BASIC AND INTEGRATED SCIENCE PROCESS SKILLS ACQUISITION AND SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT OF SEVENTH-GRADE LEARNERS

Abstract

For effective science inquiry and hands-on science learning, students should have a good mastery of the science process skills (SPS) before applying the processes. SPS are the building-blocks of critical thinking and inquiry in science. This study sought to investigate students’ SPS acquisition level and its relationship with their academic performance in science. The Science Process Skills Test, a 24-item test intended to quantify students’ basic and integrated SPS, was administered to the 100 randomly selected Grade 7 students of a private secondary school in Northern Luzon, Philippines. The data were analyzed using descriptive and correlational research methods. The results of the study revealed that the students have an average level of basic science process skills, and a low level of integrated science process skills. A significant correlation between students’ performance in science and basic SPS was reported. On the other hand, students’ integrated SPS was found not significantly related to their performance. Furthermore, there was a highly significant, positive correlation between the students’ overall science process skills and science achievement. Hence, it was recommended that students’ science process skills be improved through proper designs of inquiry-based experiments and activities to enhance and elevate students’ achievement in science. Article visualizations: