Effects of Out-Door Engagement Strategy on Secondary School Students’ Attitude and Achievement on Animal Adaptations in Kano State, Nigeria

Abstract

The research aimed to investigate the effects of the Outdoor Engagement Strategy (ODES) on the attitudes and achievements of Secondary School II students regarding animal adaptations in Kano State. The study employed a pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design and was guided by two research questions and two hypotheses. The study population comprised all SS II students in Gaya metropolis, totaling 1,470. From this, a sample of 130 students was randomly selected from four secondary schools in the emirate. The research instruments, namely the Students' Animal Adaptation Achievement Test (SAAAT) and the Students' Attitudes towards Animal Adaptation Scale (SATAAS), were validated and tested for reliability. The reliability coefficients of these instruments were determined using Kuder-Richardson’s and Cronbach’s alpha statistics, yielding scores of 0.82 and 0.79, respectively, affirming their reliability. To address the research questions and test the hypotheses, mean, standard deviation, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) were employed. The study revealed that the average achievement and attitude scores of students instructed with ODES were significantly higher than those taught through the traditional approach. These findings established that the experimental group outperformed the control group significantly. In light of these results, the study recommends that secondary school science instructors integrate ODES into their lessons. Additionally, the government is encouraged to ensure that students are exposed to safe and stimulating outdoor classrooms.