EFFECTS OF EDUCATIONAL FIELD TRIPS ON SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN JUNIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examined the Effects of Educational Field Trips on Social Studies Students’ Academic Achievement in Junior Secondary Schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria. The design of the study was the non-equivalent pre-test post-test control group type of quasi experiment. The population of the study consisted of junior secondary school students in Zaria Education Zone, Kaduna State, Nigeria numbering 26,322. Also, 120 students were purposively sampled from JSSII in the following schools: Government Junior Secondary School Tudun-Jukun, Zaria, Government Junior Secondary School, Awai, Government Junior Secondary School, Aba and Government Junior Secondary School Muchiya, Sabon-Gari. The data collection instrument was Social Studies Achievement Test (SOSAT). The content and construct validity was ascertained by experts in Social Studies, language and test and measurement. The reliability coefficient index power of the instrument stood at 0.81 determined using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMC). The data analysis tools were mean and standard deviation used in answering the question posed while t-test independent samples was used in testing the null hypothesis postulated at 0.05 alpha. The study found that there exist significant difference between the mean academic achievement scores of students taught Social Studies using educational field trip (experimental) and those who were taught with lecture method (control). In the light of the foregoing, the study recommended that teachers in the Kaduna State should be encouraged to adopt educational field trip in teaching Social Studies in order to enhance students’ academic achievement.