The influence of cultural heritage on secondary school pupils in Nigeria has so far not been adequately explored especially as it affects the habit of questioning which encourages effective classroom interaction. For this reason, 12 science lessons were audio‐recorded, transcribed and the questions asked by the pupils and their teachers’ responses were isolated.
Analysis of the questions and the teachers’ responses, showed the questions to be quite probing. Also, it was realized that the teachers did very little to encourage pupils to question and this has been attributed to cultural inhibitions derived from home or peer groups.