EFFECT OF CONTEXTUAL LEARNING STRATEGY ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL (JSS2) SOCIAL STUDIES IN AKWA IBOM STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of contextual learning strategy on students’ academic performance in Junior Secondary Schools (JSS2) Social Studies in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.  The population of the study is one hundred and eighteen (118) junior secondary school students (JSS2) intact classes used for the study. The design adopted for the study was quasi experimental research of non-randomized pre-test and post-test. Three research objectives were formulated for the study. Two instruments of Social Studies Ability Test (SSAT) and Social Studies Performance Test (SSPT) were developed for the study. Three research hypotheses were also formulated to guide the study and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to analysed the data. All the hypotheses were test at an alpha of 0.05 level of confidence. The findings of the study revealed that contextual learners performed better than their traditional counterparts in the performance test. The findings of the study also indicated that there were no discrepancies in the scores of male and female social studies learners in their performance test. Lastly, the study revealed that the urban contextual learners also perform better than their rural counterparts in the performance test. The study therefore agitated for the use of alternative resources places, work sites, that capable of providing rich learning environment and potentials. Conclusively, knowledge acquired through contextual learning enhances learner’s performance. It closes the gap between learning theory and real life situation.