CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Every human being has an element of curiosity in him or herself, this element of curiosity when added to interest leads an individual to be involved in the act of inquiry.
However, the degree at which this act of curiosity develops in individual part of science. An American scientist; James B.C. (1980) define science as an interconnected series of concepts and conceptual schemes that have developed as a result of experimentation and observation and are faithful of further observation and experimentation.
Oguntonade C.B. further defines science basically as rational inquiry which is generated by a desire to explain the phenomena of human experience, commenting further, he states that any claim to a satisfactory or acceptable discipline in general.
However, whatever opinion people hold about science, there is no doubt that science has come to stay as an integral part of our wellbeing,. It is therefore relevant for any nation to embrace science in her educational pursuit.
As rightly noted by Professor Babs Fafunwa “a nation that overtook the significant truism of science in our age has her own peril. Science in our age has obviously become a necessary tool to good living, to health, home making and to leisure add to national defense.
According to Biology for the certificate year a millennium text sees biology as a branch of science that deals with the study of living things, it can also be seen as a very important part of science which is helping science to fulfill the major role that science plays in the life and well-being of any nation.
Curriculum planets over the years have become aware of the importance of biology as an integral part of science and there attempted to give biology as well as other sciences proper attention in the secondary school education but sad however, is the fact that the teaching of biology as a subject In our secondary schools is more of a theoretical knowledge.
Indeed no attention has been directed towards making biology as a way of thought of attitudes or as a product.
One of the ways in which biology teaching and learning could be seen as a way of thought; attitude or as product is by emphasizing the importance of laboratory and of course the need for the availability and use of the necessary science equipment in the schools science laboratory.
The laboratory has been seen by Pinchas Tamir as “a place where students are engage in hands on activities such as observations and experiments” commenting further, he stated that a laboratory must be used not only to verify but to find her investigation and enquiry.
This study on the “effects of the availability of laboratory science equipment on students performances in biology at the west African school certificate examinations (WASCE) will attempt to offer a broad base for the need to making the teaching and learning of sciences in general and biology in particular to be seen as a way of thought, of attitude or of products.