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Impact of open inquiry instructional strategy on secondary school students’ academic achievement and conceptual knowledge in Chemistry across genders in Osun state, Nigeria

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Titel: Impact of open inquiry instructional strategy on secondary school students’ academic achievement and conceptual knowledge in Chemistry across genders in Osun state, Nigeria
Autoren: Bamidele Emmanuel Tijani
Quelle: African Journal of Teacher Education, Vol 14, Iss 1 (2025)
Verlagsinformationen: University of Guelph, 2025.
Publikationsjahr: 2025
Schlagwörter: Academic Achievement, Instructional Strategies, Chemistry Education, Open Inquiry, Conceptual Knowledge, Education
Beschreibung: Student performance in chemistry remains below expectations despite the subject’s importance in advancing fields such as medicine and technology. Traditional teaching methods have been criticised for limiting engagement and critical thinking. This study investigates the impact of the open inquiry instructional strategy on secondary school students’ academic achievement and conceptual knowledge in chemistry. A quasi-experimental design was adopted, involving 322 Senior Secondary School 1 science students drawn from intact classes of the selected schools. Students were divided into experimental and control groups and were taught using open inquiry and the traditional lecture method, respectively. Data were collected using the Chemistry Academic Achievement Test (CAAT) and Chemistry Conceptual Knowledge Test (CCKT), both of which were validated before use. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that students taught using open inquiry significantly outperformed those taught using the traditional lecture method in academic achievement (F(1, 317) = 29.083, p < .001) and conceptual knowledge (F(1, 317) = 60.574, p < .001). However, gender differences were not statistically significant for both academic achievement (F(1, 317) = 0.704, p = .402) and conceptual knowledge (F(1, 317) = 2.634, p = .106). The study concludes that open inquiry is a more effective instructional strategy for improving students’ learning outcomes in chemistry, regardless of gender. It recommends the integration of open inquiry into science curricula and teacher training programmes to enhance student engagement and conceptual understanding.
Publikationsart: Article
ISSN: 1916-7822
DOI: 10.21083/ajote.v14i1.8256
Zugangs-URL: https://doaj.org/article/b9085db6040f4804a98e9844b1d1e3f3
Dokumentencode: edsair.doi.dedup.....c05e96f7b5d05f1dedb382a8c64ae069
Datenbank: OpenAIRE
Beschreibung
Abstract:Student performance in chemistry remains below expectations despite the subject’s importance in advancing fields such as medicine and technology. Traditional teaching methods have been criticised for limiting engagement and critical thinking. This study investigates the impact of the open inquiry instructional strategy on secondary school students’ academic achievement and conceptual knowledge in chemistry. A quasi-experimental design was adopted, involving 322 Senior Secondary School 1 science students drawn from intact classes of the selected schools. Students were divided into experimental and control groups and were taught using open inquiry and the traditional lecture method, respectively. Data were collected using the Chemistry Academic Achievement Test (CAAT) and Chemistry Conceptual Knowledge Test (CCKT), both of which were validated before use. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed that students taught using open inquiry significantly outperformed those taught using the traditional lecture method in academic achievement (F(1, 317) = 29.083, p < .001) and conceptual knowledge (F(1, 317) = 60.574, p < .001). However, gender differences were not statistically significant for both academic achievement (F(1, 317) = 0.704, p = .402) and conceptual knowledge (F(1, 317) = 2.634, p = .106). The study concludes that open inquiry is a more effective instructional strategy for improving students’ learning outcomes in chemistry, regardless of gender. It recommends the integration of open inquiry into science curricula and teacher training programmes to enhance student engagement and conceptual understanding.
ISSN:19167822
DOI:10.21083/ajote.v14i1.8256