GASPRO International Journal of Eminent Scholars

The study examined the developments, discoveries and inventions made by science teachers and other scientists in physical and environmental sciences, empirically studying the perception of Akwa Ibom State science teachers. Descriptive survey design was adopted to carry out this research in Akwa Ibom State. The targeted population for the study comprised all science teachers in Akwa Ibom State. Stratified sampling technique was used to select 40 science teachers each from the three senatorial districts of the state which gave a sample size of 120 science teachers used to carry out this research. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled “Science Teachers and other Scientists Discoveries Questionnaire (STSDQ)”. Face and content validation of the instrument was carried out by an expert in test, measurement, and evaluation in order to ensure that the instrument has the accuracy, appropriateness, and completeness for the study under consideration. The reliability coefficient obtained was 0.84, and this was high enough to justify the use of the instrument. The researcher subjected the data generated for this study to appropriate statistical technique such as descriptive statistics to answer research questions. The result of the analysis showed that discoveries related to teaching strategies in physics among many other discoveries was the most prominent invention made by science teachers in physical science. It also revealed that among many other type of discoveries made by science teachers in environmental science, the most notable was discovery-based learning. Based on this, the study concluded that scientific discovery drives human progress, particularly in physical and environmental sciences, which shape our understanding of the natural world. One of the recommendations made was that governments, private sectors, and international organisations should prioritise funding for research and development (R&D) in physical and environmental sciences.

Keywords: Discoveries, Inventions, Science Teachers, Scientists, Physical and Environmental Sciences