Laboratory Practical’s as a Strategy for Enhancing Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulation in Biology Among Secondary School Students in Benue State

This study investigated Laboratory Practicals as a Strategy for Enhancing Self-Efficacyand Self Regulation in Biology Among Secondary School Students in Benue State. The problem of the study was the consistently poor performance of students in Biology, especially in practical aspects, as reported by WAEC and NECO Chief Examiners’ Reports (2022-2024). This was attributed to inadequate laboratory facilities, large class sizes, and over-reliance on lecture methods. The main aim was to evaluate laboratory practicals as a strategy for enhancing students’ self-efficacy and self-regulation. A quasi-experimental, pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted. The population comprised 28,450 SS2 Biology students in 320 public Senior Secondary Schools in Benue State. A sample of 240 SS2 students was drawn from 6 schools across the 3 senatorial zones using multi-stage sampling technique. Two instruments were used for data collection: Biology Self-Efficacy Scale [BSES] and Biology Self-Regulated Learning Questionnaire (BSLQ), Biology. The experimental group was taught for 8 weeks using laboratory practicals while the control group was taught using conventional lecture method. Data were analyzed using Mean, Standard Deviation, ANCOVA and 2-Way ANCOVA at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that: Laboratory practicals had a significant effect on students’ self-efficacy in Biology, Laboratory practicals had a significant effect on students’ self-regulation in Biology. Based on these findings, it was concluded that laboratory practicals are an effective instructional strategy for enhancing SS2 students’ self-efficacy, self-regulation, interest and academic performance in Biology in Benue State, and that the effect is not gender-biased. It was therefore recommended that Biology teachers should adopt laboratory practicals as a regular instructional strategy; Government and school administrators should provide and equip functional Biology laboratories; and Curriculum planners should emphasize practical-based assessment. The study contributes to knowledge by providing empirical evidence from Benue State on the effect of laboratory practicals on four variables simultaneously and by validating Bandura’s Self Efficacy Theory, Zimmerman’s Self-Regulated Learning Theory and Dewey’s Experiential Learning Theory in the Benue State context.