Utilization of Biology Laboratory Equipment and Students’ Academic Performance in Cross River State, Nigeria (Published)
The paper focused on Utilization of biology laboratory equipment and students’ academic performance in senior secondary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. One null hypothesis was formulated. Literature was reviewed accordingly. Ex-post facto research design was adopted and a sample of four hundred and ninety (490) biology students was used for the study. Checklist on utilization of biology laboratory equipment and Bio achievement Test were the instruments used for data collection. To test the hypothesis, one way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed. The hypothesis was subjected to testing at 0.05 level of significance. The result of the analysis revealed that utilization of Biology laboratory equipment significantly influenced students’ academic performance in Biology. Based on the finding of the study, it was recommended among others that Supervisors and inspectors from the Ministry of Education should strictly monitor the frequency of use of laboratory equipment by both teachers and students. This will ensure a hitch free utilization of the available science laboratory equipment in teaching and learning of Biology and such process will encourage students to do science of biology instead of learning about it.
Keywords: Laboratory equipment, Student Performance, Utilization
Factors Contributing To the Performance of Music Students in Secondary Schools in Nairobi County, Kenya (Published)
In teaching music, the teachers ought to strive to transform the students in terms of the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains. Therefore, the teacher’s task is to create or influence desirable changes in behavior or tendencies towards behavior in his or her student. This paper is an exploration into the factors that contribute to the performance of music students in secondary schools. Focus is on Nairobi County which was the study area. The study used a descriptive approach. The target population constituted teachers and students teaching and learning music respectively. Purposive sampling was used to select 23 schools that offer music and 23 music teachers who teach music in Nairobi County. Music students were selected using simple random sampling. A total number of 180 out of 360 form three music students and 23 teachers participated in the study. Data was collected using questionnaires, classroom observation schedule and focus group discussions. For validity in data analysis, triangulation was used in data collection and presentation. Data was coded considering the interrelatedness of responses. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and presented in tabular form containing the number of responses per item (frequency) and the percentage of each response via graphs
Keywords: Music Curriculum, Secondary Schools, Student Performance, Teachers