Difficulties Students Encounter in Reporting Physics Practical at the Senior Secondary School level in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

The poor performance of senior secondary school physics students in external examinations has been a major problem in the teaching and learning of physics. This study therefore seeks to investigate the difficulties encountered by Senior Secondary Physics students in reporting Physics practical in Rivers State. Using a survey research design and simple random sampling technique, 124 physics teachers and 8 secondary schools were utilized for the study. Data collecting instrument includes Physics Practical Apparatus Checklist (PPAC) and Physics Teachers Questionnaire on Reporting Practical (PTQRP). The four-point Likert scale was adopted for the questionnaire. Results of the study revealed that: there is insufficient physics apparatus in the schools, students lack understanding of instructions during physics practical activities, students are not able to tabulate obtained value appropriately and that scale choosing is a major problem encountered by students while interpreting data graphically. The study therefore suggested that the physicslaboratories in the secondary schools school be equipped as that is an essential aspect of practical physics and that reporting physics practical should be included in the physics curriculum so that students can possess the requisite knowledge for carrying out such activities.