SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS APPROACH AND STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN PRACTICAL PHYSICS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the Science Process Skills Approach (SPSA) on senior secondary school students’ academic performance in practical physics in Gembu Education Zone, Taraba State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design was adopted. The sample comprised 110 Senior Secondary School II students drawn from two intact classes. The experimental group (n=60) was taught using SPSA, while the control group (n=50) was taught using the Alternative to Practical method (ATP). The Mechanics Practical Performance Test (MPPT), a 27-item multiple-choice instrument (KR-20 = 0.72), was used for data collection. Mean, standard deviation, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were used to answer three research questions and test three null hypotheses at α = 0.05. Results showed that students taught with SPSA had significantly higher posttest mean scores (45.47) than the control group (31.84), with a mean gain of 36.04 compared to 22.41. ANCOVA revealed a significant main effect of instructional approach on performance [F(1,107)=242.424, p<0.05, partial η² = 0.694]. No significant gender difference was found within the SPSA group [F(1,57)=0.697, p>0.05]. The study concludes that SPSA is an effective, gender-inclusive strategy for improving students’ performance in practical physics. Recommendations include the adoption of SPSA by physics teachers and its integration into teacher education programmes.