EFFECT OF EXPERIENTIAL AND TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES ON SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the effect of experiential and transformative learning strategies on senior secondary students' academic achievement in biology in Lagos State. The study adopted the pretest-posttest, control group quasi-experimental design. The sample was 451 senior secondary II students selected using a purposive and multi-stage sampling technique from Education District IV in Lagos State. Instruments for data collection were the Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Students' Socioeconomic Background Questionnaire (SSBQ). Three research questions and three research hypotheses guided the study. Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation, and Analysis of Variance (ANCOVA) at a 0.05 significance level. Post hoc analysis was done using the Bonferroni post hoc test. Parameter Estimates were used to analyse the magnitude of mean scores of the different groups. Results showed a significant main effect of experiential and transformative learning strategies on secondary students’ academic achievement.  Transformative learning strategy was the most effective, impacting secondary students’ academic achievement in biology. Results also showed no significant influences of gender and socioeconomic background on students' academic achievement in biology. It was recommended that biology teachers adopt transformative learning strategy in teaching environmental concepts in biology to develop environmentally sustainable, literate citizens. It was also recommended that the Federal Government review and update the Nigerian Senior Secondary School Biology Curriculum to include contemporary and effective learning strategies such as transformative learning strategy.