Corresponding author: AJAYI Oluseyi Abike
Copyright © 2023 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article. This article is published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Liscense 4.0.
Impact of ethnobiology-based instruction and peer tutoring on the achievement of
senior secondary school biology students in Ogun state southwest Nigeria
Oluseyi Abike Ajayi
*
, Olanrewaju Hakeem Akintoye, Olugbenga Gabriel Akindoju and Franklin Onowugbeda
Department of Science and Technology Education, Lagos State University Ojo, Nigeria.
World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 2023, 18(01), 1197–1207
Publication history: Received on 15 March 2023; revised on 23 April 2023; accepted on 26 April 2023
Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2023.18.1.0737
Abstract
This study investigated the impact of Ethnobiology-Based instruction Peer Tutoring on Achievement of Senior
Secondary School Biology Students in Ogun State. The study employed Explanatory sequential mixed-methods
approach. The quantitative approach was quasi experimental pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design. Three
research questions and one hypothesis was formulated to guide the study. The population of the study comprised of all
Biology students in public Senior Secondary Schools in Abeokuta zone. Purposive sampling technique was used to select
six Public Schools from two zones (Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North). Biology students in six intact classes of SSS III
took part in the study. The sample size of 313 biology students with 101 students in the experimental group 1 (48 male
and 53 female), 117 students in the experimental group 2 (57 male and 60 female) and 95 students in control group (38
male and 57 female) which were taught the same biology content for a period of four weeks. The experimental groups
received instructions through the use of Ethnobiology-Based Instruction and Peer Tutoring while the control group was
taught using lecture method. The data gathering instruments were Biology Achievement Test (BAT) and Students Semi-
structured Interview Guide (SSIG). The reliability coefficient of the BAT was established using test- retest and yielded
0.87. Descriptive statistics in form of mean, standard deviation and histogram plot were used to answer the research
question while the hypothesis was tested using ANCOVA at 0.05 level of significance. The inferential analysis of
hypothesis one has a significant difference on Students’ academic achievement in Biology (F (2,309) = 386.85; p < 0.05),
this indicated that the hypothesis is hereby rejected since a significant difference is obtained. The results from the study
revealed that the treatments positively improved the academic achievements of students and the students taught using
ethnobiology-based instruction had higher test result and outperformed those in Peer Tutoring and lecture method
group, but the students in Peer tutoring group also performed better than those in lecture method group. This implies
that Ethnobiology-Based instruction is more effective in enhancing Students’ performance in biology and it helps to
break barriers to meaningful learning of biology. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommended that Biology
teachers should relate learning to students’ cultural views and encourage peer tutoring.
Keywords: Biology; Ethnobiology-Based Instruction; Peer tutoring; Gender; Students’ Achievement
1. Introduction
The role of science and technology in the development of a nation is glaringly clear to everyone. In most countries of the
world including Nigeria, admission quota for science students is often higher than that of those for other disciplines
(Chikendu, 2018). However, Akintoye (2016) observed that nations of the world all over, including Nigeria are striving
hard to develop scientifically and technologically, since the world is turning scientific and all proper functioning of lives
depends greatly on science (Onasanya & Omesewo, 2011. Biology as a subject helps the students to understand more
about the structure and functioning of the body. It also gives the understanding of our environment and how living
organisms interacts or relates with their environment. The role of Biology in national development is to influence the
future of the world.