UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA

1. UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY CURRICULUM: A STUDY OF CURRICULUM INTENTIONS AND CLASSROOM PRACTICE Ph.D Viva Voce By JOHN EKOW MBIR AMOAH 9150130001 2018  SUPERVISORS : PROFESSOR JOHN K. EMINAH DR. ERNEST I.D. NGMAN-WARA 2018

2. Background to the Study The general aims of the biology curriculum are to; • help students to appreciate the diversity of living things, • understand the structure and functions of living things, • develop scientific approach to solving personal and societal problems.

3. Background to the Study The curriculum therefore intends to also help students; • develop practical skills required to work with scientific equipment, biological materials and living things, • collect, analyse and interpret biological data • present data graphically.

4. Background to the Study • Kola (2013) stated that science teachers are important in the teaching and learning of science and there is no development of science education in any country without considering teachers’ contribution.

5. Background to the Study • If teachers have problems in understanding some of the topics in the subjects that they teach, it raises concerns around their content knowledge (Ramnarain & Fortus 2013). • Ogunniyi and Rollnick (2015) noted the existence of unqualified science teachers in schools in Africa and how this negatively affects quality science teaching and learning.

6. Statement of the Problem • Some teachers do not provide opportunities for independent critical thought with emphasis on freedom of expression and open-mindedness (Dzieketey, 2010) and (Ahorlu, 2013). • By and large, such teachers bow to the pressure of preparing students to pass competitive academic examinations by resorting to cramming students with pre-digested information and thereby encouraging passive learning and rote memorization.

7. Statement of the Problem • Studies by Awoyele (1992), Banu (1994), and Ahorlu (2013) have shown that lack of adequate supply of science equipment and improper management and utilisation of available equipment in teaching is what leads to the low achievement in science. • Some teachers have not been able to utilize the available resources and by implication, these resources are wasted (Ahorlu, 2013).

8. Statement of the Problem Though substantial research works in science education in the past 20 to 30 years have been on students’ achievements and learning towards science, little has focused on implementation of the curriculum of a particular science discipline like biology, chemistry or physics (Osborne, Simpson & Collins, 2003).

9. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to evaluate the classroom implementation of biology curriculum in selected senior high schools in the Central Region of Ghana.

10. Objectives of the Study • Determine the academic and professional qualifications and the areas of specialization of the biology teachers in the selected senior high schools. • Identify the financial, human, material and infrastructural facilities available for the teaching and learning of biology in the selected senior high schools.

11. Objectives of the Study • Determine whether or not the cognitive and process skills specified in the senior high school biology curriculum are reflected by the teachers’ instructional activities. • Examine the aspects of the biology lessons, which were in agreement with the senior high school biology curriculum prescriptions’.

12. Objectives of the Study • Determine the aspects of profile dimensions (knowledge and comprehension, application of knowledge, practical and experimental skills) specified in the biology curriculum that are exhibited by the students during practical activities. • Determine whether support services and capacity enhancing activities were organised for the biology teachers’.

13. Research Questions • What are the educational qualifications of the biology teachers in the selected senior high schools? • What resources are available for the teaching and learning of biology in the selected senior high schools?

14. Research Questions • What types of cognitive and process skills specified in the biology curriculum are reflected by the teachers’ instructional activities in the senior high schools? • Which aspects of the biology lessons are in agreement with the senior high school biology curriculum prescriptions?

15. Research Questions • What aspects of the profile dimensions specified in the biology curriculum do the students exhibit during biology practical activities? • What support services and capacity enhancing activities are organised for the biology teachers’ in the selected senior high schools?

16. Significance of Study • This study would highlight on factors, which affect the evaluation of senior high school biology teachers’ implementation of the biology curriculum. • The study would reveal and document practices, which might give some insight into factors contributing to low performances in WASSCE examinations as reported by Chief Examiners.

17. Delimitation • There was a total of 58 senior high schools’ running the General Science programme (and specifically biology) in the Central Region of Ghana at the time of the study. The study confined itself to only 21 schools and second year biology students because they had done two years of the biology programme.

18. Assumptions Some assumptions, which informed this study, were biology teachers possess professional knowledge which include; • content knowledge • pedagogical content knowledge • general pedagogical knowledge • knowledge of learners • curriculum knowledge

19. Limitations • The use of only 21 of the selected senior high schools was a limitation. • The researcher did not interview Academic Headmasters/mistresses who could have given detailed information on the subject. • Some teachers would not be sincere with the answers they provide due to their reputation.

20. Literature Review • Models of curriculum evaluation • Importance of academic and professional qualifications of biology teachers • Importance of resources for teaching biology • Importance of cognitive and process skills of biology teachers instructional activities • Effects of support and capacity enhancing activities of biology teachers output • Knowledge gaps in literature • Conclusion

21. Methodology Research Design • A descriptive survey design comprising both quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches was used for the study • According to Creswell (2009), the problems addressed by social and health science researchers are complex, and use of either quantitative or qualitative approaches by themselves is inadequate to address this complexity (p.203). More insight is gained from the combination of both quantitative and qualitative research than by either of them.

22. Research Design • The use of both forms of data allow researchers to simultaneously make generalisations about a population from the results of a sample and to gain a deeper understanding of the phenomena of interest. (e.g. Creswell, 2009, Cohen, Marion, & Morrison, 2004; Greene, Caracelli & Graham, 1989; Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

23. Rationale for the Design • The study sought to find out about the holistic implementation of the biology curriculum and whether there was any relationship between teachers and students constraints to practical work and their perception of biology in the classrooms and laboratory environment. • It was necessary to gather data from a wide population of second year biology students in order to make generalizations about the constraints of teachers’ and students during the implementation of the biology curriculum in senior high schools.

24. Population • The target population comprised all biology teachers and second year biology students in senior high schools in Ghana.

25. Population • The accessible population was biology teachers and second year biology students in selected senior high schools in the Central Region of Ghana.

26. Sampling Procedure • The sample size for this study was determined using a table by Krejcie and Morgan (1970).

27. Sampling Procedure • Cluster and stratified sampling techniques were used to obtain a representative sample of the accessible population.

28. Sampling Procedure • The schools were selected from the following districts and municipalities in the region; AburaAsebuKwamankese, Assin North, Assin South, Cape Coast Efutu, Ekumfi, Komenda Edina EguafoAbrem, Mfantseman, and Upper Denkyira East.

29. Sampling Procedure • Second year student respondents were selected through simple random sampling in single sex schools and stratified random sampling in mixed schools.

30. Table 1: 2016/2017 Population of Biology Teachers and Students in the Central Region of Ghana

31. Instrumentation • “Evaluating Classroom Implementation of Senior High School Elective Biology Curriculum Questionnaire” (ECISHSEBC) was adapted and used to collect data from teachers and students. • Another instrument used was a structured interview. • Observation was the final technique to augment the data collection procedure.

32. Validity of the Instrument • The instruments were pilot-tested to address problems that were bound to arise before the main survey. • The modified version of Barbados Workshop Observation Instrument used by Eminah (2007), the questionnaire and the interview guide was content validated by the researchers’ supervisors.

33. Reliability of the Instruments • The study used the internal consistency technique by employing Cronbach’s Coefficient Alpha test for testing the research tools. • Cronbach’s Alpha is a coefficient of reliability commonly used as measure of the internal consistency or reliability of a psychometric test score for a sample of examinees. • Internal consistency of data was determined by correlating the scores obtained with scores obtained from other items in the research instruments. This study correlated items in the instruments to determine how best they relate using a Cronbach Coefficient Alpha of 0.8.

34. Reliability of the Instruments • To determine the reliability of the instrument for this study both students’ and teachers’ questionnaires was pilot tested in six schools. • The results from the pilot test enabled the researcher to identify and modify some aspects of the instruments before administering them to the accessible population.

35. Data Collection Procedure • Permission was sought from the Regional, Metropolitan/Municipal or District Directors of Education as well as Heads of senior high schools to enable the researcher undertake the study. Data was collected sequentially • Stage 1: Observation • Stage 2: Questionnaire • Stage 3: Interview

36. Data Analysis • Both descriptive and inferential statistics was used to analyse the data. Microsoft Excel and The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22.0) were used by the researcher to analyse the data.

37. Ethical and Logistical Considerations • Special emphasis was laid on confidentiality or anonymity of questionnaires and interviews in case of sensitive or gazette data. Permission was also sought for the use of their voice recordings to be transcribed.

38. RQ.1What are the educational qualifications of the biology teachers in the selected senior high schools?

39. RQ.2 What resources are available for the teaching and learning of biology in the selected senior high schools?

40. RQ.3 What types of cognitive and process skills specified in the biology curriculum are reflected by the teachers’ instructional activities in the senior high schools? Table 15: Classroom Activities on the Implementation of the Biology Curriculum

43. RQ. 4Which aspects of the biology lessons are in agreement with the senior high school biology curriculum prescriptions? Table 22: Biology Curriculum Prescriptions for Schools

44. Table 23: Biology Curriculum Activity Implementation

45. Table 25: Description of the Type of Interaction in my Biology Classroom as Mostly

46. RQ.5 What aspects of the profile dimensions specified in the biology curriculum do the students exhibit during biology practical activities? Table 26: Observation of Groups Relating to Task

49. RQ.6 What support services and capacity enhancing activities are organised for the biology teachers’ in the selected senior high schools?

50. Findings • The study revealed that academic and professionally qualified biology teachers were clustered in grades A and B schools. • Most of the teachers who pursued Masters Degrees also diverted from science education (biology) and specialised in Molecular biology, Zoology, Aquaculture and fisheries among others. • Notable was the WAEC biology Chief examiner whose second degree was in Fisheries and Aquaculture.