Survey of Laboratory Activities in Senior Secondary School Physics in Nigeria

The importance of laboratory activities in the teaching and learning of physics in secondary schools cannot be overemphasized. It is on the basis of this that the author surveyed the level of laboratory activities in Physics lessons in senior secondary schools in Nigeria. The study involved examination of the extent to which teachers demonstrate practical activities in physics lessons, and the extent to which students are given the opportunities to engage in practical and experimental activities in Physics lessons. One hundred and three physics teachers who were randomly drawn from 103 public senior schools in Oyo state, Nigeria participated in the study. One research instrument titled “Physics Teacher Questionnaire” was used to collect data. Results showed that most schools have separate laboratory for physics practical; teachers, to a large extent, demonstrate practical activities in physics lessons. However, to a large extent, students are not given enough opportunity to engage in practical and experimental activities in Physics. Teachers were of the opinion that though schools have equipment and facilities for physics practical, the equipment and facilities are not enough and are obsolete. Lack of enough time on the school official time table for practical physics, lack of enough laboratory attendants and lack of motivation of the teachers are some of the factors that hinder physics teachers from engaging their students in practical work in physics lessons. Government should provide more funds for schools so that schools can buy more equipment and expand their facilities for physics practical. Restricting the opportunity of the students to engage in practical and experimental activities may be one of the reasons why some students still perceive physics as being abstract and not interested in it.