Laboratory Practice in Under-Resourced Schools — Journal of Science Education Research

Research ArticleVol. 3, No. 1 (2025)

Improvised Laboratory Materials and Practical Skill Acquisition in Under-Resourced Secondary Schools

Samuel O. Adeyemi, Ngozi A. Eze

Chronic equipment shortages limit practical science across much of sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluated a structured improvisation programme in which teachers built laboratory apparatus from locally available materials. Across twelve schools, students in improvisation classrooms demonstrated practical skill gains statistically indistinguishable from those in fully equipped comparison schools, at a fraction of the cost. The study argues that improvisation should be treated as a legitimate pedagogical competence rather than a stopgap.

JSER15 June 2025pp. 1–246121,567

EditorialVol. 3, No. 1 (2025)

Rethinking Practical Work in African Science Classrooms

Chidiebere Nwachukwu

This editorial introduces the special issue on laboratory practice in under-resourced schools and argues that the field has too often imported assumptions about practical work from well-equipped Northern contexts without examining their fit.

JSER15 June 2025pp. 25–3088402

Table of Contents2 articles

Improvised Laboratory Materials and Practical Skill Acquisition in Under-Resourced Secondary Schools

Rethinking Practical Work in African Science Classrooms