Does cultural economics affect country’s competitiveness?

Abstract

The study focused ways of enhancing students’ critical thinking skills in Biology as perceived by teachers in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State. The study was guided by five research questions. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design with the population of all the 19 biology teachers in Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area. Since the population was small and manageable; the entire population was used for the study. A structured rating scale developed by the researchers titled Teachers’ Perceived Ways of Enhancing Students’ Critical Thinking Skills in Biology Scale (TPWESCTSBS) was used to collect data for this study. The instrument was validated by three experts. Internal consistency reliability estimates were 0.61, 0.73, 0.77, 0.73, and 0.72 for clusters A, B, C, D, and E, respectively, and an overall reliability value of 0.75 determined using Cronbach Alpha. Data collected from the respondents were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to generate the mean and standard deviation used in answering the research questions. The findings revealed the strategies/ways of enhancing students’ observation, analysis, inference, communication, and problem-solving as critical thinking skills in Biology as perceived by teachers. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the ministry of education and professional associations such as Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) should organize professional development workshops and training sessions for teachers on ways to enhance students’ critical thinking skills in biology for transformative education as well as for preparing students to thrive in a digitally changing world.

Keyword : observation, analysis, communication, problem-solving, critical thinking