IMPACT OF INQUIRY-BASED INSTRUCTION ON SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS ACQUISITION IN ECOLOGY AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS IN KATSINA STATE, NIGERIA

This study investigated the impact of inquiry-based instruction on science process skills acquisitionin ecology among secondary school students in KatsinaState, Nigeria. The study was guided by two research objectives, answered two research questions and tested two null hypotheses. A quasi-experimental research design was employed, involving pre-test and post-test non-equivalent groups. The population of the study consisted of a total number of 17527 senior secondary students two (SSII) offering Biology in 23 public secondary schools in Katsina Zonal Education Quality Assurance. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample of 124 (59 male and 65 female) Biology students from two co-educational schools. The validated instrument used for data collection was Science Process Skills Acquisition Test (SPSAT). The reliability coefficients of the instrument was 0.89 determined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation (PPMC). The study involves two groups. The experimental group were taught using inquiry-based instruction while the control group were taught using lecture method. Research questions were answered using Mean and Standard Deviation statistics while null hypotheses were tested using Independent Sample t-test at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of the study showed that the use of inquiry-based instruction is more effective in enhancing students science process skills in ecology than the conventional method. The findings also revealed that male and female students in the experimental group do not significantly differ in their science process skills. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended among others that, Biology teachers should frequently employ the use of inquiry-based in teaching concepts in Biology like ecology to enhance students science process skills acquisition. States and Federal Ministries of Education including professional bodies like Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) should organize workshops, seminars and conferences to train and encourage teachers on the use of inquiry-based instruction.