Teacher Self-regulatory Skills and Science Students’ Practical Achievement on Rate of Chemical Reaction in Senior Secondary School, Uyo, Nigeria

Abstract

Effective engagement in practical work enables science students to acquire abilities, skills, competence and understanding of laboratory practical knowledge. The study investigates teacher self-regulatory skills in laboratory practice and students' academic achievement on the rate of chemical reaction in science. Eighty (80) science teachers and eighty (80) senior secondary science students were randomly selected from fourteen schools in Uyo Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, using the technique of purposive sampling. Three research questions and three hypotheses tested at a 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The study utilized ex-post facto design as the independent variables of teacher self-regulatory skills, gender and experience are variables that have already occurred, and the researchers had no direct control over them. A 20-item multiple choice Achievement Test on Rate of Chemical Reaction and Questionnaire on Teacher Self-regulatory skills were instruments used for data collation. Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test and multivariate analysis of variance were used for analysis. Results show that teacher self-regulatory skills have a significant effect on practical achievement on rates of chemical reactions. There exists no significant difference in the achievement mean scores of science students based on gender with regards to teacher self-regulatory skills.; but the significant difference exists in the achievement mean scores of science students based on teachers' teaching experience given their self-regulatory skills. Recommendations amongst others were that science teachers should apply effective use of self-regulatory skills in teaching and understanding of the rate of chemical reactions.