Abstract:
This study was designed to find out the types of instructional materials available, the frequency
of use, the effective utilization as well as perceptions of teachers and students on the use of
instructional materials in the teaching and learning of Biology in the Senior High Schools in the
Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis of the Western region of Ghana.
The research design used was descriptive. In all, one hundred and twenty respondents made up
of a hundred biology students and twenty biology teachers responded to questionnaires specially
designed for the purpose.
It was found out that the most available and frequently used instructional materials in the
sampled schools were chalkboards/whiteboards and textbooks. Instructional materials such as
bulletin boards, projectors radios/recorders and camera/pictures were unavailable.
The research also revealed that the major problems confronting the use of the available
instructional materials were overcrowded classrooms/laboratories, lack of storage facilities
among others. It was recommended by the researcher that the Ministry of Education and the
Ghana Education Service should as a matter of urgency procure and supply all the needed but
unavailable instructional materials for the schools for effective teaching and learning of Biology.
Also the biology teachers should be trained periodically on how to handle the available
instructional materials. Furthermore, the administrators of the Senior High Schools should liaise
with the educational directors in the various districts to appeal to Non-Governmental/ donor
organizations for support to organize regular in-service training for the Biology teachers to
update their skills in handling the available instructional materials.
Description:
Dissertation in the Department of Science Education, Faculty of Science Education submitted, to
the School of Graduate Studies, University Of Education, Winneba, in partial fulfillment of the
requirement for the award of a MASTER OF EDUCATION DEGREE in Science Education of
the UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION, WINNEBA
DECEMBER, 2015