EFFECTS OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE PRACTICAL ACTIVITIES AND ALTERNATIVE TO PRACTICAL ON SENIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN OBSERVING AND MEASURING SKILLS

Abstract

Agricultural science students lack needed skills for basic agricultural practices and as such cannot solve problems requiring such skills. The study therefore investigated the effect of Agricultural Science Practical Activities and Alternative to Practical on students’ achievement in observing and measuring skills. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted. The population is 366,593 senior secondary students in Imo State with a sample of 87 students drawn from two schools out of 301 public Schools using purposive random sampling technique. One of the schools was assigned practical activities and to the other alternative to practical. Researcher made test instrument titled “Agricultural Practical Activity Achievement Test” containing 25 practical test items was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three specialists. The reliability coefficient of 0.76 was obtained using Kuder-Richardson 21 (K-R21). Research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while ANCOVA was used in testing the hypotheses. Findings include that students taught Agricultural Science (AS) with practical activities performed higher than their counterparts taught using alternative to practical. There is a significant difference in the mean scores of acquisitions of observing and measuring skills between students exposed to practical activities and those exposed to alternative to practical. It was recommended among others that teachers should encourage students to develop skills such as observing and measuring skills in agriculture by engaging them in real farm practicals that will inculcate such skills in them.