State Of Biology Teaching In Public Senior High Schools In The Cape Coast Metropolis

Abstract

ll1e purpose of this study was to tind out state of Biology teaching in public senior high schools in the Cape Coast Metropolis. The study sought insight into the difficulties both Biology teachers and students encounter in teaching and learning some Biology topics respectively, the teachers' specialised area of teaching and experience in the number of years of teaching, teaching methodologies employed, teaching and learning resources available, how Biology students are assessed and standard equipment in the classroom/laboratory: An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used for the study. The purposive sampling technique was used to select 28 teachers teaching Biology and used a multistage sampling technique to select 281 senior high Biology school students from 6 schools. Quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistical methods and inferential statistics. Classroom observations and interviews were used to suppOtt and explain the findings from the quantitative data. It was found out that over one-half of the teachers and students perceived Kreb's cycle as a difficult Biology topic to teach and learn respectively. Again, teachers and students perceived the Life cycle of insects and Ecology as easy or very easy to teach and easy or very easy to learn. Teachers combined more than one teaching method/strategy to teach. Effective teaching and learning strategies may help students to overcome their learning difficulties. It was, therefore, recommended that teachers teaching biology must update their knowledge on difficult biology topics and find more effective teaching strategies to teach it.