The dearth of studies on the predictive power o f non-cognitive variables like academic self-regulation and locus of control as predictors of academic achievement of Physics students in the Department of Science Education, Technology, Enugu State, Nigeria necessitated the study. Three null hypotheses tested at.05 level of significance guided the study. An ex-post-facto research design was adopted for the study. Purposive sampling procedure was used in selecting 139 Physics Education students comprising 75 males and 64 fe males from Physics programme, Department of Science Education. Three instruments were used for data collections. Academic self - regulation scale was adapted from Akhatar and Mahmood (2013). A cademic locus of control scale was adapted from Trice (1985) and Physics academic Achievement sc ores were extracted from the students' semester examination of 2020/2021 academic session, conducted by the university, (ESUT). The reliability of the instruments were tested using Cronbach's alpha which yielded indices of 0.87and 0.76 respectively. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. The results indicated that academic self-regulation and locus of control relatively and jointly contributed significantly to the prediction of academic achievement of Physics Ed ucation students. There was no variati on in relative and joint prediction of achievement in Physics based on gender. Based on the findings, it was recommended that lecturers should adopt teaching strategies that should stimulate Physics students' gender-friendly academic self -regulation and locus of con trol in order to increase students' achievement in Physics.
The poor secondary school students' academic achievement in Physics as shown in the literature over the past decades has been attributed to poor acquisition of mathematical competencies that can enable them to do well in practical Physics. The need to examine mathematical competencies as determinants of Physics achievement becomes necessary for sustainable education. The study which adopted an ex-post facto research design was carried out in Nsukka education zone of Enugu state during the 2021/2022 academic session. The sample size for the study was 388 senior secondary school I Physics students in 6 randomly sampled single-sex secondary schools. Trained research assistants used interview results to fill the mathematical competency in practical Physics questionnaire (MCPPQ) for each student. Grades spreadsheet was used to collect students' senior secondary certificate examination result in Physics. Cronbach's alpha, which yielded a value of.85 was used to measure the internal consistency reliability of MCPPQ. Beta-weight was used to answer all the research questions while Chi-square statistic was used to test the hypotheses at.05 level of significance and 425 degrees of freedom. The result of the study as perceived by the students indicated that basic practical Physics mathematical operations, graphing skills, generation of readings from equations derived from experimental setup and deductions from the graph in decreasing magnitude positively influenced Physics achievement in external examination. Male and female students' models were similar in terms of path coefficients in the model. Hence, it was recommended that Physics teachers should improve upon students' mathematical competencies in practical Physics to boost their Physics achievement.
In academic sector, they are high rate of infectious diseases like measles, diarrhea, coronavirus, monkey-pox, skin disease and genital infections, the occurrence of these infectious diseases came as a result of students' negligence in practicing of personal hygiene. Therefore, this study examined knowledge and practice of personal hygiene among secondary school students in Enugu State. Two specific purpose and research questions guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study consisted of 9900 secondary school students in Enugu State. 495 students made up the sample for this study. The researcher used simple random sampling technique. Specifically the reliability coefficients obtained from data generated with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) using Kuder Richardson formula and Cronbach's alpha reliability for the internal consistency reliability, shows knowledge of personal hygiene (.85) and practice of personal hygiene (.79) respectively. A 22-items structured questionnaire tagged 'Knowledge and Practice of Personal Hygiene Questionnaire (KPPHQ)" was used for data collection. The data collected were analyzed using frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation. The questionnaire was rated on 4-point scale of very great extent (VGE), great extent (GE), low extent (LE) and very low extent (VLE). The decision rule was that any item that has 50% and above is regarded as knowledgeable (K) while items below 50% is regarded as not knowledgeable (NK). For the personal hygiene, any item mean from 2.50 above is regarded as high while items mean below 2.50 is regarded as low. The findings showed that, majority of students have adequate knowledge of personal hygiene with the grand percentage of (69.8%) and low practice of personal hygiene with the grand mean of (2.0). The study conclude that: students are very knowledgeable of personal hygiene, but putting their knowledge into physical practice are seen as the major problems that most students face, which usually contribute to the risk of infectious diseases such as covid-19, genital infections, dental health challenges and diarrhea. The study recommend that students' knowledge as it regards to personal hygiene practice should always be appraised by the classroom teacher, for the purpose of motivating those ones that have low knowledge of personal hygiene and the school management should provide all the prerequisite personal hygiene materials for the facilitation of its practice.
The students' consistent low performance in internal and external examinations undermined the efficacy of chemistry teachers' methods of instruction. Thus, the purpose of the research is to find out how inquiry-based learning can impact students' academic achievement in stereochemistry in Enugu education zone. The study was guided by two research questions and three research hypotheses. The study employed a pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design. 4,532 SS2 Chemistry students made up the study's population. A combination of random and purposive sampling procedure was used to select 96 students. While the control group received instruction via lectures, the experimental group was taught using an inquiry-based teaching strategy. The Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT) was the instrument used for data collection, and its reliability index was evaluated using Kuder-Richardson's formula-20 which yielded coefficient of 0.84. The mean, standard deviation, and analysis of covariance were used to analyze the data. The findings demonstrated that students exposed to the inquiry-based teaching strategy outperformed their peers who received instruction via lectures. For improved students' achievement, it was recommended that Chemistry teachers should use inquiry based teaching strategy when teaching chemistry.
The accepted general notion that chemistry is abstract in nature as it is presented via mathematical formulars, structures and arrows, goes to a long extent in being perceived difficult by the students, which in turn hinders their academic achievement and interest in the subject. Hence, the study investigated difficult concepts in chemistry as perceived by students and teachers in senior secondary schools in Agbani Education Zone of Enugu State. Two research questions guided the study. The study adopted descriptive survey design. The population for the study comprised 1462 senior secondary school three (SS3) chemistry students and 45 chemistry teachers in public secondary schools within Agbani Education Zone. A sample size of 359 (314 students and 45 teachers) was used for the study. The instrument for data collection was a structured questionnaire titled Difficult Chemistry Concepts Questionnaire (DCCQ), which was designed by the researcher. The instrument was divided into two sections namely: A and B. Sections A was based on the respondents' biodata while B consisted 46-item statements structured to elicit information from the respondents. The instrument was validated by three experts. In order to determine reliability of the instrument, the researcher administered 30 copies of the questionnaire on 28 SS3 chemistry students and 2 teachers in two schools in Enugu Education Zone to determine the overall reliability index of the instrument. Cronbach alpha reliability coefficient formula was used to estimate the reliability of the instrument, and an overall reliability coefficient of.75 was established. The data were collected by the researcher with the help of two research assistants. The collected data were analyzed using mean scores and standard deviation. The decision rule for interpreting the results was based on the values of the calculated means. Item responses on each of the research questions were considered high and difficult when the mean is 2.50 and above, and low and not difficult when less than 2.50. The results of the analysis revealed that the chemistry concepts in senior secondary school that teachers and students perceived as difficult are: chemical combination, mass volume relationship (stoichiometry), acid, base reaction, oxygen and its compounds, among others. The study also revealed that there was a significant difference between male and female chemistry students as well as teachers in their mean difficulty in some concepts. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that: teachers and students should devote greater attention to the teaching and learning of these difficult concepts, and workshops
The study investigated social competence and gender as predictors of junior secondary school students' academic achievement in basic science in Enugu state. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The predictive correlation design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 9,192 upperbasic science students in Enugu state. The sample size for the study was 1000 students drawn using multi-faceted sampling procedure involving purposive and random sampling techniques. The instrument for data collection was Students ' Social Competence Scale. The students' achievement scores in Basic science were obtained from the teachers' score folder. Data generated from the study was analysed using simple and multiple linear regressions. The findings of the study revealed among others that 1.6% and 1.1% of the variance in achievement in Basic science was attributed to social competence and gender of Basic science students' respectively. Also, achievement scores in Basic science were significantly predicted by social competence and gender, individually and jointly. It was recommended that basic science teachers should ensure that the atmosphere within the classroom is gender friendly enough, making sure that both male and female students have a conducive social atmosphere to be actively involved in learning Basic science.
This study focused on teachers' academic self-concept and academic stress as predictors of academic achievement of Biology students' in Enugu Education Zone. Six (6) null hypotheses were postulated for the study. The study adopted ex-post-facto research design. The population of study comprised 74 Biology teachers in 33 public secondary schools in Enugu Education Zone with SS 2 biology students' population of 4,737. The sample consisted of all the Biology teachers' in the Zone and a sample of 10% of the students' were sampled from the Biology teachers' classroom. The instrument used for data collection were three (3) Marsh teachers' academic self-concept scale, Balamurugau and Kumaran academic stress scale and Students' scores from their promotion examination 2022/2023 academic year were used to measure their academic achievement in Biology. The instruments were validated by three experts and the internal consistency reliability was determined though Cronbach Alpha method. The teachers' self-concept scale yielded a reliability index of 0.92 while teachers' academic stress scale yielded an index of 0.88 coefficients. The data collected were analysed using Simple and multiple regression analysis with Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The findings of the study showed that: Teacher academic self-concept significantly and positively predicted students' academic achievement in Biology in Enugu Education Zone; likewise, teachers' academic stress significantly and negatively predicted students' academic achievement in Biology in Enugu Education Zone. Based on these findings it was recommended amongst others that Biology teachers should arrange learning activities, in such a way that it will help students to be self-directed in their learning in order to have significantly positive achievement in Biology.
The study sought to measure the effect of integrated approach on academic achievement of senior secondary school Chemistry students. Two (2) research questions and 2 research hypotheses guided the study. The study employed quasi-experimental design. The sample comprised 160 SS 72 males and 77 females chemistry students drawn from 1062 population (563 male and 499 female) in 60 public co-educational school in Nsukka education zone of Enugu State Nigeria. The experimental groups were exposed to integrated approach while control group were expose to lecture. Data was collected using electrochemistry achievement test which was validated by three experts and reliability index of 0.707 were obtained using Kuder-Richardson's formula 20. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested at 5% level of significance, using analysis by covariance. The findings revealed that integrated approach was more effective in enhancing students' achievement and retention in chemistry than lecture method. Also, there was no significance different in male and female student's achievement in chemistry. Based on the findings the research recommends, among others, that chemistry teachers should teach chemistry with integrated approach to encourage active engagement, self-motivation and retention among learners to enhanced academic achievement.
Students' continuous underachievement in physics has underpinned the efficacy of non-cognitive variables like students attitude in physics. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate attitude as predictor of academic achievement of secondary school Physics students in Agbani Education Zone of Enugu State. An Ex-post-facto and correlational survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study was 2752 SS II Physics students' in Agbani education zone from 44 public schools. Purposive sampling procedure was used in selecting 275 Physics students comprising 144 males and 131 females from twelve selected schools in the Zone. Physics Attitude Scale (PAS) adapted from Sumeyye and Oktay (2020) and Students' Achievement Scores obtained from their promotion examination results of 2022/2023 academic session from the schools used were used for data collection. The instrument (PAS) was face validated by three experts and tested for reliability using Cronbach's alpha with the reliability index of 0.82. Data were analyzed using simple regressions. The results indicated that attitude relatively and significantly contributed 39% to the prediction of academic achievement of secondary school Physics. Based on these findings, it was recommended that students should develop positive attitude in physics. Teachers should adopt teaching strategies that would stimulate students positive attitude in teaching Physics.
The problem of poor achievement in Physics in external examinations by students in Ebonyi State, Nigeria warranted the study. The need to use of a cutting-edge individualized instruction rooted in artificial intelligence to measure its potency in curbing the menace of poor achievement becomes necessary. The study examined the effect of self -regulated learning strategy through chat-generative-pretrained-transformer model4 (ChatGPT4) on senior secondary school students' achievement in projectile motion concepts. The study was guided by 2 research questions and 2 hypotheses. The design of the study was none- equivalent control groups quasi-experimental. The population for the study was 10,679 senior secondary school two Physics students in the thirty -one secondary schools for 2017/2018 academic session in Ohaukwu Local Government Area of Ebonyi state, Nigeria. The s ample size for the study was 316 se nior secondary school two Physics students in 4 sampled co-educational secondary schools in Ohaukwu. Projectile motion achievement test (PMAT) was the instrument used for data collection. Kuder-Richardson's formula-20 was used to determine the internal consistency reliability of P MAT. The coefficient was 0.88. Mean and standard deviations were used in answering the research questions while 2× 2 analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses at.05 level of significance. The result of the study showed that the students who learnt Physics using self- regulated individualized learning s trategy: ChatGPT model4 achieved better than th eir counterparts, who learnt Projectile motion using expository method. The result of the study also showed that there was no significant difference between the mean achievement scores of male and female students who learnt projectile motion concepts using ChatGPT model4. Hence, it was recommended that Physics students should use ChatGPT model 4 which is gender-friendly to enhance their self-learning in Physics concepts.
The study centred on the effect of project -based learning on secondary school students' academic achievement in e lectrochemical cells in Agbani education z one. Two research questions guided the study while two null hypotheses were tested at.05 level of significance. The design for this study was quasi-experimental design of the pre-test post- test non-equivalent research design. The population for the study consisted of 4,109 Senior Secondary two (SS II) students in Agbani Education Zone of Enugu State. The sample size was 365 students. Purposive sampling was adopted to identify four out of the 45 senior public secondary schools in Agbani Education Zone of En ugu State. The instrument for data collection was Electrochemical Cells Achievement Test (ECAT). The instrument was validated in two phases which included: face validation and content validation. The reliability coefficient of the ECAT was determined using Kuder Richardson KR 20. Reliability coefficient of 0.81 was gotten showing that ECAT was stable. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation. Analysis of covariance was used in testing the hypotheses at.05 level of significance. The findings of the study revealed that students that were taught electrochemical cells with project-based learning recorded higher academic achievement than those taught with expository method. The findings showed that male students that were taught ele ctrochemical cells with project -based learning recorded higher academic achievement than their female counterparts. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher revealed among others that the use of project - based learning should be encouraged by teachers to students during teaching and learning of Chemistry (Electrochemical cells in Senior Secondary School since it enhanced better performance of students irrespective of the scoring level.
This study was conducted to determine the effect of computer assisted instruction on student academic achievement and retention in nutrition content of secondary school biology in Onitsha Education Zone of Anambra State. The study adopted a quasi - experimental design using prettest and posttest. The population for the study consisted of 5,626 SS1 Biology students in all the 32 secondary schools in Onitsha education zone of Anambra State with a sample size of 252 biology students (116 male and 136 female ) undertaken using multi -stage sampling technique. Four research questions and four corresponding null hypotheses guided the study. The instrument for data collection was a Biology Achievement Test developed from nutrition in living organisms with multiple choice questions consisting of 50 items with options lettered A -D. The instrument was validated by three experts while the reliability of the instrument was determined usin g Kuder Richardson's formula 20 technique. The internal consistency reliability index was 0.74. The data collected were analyzed using mean scores. The hypotheses formulated for the study were tested at 0.05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance. Findings of the study revealed that the students taught Biology using Computer assisted instruction, CAI achieved higher than students taught using lecture method. Also, there is a significant difference between the mean academic achievement scores of students taught nutrition in living organisms using CAI and that of those taught using lecture method. It was recommended that the government should assist Biology teachers in the use of CAI for effective services delivery in secondary schools in Anambra State.
This research investigated the effect of Peer Instructional Strategy (PIS) on the academic achievement of Secondary School Biolo gy Students in Enugu Education z one of Enugu State. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study employed non-equivalent control group design involving 528 (227 male and 301 female) SSII Biology students drawn from six randomly selected co -educational schools out of the ten secondary schools in Enugu Education z one that met the inclusion criteria. Two intact classes from each of the six schools (twelve classes) were randomly assigned to either Peer Instructional Strategy and Expository Method group by balloting. U sing the assigned method for each group, trained research assistants taught the same content to the respective groups, simultaneously. The instrument for the study was a researcher -made Biology Achievement Test (BAT), validated by three experts, and pilot tested. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to carry out test-retest reliability of the instrument, r = 0.74. The BAT was administered (pretest) before the interventions, after 4 weeks long intervention (post -test).. To avoid distribution bias; scores of forty -four students who completed the study procedures and took all the appropriate tests were randomly drawn from each of the twelve intact classes through software randomization. The scores were processed for data a nalysis. Statistical tools of mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Analysis of Variance was used to test the hypotheses at.05 level of significance. The researcher concluded that P IS improves the academic achieveme nt and of both ma le and female secondary school Biology students better than the expository Method.
This study investigated the effect of Reciprocal peer tutoring (RPT) strategy on senior secondary school students' achievement in Physics in Enugu Education Zone, Enugu State. The influence of gender on the achievement of students was explored. The study adopted a pretest, posttest, non -equivalent control group quasi -experimental research design. The sample for the study comprised of 167 Senior Secondary One Physics stude nts selected using the purposive sampling from two co -educational schools located within the education zone. Data were collected using Physics Achievement Test constructed by the researchers and validated by experts in measurement and evaluation to ascerta in the validity of the instrument. The reliability of the test was ascertained using the Kuder - Richardson (K -R) 20 formula and a reliability coefficient of 0.76 was obtained. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation and analysis of covariance at 0.05 probability level. Result of the study indicated that students taught Physics using Reciprocal peer tutoring strategy performed better than their counterparts taught Physics using the lecture method. Based on these findings, it was recommended that RPT strategy should be adopted by Physics teachers at secondary school level in order to enhance students' academic achievement.
Stephanie N. Ozota, Angela C. Asuzu, Chidimma O. Nwafor
The relative decline in the academic achievement of students in Biology in Senior Secondary Schools has necessitated this study. Thus, the study sought to find out the appraisal of instructional resource utilization for teaching and learning of Biology in Senior Secondary Schools in Enugu North L.G.A. of Enugu State. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The researcher adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study was made up of thirty - one (31) Biology teachers in Enugu North L.G.A. No sampling was carried out as the population size was manageable. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. Cronbach alpha Statistic was employed in determining the internal consistency of AIRUTLBSSS.in which the overall reliability coefficent index of 0.873 w as obtained. The data obtained were analyzed using mean and standard deviation for answering the research questions, and t- test statistic for testing the null hypotheses. The study arrived at the following findings: Biology teachers use the available resou rce teaching materials in teaching and learning of biology to a high extent. Biology teachers had positive attitude towards utilization of instructional materials in teaching of biology. There are impediments to utilizing instructional resources for teaching and learning biology in senior secondary schools. The hypotheses showed that there was no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female biology teachers on the extent to which teachers use the available resource teaching materials for teaching and learning of Biology and their attitude towards utilization of instructional materials. The hypothesis also showed no significant difference in the mean responses of male and female teachers on the impediments in utilization of instructional materials in teaching and learning of Biology. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended that teachers should be encouraged to the method of use of instructional materials in teaching and learning of biology in senior secondary schools.
The study examined the effect of Peer Instructional Strategy (PIS) and expository method (EM) on the retention of Secondary School Biology Students. The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of peer instructional strategy relative to expository method on the retention of secondary school Biology students. The area of the study was Enugu Education Zone of Enugu State. Two research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study was a quasi-experimental research with pretest-posttest, non-equivalent groups research design; involving 528( 227 male and 301 female senior secondary school 2 Biology students drawn from six randomly selected co -educational schools out of the ten secondary schools in Enugu Education z one that met the inclusion criteria. Two intact classes from each of the 6 schools were randomly assigned to either PIS or EM group by balloting. The instrument for the study was a researcher -made Biology Achievement Test (BAT), validated by three experts. C ontent validity was ensured using text blueprint. The Pearson's product moment correlation c oefficient was used to carry out test -retest reliability of the instrument, r = 0.74. The BAT was administered 2 weeks after posttest. The results showed that PIS group significantly performed better than EM group in terms of academic level of retention. The researcher recommends PIS should be used in teaching and learning of Biology.
The research investigates effects of guided and unguided discovery methods on students' retention in biology in Nsukka education zone. The sample comprises 155 SS1 students from secondary schools in Nsukka Educational Zone of Enugu State. The experimental group was exposed to guided discovery method while the control group was exposed to unguided discovery method. Data we re collected using Biology Retention Test (BRT) which was validated by three experts, content validity was ensured using Test Blue Print (TBP) and Reliability indices of 0.89 was obtained using Kuder Richardson formula 20 (K-R-20). The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the research hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at.05 level. The findings revealed that there is a significant difference in the mean retention score of students taught using guided discovery method and those taught using unguided discovery method. Based on the finding, the researcher recommends among others that Biology teachers should adopt the use of guided discovery method of teaching over the unguided discovery method for e nhancing academic retention. It also establishes that science educators and curriculum planners should incorporate innovative pedagogical strategies like guided discovery method in science teaching.
This study investigated the interaction effects of teaching method and gender on students' academic achievement and interest in Basic Science in upper Basic Education. Quasi Experimental design was adopted for this study. Population of the study consisted of all the 6,325 junior secondary school year two (JS 2) Basic Science students in the 26 government secondary schools in Enugu education zone. The sample consisted of 186 JSS 2 students selected from 4 government owned junior secondary schools. Two of the schools were randomly assigned to experimental group while the other two were assigned to control group and used to investigate the interaction effect of teaching method (CAI) and gender on academic achievement and intere st of students' in Basic Science. Two hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The instruments were validated by experts. The internal reliability coefficient of BSAT was established to be 0.72 using Kuder Richardson (KR-20) while reliability coefficient of BSII was established to be 0.78 using Cronbach's alpha. The BSAT and the BSII were administered to the students as pretest and posttest for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while ANCOVA was us ed to test the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The result revealed that there was no significant interaction effect of teaching method and gender on the mean interest scores of students in Basic Science. However, no significant interaction e ffect of teaching method and gender was found on the mean achievement scores of students' in Basic Science. The researchers recommended that teachers should ensure constant and effective utilization of CAI for instruction in Basic Science and science rela ted subjects to enhance academic achievement and interest of students
