EFFECT OF ETHNOCHEMISTRY APPROACH ON CHEMISTRY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AMONG SECONDARY CHEMISTRY STUDENTS IN KATSINA STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of Ethnochemistry Approach on the academic performance of chemistry students in separation techniques in Katsina state, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. Mean and standard deviation were used in answering the research questions while independent samples t-tests was used in testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significant. A quasi-experimental design involving a pre-test, post-test control group was used. The population of the study comprised all chemistry students under Katsina Zonal Education Quality Assurance. From this figure, 125 SSII students were randomly selected from two out of the 25 secondary schools offering chemistry in the Zonal Education Quality Assurance. Data were gathered using the Separation Techniques Academic Performance Test (STAPT) which was validated by three experts and then administered to students during the experiment. The instrument’s reliability coefficient, calculated using the Pear Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was 0.92. Findings revealed that students taught separation techniques through the Ethnochemistry Approach achieved significantly higher in their mean scores compared to their counterparts taught using conventional method. It was recommended among others, the need for teachers to adopt this approach when teaching separation techniques and for curriculum planner in Nigeria like NERDC should design programs and policies that will incorporate the use of Ethnochemistry approach in teaching and learning sciences at Senior Secondary School level.