EFFECT OF INTEGRATING THEORY WITH PRACTICAL ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY

Abstract

This paper examines the effect of integrating theory with practical on students’ achievement in
Biology. The sample consists of 400 students selected from two urban and two rural co-education
secondary schools in Otukpo. A quasi-experimental design was adopted for the investigation, and
intact classes were used for data for both the experimental and control groups. The instrument used
for data collection was Biology Achievement Test (BAT) which was validated by experts in Science
Education. The reliability coefficient was 0.37 for pre-test and 0.60 for post-test respectively. Four
research questions and three hypotheses were stated. The t-test statistical tool and analysis of
covariance (ANCOVA) were adopted for analysis. The findings showed that experimental group
performed significantly better than the control group. The ANCOVA showed that the difference
between the urban and rural schools, boys and girls is significant when Biology is taught through
integrating theory with practical. Based on the findings some recommendations were made.