ASSESSMENT OF BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OSUN STATE, NIGERIA
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Authors: Bello A. Saliu, M. O. Salami
Keywords: curriculum, implementation, instructional resources, BST
Abstract: The study assessed the availability and adequacy of instructional resources for the implementation of the Basic Science and Technology Curriculum in junior secondary schools in Osun State, Nigeria. It also investigated the quality and adequacy of teachers for the implementation of Basic Science and Technology curriculum content in Osun State. In addition, it determined the extent to which the curriculum contents of Basic Science and Technology (BST) are taught in Osun State. These were with a view revealing the availability and adequacy of instructional resources, the quality and adequacy of teachers and the extent to which Basic Science and Technology Curriculum Content is taught in Osun State, Nigeria. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The population of the study comprised all Basic Science and Technology students and teachers in junior secondary schools in Osun State. The sample for the study comprised 1890 students from JS 1 – 3 and 63 Basic Science and Technology teachers selected using a multistage random sampling procedure. Two out of the three senatorial districts in Osun State were selected using purposive sampling technique, due to the location of the federal government unity colleges in the state. Three local government areas were selected from the two senatorial districts using a random sampling technique. One federal government unity college was selected using a purposive sampling technique from each of the Local Government Areas (LGAs), while three state government and three private-owned junior secondary schools were selected using a simple random sampling technique from each of the three LGAs. Three BST teachers were selected using a random sampling technique from each arm of JS 1-3 in each school. The instruments for data collection in this study were Basic Science and Technology Curriculum Implementation Retrieval Sheet (BSTIRC) and Basic Science and Technology Instructional Resources Checklist (BSTIRC). The instruments were adapted from the Basic Science and Technology Curriculum (Revised 2012, NERDC) and Guidelines for Re-Inspection/Recognition of Schools and Subjects by West African Examination Council. The results revealed that there was a low level of availability and adequacy of instructional resources in the schools in the study area (19.0% and 14.3%). The results also showed that teachers in the study area have adequate teaching experience of nine years and above (76%) which helped the coverage of curricular contents. The results also revealed that most of the Basic Science and Technology teachers (57.7%) have B.Sc.Ed. academic qualifications in other fields other than the BST subjects that they teach, most of the ICT/Computer teachers (42.9% have Higher National Diploma (HND) qualifications. Furthermore, most of the BST curriculum was properly taught in most of the schools and the topics that were not fully taught (11.75%) were those of junior secondary three (JS 3) students prior to the commencement of the BECE examinations. The study concluded that the BST curriculum was not fully implemented in the study area, as instructional resources were not readily available. The instructional resources were particularly lacking and inadequate in ICT and Basic Technology.