Competency level of senior high school biology teachers' and their attitudes toward organising practical work in Eastern Region of Ghana

The study examined the competency level of Senior High School Biology teachers in Eastern Region of Ghana in organising practical work and its influence on their attitudes toward practical work. A descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. A stratified simple random sampling technique was employed to select 80 Biology teachers with at least three years teaching experience from 20 district capital schools and 18 outside district capital schools for the study. A closed- ended questionnaire was used to collect quantitative data from the selected teachers. Practical lessons organised by a district capital teacher and an outside district capital teacher were observed for 80 minutes using an observation protocol. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that teachers carried out practical lessons for students and gave clear explanation before students performed practical work. Notwithstanding, students never worked in groups during practical lessons and teachers barely gave enough time for students to complete task when performing practical work. Teachers barely marked students work and never provided immediate feedback. The competency level of Biology teachers in organising practical work was high, which moderately influenced their attitudes toward practical work (r = 0.468, p = 0.010). The area of specialisation of Biology teachers contributed 19 % to their competency level (r = 0.19, p = 0.01). It is recommended that Senior High School Biology teachers in the Eastern Region of Ghana should make students perform practical work in groups and train students to perform practical work within stipulated time. Also, teachers should mark student’s practical work and provide immediate feedback, as this will make students do their corrections and perform better in Biology practical examinations.