Teachers’ perception and background in chemistry: Implications for basic science education in primary schools

Abstract

Science, particularly chemistry had become the life wire of any nation. This study was prompted by the importance of a solid foundation of chemistry in Universal Basic Education (UBE) and the level of background in science by teachers in the primary school. 500 teachers in primary schools were selected from Anambra State for the study through random sampling. A questionnaire (QFPS) was used to collect data for the study. The QFPS consisted 3 sections; three research questions guided the study. Data collected were analyzed using means, standard deviations and percentages. The results showed that majority of the teachers of primary schools were not professionally trained science teachers. The teachers lack confidence to teach basic science even though they perceived science as an important subject for primary school pupils. They also had positive perception towards chemistry but lacked an effective pedagogical approach to it. Educational implications were discussed and recommendations made among which are: teachers who were professionally trained in science should be employed specifically to teach basic science classes instead of leaving the basic science teaching to class teacher who had no idea of science.