INTEGRATING CULTURAL RESPONSIVE TEACHING FOR IMPROVED STUDENT ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN OGBIA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, BAYELSA STATE

This study investigated the integration of Culturally Responsive Teaching to improve students’ academic performance in public secondary schools in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. To achieve this objective, four research questions and four null hypotheses were developed. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. A simple random sampling technique was employed to draw a sample of 140 from the population of 611 teachers and 14 out of 35 public secondary schools in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State. Instruments for data collection was a set of self-structured instrument titled “Integrating Culturally Responsive Teaching to Improve Students’ Academic Performance’ (ICRTISAP) in public secondary schools”. The instrument was faced-validated by my research supervisor and two other experts in the faculty of education. A reliability coefficient values of 0.78 was obtained after a trial testing for Integrating Culturally Responsive Teaching to Improve Students’ Academic Performance. The data collected were analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation statistics for research questions and Z-test analysis for the null hypotheses. The findings of the study showed that there is a positive awareness of Culturally Responsive Teaching among teachers; Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) enhances student learning outcome, student engagement and motivation in public secondary schools in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Significant differences were found in two of the null hypotheses while the other two hypotheses have no significant difference. The study concluded that by incorporating Culturally Responsive Teaching practices, educators can create a more inclusive and supportive learning environment that values students’ cultural backgrounds and experience. It was therefore recommended that educators integrate Culturally Responsive Teaching practices into their pedagogy.