ABSTRACT

This study was designed to determine the effect of Conceptual Change Instructional Strategy on Achievement of Junior Secondary School Basic Science Students’ in Anambra State. Four research questions were posed and three null hypotheses were formulated. Descriptive survey and quasi experimental designs were utilized. 640 Junior Secondary School 3 students randomly drawn from a total population of 25,652 JSS3 students from all the 259 public secondary school in Anambra State were used as sample in the first stage of this work. Out of the 640 JSS3 students, a subset of 148 JSS3 students in 4 intact classes in two schools drawn through purposive sampling were used as sample in the second stage of the study. Students’ Alternative Conception Achievement Test in Biology (SACATB) was the instrument used for this study. Data from the study were analyzed using Frequency, Percentage, Bar Chart, Standard Deviation, Independent t-test, and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) statistics. Results show that Junior Secondary School 3 students in Anambra State holds Alternative Conceptions in all the twenty items derived from the Biological concept that were studied. There was no significant difference in the Alternative Conceptions between students in urban and rural areas. Also, students with Alternative Conceptions exposed to Conceptual Change Teaching Strategy significantly achieved better and retained more knowledge than the students exposed to Traditional Teaching Method. Recommendations were made among which was the need for Biology curriculum to be Conceptual Change oriented and interrelatedness between concepts explained through concept mapping, discussions, cognitive conflict and instructional analogies and other Conceptual Change Strategies should be used to enhance Biology teaching and learning