EXPERIMENTATION, INNOVATION AND CONSUMER AWARENESS AS DETERMINANTS OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF HOME ECONOMICS IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CALABAR, NIGERIA

This study examined experimentation, innovation and consumer awareness as determinants of effective teaching and learning of Home Economics in the University of Calabar, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted, and the accessible population comprised forty Home Economics students. Since the population was small and reachable, census sampling was used. Data were collected with a structured 15-item Experimentation/Innovation and Consumer Awareness Questionnaire (EICAQ). Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions, while simple linear regression tested the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. Findings showed that experimentation and innovation significantly influenced effective teaching and learning of Home Economics. Consumer awareness also significantly influenced learning by strengthening food-choice literacy, consumer-rights knowledge, product evaluation and responsible decision-making. The study concludes that Home Economics instruction becomes more meaningful when practical experimentation, creativity, consumer education and real-life problem-solving are deliberately integrated into teaching. It recommends improved laboratory resources, routine practical demonstrations, innovation-based assignments, consumer-awareness campaigns and stronger institutional support for practical Home Economics pedagogy.