EXTENT OF IMPROVISATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR TEACHING OF CHEMISTRY IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN NASSARAWA-EGGON, NASSARAWA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the extent of improvisation of instructional materials for teaching of Chemistry in secondary schools in Nassarawa-Eggon, Nassarawa State. The study adopted a survey research design. The population of the study comprised the entire forty-two (42) Chemistry teachers across the forty-five (45) schools. One thousand two hundred and forty (1,240) students offering Chemistry as a subject in 2021/2022 academic session across the entire forty-two (45) government own secondary schools in Nassarawa-Eggon, Nasarawa State. A simple random sampling technique was employed in chosing 10 schools, 200 students, and 10 teachers giving rise to a total of 210 respondents. The study sought to provide answers to two research questions. The questionnaire used for this study is a type-questionnaire A and B consisting of 80 items; Questionnaire A for the Chemistry teachers and questionnaire B for the Chemistry students. The instrument was validated by three experts from the Department of Science and Technology Education, University of Jos. In determining the reliability coefficient  of the instrument, Cronbach’s Alpha method was used where a reliability coefficient of 0.79 was obtained. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. The findings of the study among others revealed that out of these instructional materials: pipette, periodic table, wash bottle, beaker, indicators, retort stand, test tube, spatula, conical flask, funnel, measuring cylinder, distiller, desiccators, thermometer, fume cupboard, tripod stand, Erlenmeyer’s flask among others, only periodic table and wash bottle are improvised by students and teachers in schools within the study area. Also, the study revealed that none of the required Chemistry instructional materials is provided by the government/community to the schools in Nassarawa-Eggon area of Nasarawa State. The study recommends that school administrators/principals should acknowledge and reward teachers and students whenever they improvise instructional materials locally. Also, parents and government should actively participate in the provision of instructional materials across all schools.