Assessment of Competency Improvement Needs in Teaching and Learning of Laboratory Technique Concept among Secondary School Chemistry Teachers in South East, Nigeria

Abstract

Chemistry is a core science subject which requires hands –on laboratory activities to promote effective teaching and meaningful learning. Despite its importance, research evidence indicates that many chemistry teachers lack the necessary laboratory skills needed to adequately conduct practical sessions. This gap underscores the need for competency improvement in laboratory techniques to enhance teachers’ capacity to effectively guide learners through laboratory activities. The present study investigated the competency improvement needs of secondary school chemistry teachers in South East Nigeria with emphasis on laboratory techniques. The study adopted a descriptive survey design guided by three research questions and three hypotheses tested at .05 level of significance.  A total of 100 examiners who marked WAEC chemistry practical were randomly sampled from a population of 240 examiners that assessed WAEC chemistry (Paper 3) in the 2022/2023 academic year in South East Nigeria. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.81 using the Cronbach Alpha method. Research questions were analysed with mean and standard deviation, while the null hypotheses were tested using t-test. Findings indicated that chemistry teachers need competency improvement in all areas of laboratory techniques and there was no significant difference between the mean responses of WAEC examiners from Abia and Enugu in all the items. Furthermore, results showed that chemistry teachers need competency improvement in developing proper marking guides for reported practical work in qualitative and volumetric analyses and there was no significant difference in the mean responses of WAEC examiners from Abia and Enugu in each case. Based on the findings, recommendations were made.