
            Based on the findings of the study the following recommendations were made:
1. Since experiential teaching approach has been proved to enhance pupils’ achievement in basic science and technology, teachers should be encouraged to employ it more in the teaching of basic science and technology.

2. Teachers’ training tertiary institutions should train their teachers in the use of this pedagogical approach in teaching not only basic science and technology but all other subjects taught in schools.

3. Teacher preparations should be overhauled as it is glaring that most teachers lack the competence for using experiential teaching approach. Efforts should be made to equip them with the skills. Therefore, series of teaching seminars, workshops and short in-service training should be organized for practicing teachers by the local Government, Ministry of Education, SUBEB, UBEC or other parastatal, research institutes and development partners such as UNICEF DFID, USAID etc. Indeed the State Colleges of Education that currently conduct the millennium development goal (MDG) capacity development trainings for teacher should incorporate experiential teaching in their training plan.

4. Teachers should encourage mutual participation among pupils, setting up materials and play guided role in the course of learning among the pupils. They should encourage pupils to work in groups, which the teachers carefully constitute in the classroom.

5. Basic science teachers should pay greater attention to the issue of gender differences in classrooms. They should as much as possible eliminates contents, techniques and materials that will bring gender differences in their classroom. They should treat both male and female pupils as equal intellect by engaging them in same task of science based practical activities in and out of the classroom.

6. The conventional teaching method should be de-emphasized in our school system. This study has revealed its inadequacy in enhancing high pupils’ achievement in basic science and technology.


Educational Implications
            The findings of this study have obvious Educational implications for pupils, basic science teachers, ministry of education, research institutes, faculty of Education of universities and colleges of Education and development partners in Education.
            The findings of this study have shown that the method helps pupils to achieve higher academic results, therefore efforts must be made to ensure that teachers adopts  this method in teaching to enable the reversal of the current poor academic achievement being recorded by pupils in schools especially in basic science and technology
            Since the findings of this study have shown that experiential teaching method is good and a viable alternative to the traditional method of teaching, there is the urgent need for efforts to be concentrated on training teachers in this approach and ensuring that they adopt   it as a teaching approach particularly in the teaching of basic science and technology and other subjects in basic schools. From the findings of the study, the method led to higher achievement of pupils and does not encourage gender bias in instructional delivery.
            The findings of this study have shown that this teaching approach is highly effective, therefore the ministry of education and other parastatals under the ministry in Nigeria especially in Ebonyi state should concentrate efforts to build capacities of teachers and other support staff on the use of this method. This should be done by organizing workshops, seminars and conferences for teachers on use of experiential teaching approach in teaching basic science and even other subjects.  As the study revealed, male and female pupils achieved high scores when taught with the method. It means that experiential teaching method can be adopted by the ministry of Education and other relevant parastals for the purpose of promoting gender equity in the classroom. The ministry should liaise with instructional material developers and text book writers to supply instructional materials and write text books that are compliant with experiential teaching method. The ministry should also train teachers on how to improvise teaching aids from local sources. Improvised teaching materials are cheap and are familiar to learners and make more meaning to learners.  The ministry should also adjust the time in the school time table in order to enable the teachers apply this method effectively.
            Although experiential teaching method is an old teaching method in advanced countries, such as South Africa and United States of America (USA), but it is relatively new and an innovation in teaching in Nigeria. The findings of this study showed that experiential teaching approach is more facilitative in teaching basic science than the traditional teaching method currently dominant in our schools, as such research institutes should carry more research works on the use of this method in all the subjects taught in Nigerian basic and secondary schools. The findings of such research study should be published so that Nigerian Educationist, Teacher training institutions and professionals can make use of the findings.
Since the faculty of educations of universities and the colleges of Educations train the teachers that teach in basic and secondary schools, they should incorporate the experiential teaching approach in their curriculum, because the findings of this study have shown that the experiential teaching method is more effective in facilitating higher academic achievement than the traditional teaching method, which they currently train their students on. This will enable the faculties and colleges train teachers who can effectively use this method in teaching when they graduate and are employed to teach.
            The results of the findings have shown that experiential teaching approach promotes gender equality and guarantees higher achievement for pupils in basic science; therefore development partners such as UNICEF, USAID, DFID, UNESCO and other stakeholders such as NTI, UBEC. NERDC and other philanthropic organizations can organize or sponsor capacity building and workshop for teachers on the use of the method in instructional delivery in schools. Currently teachers do not know how to use the method. In order to improve teaching and learning in schools which will give rise to higher achievement for all pupils, teachers must acquire the skill in the use of the method to enable them adopt and use the method in teaching.

Limitations of the Study
            The generalizations drawn from this study are subjected to the following limitations.
1. It was only basic six pupils that were used and the content of the study does not cover all the topics in basic science curriculum taught in basic schools.
2. The pupils’ socio economic background and location of the schools were not considered.
3. The use of different research assistants or facilitators for the study will invariably introduce extraneous variables. However, measures were adopted to control it.

Suggestion for Further Research
The findings of this study have generated some areas for further research which are;
1. Effects of location on pupils achievement in basic science and technology with the use of experiential teaching method.

2. Effects of location on pupils’ achievement in integrated science with the use of experiential teaching method.

3. The awareness of serving teachers on experiential teaching methods.
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