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Investigates how science education students (n=265) rank some identified science education program standards and discusses their perceptions of the desirability and achievement of the standards in Nigeria. Results indicate that encouraging students to become self-directed learners and emphasizing the utilization of scientific values were prioritized as first and last, respectively. Contains 48 references. (JRH)

Investigates the relationship between wait-time of Nigerian integrated science teachers in relation to the amount of students' participation in inquiry. Examines the relationship between wait-time and sociocultural attitudinal factors prevalent in traditional societies. The pedagogical and curricular implications of the results have been highlighted. (LZ)

Investigation found that instruction through the use of the sociocultural mode has a positive effect on students' attitudes toward learning science (n=600 Nigerian students). The findings also indicate that anthropomorphic and mechanistic views can be presented in such a way as to promote positive attitudes toward the study of science in traditional cultures. (PR)

Compared attitudes toward computer use and achievement in biology for three groups of Nigerian students (n=64): (1) working alone with computer; (2) working in groups of three on the computer; (3) and a control group that received normal instruction (lecture). Students in the second group had the highest scores on attitude. No significant differences were found in achievement. (PR)

The use of computers to facilitate learning is yet to make an appreciable in-road into the teaching-learning process in most developing Third World countries. The purchase cost and maintenance expenses of the equipment are the major inhibiting factors related to adoption of this high technology in these countries. This study investigated: (1) the attitude of students who operate within an indigenous technology-dominated environment toward the use of the computer in learning biological concepts; (2) whether an attitude change would result when such students engaged in the use of the computer on an individual or cooperative learning basis; and (3) whether students who operate within an indigenous technology-dominated environment achieve better in biology when learning is undertaken with the use of the computer. Achievement and affective data were collected from 64 students enrolled for a 3-month Nigerian Joint Matriculation Examination in Biology. Results indicated that the interactive use of the computer resulted in significant attitude change and significantly higher scores were obtained by the group that worked together cooperatively. The results also showed that the girls in the computer-assisted group had a significantly more positive attitude towards the use of the computer as a learning tool in biology than the boys. The educational implications of these results are discussed. (Author/CW)

In recognition of the vital role socio-cultural variables play in science classrooms, researchers are now beginning to call attention to, and encourage serious considerations of the socio- cultural background of pupils which affect their learning and understanding of science. An effective point to begin the empirical study of socio-cultural influences in science classrooms is the development of an instrument to identify these influences. This paper describes the development, revision, and validation of a 30-item, Likert-like instrument called the Socio-Cultural Environment Scale (SCES) to measure the socio-cultural environment of science classrooms in a non-western society. The instrument was developed after a content validation by science educators, sociologiests, science teachers, and anthropologists and was administered to a total of 707 grade 11 and 12 secondary school students to determine the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the items. The SCES has a Chronbach alpha reliability of 0.92; inter-item correlations ranged from 0.48 to 0.96; and the intra-scale consistency for the five scales identified ranged from 0.70 to 0.98. Factor analysis of the data indicated that the items on the instrument clustered into social and cultural entities. The educational implications of this study are discussed. (Author/CW)

Science teacher stress is a topic that has attracted only a few studies in recent years. The itemized scores of 206 respondents to the 40-item Science Teacher Stress Inventory were pooled and ranked. The top six stressors were found in descending order: (1) Difficulty in obtaining equipment and materials for teaching science effectively; (2) Having to cope with teaching traditionally difficult topics; (3) Inability to complete the syllabus on time; (4) Having to teach subjects like general science or integrated science for which they were not trained; (5) Having to cope with the demands of new curricula; and (6) Poor attitude of students toward science lessons. A large proportion of the teachers coped by engaging in positive thinking about the important role of the science teacher, making determined attempts at improvisation, maintaining a healthy attitude toward stressful situations, and sharing ideas and laboratory equipment with colleagues. The differences in stress levels between gender, teaching experience, and subject taught are reported. Some implications for science teaching are discussed. (Author/YP)

This study investigated the influence of students' belief in traditional African cosmology, beliefs, and superstitions on observation skills. Data was collected from 319 science students with a mean age of 16.9 years from one Nigerian University. Instruments used were the Traditional Cosmology Test and the Test of Observational Skills. The results showed that students with a high level of belief in African traditional cosmology made significantly fewer correct observations in comparison with those with a low level of belief. There is a strong possibility that traditional cosmology could have been a major variable in creating this performance difference in observation. Some implications for curriculum development and inquiry-based science program are discussed. (YP)

An amount of learning outcome variance has been attributed to the environment in which teaching and learning are conducted. The intent of this study was to examine the influence of five aspects of the socio-cultural environment in science classes with particular reference to how these are perceived by boys and by girls. The 30-item Socio-Cultural Environment Scale (SCES) was used to collect data from 707 Nigerian secondary school students in classes four and five (grades 10 and 11 respectively). Authoritarianism, Goal Structure, African Worldview, Societal Expectation, and Sacredness of Science were the five subscales studied. Sex differences were recorded in the Societal Expectation subscale. Most of the female subjects are of the opinion that society has a negative or low regard for their ability to do science and this has an effect on their motivation to undertake science-based careers. The reverse is true for boys. This perception is in agreement with the literature on sex differences in science education and highlights the social pressure that brings about subject preferences. The implications of these findings for science teaching and further research are highlighted. The SCES items are appended and 36 references are listed. (Author/YP)

A learner who is not positively disposed to, or has a socio-cultural background that is indifferent to, learning science would find it hard to learn science effectively with the right attitudes. This study investigated if instruction through the use of the socio-cultural mode has any significant effect on a student's attitude towards the learning of science. The sample consisted of 600 senior secondary year one (grade 10) students from 15 selected secondary schools in Nigeria. The Socio-Cultural Environment Scale (SCES) and the Biology Achievement Test were used to measure the change in attitude and achievement of subjects in a pre-/posttest situation after 6 weeks of treatment. Evidence was found to support the hypothesis that science instruction which deliberately encompasses the discussion of socio-cultural views about science concepts engenders positive attitudes towards the study of science. The findings also indicate that a harmonious coexistence could be generated for both the anthropomorphic and mechanistic views in such a way as to promote positive attitudes towards the study of science in traditional cultures. Lists 27 references. (Author/YP)

Results of recent studies into the use of concept mapping heuristic seem to demonstrate that meaningful learning results through its use in science classrooms. This study sought to find out if the metacognitive strategy of concept mapping reduces anxiety and thereby enhances achievement in biology. A total of 51 senior secondary one (grade 10) students participated in this experiment. Two instruments--the Zuckerman Affective Adjective Checklist and a Biology Achievement Test--were used in pre- and posttest administrations to measure the treatment effect on anxiety and achievment, respectively. Findings support the stand that concept mapping is significantly more effective than traditional/expository strategy in enhancing learning in biology. It has, in addition, positively affected students' anxiety towards the learning of biology. A tendency for concept mapping to significantly reduce anxiety towards biology more in males than in females was noticed. There are 29 references. (Author/YP)