Investigating the Implementation of Safety Practices in Biology Laboratories among Students and Lecturers of Colleges of Education in North Central, Nigeria

Abstract

The provision of a safety and functional laboratory is one of the major keys to successful learning of biological science. For the fact that, the inclusion of laboratory experience in the teaching and learning of biology, is vital. So, the question of safety of both staff and students during practical is worth paying attention to. The study investigated the implementation of safety practices in biology laboratories among students and lecturers in Colleges of Education in North-Central, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was used. The population of the study consists of all the 3,616 biology students and 96 lecturers within thirteen (13) public colleges of education in North Central. Multistage Sampling Techniques was used. Each state formed a cluster. Simple random sampling technique was used to draw the sample of 333 students and 56 lecturers. A Questionnaire with the reliability index of 0.76 obtained using Cronbach’s Alpha method after trial testing was used. Data collected was analyzed using descriptive statistics which involved Mean and Standard Deviation. Hypotheses were tested using t-test. The result revealed that, biology students and lecturers comply with safety practices during practical sessions. However, on the part of Male and Female biology students, the result indicated a significant difference between them in which female students displayed a high level of compliance than the male. On the other hand, result from biology lecturers (Male and Female) indicated an insignificant difference between the two of variables. From the above finding, the study recommended that, students should be more safety conscious when it comes to laboratory activities. Lecturers should maintain the habit of good safety practices and improve on their knowledge of modern safety techniques. Seminars and workshops should be organized through which students and lecturer’s safety knowledge is updated on regular bases or interval.