PHYSICS EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS

This research is on an appraisal of infrastructural facilities and personnel for teaching physics in senior secondary schools in Adamawa state. The main objective of the study is to examine if there is adequate infrastructural facilities for teaching Physics in senior secondary schools in Nigeria. Specific objectives are: To examine the quality of personnel teaching Physics in Nigerian senior secondary schools, To identify the relationship between infrastructure and performance in Physics in senior secondary schools in Nigeria.

Man was able to progress to a high degree of civilization through the careful study of the causes of natural phenomena. These studies led to the accumulation of a large body of information, which is embodied in quantitative laws and theories, which in turn led to further discoveries. From these scientific discoveries, the inventive mind of man developed the machine and industrial processes which are in direct proportion to the degree of civilization.

Science has been regarded as the bed rock on which modern day technological breakthrough is built. Nowadays countries all over the world especially the developing ones like Nigeria, are striving hard to develop technologically and scientifically, since the world is turning scientific and all proper functioning of lives depend greatly on science. Science is a dynamic human activity concerned with understanding the workings of our world. This understanding helps man to know more about the universe. Without the application of science, it would have been difficult for man to explore the other planets of the universe. Science comprises the basic disciplines such as physics, chemistry, biology and mathematics. Many investigations have shown that secondary school students are exhibiting dwindling interest in science (Ogunleye, 2002). Besides, physics as one of the science subjects remains one of the most difficult subjects in the school curriculum according to the Nigeria Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC); Isola (2010). Studies have revealed that the academic performance of Nigerian students in ordinary level physics was generally and consistently poor over the years. Physics is an important science subject that makes immense academic demands on the students in it’s learning.

It is imperative to enunciate the nature and trend of educational progress in any developing country. Education is a systematic intellectual and moral training, geared towards obtaining knowledge, development of character and also mental development that will ensure human survival. This becomes a reality through effective teaching and learning. The performance of students in school greatly depends on the ability and capacity of the prospective teachers and the school administration. Hence, an efficient, reliable and courteous teacher equipped with professionalism, creative imagination, costly ingenuity and depth of experience is a necessity for optimal performance in the 21st century. The differential scholastic achievement of students in Nigeria has been and is still a source of concern and research interest to educators, government and parents. This is so because of the great importance that education has on the national development of the country. All over the country, there is a consensus of opinion about the fallen standard of education in Nigeria (Adebule, 2014). Parents and government are in total agreement that their huge investment on education is not yielding the desired dividend. Teachers also complain of students’ low performance at both internal and external examination. The annual releases of Senior Secondary Certificate Examination results (SSCE) conducted by West African Examination Council (WAEC) justified the problematic nature and generalization of poor

It would be much demanding to undertake a complete study of the effects of family background on the academic performance of students in all the secondary schools are scattered all over the local government area and due to logistics constraint on the researcher, only five schools will be sampled, sampled schools are selected based on their metropolitan population characteristics. The study is likely to be confined to senior secondary school (ss1) students of the selected schools. This is because (ss1) is the beginning of senior secondary school class. If family background affects students in (ss1), it is assumed that likely to affect their performances in senior secondary school certificates examinations and even worst in their higher academic performance.

Teaching methods are strategies, techniques or systems used by the teachers in guiding the students to learn. They are important instruments that the teacher uses in performing his/her basic functions of teaching. In science, some effective methods of teaching are employed. Such methods of teaching include experimental method, demonstration, lecture method, problem-solving, field-trip, effectiveness of discussion, inquiring, peer-teaching, cooperative learning, etc. Engagement in meaningful learning is a universal theme advanced in literature on student’s achievement. Integration of instruction into real-world problems is a second emerging theme. What students learn is greatly influenced by how they are taught. Instructors teaching agricultural curricula have implemented a wide variety of teaching methods, which fit different niches within the agricultural classroom (Allen et al., 2010).

INTRODUCTION Physics is generally regarded as the nucleus of all technology. This simply means that physics controls all forms of technology. It also affirm that behind every technology, there is physics. At senior secondary school level, physics is defined as a branch of science that deals with matter, energy, their relationship and their measurements. The learning of physics is affected by the mathematical background of the learner and the method use by the teacher in teaching concepts (Topics) in physics. The teaching methods that can be used by teacher in effective teaching of physics in senior secondary schools are: (1) Theoretical method and (2) practical method. Physics in Nigerian Secondary Schools is taught by a lecture approach alone in 62% of the Secondary Schools there. This is what Tropp (1972) described as a “chalk and talk” teaching approach, from the extensive observation she made while on a trip to Nigeria to study the Secondary School Science programmes in Nigeria. She observed that despite the fact that the West African Examination Council mandated that because of its very empirical nature, physics must be studied by the aid of the laboratory classes, this was not being done. Also, the West African Council on Science Education noted in its 1969 annual report that physics was not being studied or taught with the aid of laboratory activities in Nigerian Secondary Schools. It noted, “our studies indicate that this attitude is widespread in the vast