INFLUENCE OF MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE HUMAN SKELETAL SYSTEM ON SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ INTEREST AND PERFORMANCE IN BIOLOGY.

This study investigated the influence of misconceptions about the human skeletal system on senior secondary school students’ interest and performance in biology. Four research questions guided the study. The literature review was organized under conceptual framework, theoretical framework and review of empirical studies. Descriptive survey design was adopted for the study. The study was carried out in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu State. The sample comprised of one hundred (100) students drawn from the population of six hundred and seventy (670) SSII biology students using random sampling technique. A well-structured questionnaire tiled questionnaire on misconception about the human skeletal system was used for data collection. Data analyzed was done using mean and standard deviation. The result revealed that senior secondary school students harbor misconceptions about the human skeletal system, show low interest in skeletal system and perform poorly in biology. The study also showed that instructional materials and good teaching strategies are helpful in increasing students’ interest which in turn will bring about good performance in biology. Recommendations were made that teachers should make use of practical manual, 3D models and innovative instructional strategies to demystify misconception about the human skeletal system. Finally, limitations were stated and suggestions were made for further stud

INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES IN ENHANCING EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT IN DIGITALIZED ERA; PREPARATION FOR THE 4TH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

The study explores innovative strategies that can be employed in enhancing educational assessment in a digitalized era in readiness to embrace the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The 4th Industrial Revolution requires transformative changes in educational assessment as the traditional methods possess many challenges and inabilities in handling the complexity of the 21st century assessment practices.  The study highlights the importance of integrating technology and sustainability principles into assessment methods to foster student engagement, critical thinking, and application of technology in assessment practices for the fourth industrial revolution by leveraging the capabilities of e-assessment through the use of artificial intelligence (AI) blockchain and data analytics.  Educators can create more meaningful and effective assessment experiences that support student learning and promote sustainable practices with the help of the novel strategies critically examined by this study

AVAILABILITY AND UTILIZATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS FOR BLENDED TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SCIENCE EDUCATION IN TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN ENUGU STATE

This study investigated the availability and use of instructional materials for blended teaching and learning of science education in tertiary institution in Enugu state. A descriptive survey research design was adopted in the study. Sixty science educators drawn through simple random sampling served as sample. Researcher-made structured questionnaire was the instrument for data collection. Analysis of data was done using mean and standard deviation (descriptive statistics) to answer the research questions while Pearson product moment correlation (inferential statistics) was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that science educators and students have regular access to the school computers to low extent and that most schools have resources for blended teaching and learning to a low extent and can compare materials used with an interactive whiteboard to low extent. Again most of the facilities necessary for blended teaching and learning approach are available to a low extent. The findings also revealed that teachers undergo training on blended teaching and learning to a low extent. Based on these findings, it is recommended that government should equip tertiary institutions with enough resources and facilities necessary for blended teaching and learning, and should organize regular trainings on the use of blended teaching and learning approach for science teachers in tertiary institutions

A FRACTIONAL-ORDER OPTIMAL CONTROL MODEL FOR EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE IN GREEN SMART SCHOOLS

The Green Smart School Initiative is a concept that seeks to promote sustainable practices in schools.  The idea is to integrate green technology, energy efficiency, and environmental education into the school environment.  In this study, a fractional order examination malpractice optimal control model for the effective implementation of green smart school initiative in the sense of Caputo is formulated.  The host population is divided into five mutually exclusive compartments of susceptible, malpractice, punished or disciplined, recovered and resistant individuals. The positivity, existence and uniqueness result of the model were established, and the two equilibria, that is, the malpractice free and malpractice presence equilibrium solutions of the model in the presence of effective examination malpractice control strategies for the green smart school initiative are presented. The graphical representation showing the basic reproduction number when less than unity is is displayed. Simulations involving the effectiveness of the control strategies in prevention and control of examination malpractice for the smooth implementation of the green smart school initiatives are observed. In addition, we graphically illustrate the optimal control of the strategies with numerical technique of fractional multi-Stage Differential Transform Method via Matlab which showed that the control strategies is capable of preventing and controlling examination malpractice and subsequently facilitating the effective implementation of green smart school initiativ

INFLUENCE OF FAMILY BACKGROUND VARIABLES ON THE ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PHYSICS STUDENTS’

The physics students’ poor learning outcomes and achievement has warranted this study. The study therefore, examined the influence of family background on the academic performance of Secondary school Physics students in Enugu North Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. The study was anchored on Bowen theory of Human Behavior.  The study adopted a correlational survey research design. Three null hypotheses guided the study. The study targeted students, teachers, and parents. The population of the study was 1670 SSS 2 physics students in Enugu North L. G. A. of Enugu state. The sample size of the study was 180 SS 2 Physics students. The Simple random sampling technique was used to select the students’ participants of the study. The study used questionnaire titled Family Background Scale (FBS) to collect data. Data were analyzed using path analysis to test the proposed hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that parental socio-economic status contributed 37% prediction to physics students’ academic achievement. Also, that parental educational background impacted 35% prediction of physics students’ academic achievement. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the school management and teachers should help to sensitize the parents on the importance of the family on the students’ holistic formation especially their academic achievemen

FACTORS MILITATING AGAINST THE EFFECTIVE IMPLEMENTATION OF NURSERY SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM IN ISI-UZO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ENUGU STATE.

:  This study was designed to investigate the factors that affect the effective implementation of nursery school mathematics curriculum in Isi-uzo local government area of Enugu State.  Two research questions guided the study and a descriptive survey research design was adopted. A sample size of 100 nursery school teachers drawn from the government schools found in the three clusters of the local government representing 57.5% of the total population of 174 government nursery school teachers were used for the study. A questionnaire titled Factors Militating against the Effective Implementation of Nursery School Mathematics Curriculum Questionnaire (FMAEINSMCQ), with 20 items drawn on 4 points scale was used to collect data. The instrument was validated by research experts. The data were analyzed using frequency distribution and mean rating. The findings revealed that poor funding and class size, affect the effective implementation of nursery school mathematics curriculum and recommended that more fund should be channeled to the educational system and school heads should develop a yard stick for admitting pupils so as to check over population in classroom

IMPACT OF INTEGRATING CULTURE FOR THE EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SCIENCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ENUGU URBAN

The study investigated the influence of integrating culture for the effective teaching and learning of science in secondary schools in Enugu Urban. Design used in this study was descriptive survey design. Three research questions guided the study. This study was carried out in Enugu Urban. The population for this study comprises all 64 Science teachers in the 28 secondary schools. The sample size for this study was 64 teachers. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled “Integration of Culture in Teaching and Learning of Science Questionnaire (ICTLSQ). The instrument was subjected to face validation by three specialists; one from Departments of Science Education, one from Physics Education and one from Measurement and Evaluation Unit from Faculty of Education, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Enugu. To ensure reliability of the instrument, Cronbach alpha method of reliability measure was applied and the Reliability index is 0.87. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. The finding of the study shows that combination of native languages contributes to the effective teaching and learning of science in secondary schools in Enugu urban. Based on the findings the study recommended among others Science education curricular developers should emphasize on cultural content in the programmes and regularly restructure and update them relative to changes. Government and other bodies should provide Science students and researchers research grants to promote learnin

INFLUENCE OF AUTONOMY AND CHOICE ON STUDENTS\u27 MOTIVATION AND INTEREST IN MATHEMATICS IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the influence of autonomy and choice on students\u27 motivation and interest in Mathematics in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions. The participants consisted of 200 secondary school students selected randomly from 12 public secondary schools in Enugu East Local Government Area of Enugu state. The study adopted descriptive survey research design. Data was collected using researcher’s structured questionnaire validated by specialists in the relevant fields. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions while inferential statistics (t-test) was used to test the data. The results showed that students who were given autonomy and choice in their mathematics learning demonstrated higher levels of motivation and interest in the subject compared  to those who were not.. The study also revealed that autonomy and choice had a positive effect on students\u27 self-efficacy, enjoyment, and value of mathematics. The implications of these findings for mathematics education in Nigeria are discussed, and recommendations are made for educators and policymakers to promote autonomy and choice in mathematics learnin

TOPICAL ISSUES AND PROSPECTS OF TRADITIONAL AND PORTFOLIO ASSESSMENTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF CORE CURRICULUM AND MINIMUM ACADEMIC STANDARDS IN NIGERIAN UNIVERSITIES.

Demands for new knowledge and skills in the 21st Century are impacting teaching, learning, and assessment in universities in Nigeria. The National Universities Commission (NUC) in 2022 introduced Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) for the Nigerian Universities System. Part of the implementation strategy of the CCMAS is the introduction of modern teaching methods. The ultimate goal is for students in Nigerian universities to acquire experiential learning. However, the assessment strategies critical to modern teaching methods were not incorporated in the implementation document of the CCMAS. Unfortunately, traditional assessments cannot evaluate experiential learning. This paper analysed topical issues and prospects of using conventional and portfolio assessments in the Nigerian university system. The paper established that despite the capacity of portfolio assessment to provide a nuanced, holistic, and student-centred evaluation of learning, most lecturers in the universities in Nigeria, still use traditional assessment. It recommended, among others, a robust educational policy direction to support the introduction of portfolio assessment in the Nigerian university system

INFLUENCE OF TESTING PROCESS ON STUDENT MATHEMATICS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PRIVATE SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN ENUGU EAST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ENUGU STATE

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of testing process on student mathematics academic performance in private schools in Enugu East L.G.A of Enugu State. Two research questions guided the study; to what extent does test type and test taking skill influence student mathematics academic performance. Is the use of test taking a sine qua non for student success in mathematics academic performance? The study adopted a descriptive survey design which allowed the researcher to gather information from a sampled population. The study sampled 50 teachers among whom were randomly selected ten Teachers from each five (5) private schools in Enugu East LGA. Method of data collection was through a structured online questionnaire which was distributed to schools via their WhatsApp platform and email address. After completion from respondent the response from the question were analyzed using simple mean. The study finding indicate a statistical significant in student knowledge and their performance in mathematic subject. There was no significant different between teachers. The study therefore recommend that mathematics teachers may introduce the use of mathematics games which can have a positive influence on student academic performance regardless of gender or scoring ability. Game based learning can encourage student to develop their skills