ABSTRACT
The study investigates the effect of Biology practical activities on the academic achievement of Senior Secondary Schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State.The research was based on three (3) objectives :To determine the problems in teaching Biology practical in senior secondary school, instructional materials and equipment available for practical works in senior secondary school and the extent Biology Teachers use practical works in senior secondary school.
The study made used of simple random sampling techniques to select twelve (12) secondary schools, thirty-two (32) Biology teachers from Senior Secondary Schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire, which was developed and administered to Biology teachers. The data from their responses were analyzed with the use of frequency count, simple percentage, mean score and standard deviation.
The result of the analysis revealed that the problems of teaching Biology practical in Senior Secondary Schools may include lack of suitable equipment for Biology practical, not enough time and special time set aside for practical work, none availability of Biology laboratory, inadequate Biological specimen and students too numerous to manage for Biology practical class; the availability of instructional materials/equipment for practical works in secondary schools is very low. The available instrument includes insect net, Petri dish and Pictures/diagrams; and the extent to which teachers uses practical works in teaching Biology in senior secondary schools is very low as Biology teachers do not collect specimen for practical work, do not practically show students how to preserve specimen or use reagent to test for food substance as well as practically teaching students how to interpret and record practical result in the laboratory. It is therefore recommended that Principals and educational authorities should provide adequate and relevant teaching and learning materials in the science laboratories for teachers and students to use during practical lesson class; Biology teachers should make conscious efforts to organize more practical work in science irrespective of the fact that Biology materials are inadequately available, improvisation of those materials should be look into by the teachers; laboratory assistants and attendants should be hired by school authorities to assist teachers with practical work; School authorities should as a matter of urgency split large Biology science classes into more manageable units for teachers to have a more effective and meaningful practical lessons.
