A STUDY ON CHALLENGING PEDAGOGICAL CONCEPTS IN FUNDAMENTAL SCIENTIFIC SUBJECTS AMONG JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Background of the study: According to a number of sources, the ideals of science and technology in relation to national development are ingrained in the minds of leaders from African and third world countries (Logan, & Skamp, 2021). Since as early as 1880, students in Nigeria's secondary schools have been exposed to the scientific method. In the beginning, it was taught as a general science, but later, it was broken down into its component parts of physics, chemistry, and biology (Nonis, & Hudson, 2022).

With the advent of the core science subject, general science started to be considered as the scientific topic that was acceptable for the less competent students, and it was advised to those who were the least science minded, as well as for those who do not intend to pursue science as a career (Logan, & Skamp, 2021). Because of this, the curriculum was developed to include fundamental aspects of the scientific disciplines of biology, chemistry, and physics. These subjects are intended to be taught to students in the lower secondary school grades  (Anani 1977). Although there were efforts made to elevate the prominence of general science by introducing a double credit O level, individuals still questioned the rationality of simply bringing together subjects into a single subject area (Ogunkola, & Fayombo, 2022). In the early sixties, a new school of thinking emerged concerning the role of science in the classroom. This school of thought advocated for more of an open-ended, professional-restricting environment inside the typical educational setting. There is reluctance on the part of both elementary and secondary school instructors to experiment with new approaches to classroom instruction (Logan, & Skamp, 2021).

Activities are hardly ever included into the discussion that takes place in the classroom, and the laboratory curriculum is almost never structured to allow opportunities for investigation. According to Agarkara (1998), classroom experience provides teachers with very little in the way of learning that may be applied to the capability of comprehending the logics of science and new technologies. Since Iloputaife & Eze (1994) attempted to offer the following tasks, we will refer to them as "the following." Lip dating as well as the improvement of the standard of science instruction, the integration of scientific education and human characteristics, and the development of an all-encompassing strategy for science curriculums (Nonis, & Hudson, 2022).