Article Details

This study investigated the availability and utilization of standard biology textbooks in public senior secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. The study was motivated by the poor performance of students in biology in external examinations. Four research questions guided the study. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised all public senior secondary school Biology students in Egor Local Government Area of Edo State. A sample size of 2698 was drawn using census sampling techniques.  Data were collected using a checklist of approved Biology textbooks developed by the researcher in line with the State Ministry of Education-approved textbooks, and a questionnaire, termed the Availability and Utilization of Biology Textbooks Questionnaire (AUSTBQ), was used to assess utilization. AUSTBQ was validated by education experts, and its reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as frequencies and percentages, to address the research questions. The findings revealed that only 3 out of the 13 schools investigated have a functional library. These libraries have only a limited number of copies of one approved biology textbook, which is not easily accessible to students. The remaining 10 schools are without a functional library. Students in the schools rely heavily on teachers' notes for examination preparation. It was also found that utilization of available textbooks by both teachers and students is generally low, with many students relying heavily on teacher notes rather than textbooks for study and revision. The study therefore recommended improved provision of NERDC-approved Biology textbooks, better funding and standardization of school libraries, and increased encouragement and supervision of textbook use by teachers and school administrators to enhance effective teaching and learning of Biology in senior secondary schools.