Effect of Fieldwork Strategy on Geography Students’ Science Process Skills Acquisition in Senior Secondary Schools of Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abimelech Esther, Danjuma M. Gwany, Iliya Gelkur Helda, Murtala Mohammed

Abstract


This study investigated the effect of fieldwork strategy on geography students' science process skills acquisition in senior secondary schools of Adamawa State, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design. The population of the study comprised all 48,670 senior secondary school two (SSS II) geography students in 408 public secondary schools in Adamawa State, Nigeria. The sample size was 147 SS II students consisting of 89 male and 58 female students offering geography, drawn from two intact classes in two senior secondary schools of Adamawa State using a multistage sampling procedure. One school was randomly assigned to the experimental group with a sample size of 73 students (46 males and 27 female), and another school was randomly assigned to the control group with a sample size of 74 students (43 males and 31 female). The instrument used for data collection was a Geography Science Process Skills Acquisition Test (GESPAT) adapted by the researcher, consisting of 60 multiple-choice items measuring six basic and six integrated science process skills. The reliability was established through pilot testing using the test-retest method, which yielded a reliability coefficient of 0.82, and the Kuder-Richardson formula (KR-20), which yielded a coefficient of 0.82. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) to answer the research questions and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to test the hypotheses at a significance level of 0.05. The findings of the study revealed that students taught geography using fieldwork strategy achieved a higher posttest mean score (46.65) than those taught using lecture method (30.13), with a mean gain difference of 14.40 in favour of the experimental group, and the ANCOVA result (F=56.016, p=0.000) confirmed that this difference was statistically significant. The findings also revealed that male students taught geography using fieldwork strategy achieved a higher posttest mean score (50.50) than their female counterparts (40.11), with a mean gain difference of 8.30 in favour of the male students, and the ANCOVA result (F=7.865, p=0.007) confirmed that this gender difference was statistically significant. The study recommended that geography teachers in Adamawa State should adopt structured fieldwork strategy as a regular instructional method for teaching geography, integrating at least three structured fieldwork exercises per academic term; that the Adamawa State Ministry of Education should develop a state-wide fieldwork policy that mandates fieldwork as a compulsory component of the senior secondary school geography curriculum. 


Full Text:

PDF

References


Abdullahi, I. (2021). Environmental challenges and education in Northern Nigeria. African Environmental Studies Journal, 9(1), 22–38.

Adamu, A. (2022). Gender differences in fieldwork-based learning outcomes. Nigerian Journal of Educational Evaluation, 21(1), 33–48.

Adebayo, O., & Ogunleye, M. (2019). Effect of fieldwork on geography students’ acquisition of science process skills in Lagos State secondary schools. Nigerian Journal of Educational Research, 21(2), 33–48.

Adeyemo, S. A. (2021). Teaching strategies and students’ performance in science subjects in Nigeria. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 11(2), 45–59.

Ambross, J., Meiring, L., & Blignaut, S. (2019). Science process skills and inquiry learning. Journal of Science Education, 45(3), 210–225.

Anderson, J., & Thompson, R. (2019). Effect of fieldwork on science process skill acquisition among secondary school geography students in the United Kingdom. International Journal of Geography Education, 33(2), 145–162.

Ateh, C. M., & Charpentier, A. (2020). Fieldwork and science process skills development. African Journal of Educational Studies, 12(1), 56–70.

Bamidele, E. F. (2019). Gender roles and participation in science education. Journal of Educational Policy and Development, 6(1), 12–28.

Bello, M. (2020). Challenges of teaching geography in secondary schools in Adamawa State. Journal of Educational Development, 10(2), 90–105.

Boyle, A., Maguire, S., & Martin, A. (2020). Comparative effectiveness of fieldwork strategies in geography education. Planet: The Journal of Science Education, 25(1), 9–20.

Butt, G. (2020). Modern perspectives in geography education. Routledge.

Chang, C. Y., & Chang, Y. H. (2020). Students’ learning outcomes in inquiry-based geography. International Research in Geographical Education, 29(4), 321–335.

Chinda, W., & Achigbe, J. O. (2024). Science process skills and academic performance of students in Cross River State Colleges. Faculty of Natural and Applied Sciences Journal of Mathematics and Science Education, 6(1), 126–132.

Dahiru, M. (2021). Curriculum development and implementation in Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Curriculum Development, 14(1), 75–89.

Dunkley, R. (2019). Inquiry-based fieldwork and student learning. Teaching Geography, 44(2), 70–74.

Eagly, A. H., & Wood, W. (2019). Gender differences: Social roles and implications for learning. Annual Review of Psychology, 70, 1–27.

Eggen, P., & Kauchak, D. (2020). Educational psychology: Windows on classrooms (11th ed.). Pearson Education.

Falode, O. C. (2020). Improving science education in developing countries. International Journal of Science and Technology Education, 8(2), 101–115.

Fitzgerald, M., Danaia, L., & McKinnon, D. (2019). Teaching observation skills in science education. Research in Science Education, 49(2), 543–566.

Fuller, I. (2020). Fieldwork in geography teaching: Benefits and challenges. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 44(1), 19–34.

Gbamanja, S. P. T. (2020). Gender and science self-efficacy in Nigerian schools. Totan Publishers.

Getis, A., Getis, J., & Fellmann, J. (2019). Introduction to geography (15th ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Haruna, S. (2019). Science education research trends in Nigeria. African Journal of Research in Education, 7(2), 44–59.

Hope, M. (2021). The role of fieldwork in developing science process skills. International Journal of Educational Research, 105, 101–112.

Hovardas, T. (2020). Learning through field observation in science education. Environmental Education Research, 26(6), 845–860.

Ibrahim, A., & Mohammed, K. (2022). Science process skill acquisition through geography fieldwork in Bauchi State: A quasi-experimental study. Journal of Northern Nigerian Education Research, 10(2), 60–82.

Ibrahim, H. (2021). Multimedia and teaching effectiveness in secondary schools. Journal of Educational Technology, 18(3), 67–80.

Kipnis, M., & Hofstein, A. (2020). The role of science process skills in scientific literacy. International Journal of Science Education, 42(7), 1150–1165.

Kopczuk, W. (2020). Gender differences in geoscience education. Journal of Geoscience Education, 68(2), 85–95.

Krakel, R. (2019). Defining fieldwork in geography education. Journal of Outdoor Learning, 5(2), 40–55.

Lambert, D., & Morgan, J. (2020). Teaching geography: A conceptual approach. Routledge.

Musa, A. (2022). Assessment of fieldwork learning outcomes in Nigerian schools. Nigerian Journal of Geography, 14(1), 34–50.

Mwangi, J., & Otieno, P. (2019). Effects of fieldwork strategy on science process skill acquisition among secondary school geography students in Kenya. East African Journal of Education Studies, 7(2), 44–63.

Nazareth, A., Hericka, M., & Newcombe, N. (2019). Spatial skills and gender differences. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications, 4(1), 1–14.

Nwagbo, C. R. (2020). Cultural and institutional barriers to science teaching in Nigeria. Journal of Science Teachers Association of Nigeria, 55(1), 12–20.

Ogunleye, A. O. (2019). Constraints to effective teaching of geography in Nigerian secondary schools. Nigerian Journal of Curriculum Studies, 26(3), 88–101.

Ogunwale, O. (2019). Gender differences and teaching strategies in Nigerian schools. Journal of Educational Psychology Studies, 5(2), 50–65.

Okebukola, P. (2020). Science education in Nigeria: Issues and challenges. African Journal of Science Education, 8(1), 1–15.

Okey, J. R., & Dillashaw, F. G. (2019). Development of science process skills: A theoretical framework. Science Education, 63(1), 25–33.

Rawlings, B. (2019). Fieldwork and geography education: Practical approaches. Geography Education Review, 12(1), 15–29.

Remmen, K. B., & Froyland, M. (2020). Effectiveness of inquiry-based fieldwork in science education. Research in Science Education, 50(3), 995–1018.

Scott, I., Goulder, R., & Wheeler, R. (2019). Comparing fieldwork and classroom instruction. Journal of Biological Education, 53(2), 145–156.

Solem, M., Kollasch, A., & Lee, J. (2020). Communicating geographical knowledge effectively. Journal of Geography, 119(3), 89–101.

Stainfield, J., Fisher, P., & Ford, B. (2019). Virtual fieldwork in geography education. Journal of Geography in Higher Education, 24(2), 255–269.

Suleiman, T. (2020). Gender and academic performance in Nigerian schools. Journal of Gender Studies, 9(1), 23–37.

Umar, A. (2021). Geography education and environmental awareness in Nigeria. Journal of Geography Education, 35(2), 67–80.

Uttal, D. H., Miller, D. I., & Newcombe, N. S. (2020). The malleability of spatial skills. Psychological Bulletin, 146(2), 125–154.

Yusuf, M. (2020). Empirical gaps in geography education research in Nigeria. Journal of Social Science Research, 16(2), 112–125.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.