Pre-service biology teachers’ perception of global warming, greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion in Lagos State University

Benjamin A Etobro

doi:10.4314/gjedr.v19i1.3

Abstract

The study examined the crux about global warming, greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion among pre-service biology teachers. A survey questionnaire adapted from Kalipit, Yener & Ozkadif (2009); Rye, Ruba & Wiesenmayer (1997) and Boyes, Chambers & Stanisstreet (1995) was administered to 65 pre-service Biology teachers purposively selected from the Department of Science and Technology Education, Lagos State University, Lagos. This was to determine the pre-service biology teachers’ perceptions about global warming, greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results showed that pre-service Biology teachers had misconceptions that the results of thinning of ozone layer will increase greenhouse effect and the function of ozone layer is to protect the earth against excessive heat. Furthermore, majority of the preservice biology teachers had misconceptions on global warming, ozone layer depletion and greenhouse effect. It is imperative, therefore to proffer solutions to these misconceptions held by the pre-service teachers by ensuring that instructors and instructional materials emphasize the importance of these concepts to life ensuring that students have adequate knowledge about the concepts as well as ways of tackling these challenges. Keyword: Global warming, greenhouse effect, ozone layer depletion, pre-service biology teachers, misconceptions.

Highlights

The advent of industrialization since industrial revolution that began in the 1950s, gave rise to environmental problems such as harmful wastes
Table 1 shows that 60% of the pre-service biology teachers misconceive that increase in greenhouse effect could lead to food poisoning
The table reveals that 77.4% and 70% of the preservice biology teachers respectively had a wrong view that preventing the usage of nuclear bombs will reduce greenhouse effect and that greenhouse effect would increase as a result of waste thrown away from nuclear power stations

Summary

Introduction

The advent of industrialization since industrial revolution that began in the 1950s, gave rise to environmental problems such as harmful wastes. During this period, environmental problems were associated to water, air and soil pollution, especially in industrial sites. Industrialization brought about different hazardous environmental problems such as ozone layer depletion, increase in greenhouse effect, global warming as well as degradation of some natural resources. Increased ecological disturbance as a result of human activities increase the complexity, severity and intensity of environmental challenges. Developing nations such as Nigeria would perhaps experience complex environmental problems such as flooding, over-population, deforestation, erosion, industrialization, and solid

Methods

Results

Conclusion