Science Education: Challenges and New Trends After the Lockdown in Rivers State Nigeria

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue VIII, August 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Science Education: Challenges and New Trends After the Lockdown in Rivers State Nigeria

Nwala Longinus
Ignatius Ajuru University of Education, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

ABSTRACT
The study focuses on Science Education: Challenges and New Trends after the lockdown. It shows how the moderating variables; challenges and trends influence the disposition of Science Education in the post lockdown era. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. The sample of the study included 45 respondents from various sectors of the economy and drawn from three educational zones as viz: Rivers West Abua/Odual LGA, Rivers East- Khana LGA, Rivers central Emohua LGA through an accidental non probability sampling technique in which only elements that could be reached were used. The consideration here is in terms of limited time. Data were collected through interview and personal observations. To guide the study, five research questions and hypotheses were formulated and the results were tested using the Chi-square to answer the research questions and 0.05 alpha level of significance were used to test the hypotheses. The major findings of the research were: a high knowledge of science education among the Nigerian populace which has significantly affected the general outlook on the pandemic. The observation of the COVID-19 protocols is significantly low in the side of the citizens while the challenges and new trends brought in by the pandemic have both positive and negative effects on the people. Based on the findings, the following recommendations were made: That Science education is vital at this time of the pandemic, therefore those in the field should ensure its widespread. Since the COVID-19, pandemic may not leave the earth as soon as possible; it therefore becomes needful for everyone to live with its reality and do all that is necessary to reduce its spread. The government must recall her sole duty to protect lives and therefore develop a more effective measure to curtail the spread of the virus. Medical practitioners and health workers should be effectively protected in their fight against the deadly virus since they are more vulnerable and susceptible to infection. The religious bodies should understand that there is difference between faith and reality and therefore educate their professors of faith to separate faith from realities.

KEYWORDS: Science Education, Challenges, New Trends, Lock down

INTRODUCTION

As children grow up in an increasing technological and scientifically advanced world, they need to be scientifically literate to succeed. Ideally, teaching the scientific method to students is teaching them how to think, live, learn and solve problems.
To a layman he sees science education to be for the people that have enrolled in the educational system “No” frankly speaking it is education for the young, old, educated and uneducated enrolled and unenrolled and the pandemic has opened the eyes of all and sundry in this regard. Hence science education became a welcomed remedy to this obnoxious sickness called Covid-19, pandemic in Rivers State which comprises of three educational zones.
Science education is the teaching and learning of science to non-scientists such as school children, college students, or adults within the general public. The field of science education includes work in science content, science process (the scientific method), some social science and some teaching pedagogy.

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