ETHNICAL PERCEPTION AS A CORRELATE OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' COMPREHENSION OF SCIENTIFIC CONCEPTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The impact of ethnic perspective on secondary school students' comprehension of scientific topics was examined in this study. It went into great detail about how Nigerian scientific advancement has been hampered by ethnic perception. 600 science students from coeducational public schools from Nigeria's three main ethnic groups Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba participated in the survey. The study was directed by a single hypothesis and a research question. The two tools utilized to gather data were the Ethnical Perception on Scientific Concept Understanding Scale (EPSCUS) and the Student's Oral Interview Schedule (SOIS). ANOVA and basic percentages were used to examine the data. The findings demonstrated that science students' comprehension of scientific concepts categorized in categories 1 and 3 is significantly influenced by Yoruba cultural views while the Hausa cultural beliefs significantly influenced scientific concepts grouped in category 2. In category 3, the cultural beliefs of the 1gbo were closely related to those of the Hausa and Yoruba. According to the study, all Nigerian science students, regardless of their ethnic background, should accept the theories of cultural deficit for scientific advancement and view natural phenomena as facts with scientific explanations. It comes to the conclusion that teachers must assist pupils in negotiating their cultural views through collateral learning, which replaces cultural ideas with scientific awareness and thought.