EFFECT OF GUIDED INQUIRY IN STRUCTIONAL METHOD ON STUDENTS’ RETENTION IN SOCIAL STUDIES IN ANAMBRA STATE

Abstract

 Social Studies is one of the core school subjects at the basic education level in Nigeria which is expected to contribute significantly to national development if effectively taught. This study examined the effect of guided inquiry instructional method of teaching on students’ retention in Social Studies in Anambra State. The study was guided by two research questions and three hypotheses. This study was a quasi-experimental research design using 2 x 2 factorial non-randomized pre-test, double post-test control group type. The target population for this study comprised all Junior Secondary School year two (JS2) Social studies students numbering 28,381 in Anambra State. The sample size for this study comprised 96 JSS2 students (54 females and 42 males) from two public secondary schools in Anambra State from two different education zone. One public school with an intact Class of 48 students (27 females and 21 males) serve as experimental group, while the other school with an intact class of 48 (students, 25 females and 23 males) serve as control group. The experiment lasted for eight weeks. The instrument for data collection was the Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT) developed by the researcher. Mean and standard deviation scores were used to answer the research questions, while the null hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results show that Guided Inquiry instructional method (GIIM) was also more effective in improving the retention of students in Social Studies than the conventional lecture instructional method (CLM). There was also a significant interaction effect of teaching methods and gender on retention of students in Social Studies. Based on the above findings, the researcher recommends among others that opportunities for functional learning could be provided in the curriculum through the use of Guided Inquiry Instructional Method (GIIM).