CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS, FACILITIES AND METHOD OF TEACHING BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN OYO WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF OYO STATE

This study investigated critical thinking skills, facilities and method of teaching Basic Science and Technology for economic development in Oyo West Local Government Area of Oyo State. Descriptive survey research design was used for the study. Population comprised all junior public secondary schools in Oyo West Local Government Area of Oyo State. Random Sampling was used to select ten (10) schools, 250 students (25 students from each of the schools) and 30 Basic Science and Technology teachers as sample for the study. Three instruments; questionnaires on Level of Critical Thinking Skills in Basic Science and Technology, Rating Scale and Facilities available for teaching Basic Science and Technology and Teacher Methods of Instruction with their reliability using Crombach alpha of 0.73, 0.75 and 0.77 respectively. The data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and percentages. The findings revealed that the basic science students are low in critical thinking skills, there was the problem of inadequate facilities but the mode of instruction was teacher centered. It was recommended that students should employed critical thinking skills in their study; government should provide adequate instructional facilities for the teaching of Basic Science and Technology and teachers should embark on student-centered methods of instruction. Keywords: Basic Science, Critical Thinking, Development, Skills Facilities and Teaching method