THE IMPACT OF SCIENCE LABORATORY ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE

ABSTRACT

This study was carried out to assess the impact of science laboratory on senior secondary school students’ attitude to Chemistry in Egor L.G.A., Edo State. The descriptive survey design was adopted in this study. The population of this study comprised of 3,420 science students across all public senior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Simple random sampling technique was used to select fifty (50) SS III science students from five randomly selected public senior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. Self-structured questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection which was validated by the researcher’s supervisor and three other experts taking into consideration the face, content and constructs validity of the instrument. The research instrument yielded a reliability score of 0.79 in a pilot study conducted, thus indicating that the instrument was reliable. The method of data collection was face to face survey method. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation presented in tables was used in the data analysis. The study findings revealed that science laboratory equipment are not often utilized in the teaching and learning activities of senior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State despite the established influence of science laboratory equipment on students’ attitudes as well as on their understanding of key concepts in Chemistry. The study thus conclude that if one of the desirable educational objectives of secondary schooling is the development of favourable attitudes towards school chemistry, then the utilization of science laboratory equipment in senior secondary schools is fundamentally important. Based on the study findings, the study thus recommends that senior secondary school students should be encouraged to study chemistry through the provision and utilization of laboratory equipment in teaching and learning activities. Also, only qualified chemistry educators should be allowed to teach Chemistry subject in senior secondary schools.