PERCEPTION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL TEACHERS ON THE APPLICATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS IN CLASSROOM PRACTICES: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The study investigated the problem of secondary school teachers in the application of research findings to classroom practices. A descriptive research design of the survey type was used. The population of the study consisted of all public secondary school teachers from 10 secondary schools in Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State. A self-developed questionnaire with a 4 scale rating was used (r= 0.65). Three research questions were raised and answered with mean and standard deviation, while two hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test statistics. Among other findings, the result revealed non- non-involvement of most secondary school teachers in in-service training programmes. Also, there are no Internet facilities for teachers in rural areas to access research information. Some of the implications of the findings are that most teachers do not have the opportunity to attend conferences, seminars, and capacity-building programmes that will enhance their professional development, especially in the application of research findings to classroom practices. These ultimately have implications for sustainable development. Consequently, some recommendations were made to the government and other stakeholders in the education sector.