An exploration of the practical skills of Form V biology students

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore the practical skills of form V Biology students in order to highlight whether after following an Ordinary level Biology course, students are leaving school with the necessary, basic skills and tools which will enable them to pursue further studies in the subject. The research was done in six representative schools; a Girls' Private School, a Boys' Private School, a Girls' Junior Lyceum, a Boys' Junior Lyceum, a Girls' Secondary School and a Boys' Secondary School. A written questionnaire presenting practically related questions spanning the whole syllabus was distributed to all students taking Biology in these schools. A practical test was also administered to the same students. This test consisted of three questions from the questionnaire set in a more practical and problem solving context. Results of the questionnaire and practical test were compared and analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. These results were also correlated to the coursework marks given by the teacher for practical work. Analysis of the results indicated that the differences between the marks of the questionnaire and the practical test were significant for two of the six schools. However, both marks were in the majority of cases significantly lower than the coursework mark for practical work. The results also showed that overall girls outperformed boys in both written and practical work.