Level of Acquisition of Basic and Integrated Science Process Skills by Secondary School Chemistry Students in Qualitative Analysis in Abakaliki Education Zone of Ebony State, Nigeria

Christian  Aleke

doi:10.70454/IJMRE.60301

Authors

Christian Aleke Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70454/IJMRE.60301

Keywords:

Qualitative Analysis, Chemistry, Skills acquisition, Basic, Integrated

Abstract

The study focused on ascertaining the level of acquisition of basic and integrated science process skills by secondary school Chemistry students in qualitative analysis in Abakaliki Education Zone. Six (6) research questions and four (4) hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey design was used. The population of the study comprised of two thousand, eight hundred and seventy two (2872) Senior Secondary III Chemistry students. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample two hundred and seventy five (275) students. The instruments of data collection were the Science Process Skill Observation Schedule and the Qualitative Analysis Practice Test. The instruments were validated by three experts in the Science Education Department, Ebony State University, and Abakaliki. The internal consistency of the instruments was determined using Cranach Alpha with a score of 0.87 while Kendall Coefficient of concordance was used to test for the scorer reliability giving a score of 0.77. Mean, standard deviation, t-test and ANOVA were used for data analysis. Results show that the Chemistry students acquired high levels of the basic science process skills of observation, classification, measurement, communication and prediction; as well as high levels of the integrated science process skills of controlling variables, manipulation, inferring and interpretation of data but a low level of the skill of experimenting. There was no significant difference in the level of acquisition of basic process skills based on gender and school location. There was no significant difference in the level of acquisition of integrated process skills based on gender but there was a significant difference based on school location. Therefore, the researchers recommended among others that Chemistry laboratories in every public school in the state should be properly equipped irrespective of school location.

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