EXPLORING PERCEPTIONS OF NATURAL SCIENCE COURSES; A STUDY OF 300 AND 400 LEVEL BIOLOGY EDUCATION STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF JOS

The study set out to examine the perception of 300 and 400 level Biology Education students toward Natural Science courses, with a specific focus on Plant Science and Biotechnology, at the University of Jos. Samples of 100 students were randomly selected across both 300 level and 400 level Biology Education students. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. A 10 item researcher designed instrument title Biology Education Natural Science Perception Questionnaire (BENSPQ) with a reliability Co-efficient of 0.95 was used. Two research questions were answered while two hypotheses were tested at 0.05 significance. At the end of the study, the following findings were made; there is no significant difference in perception of Plant Science and Biotechnology courses between 300 and 400 level Biology Education students, and there is also no significant difference in perception of Plant Science and Biotechnology courses between male and female Biology Education students. On the basis of the finding, some certain recommendations were made. Some of these recommendations include; - Schools should promote seminars that explore how student’s perceptions can impact their behavior, both positively and negatively. -Students should be motivated in other to clear every misperception about natural science courses. -To improve student performance and encourage a positive view of natural sciences courses, the workload of biology education should be reduced. -Student’s needs for a supportive learning environment, manageable workload etc. should be met to avoid negative effects on their academic performance.