Assessment of the Efficacy of Practical Activities on the Interest and Achievement of Senior Secondary School Students in Physics

Abstract

This study assessed the efficacy of practical activities on the interest and achievement of students in senior secondary school physics. In pursuance of this study, two research questions were posed and two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. The instruments used for data collection were physics interest inventory (PII) and physics achievement test (PAT). Sample of the study comprised of 162 physics students drawn four schools within Nsukka Local Government of Enugu state. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation while the hypotheses were tested at 5% level of significance using ANCOVA. The findings of the study revealed that students taught physics using practical activities had higher interest and achievement than those taught without practical activities. The implication of the findings is that in the absence of practical activities during physics lessons, the interest of the students will not be improved and thus, their achievement will remain low. Based on the implication, it was recommended that practical activities should be encouraged in teaching and learning of science subjects especially physics.