Evaluation of Some Teacher Factors as Correlates of Attitudes to the Teaching of Basic Science

In evaluating the causes of low enrollment in science and science related courses at the tertiary education level, researchers have found teacher factors to be relevant. However, specific teacher factors affecting teacher attitude have not been conclusively and consistently arrived at. This study therefore sought to find out how some teacher factors affect teachers’ attitude to teaching Basic Science (BS) since it is opined that teachers’ positive attitude to teaching will lead to improved achievement. The composite and relative contribution of some teacher factors; qualification, age, gender and experience on their attitudes to teaching Basic Science as a subject was investigated. Multistage sampling method was used to obtain the study sample of 300 Basic School teachers as respondents. An instrument adapted by the researcher was used for data collection, this was re-validated with an internal consistency of 0.82 (83%). A research question was answered and one hypothesis tested. Data collected were analysed using frequency counts, percentages and regression statistics. Findings of the study reveal that the majority of the teachers are negatively predisposed to teaching BS. Also, of all the four independent variables, only gender has a significant relative contribution (0.228) to the attitudes of the BS teachers.