Abstract: Despite the advice from quality assurance, Biology subject has continued to perform poorly in National examination in Kenya. It is not known whether teachers teach practically or not. In the KCSE biology examination if a candidate fails the practical paper he or she cannot score an A grade. This means practical paper has great influence on biology performance at KCSE as a whole. This study investigated level of student’s exposure to p practicals in public secondary schools in Lugari Sub County, Kakamega County, Kenya. A descriptive survey design was used to study the extent of student participation in biology practicals by class level and school type. The study was undertaken in Lugari District, western province, Kenya. Lugari district is one of the districts where poor performance in biology has been reported over the past five years in K.C.S.E. (KNEC Report 2019). The study population was made up of students taking Biology in forms four. Thirteen schools were randomly sampled comprising of 262 form four students. Primary data was collected using structured questionnaire. All research questions were analyzed using quantitative techniques provided by Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 24. The results revealed that only 38.35 of the 113 practical sessions were conducted by public secondary schools in Lugari Sub County. Majority of the practicals were done in form one (41.7%) and form three (48.1%) while few practical sessions were conducted in form two (30.3%) and four (33.3%). There was significant variation in number of practicals conducted among schools as some school management more than half of the practicals while other schools managed less than a quarter of total practical session in four years. Therefore, the study concluded that the extent to which learners are exposed to biology practicals in Lugar sub County is at low extent. In this regard, the study recommended that there is need to increase number of functional laboratories in the said school, acquisition of reagents and laboratory equipment. Further, the schools need to have at least one laboratory assistant to aid in preparation of laboratory session. Lastly, the study recommended that there is need for policy formulation which will ensure students are adequately exposed to biology practicals in Kenya.
Keywords: Biology, Biology Practicals, Exposure, Public Secondary Schools.
Title: Level of Students Exposure to Biology Practicals in Public Secondary Schools in Lugari Sub County, Kakamega County, Kenya
Author: JOYCE NEKESA NGAKHALA
International Journal of Life Sciences Research
ISSN 2348-313X (Print), ISSN 2348-3148 (online)
Research Publish Journals
