Students' ranking of and opinions about the standards of learning in Nigerian Science Education Program

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate how postsecondary school science education students rank some identified science education program standards, as well as to seek their opinions regarding their perception of the desirability and achievement of the standards in Nigeria. A total of 265 final-year science education students in 10 colleges of education selected through stratified random sampling participated in the study. The Science Education Program Assessment Model containing 13 identified program standards of science education was used for data gathering. The instrument developed for use in Virginia State science education and adapted for the Nigerian situation was found to be highly reliable using the internal consistency and test-retest procedures. The results indicated that encouraging students to become self-directed learners and emphasizing the utilization of scientific values were prioritized as first and last, respectively. Paired t-test comparing opinions of the students about the desirability and achievement of standards indicated significant differences at p < .01. No significant gender differences were found in the study sample's perception of the desirability and achievement of the science education program standards in Nigeria. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.