Influence of Pre-Service Teachers’ Subject Specialization on their Skills of Improvisation and Management of Resources in Basic Science.

Researchjournali’s Journal of Education
Vol. 2 | No. 7 July | 2014 ISSN 2347-8225
1
www.researchjournali.com
Babayemi, J.O
Ph.D Student (Science Education), Department of
Teacher Education, University of Ibadan, Ibadan,
Nigeria
Influence Of Pre-Service
Teachers’ Subject
Specialization On Their
Skills Of Improvisation
And Management Of
Resources In Basic
Science

Vol. 2 | No. 7 July | 2014 ISSN 2347-8225
2
ABSTRACT
This study examined the influence of pre-service teachers’ subject specialization on their skills for
improvisation and management of resources using survey research of expost-facto type. The sample
comprised 150 N.C.E pre-service teachers randomly selected from 50 secondary schools in Oyo State. The
instruments used were Questionnaire on Assessing Pre-service Teachers’: Skills of Improvisation (r = 0.73);
Management of Resources (r = 0.70). Two research questions were raised. The data collected were analyzed
using mean , ANOVA and t-test. The result showed that subject specialisation had no influence on pre-
service teachers’ skills for improvisation and management of resources (F=0.953; P>.05; F=2.536;
P>.05).These findings have significant implications for Science teachers and curriculum planners.
Keywords: Subject Specialisation, Gender, Pre-service teachers, Skills of improvisation, Management of
resources, Basic Science
1. INTRODUCTION
Teachers occupy a central position in a nation’s educational system most especially for every system that
craves for quality and functional education. Writing on the role of teachers in quality education, Savolainen
(2009) notes that teachers play an essential role. Teachers are pillars of any functional education and
education can be said to be the foundation for national growth and development. Therefore, teacher education
preparatory programme must be directed at equipping teachers to prepare learners towards contributing
significantly to overall national development. Learners are to be encouraged to be creative, using their various
natural potentials at foundational level and transfer this to a level of inventions and scientific discoveries.
Learners take after their teachers. Hence, teachers must undergo training that will match the diversified needs
of the learners.
The training commences as teachers undergo professional training in teacher training colleges, colleges of
education and faculty of education at university levels to obtain their professional qualifications. Different
fields of specialisation are available such as physics Education, Chemistry Education, Biology Education,
Mathematics Education, Computer Education and Integrated Science Education which changed to Basic
Science Education in September 2008 (NERDC,2007). At fundamental level of teacher training (Teachers’
Grade II), Basic Science is offered as one of the compulsory subjects for professional qualification. At
colleges of education, Basic Science could be offered as double major or combined with any of the science
subjects listed above or with Primary Education or Special Education studies while at university level, it is
offered as Education/Basic Science or combined with Mathematics or science related course of study.
In practice, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, PHE (Physical and Health Education), Health Science, Agricultural
Science, and Basic Technology and in some cases, Geography teachers are often employed to teach Basic

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Science in schools because specialists are not enough to teach it. For this reason, there is this misconception
that anybody in the field of any science discipline should be able to teach Basic Science. Consequent on this,
the school administrators allocate the teaching of Basic Science to any science teacher whose subject area is
not in Basic Science. Effective transfer of the subject matter depends on whether the teacher is a professional
or a quack (Babarinde, 2009). Teachers must not be given a subject to teach outside his/her subject
specialization or engaged in an assignment which is not within his/her subject area for this seriously puts
learners at risk of being misled.
Students’ achievement in Basic Science in the recent times is low because of non-professional teachers in
Basic Science classroom (Afuwape and Olatoye, 2004). The table 1 reveals the performance of candidates in
Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination in Integrated Science.
Table 1: Analysis of JSSCE Basic Science Result, Nigeria
YEAR NUMBER OF
CANDIDATES
REGISTERED
NUMBER WITH
CREDIT
(A-C)
% NUMBER
WITHOUT
CREDIT
(P-F)
%
2000 12719 7324 57.58 5395 42.42
2001 12984 7286 56.11 5698 43.90
2002 14725 7597 51.60 7128 48.40
2003 16916 9013 53.30 7903 46.72
2004 17613 9492 53.87 8125 46.13
2005 19362 12561 64.90 6801 35.13
2006 18913 9062 47.91 9851 52.10
2007 20614 11585 56.20 9029 43.80
2010 15803 6639 42.01 9164 57.99
2011 16429 7693 46.83 8736 53.17
TOTAL 166078 88252 530.31 77830 469.76
AVERAGE 530.31/10=53.
03
469.76/10=
46.98
Source: Federal Ministry of Education, Research Statistics and Planning Section, 2011
The examination was not conducted in 2008 and 2009 because of the federal government declaration to
scrape unity schools
The ten-year analysis of Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination results % passed in Integrated
Science (and Basic Science) could not rise beyond an average level of 53.03%! This is highly disheartening
and calls for the attention of researchers and other stakeholders in education to address this problem. The
report of the analysis of Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination results in table 1 indicates that
many problems are confronting the teaching and learning of Basic Science ranging from lack of material
resources (Dogara and Ahmadu,2000); poor teaching methods (Nwagbo, 2001; Ezeliora, 2004; Akpan, 2008;
Ibraheem and Oladele, 2010); and lack of Basic Science specialists (Adesoji, 2002). This is why researchers,

Vol. 2 | No. 7 July | 2014 ISSN 2347-8225
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Ntow, Tackie and Sokpe (2009), recommend that teacher-trainee should pursue subject specialisation to
enhance their performance and consequently improves students’ learning outcomes.
The National Policy on Education (NPE, 2004; P38) emphasized effective teacher preparation as a necessity
in any education system when it specifically states “no education system can rise above the quality of its
teachers”. The policy recommended conscientious and efficient classroom teachers for all levels of the
country’s educational system. Who then is a teacher? A teacher is an instructional pilot who directs and
determines the overall development and learning outcomes of a child. A teacher is a trained individual who is
able to produce the desirable change in the total being of the learners. Looking at these definitions critically, a
teacher is an indispensable tool in the execution of any educational programme. The success of any classroom
interaction depends on the teacher. Many material resources may be available, other facilities may be
adequate but without the availability of this human resource (the teacher), teaching-learning process is a mess.
Therefore, if a teacher is not trained or not willing to implement curriculum plans, the desired success cannot
be attained. Hence, there is the necessity for training science teachers to attain specializations. Teachers like
any other person need essential tools to do their work (Nwachukwu, 2006). They are then equipped with the
various tools during the course of professional training and this training qualifies them as specialists in their
chosen subjects.
However, activities are at the centre of Basic Science teaching and learning. Students cannot be engaged in
meaningful activities without being provided with relevant instructional resources. According to Olagunju
and Abiona (2008), few teachers use material resources and less than average numbers of science teachers
produce the instructional resources. But there is the need for teachers to possess and use skills of
improvisation in order to make available relevant instructional resources for students’ meaningful learning
coupled with managing the resources for effective science delivery. The study addressed two research
questions.
2. RESEARCH QUESTION
 Will pre-service teachers’ subject specialization influence their skills of improvisation?
 Will pre-service teachers’ subject specialisation influence their management of resources?
3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study was a survey research of an expost-facto type
3.1 SAMPLING AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE
The target population consisted of one hundred and fifty (150) Nigerian College of Education (N.C.E) pre-
service science teachers (Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Basic Science teachers) that had their teaching
practice exercise in fifty (50) randomly selected secondary schools in Oyo State.

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3.2 INSTRUMENT FOR DATA COLLECTION
(i) Questionnaire on Assessment Pre-service Teachers skills of Improvisation (QAPTSI) consisting of
two sections A and B. Section A dealt with personal data including Subject Specialisation (Physics,
Chemistry, Biology and Basic Science). Section B consisted of ten statements designed to examine the skills
of improvisation of pre-service teachers. The instrument was given to experts for content and face validity.
The final copy was administered to teachers in schools that would not be involved in the study for reliability
and a Cronbach Alpha measure of 0.73 was obtained as the reliability index.
(ii) Questionnaire on Assessing Pre-service Teachers’ Management of Resources (QAPTMR) this
research instrument is made up of two sections A and B. Section A sought information on personal data
including Subject Specialisation of pre-service teachers (Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Basic Science).
Section B was made up of eleven (11) for which participants were expected to respond on a 4-point likert
scale designed to elicit information about the management of resources of pre-service teachers. The
instrument was given to experts and peer review to measure what it was intended to measure. Their critique
and corrections helped in producing the final copy that was given out to science pre-service teachers that
would not participate in the study. The scores from the questionnaire gave a reliability coefficient of r = 0.70.
3.3 PROCEDURE FOR DATA COLLECTION
The schools involved were visited by the researcher. The questionnaires were given to the respondents and
were collected after completion.
4. DATA ANALYSIS
Mean scores, standard deviation, frequency count, percentages and t-test were used to analyze the data
collected.
4.1 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 2: Skills of improvisation of pre service teachers
Variables N Mean Std.D t Df Sig(P) Remark
Pre-service teachers’ skill of
improvisation
Male 49 27.61 4.27
1.449 1.48 0.149 NS
Female 101 26.60 3.86
Table 2 showed that 49 male and 101 female pre-service teachers were involved in the study and there was no
significant difference in their skills of improvisation (t = 1.449; df = 148; P > .05)
Table 3: Management of resources of pre-service teachers
Variables N Mean Std.D T Df Sig(P) Remark
Pre-service teachers’ management of
resources

Vol. 2 | No. 7 July | 2014 ISSN 2347-8225
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Male 49 29.37 4.65
1.080 148 0.282 NS
Female 101 28.41 5.32
Table 3 revealed that 49 male and female 101 female pre-service teachers were participated in the study. The
table also revealed that there was no significant difference in the management of resources of male and female
pre-service teachers.
Table 4: Influence of pre-service teachers’ subject specialization on their skills of improvisation
Subject Area N Mean SD Source Sum of
Square
Df Mean
Square
F Sig(p) Remark
pre-service
teachers’
skills of
improvisatio
n
Chemistry 37 26.65 3.58 Between
Group
46.063 3 15.354
Physics 35 26.77 3.20 0.953 0.417 NS
Biology 39 27.85 3.97 Within
Group
2351.271 146 16.105
Basic
Science
39 26.44 5.02
Total 150 26.93 4.01 Total 2397.333 149
Table 4 shows that the influence of subject specialisation on pre-service teachers’ skills of improvisation is
not significant (F=0.953; P>.05).
Table 5: Influence of pre-service teachers’ subject specialisation on their management of resources
Subject Area N Mean SD Source Sum of
Square
Df Mean
Square
F Sig(p) Remark
pre-service
teachers’
management
of resources
Chemistry 37 28.32 4.28 Between
Group
193.058 3 64.353
Physics 35 28.97 4.19 2.536 0.059 NS
Biology 39 30.33 6.59 Within
Group
3705.182 146 25.378
Basic
Science
39 27.26 4.59
Total 150 28.72 5.12 Total 3898.240 149
Table 5 reveals that subject specialisation has no influence on pre-service teachers’ management of resources
(F=2.536; P>.05).

Vol. 2 | No. 7 July | 2014 ISSN 2347-8225
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5. DISCUSSION
Table 2 revealed that 49 male and 101 female pre-service teachers were involved in the study and there was
no significant difference in their skills of improvisation. Most educational researchers advocate for active
learning (Scott, 2006; Scruggs, 2011). This cannot be achieved if the classroom environment is devoid of
enough educational resources that engage learners in meaningful learning. As important as these resources
are, they are not readily available for students’ learning. The reasons might be because of irregular supply by
the government, cost factor and nonchalant attitude of teachers to improvisation. Teachers (both male and
female) need to utilize their skills of improvisation effectively to arrest problem of learning resources in the
classroom. Teachers also face the challenge of modeling students’ learning through the acquisition of these
skills which are: drawing, applying color, lettering, measuring accurately, calibrating, imaginativeness,
smoothening and gluing, clay or paper molding, tying and folding shapes, cutting and pasting. Table 3
showed that 49 male and female 101 female pre-service teachers participated in the study. The table also
revealed that there was no significant difference in the management of resources of male and female pre-
service teachers.
From the results in table 4 and table 5, the findings revealed that subject specialisation had no influence on
pre-service teachers’ skills of improvisation and management of resources. The result negated the study
carried out by Gyuse and Ada (2005) where it was found out that subject specialisation influenced science,
technology, mathematics and teachers’ professionalism. The reason might have being the recent efforts put in
place to enhance science teachers’ professional background. During the pre-service training of science
teachers, it is expected that they are exposed to more than 60% science courses both at Nigeria College of
Education and the Degree programmes. These courses involve both theory and practical activities (Ajayi,
2004; Ugwu, 2005; Onofeghara, 2005).
In line with this, the Nigerian National Policy on Education endorsed and recommended that the attraction,
training and retention of teachers should be based on a sound philosophy that can guarantee the acquisition of
appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes. This means, there is the possibility that pre-service science
teachers have acquired and attained some levels of scientific knowledge and skills necessary for effective
teaching and learning of science.
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
1. School administrators should always take into cognisance teachers’ subject specialisation before subject
allocation to science teachers.
2. Science teachers from other subject areas should adopt Basic Science teaching approach (which is activity-
based) in their subject areas to enhance conceptual understandings.

Vol. 2 | No. 7 July | 2014 ISSN 2347-8225
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3. Pre-service teachers should be allowed to undergo training in only the courses that lead to their
professionalism not in subjects that only qualify them to have the certificates.
4. The curriculum planners for pre-service Basic Science teachers should always plan the curriculum in such a
way that the training will meet the needs of junior secondary school curricular content.
5. Government should always employ Basic Science teachers from time-to-time into secondary schools and
not just a non-professional Basic Science teacher to teach the subject.
7. REFERENCE
Afuwape, M.O. and Olatoye, R.A. 2004. Students’ Integrated Science Achievement As a Predictor of Later Achievement in Biology, Chemistry, and
Physics. Journal of the Science Teachers’ Association of Nigeria, (JSTAN) 39 (1&2): 11-16.
Ajayi,D.O. 2004. An Investigation of Pre-service Teachers’ Errors in Biology Practicals: A Case Study. 45th
Annual Conference Proceedings, 141-144.
Akpan, O.U.2008. An Analysis of Classroom Interaction of Senior Secondary School Chemistry Teachers in Ikot Ekpene Local Government Area of
Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Journal of the Science Teachers’ Association of Nigeria, 43 (1&2) : 16-22
Babarinde, K. 2009. Strategies for effective knowledge transfer. L. Popoola, O. Adetimirin & Olorunnisola (Eds). Planning and Writing Grant-oriented
proposals. Ibadan, the Postgraduate school University of Ibadan.
Dogara, M.M. and Ahmadu, H.O. 2000. Enhancing Classroom Success Through Effective Utilization of Resources in The Teaching and Learning of
Integrated Science. 41st
Annual Conference of Science Teachers’ Association of Nigeria (STAN): 217-219
Ezeliora, B.2004. Motivating Secondary school science teachers to face the challenges of the third Millennium. Journal of Science Teachers
Association of Nigeria, 39 (1&2): 14-18.
Federal Ministry of Education, Research Statistics and Planning Section ,2011
Gyuse, E.Y. and Ada, N.A.2005. How Professionals Are Our Science (STM) Teachers? 46th
Ibraheem, T.L. and Oladele, O. 2010. Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Availability, Accessibility and Usability in the Teaching-
Learning Process in Michael Otedola College of Primary Education (MOCPED) Noforija-Epe. Journal of Applied Education and Vocational Research
7 (2 ): 168-177
Nwagbo, C. 2001. The relative efficacy of guided inquiry and expository methods on the achievement in Biology students of different levels of
scientific literacy. Journal of science Teachers Association of Nigeria, 29 (1&2) : 22-26
Savolainen, H. 2009. Responding to diversity and striving for excellence: The case for Finland. In Acedo C. (ed.) Prospects Quarterly Review of
Comparative Education, 39 (3)
Scott, K. (2006). what is Puzzle? http://www.scottkin.com/thinggames/index
Scruggs, T. 2011. Peer Tutoring Strategies. http://www. education. com/ reference/article/ peer-tutoring.
Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council, NERDC 2007. 9-year Basic Education Curriculum. Basic Science for JS 1-3.
NPE. 2004. Federal Republic of Nigeria. National Policy on Education. Lagos: Nigerian Education Research and
Development Council (NERDC).
Ntow, F.D; Tackie, N.A and Sokpe, B.Y .2009. Pre-service Teachers’ Content Knowledge for Teaching Basic
School Mathematics.
Nwachukwu, P.O. 2006. The Impact of Professional and Non-professional Teachers’ ICT Competencies in
Secondary Schools in Nigeria. Journal of Information Technology Impact, 6.2: 101-118
Olagunju, A. M. and Abiona, O. F. (2008). Production and Utilization of Resources in Biology
Education. A Case Study Of South West Nigerian Secondary Schools. International Journal of African & African American Studies, 7 (2)
Onofeghara, N. 2005. Professionalism through Pre-service and In-service Training. 46th
Ugwu, A.N. 2005. Towards Improving the Professional Status of STM Teachers. 46th
Annual Conference
Proceedings, 18-22.

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