Attitude of Students Toward Biology Practical in Senior Secondary Schools and its Effect on their Performance

Attitude plays a central role in determining the future of individuals in the field of science. Students’ attitude towards science influences their academic performance. Recognizing as well as influencing students’ attitudes is important in educational research studies. Even though there has been series of research into students’ attitudes to science, there is very scanty research into the attitudes of students to Biology practical. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine students’ attitude toward Biology practical work and the extent to which such attitude influences students’ achievement in Biology. Thus, this study is carried out on students’ attitude toward four dimensions of Biology practical work namely, interest, career, importance and difficulty. The study used a 30-item Biology Attitude Questionnaire (BAQ) to measure students’ attitudes toward Biology practical work. The data were obtained from 250 secondary school students from ten secondary schools in Ogbomoso. Mean and analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed a positive and negative effect of attitude toward Biology achievement. The study also showed that the majority of students in Ogbomoso have positive attitudes towards Biology practical work although it does not motivate them to pursue a career in Biology beyond secondary school. The author concludes that the way and manner in which practical work is conducted may negatively influence their achievement in the subject. It is, therefore, recommended that educational materials should be provided for the students in the schools and motivational extra lessons should be organised for those students with low morale as regard positive attitude toward Biology practical. Keywords: Academic performance; Behaviour; Future career; Interest