EFFECT OF STRATEGIC CONTENT LEARNING ON SECONDARY SCHOOL BIOLOGY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN ENUGU STATE

By U.V. Ikenna & A.I Chibuzor

Abstract: The study investigated effects of strategic content learning on secondary school Biology students’ academic achievement in Enugu State. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design. The population of this study consisted of 9,881 senior secondary school two (SS 11) Biology students in all the 190 co-educational public secondary schools in Enugu State, comprising 4110 males and 5771 females. A sample size of 75 Senior Secondary II (SSII) Biology students drawn from two (2) intact classes in two (2) public co-educational secondary schools served as the sample for this study. The instrument for data collection is Biology achievement test (BAT). The instrument was validated and its reliability established using kuder-richardson 20-k and reliability index of 0.86 was obtained. Data were collected using a Biology Achievement Test (BAT). Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that Strategic Content Learning enhanced students' achievement in Biology more effectively than the conventional lecture method; significant differences existed between students taught using conventional lecture method. Both male and female students benefited from strategic content learning SCL and there was no significant difference in the mean achievement of male and female students when taught biology using strategic content learning It was therefore recommended among others that Biology teachers should adopt Strategic Content Learning as a major instructional strategy for teaching Biology School administrators should organize regular workshops, seminars, conferences, and in-service training programmes to equip Biology teachers with the knowledge and practical skills required to effectively implement Strategic Content Learning in schools
Keywords: Strategic Content Learning, Biology Students and Academic Achievement