A Survey of Biology Teachers Use of Activity-Oriented, Laboratory Practical Exercises to Promote Functional Biology Education

A major goal of science education is fostering students\u27 intellectual competencies such as independent learning, problem-solving, decision-making and critical thinking. This goal can only be achieved when students are actively involved in the teaching-learning process through activity-based, practical-oriented instructional methods involving the use of laboratories. This study therefore, investigated the extent to which the biology teachers employ activity-oriented, laboratory/practical instructional methods in order to improve the learning outcome of their students. The descriptive survey involved 73 Biology teachers randomly selected from all the six education zones of Anambra state, Nigeria. Four research questions were posed and four hypotheses were formulated to guide the conduct of the study. A 32-item structured questionnaire which has reliability co-efficient of 0.82 was used to collect data. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-tests. Results show that Biology teachers adopt practical-oriented strategies in teaching biology, conduct practical activities to a high extent, and perceive practical exercises as essential to effective teaching and learning of the subject. Provision of adequate number of laboratory materials, employment of adequate number of biology teachers, making provision for well designed laboratory activities in the curriculum and training of teachers on how to effectively combine theory with practical are some of the strategies that will encourage biology teachers to conduct practical lessons. There was no significant difference between male and female biology teachers in their responses to the different aspects investigated. Based on these findings, some recommendations were made that include that curriculum designers should incorporate guides for practical activities that go with each topic in the curriculum so as to encourage the teachers to teach theory with practical as a unified whole to increase students\u27 understanding and internalization of the facts and ideas taught

Economics of Household Demand for African Breadfruit (Treculia Africana) in Owerri Agricultural Zone of IMO STATE, Nigeria

The need to build up the knowledge of the current situation regarding the household demand for African breadfruit (Treculia africana) in Owerri Agricultural Zone of Imo State, Nigeria led to this study. The specific objectives of the study were to determine the household demand for African breadfruit and to estimate price, income and cross-price elasticities of demand for African breadfruit. One hypothesis was tested. Multi-stage random sampling technique was used in selecting sixty (60) households who consume breadfruit who were interviewed with a well structured questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using frequency distribution, percentages and elasticity of demand model. The findings of the study showed that the household demand for breadfruit is very high (63%) in the study area. The mean quantity demanded per month was 7kg (40 cups). Majority of the respondents consume 70% of their harvest. The result of multiple regression analysis showed that increase in household demand and price of substitute will lead to an increase in quantity demanded of African breadfruit. It was recommended that more farmers need to get involved in the production of breadfruit as it is highly demanded for its food and non-food uses

EFFECT OF PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES ON MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT OF HIGH AND LOW MENTAL ABILITY SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN IMO STATE, NIGERIA

The high rate of failure in external mathematics examination among secondary school students in Nigeria calls for great concern. The sole use of conventional methods by mathematics teachers in teaching could be one of the factors that lead to high rate of failure in mathematics examinations. Against this background, this study determined the effect of prior knowledge of behavioural objectives on Mathematics achievement of high and low mental ability secondary school students in Imo State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses provided focus to this study. Quasi experimental design specifically the pre-test, post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted. A sample of 94(45 male and 49 female) mathematics students with average age of 15 years was used for the study. Two instruments: General Mental Ability Test (GMAT) and Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) were used for data collection. The instruments were face and content validated by experts. The reliability of MAT was established using Kuder Richardson formula 21 (KR-21) for section A and Cronbach alpha for section B and were found to have internal consistency of 0.99 and 0.86 respectively. The reliability of GMAT was ascertained using Kuder Richardson formula 21 (KR-21) which yielded an internal consistency of 0.99. Mean was used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Co-variance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. Results showed that: High mental ability students who had prior knowledge of behavioural objectives performed better than the high mental ability students who did of behavioural objectives performed better than the low mental ability students who did not have prior knowledge of behavioural objectives. Based on the findings, the researcher recommended that mathematics teachers should expose learners to the knowledge of behavioural objectives before the lesson’s content development begins.&nbsp

Impact of Climate Change on Food Security in Nigeria

Climate change is brought about by natural as well as man-made factors. Climate change or global warming has negative impact on the global environment. Some of these devastating effects include volcano, landslide, erosion, flooding, drought, pests and diseases. These factors in turn impact on agriculture and consequently threaten food security. This paper therefore is aimed at examining, through literature search, the impact of climate change on food security in Nigeria with a view to making suggestions on strategies to mitigate the impact of climate change on the environment generally and food security in particular. Some of the suggested strategies include: reducing the emission of green house gases by stopping deforestation; use of high yield and disease-tolerant crops and crops adaptable to extreme weather conditions; farmers to cultivate their crops when rains are expected rather than during =planting seasons‘. The paper concludes that the menace of environmental degradation occasioned by climate change has affected agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa in general and Nigeria in particular and must be tackled with all seriousness it deserves.Key words: Climate change, greenhouse gases, food securit

EFFECTS OF BRAINSTORMING AND THINK-PAIR-SHARE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN AWKA EDUCATION ZONE

The study investigated the effects of brainstorming and Think-pair-share instructional strategies on secondary school students’ achievement in Biology in Awka Education Zone. Three research questions guided the study and three hypotheses were tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance. A quasi- experimental design using 3×2 factorial was adopted, specifically the pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group was used. Population of the study was 4023 SS 2 students offering Biology for 2019/2020 academic section in the zone. A sample of 139 SS2 Biology students from three schools obtained using purposive and random sampling were involved in the study. The instrument used for data collection was Biology Achievement Test (BAT), validated by two lecturers in Departments of Science Education and Educational Foundations of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and one experienced secondary school Biology teacher. Reliability was established using Kuder Richardson 21(KR-21) for BAT which yielded coefficient of 0.71. The two experimental groups were taught using Brainstorming and think-pair-share instructional strategies respectively while the control group was taught using conventional strategy. This treatment lasted for six weeks. The students were given pretest, posttest and delayed posttest after two weeks of treatment. The data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions while analysis of covariance was used to test the null hypotheses. Findings of the study revealed that there was significant differences in the mean academic achievement scores of students taught using brainstorming and think-pair-share strategies than those taught using conventional strategy, but had no significant effect on male and female students. It was recommended among others that seminars, workshops and conferences should be organized by school heads to orient Biology teachers on how to use brainstorming and think-pair-share instructional strategies in teaching

AVAILABILITY OF E – LEARNING FACILITIES FOR SCIENCE EDUCATION PROGRAMME IN FEDERAL UNIVERSITIES IN SOUTH EAST NIGERIA

This study was carried out to ascertain the availability of e-learning facilities for science education programme in Federal Universities in South- east Nigeria. One research question guided the study while one null hypothesis was tested at 0.05 level of significance. Design of the study was a descriptive survey. Population of the study comprised all the 65 science educators in Federal Universities in South-East Nigeria. The entire population was studied without sampling due to the manageable size. Instrument for data collection was a check list which was validated by experts.  The checklist was assessed for reliability using the Kendal Coefficient of concordance. It yielded a reliability estimate of 0.75 Data collected were analysed using frequency counts, percentages and chi-square. The findings of the study revealed among others that a greater number and percentage of the e-learning facilities are available in science education programme in Federal Universities in South-east Nigeria. More so, there is no significant difference in the mean ratings of science educators on the availability of e-learning facilities for teaching of science education courses in the Universities based on gender. The study recommended among others that science educators in the universities should constantly update their knowledge on new technologies available for teaching and learning through conferences, seminars and workshops

Alcohol consumption as a factor in gun or knife crimes in South Africa

South Africa is one of the top ten alcohol-consuming countries in Africa. The South African government has undertaken multifaceted efforts to regulate alcohol consumption to address violent crime. Despite integrated regulation, the link between alcohol consumption and violent crime remains blurred and unclarified. The paper examines the significance of alcohol consumption in relation to violent crime victimization. The study utilized data obtained from the South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence and Behaviour Survey, 2012. Descriptive, inferential statistics and a factor analysis were used to measure the association between alcohol consumption and violent crime victimization. About 30% of the respondents had been a victim of violent crime where gun or knife was used in the past 12 months. Respondents indicated that 41.1% of the perpetrators were under the influence of alcohol; whereas 20.9% of the victims were under the influence of alcohol. Respondents who had drinking problems were more likely to be a victim of violent crime than those who did not have drinking problem. Furthermore, respondents who were unemployed were two times more likely than those who were employed to be a victim of violent crime. Young people were two times more likely than older people to be a victim of violent crime by gun or knife. Low level of education was a predictor of gun or knife violent crime victimization. Our findings indicate that alcohol consumption was not a strong factor influencing violent crime but having drinking problem underscored violent crime victimization. Furthermore, effort towards education and reducing unemployment would considerably decrease gun or knife violent crime victimization. Keywords: Alcohol, gun violence, knife violence, South Africa, crime victimizatio

Roles of background characteristics in HIV and alcohol use prevention among school learners: the HAPS Project

HIV and alcohol prevention programmes to delay sexual initiation and alcohol use by learners have been shown to be effective interventions in high schools. However, the interplay of the interventions and the background characteristics of learners in preventing sexual initiation and alcohol use have not been examined. In this study, we examine the contribution of background characteristics of learners in HIV and alcohol prevention programme. Data were drawn at two time points from a cohort of 1259 and 1076 grade 9 learners. Generalized linear mixed models were used to predict the effects of background characteristics on alcohol consumption and sexual initiation. The results show that alcohol consumption increased from 34.6% to 39.9% between the two points among the learners. Between the two time points, prevalence of sexual intercourse rose from 31.1% to 37.7%. Background characteristics such as increasing age, being a male, absenteeism from school, importance of religion and average grade point predicted alcohol use. Sexual intercourse was significantly associated with increasing age, being a male, absenteeism from school and importance of religion. The study concludes that HIV and alcohol prevention strategy targeting learners should take serious consideration of their background characteristics for a more effective intervention programme.Keywords: Alcohol, HIV, sexual risk behaviours, learners, South Afric

Factors associated with multiple sexual partners among first-year students in a South African university

University students are at greatest risk of  contracting sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, due to multiple sex partners. However, first-year students are arguably, the most susceptible to sexually transmitted infections and HIV. The study examined the factors associated with multiple sexual partners among 348 first-year students aged 17 to 24 years old in a rural  university in 2016. Data were collected on the demographic characteristics and sexual behaviours of the respondents in the one-month preceding the survey. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression. The results revealed that 23.5% of the respondents had multiple sexual partners in the last 30 days. The binary logistic regression model showed that male [OR=7.4, 95% CI: 2.9-18.7]; being a member of students’ organisational structures [OR=3.4, 95% CI: 1.3-8.7] and younger age at sexual debut [OR=3.5, 95% CI: 1.3-9.6] were positively associated with multiple sexual partners. Furthermore, significant associations were found between multiple sexual partners, alcohol consumption [OR=2.9, 95% CI: 1.2-7.1), and being uncertain about their cultural perceptions [OR=3.4, 95% CI: 1.2-9.7] on multiple sexual partners. However, high religiosity [OR=0.4, 95% CI: 0.1-0.9)] was negatively associated with multiple sexual partners. Given that we found that a significant number of students were engaged in risky sexual behaviour, innovative behavioural change is expected by emphasising sexual fidelity, good values and responsible consumption alcohol to first year students as part of orientation package. Promotion of condom use should be intensified to protect first year students. Finally, since religiosity is an important practice in the daily life of the study population, integrating the religiosity components into sexual risk-prevention interventions could prove beneficial. (Afr J Reprod Health 2021; 25[5]: 69-78)