ABSTRACT The study assessed the level of teachers’ utilisation of outdoor science educational activities in teaching basic science and technology in Ebonyi state. The study was guided by six (6) research questions and five (5) hypotheses. The population of the study comprised all the ten thousand, five hundred and twenty six (10 526) basic science and technology teachers in Ebonyi state from which a sample of one thousand fifty six (1 056) was drawn. Six (6) researcher developed basic science and technology teachers’ utilisation of outdoor science educational activities questionnaires for the six (6) classes in the primary schools were used to sought information on how often teachers utilise outdoor science educational activities with respect to their qualification, years of teaching experience, gender, school location and basic education level. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions while ttest of significance was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance was used to test the hypotheses ay 0.05 level of significance. The study revealed that teachers generally less often utilise outdoor science educational activities in teaching basic science and technology, though, those in primary 1 and 2 often do. Teachers’ qualifications and gender were found not to influence the utilisation of outdoor science educational activities in teaching basic science and technology while their years of teaching experience, school location and basic education level were found to influence the utilisation of these activities. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made which include; regular organisation of conferences, seminar and workshops for in-service teachers on the use of outdoor activities, financial provision for outdoor activities by ministries of education and boards of education, restructuring of teachers training curriculum to acquaint the student-teachers with skills of using outdoor activities in teaching, development of outdoor science educational handbook to serve as guide on the use of outdoor activities in teaching etc.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TITLE PAGE i
CERTIFICATION ii
APPROVAL PAGE iii
DEDICATION iv
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT v
TABLE OF CONTENTS vi
ABSTRACT ix
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study 1
Statement of the Problem 12
Purpose of the Study 13
Significance of the Study 14
Scope of the Study 16
Research Questions 16
Hypotheses 17
CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Conceptual Framework 19
viii
Basic Science and Technology 20
Methods of Teaching Basic Science and Technology 22
Outdoor Education 26
The Teacher 30
Theoretical Framework 39
Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory 39
The Cognitive Theory of Jean Piaget (Piaget’ Constructivism) 41
Lev Vygotsky Social Constructivism 42
Review of Related Empirical Studies 44
Empirical Studies on Outdoor Education 44
Empirical Study on Basic Science and Technology and Other Related Science Subjects 47
Summary of Review of Literature 48
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHOD 50
Design of the Study 50
Area of the Study 50
Population of the Study 51
Sample and Sampling Technique 51
Instrument for Data Collection 52
Validation of the Instrument 53
ix
Reliability of the Instrument 53
Method of Data Collection 54
Method of Data Analysis 54
Decision rule 54
CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS 55
Summary of Findings 66
CHAPTER FIVE 68
Discussion of the Findings 68
Conclusion of Findings 77
Educational Implication of Findings 78
Recommendations 78
Limitations of the Study 79
Suggestions for Further Research 80
Summary of the Study 80
REFERENCE 84
Appendix A 91
Appendix B 93
Appendix C 102