Enhancing Biology Students' Academic Achievement and Attitude Through Self-Regulated Learning Strategy in Senior Secondary Schools in Delta Central Senatorial District

Abstract

This study focused on enhancing biology students' achievement and attitude through Self-Regulated Learning Strategy in secondary schools in Delta Central Senatorial District. The study adopted the quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test control group design. Four research questions and four research hypotheses were formulated and raised to guide the study. The population of the study was all the biology students in senior secondary school II (SS II) in all the government-owned public secondary schools in Delta Central Senatorial District with an estimation of six thousand, four hundred and twenty-one students (6,421). A sample of two hundred and forty-five (245) senior secondary schools II students randomly selected from four (4) public mixed secondary schools was used for the study. The Simple Random Sampling Technique was adopted to draw the sample. The instruments used for data collection were the Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Biology Attitude Questionnaire (BAQ). BAT and BAQ were validated by I Measurement and Evaluation and Biology teachers that have taught biology for more than ten (10) years. The reliability of BAT and BAQ were established using Kuder-Richardson formula 21 and Cronbach Alpha which yielded a coefficient of internal consistencies of 0.75 for BAT and 0.80 for BAQ respectively. Data were collected by administering the biology achievement test (BAT) and biology attitude questionnaire (BAQ) as pre-test and post-test. The data obtained were analysed using mean, standard deviation Analysis of Variation (ANOVA) and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The result shows that self-regulated regulated learning strategy significantly enhanced students' achievement in biology compared to the lecture method; there was no significant difference between the mean achievement score of male and female students taught biology using self-regulated learning strategy; there was a significant difference between the mean attitude score of students taught using self-regulated learning strategy compared with those taught with lecture method in favour of students taught using the self-regulated learning strategy and there was no significant difference between the mean attitude score of male and female students taught biology using self-regulated learning strategy. Based on the findings it was concluded that self-regulated learning strategy significantly enhances students' achievements and attitudes in biology. It was therefore recommended that biology teachers should adopt the strategy in teaching biology at the secondary school level and that biology teachers should be trained on how to use the skills of self-regulated learning strategy effectively.