THE IMPACT OF LABORATORY FACILITIES ON STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the research
We now live in a world of science and technology, where humans face worries and challenges that stem from science. As economic and social growth tools, science and technology have expanded in importance. Thanks to science, nature has been appropriately utilized and transformed into precious resources for a better living on the planet. Because of the enormous developing tendencies in science education, man enjoys a happy existence within society. (FGN,2004).
Trends in agriculture indicate a need for agricultural education to teach scientific problem solving, prompting the United States Department of Agriculture to recommend that students seeking future employment in agriculture have “basic science skills and the ability to solve problems with scientific applications,” which can be obtained through laboratory experience (USDA, 2005).
Because science is both a product and a process, the laboratory will always be at the center of scientific inquiry. The availability of laboratory equipment, facilities, and resources determines the extent of ideal laboratory practices that will permit learners’ development of science process skills and proficiency in science ideas. Several authors have emphasized the significance of school laboratories in various ways.
Given the widespread belief that secondary agriculture educators use agricultural laboratories, those interested in boosting science understanding through practical learning should be optimistic. Agricultural education is well adapted to teaching scientific subjects in an agricultural context by definition (Enderlin & Osborne, 1992; NRC, 2009; Thompson, 1998; Washburn & Myers, 2008). Many agricultural laboratory exercises, on the other hand, are designed to improve psychomotor abilities rather than academic reinforcement (Franklin, 2008; Johnson, Wardlow, & Franklin, 1997).
The level of preparation of acceptable instructional materials in the laboratory and the teacher’s ability to use them effectively and efficiently influence laboratory practicals. As a result of the difficulty in completing practical work in under-equipped laboratories, some teachers have divided science classes into practical and theory portions, or have delayed practical work until the second or third term.
By developing laboratory education to focus on scientific problem solving, agricultural laboratories enable teachers to improve student experiences. This will better prepare students for scientifically based agricultural jobs.
1.2 Definition of the problem
Academic attainment in practical disciplines (physics, chemistry, biology, and agriculture) has usually dropped in secondary schools over the last decade due to a lack of laboratory science facilities. Any attempt to divide science into practical and theoretical lessons, according to Epo (1999), reinforces the dichotomy, which is the polar opposite of what science is.
As a result, the standard of laboratory facilities and exposure may influence students’ performance in practical science disciplines. The laboratory has been highlighted as the heart of a strong scientific program, providing students with experience that is matched with scientific literacy goals. Agriculture practical disciplines account for a substantial portion of hands-on learning, and if they are not correctly taught, students’ education will suffer as a result of a lack of exposure to laboratory instruction.
This results in a lack of subject matter understanding, half-baked students in science topics, and students’ imagined judgments that science subjects are impossible to acquire. Students will not learn effectively if agricultural subjects are presented conceptually without the practical parts implanted and performed in the laboratory.
This shows that the importance of agriculture laboratories and their facilities on students’ academic progress in science courses is being underappreciated. Determine the relationship between instructional strategies and student achievement, according to Doerfert (2011), is a top priority initiative in the
Agricultural Education and Communication National Research Agenda in order to increase the value of agricultural education on student achievement in science. However, little research has been conducted on the contemporary use of agricultural laboratories. In light of this, the goal of this research is to investigate.
1.3 Purpose of the research
The study’s overarching goal is to investigate laboratory facilities and their impact on students’ learning outcomes in agricultural science. The study specifically intends to:
Investigate the existing availability and utilization of agricultural laboratories in secondary schools.
Examine whether there is a substantial difference in student performance between appropriately equipped and badly equipped laboratories.
Investigate whether science teachers’ efficient use of existing laboratory facilities will improve science education.
Determine the impact of theoretical agricultural studies education without laboratory exposure.
1.4 Research Suggestions
The following questions guide the research:
What is the scope of agricultural laboratory access in secondary school?
Is there a significant difference in performance between students who are taught in sufficiently equipped laboratories and those who are taught in badly equipped laboratories?
What is the effectiveness of science teachers using current laboratory facilities to improve scientific teaching?
What effect does theoretical agriculture education without laboratory exposure have?
1.5 Importance of the research
The study’s findings will be useful to the government, teachers, parents, and academia. It would also force the government, through the Ministry of Education, to recognize the need of providing science equipment to schools and assigning qualified science instructors, technicians, and technologists to secondary schools.
It will motivate parents to provide basic practical lesson(s) for their children in secondary schools, as well as persuade science teachers that practical lessons are mostly necessary for effective teaching and learning of other science subjects such as biology, chemistry, physics, agriculture, and mathematics. Finally, the study would add empirically to the body of current literature and serve as a reference tool for students or other researchers who might desire to conduct similar research.
1.6 The scope of the research
The purpose of this research is to look into laboratory facilities and how they affect students’ learning outcomes in agricultural science. The research will look into the existing availability and utilization of agricultural laboratories in secondary schools.
It will look into whether there is a substantial difference in student performance between adequately equipped laboratories and badly equipped laboratories. It will also investigate if science instructors’ efficient use of current laboratory facilities improves science education. The study, however, is restricted to the Ogbomosho axis of Ibadan State.
1.7 Study Restrictions
The researchers encountered minor obstacles when conducting the study, as with any human endeavor. The significant constraint was the scarcity of literature on the subject due to the nature of the discourse, so the researcher incurred more financial expenses and spent more time sourcing for relevant materials, literature, or information and collecting data, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited sample size.
Furthermore, the researcher will do this investigation alongside other academic activities. Furthermore, because only a small number of respondents were chosen to complete the research instrument, the results cannot be generalized to other secondary schools outside the state. Despite the constraints encountered during the research, all elements were minimized in order to provide the best results and make the research effective.
1.8 Definitions of terminology
A laboratory is a facility that provides controlled circumstances for scientific or technological study, experiments, and measurements.
Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising livestock.
Academic achievement: Academic achievement refers to performance results that demonstrate how far a person has progressed toward specified goals that were the focus of activities in instructional settings, such as school, college, and university.
REFERENCE
Enderlin, K. E., and E. W. Osborne (1992). In an integrated science/agriculture course, students’ achievement, attitudes, and thinking skills were assessed. Pages 37-44 in Proceedings of the 1992 National Agricultural Education Research Meeting.
E. A. Franklin (2008). The utilization of greenhouse facilities by secondary agricultural education instructors in Arizona is described. 10.5032/jae.2008.03034
National Policy on Education, FRN (2013), Abuja NERDC Press
D. M. Johnson (1989). Agricultural mechanics laboratory management competencies: Missouri agricultural instructors’ perspectives on importance and performance ability (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Columbia, Missouri: University of Missouri.
Lawal F K (2013), Resource utilization for teaching biology in selected secondary schools in Zaria Metropolis in order to achieve the Mellenium Development Goal. Proceedings of the 54th Annual Conference of the Science Teachers Association of Nigeria, pp. 197-202.
National Academy of Sciences (2009). Agriculture education is being transformed for a changing world. The National Academies Press, Washington, DC.
M B Ogunniyi (1983), Laboratory Activities in Selected Nigerian Secondary Schools. Volume 5 of the European Journal of Science Education (2)
Purdue University and the United States Department of Agriculture Cooperative Research, Education, and Extension Service (2005). Opportunities for college graduates in the food, agricultural, and natural resource systems of the United States (Publication No. 2004-38837-01875). Purdue University is located in West Lafayette, Indiana.
S. G. Washburn and B. E. Myers (2010). Agriculture teachers’ assessment of scientific integration preparation and present use of inquiry-based learning. 10.5032/jae2010.01088
GET THE ENTIRE PROJECT»
Do You Have New or Fresh Topic? Send Us Your Topic
THE IMPACT OF LABORATORY FACILITIES ON STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES IN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE