ASSESSMENT OF SECONDARY SCHOOL SCIENCE TEACHERS AND STUDENTS’ CONCEPTUAL KNOWLEDGE OF GLOBAL WARMING IN TARABA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The research focused on secondary school science teachers and students’ knowledge of global warming in Jalingo education zone of Taraba State, Nigeria. The study employed a survey research design. The study population comprised of 2896 secondary school students and 899 secondary school teachers in Jalingo Education Zone of Taraba State. Kreycie Morgan table of sample determination was used to sample 340 senior secondary school students and 269 secondary school teachers. Thirty four (34) secondary school students were selected from 10 secondary schools each using random stratified technique. Secondary School Students and Teachers’ Knowledge on Global Warming Questionnaire (SSTKGQ) was used for the study. The instruments were validated by three experts. Two from Science Education Department and one from Measurement and Evaluation. The instrument was subjected to reliability test using Cronbach Alpha statistics. A reliability index of 0.84 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions while independent sample test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings revealed that both students and teachers of secondary schools have knowledge about global warming, there is a significant difference in knowledge about global warming among secondary
school teachers and Students based on gender. It was recommended that Based on the findings of this study, government should integrate climate education into school curriculum and promote gender responsive climate training for teachers.