PERCEIVED EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS ON THE ACHIEVEMENT AND RETENTION OF BIOLOGY CONCEPTS AMONG SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN NKWERRE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA IN IMO STATE

ABSTRACT The study investigated the Perceived Effects of Instructional Materials on the Achievement and Retention of Biology Concepts among Secondary School Students in Nkwerre Local Government Area of Imo State. Four research questions were formulated to guide the study. Descriptive survey design was used. The instrument for data collection was questionnaire and population of the study was nine hundred and ninety-five (995). Sample size of one hundred and ninety-nine was randomly drawn from the entire population of the study. The questionnaires were constructed by the researchers in line with the research questions. The data collected was analyzed and presented using mean. Finally the results expose that there is positive effects in achievement and retention of biology concepts among secondary schools in Nkwerre Local Government of Imo State. The retaining of biology concepts was as a result of availability and utilization of instructional materials which include charts, specimens and models. The researcher recommended that the school management and Government should provide more instructional materials for teaching and learning of biology, multiply and make more accessible the already available instructional materials in the schools to the users. And also, Government and school managements should employ suitable teachers to handle some of the equipments installed in the school.