Availability and Utilization of Laboratory Facilities for Effective Teaching of Chemistry in Senior Secondary Schools in Imo State

This study investigated the availability and utilization of laboratory facilities for teaching and learning of Chemistry in public secondary schools in Imo State. The study adopted a descriptive survey design. Three research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study comprised 322 Chemistry teachers in public secondary schools in Imo State. A sample of 97 Chemistry teachers were used for the study. The instruments for data collection were Laboratory Facility Availability Checklist (LFAC) and Teachers’ Utilization of Laboratory Facilities Questionnaire (TULFQ). The instruments were validated by three experts and the reliability indices of 0.84 was gotten using Cronbach Alpha statistic. Frequency and percentage were used to answer research question one, mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions two and three while z-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that almost all the listed items were not available and available laboratory facilities were utilized to a low extent by teachers. The findings further revealed that Chemistry teachers agreed on the listed challenges that militate against effective utilization of laboratory facilities. The study recommended among others, that Chemistry teachers should be encouraged and supported to integrate practical laboratory activities regularly into their teaching. In addition, laboratory method should form integral part of Chemistry instructions, not only using during external examinations.