Students’ Evaluation of Classroom Interactions of Their Biology Teachers: Implications for Curriculum Implementation

Abstract

This correlational study investigated students’ evaluation of their biology teachers’ classroom interaction and their feelings towards biology lessons. Three research questions guided the study. Copies of a questionnaire containing 48 items were distributed to 1,216 senior secondary two students from nine randomly selected schools in Onitsha education zone of Anambra state. Data analysed using mean scores and multiple regression analyses showed that biology students perceived their teachers mostly as leaders, understanding, admonishing and strict. The students did not perceive their teachers as helpful/friendly, allowing student responsibility and freedom, uncertain or dissatisfied. The students manifested many negative feelings about their biology lessons. Leadership, helping/friendly, and understanding teacher classroom interactions were positively correlated and uncertainty, admonishing, strict, and dissatisfied was negatively correlated with students’ feelings towards biology lessons. Implications for curriculum implementation is that, if biology teachers were to display more leadership, helpful and understanding behaviour and less uncertainty, a resultant positive effect on the students’ feelings about their biology lessons would be expected