Institute of Education

This study investigated the effect of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) on senior secondary students’ academic performance in Physics in selected secondary schools within Ovia North East Local Government Area, Edo State. The research aimed to establish the extent to which inquiry-based learning is used and its relationship with students’ academic performance, examine the relationship between the use of inquiry-based learning and students’ performance in physics based on school location (urban vs. rural), examine the relationship between the use of inquiry- based learning and students’ performance in physics based on school ownership (public vs. private), examine the relationship between the use of inquiry-based learning and students’ performance in physics based on the sex of physics teachers, compare the difference in the relationship between the use of inquiry-based learning and students’ performance in physics based on teachers’ qualifications. A descriptive-survey design was adopted. The population of this study will consist of all 2024/2025 academic session of secondary school in Ovia North East Local Government Area, Edo State. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations) and inferential tests (t-tests and other appropriate tests) to test for significant relationships and group differences at the 0.05 significance level. Key findings indicate that teachers in the sampled schools use IBL to varying degrees and that, overall, higher levels of IBL use were associated with better student performance in physics. Statistical analysis showed a significant positive relationship between the use of IBL and students’ academic achievement in physics. Subgroup analyses revealed notable differences: for example, the use of IBL and/or its impact on performance differed significantly between urban and rural schools, and there were significant variations linked to teacher qualifications and school ownership in some comparisons. Where t-tests were performed, some contrasts produced statistically significant results (p < 0.05), suggesting that contextual and teacher variables moderate the effectiveness of IBL. The study concludes that IBL is an effective instructional approach for improving physics learning outcomes in the Ovia North East LGA, Edo State. But its success depends on contextual factors such as school location, available resources, teacher training and qualifications, and institutional support. Recommended actions include targeted professional development in IBL methods for physics teachers, improved provision of teaching resources and laboratory facilities (especially in rural schools), integration of IBL into school-level lesson planning and assessment, and policies encouraging adoption of inquiry practices across both public and private schools

This study investigated integrating of technology into early childhood preschool classroom in Oredo Local Government Area. The study also sought to find out if there any difference in the level integrating technology into preschool classrooms in Oredo local Government Area based on school location, ownership and teachers’ qualification. Five research questions were raised. Two were answered directly while three were hypothsized and tested at 0.05 level of significance.
The research adopted a descriptive survey design involving 60 preschool teachers selected through multi-stage sampling from both public and private early childhood education centers. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire titled "Technology Integration in Early Childhood Education Questionnaire (TIECEQ)" and analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Independent sample t-test). Findings revealed that technology is integrated to a high degree in preschool classrooms, with interactive whiteboards, tablets, and educational software being most frequently utilized. However, tools such as headphones, smartphones, and audio equipment were moderately used. The study found no significant differences in technology integration based on school location, ownership type, or teachers' qualifications. Based on the findings the following recommendations were made: The identified technology identified in this study should be well integrated in early childhood classrooms because they have their various roles in the development of the child. In addition, school, should endeavour to source funds to procure these technologies from non governmental organisations and philanthropists.

This study examines emotional Labour and the wellbeing of early childhood educators in Benin City. To achieve this objective, five research questions were posed and answered. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study, and the sample comprised 150 early childhood teachers selected through a multi-stage sampling procedure. The data collection instrument was a self-structured questionnaire. The instrument was validated by three experts in the field of early childhood education, health and counselling psychologists. Cronbach's Alpha was used to assess the instrument's internal consistency, yielding an alpha of 0.89. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations). The findings revealed that early childhood teacher experienced a high level of emotional Labour in their professional roles. In addition, emotional Labour affects the wellbeing of early childhood teachers. Furthermore, the study indicates that the emotional Labour experienced by early childhood teachers is triggered by contextual factors such as workload, low salaries, large class sizes (high pupil-to-teacher ratios), school management policies and cultural expectations of teachers. Moreover, the study revealed that early childhood teachers employ various strategies, such as prayer, spiritual activities, positive thinking, peer support, relaxation and exercise, in coping with emotional Labour. Additionally, the study indicated that the support system available for the teachers includes family, friends, colleagues and training opportunities. However, management's institutional support was limited. Based on these findings, the study recommends, among others, that school management and educational authorities should establish structured emotional support systems for teachers, such as counselling services, mentorship programs and regular wellbeing check-ins. Government and school proprietors should reduce class sizes, provide adequate teaching resources, and ensure fair workload distribution to minimise emotional stress among teachers.

This study investigated the implications of refresher courses on classroom management practices among secondary school teachers in Egor Local Government Area, Edo State. The study was guided by five research questions. It adopted a descriptive research design. The population of the study comprised all secondary schools in Egor Local Government Area. A structured questionnaire titled Implications of Refresher Courses on Classroom Management Practices Questionnaire (IRCMPQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by experts in educational management and measurement and evaluation, while reliability was established using Cronbach Alpha statistics. Data collected were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions. The findings revealed that refresher courses improve teachers’ classroom management skills to a moderate extent by enhancing classroom organization, behaviour management, enforcement of classroom rules, and the creation of conducive learning environments. The study further revealed that refresher courses positively influence teachers’ confidence, adaptability, and effectiveness in handling diverse classroom challenges. Findings also showed that refresher courses expose teachers to learner-centred instructional strategies which improve learner engagement and classroom participation. However, inadequate follow-up and mentoring, insufficient resources, poor accessibility, and irregular training programmes were identified as major challenges affecting the effectiveness of refresher courses. The study equally found that refresher courses have broad positive implications for improving teaching quality, students’ learning outcomes, and overall educational development. The study concluded that refresher courses are essential for strengthening teachers’ professional competence and improving classroom management practices in secondary schools. It was therefore recommended among others that government and educational stakeholders should organize regular, practical, and well-funded refresher training programmes for teachers, while ensuring adequate follow-up support and accessibility for all teachers.

This study examined the influence of practical Agricultural science activities on academic performance of public secondary school students of Ikpoba-Okha Local Government of Edo State. Five research questions guided this study, three questions were answered and two questions were hypothesized, the population of this study consist of 250 senior public secondary school students, the samples of this study was 20% of the total population which have a sample of 50students, pearson(r) was used to determine the level of reliability ,the instrument for data collection was questionnaire validated by the supervisor and other lecturers in the institute of Education, the reliability of the instrument was tested at 0.05 alpha level of significance using test retest method and a correlation coefficient of 0.90 was obtained. The data collected was inputted into the computer and analyzed using SPSS: mean and standard deviation. The study found out that practical agricultural science activities has influence on academic performance on public secondary school students, based on the findings, it was recommended that schools should design balanced timetable that allocate adequate time for both practical agricultural activities and academic subjects to prevent interference with student’s study.

This study designed is to investigate the factors affecting teaching and learning of economics in public secondary schools in Ikpoba Okha local governments Area Edo
state.to carry out this study, four research questions were raised. The study was descriptive study the population of the study was three hundred teachers. The sample
for the study was 20% of the total population which were selected using the stratified sampling method which gave a sample of 60%. The instrument used for the collection of data was questionnaire. The reliability of the questionnaire was ascertained using test-retest method. Thereafter, the Person Product Moment Coefficient (Pearson r) was determined in its level of reliability. A correlation coefficient of 0.70 was obtained and it showed that the instrument was reliable. The major findings stated that there is a significant difference in the method of teaching that influence the teaching and learning of economics in between low and high qualified teachers in public secondary schools in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area. The teachers with higher academic qualification’s method of teaching seems to influence the teaching and learning of economics in public secondary schools in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area than those with lower qualifications.

This study investigated the challenges affecting the teaching and learning of Home Economics in secondary schools in Benin City. As a follow up, five research question were generated to guide the study. This study adopts a descriptive survey research design. The target population consists of all Home Economics teachers and students in public and private secondary schools in Benin
City. The sample was 190 respondents comprising teachers and students of Home Economics selected through a multi-stage sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was a two set-structured questionnaire comprising teachers and students’ questionnaire. The face and content validity of the research instrument (questionnaire) was ascertained by Home
Economics education experts and research supervisor. The internal consistency of the instruments was established with Cronbach’s alpha method which yields a reliability coefficient of 0.85 .The instrument was administered by the researcher and the data generated was analysed with Means and standard deviations utilizing SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) Version 22. The study revealed that the key challenges affecting the teaching and learning of home economics in secondary schools in Benin City include teaching-related, government-related and societal-related challenges. However, student related
challenges as perceived by the students do not constitute a challenge to the teaching and learning of home economics. Based on these findings, it was therefore recommended that the Nigerian governments including school owners should accord adequate support for Home Economics’ through provision of funds and infrastructures such as building Home Economics labouratory in all secondary schools offering the subject. Additionally, qualified teachers should be recruited and ensure only teachers trained in the subjects are allowed to teach it as well as sponsoring in services training for serving Home Economics teachers. Moreover, societal negative perception or stereotyping of the subject as women course should be dissuaded through public enlightenments

This study investigated the level of utilization of science facilities in Early childhood education (ECE) classrooms in Oredo Local Government area, Edo State. The study also sought to find out the extent to which science facilities were available in ECE classrooms in Oredo Local Government Area. The differences in the level of utilization of science facilities based on location, categories of teachers, and ownership of schools were areas of interest in this work. Five research questions were raised to guide the study. Two research questions were answered while three
were formulated into hypotheses and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. 175 teachers formed the sample of the study. The instrument titled “The level of availability of science facilities in ECE classrooms” was a self designed checklist by the researcher to collect data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and independent sample t-test. The following were among the findings: The majority of science facilities are highly available in Early Childhood Education (ECE) classrooms in Oredo Local Government Area, the level of utilization was at least once a month, there were no significant differences in the level of utilization of science facilities in early childhood classrooms in Oredo Local Government Area based on location, categories of teachers and ownership of schools. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the number of utilization should be increased to once a week. Science is very vital in the life of a human being and it plays a crucial role in the development and understanding of the world. Once in a month is not adequate for science experience because it may not be sufficient to foster a deep and lasting appreciation for the subject. To enhance a child’s engagement in science activities, it is beneficial to increase the frequency of the utilization to at least once a week so that the child gets used to science activities.

The research work investigated the impact of technology on academic development among pre school children in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State. To guide this study four research questions were raised: What is the status of technology in the schools, what is the attitude of teachers to the use of technology, will the use of technology in early childhood education improve learning, will the use of interactive digital tools affect the social and emotional development of pre school children. descriptive survey research was adopted with the use of questionnaire to collect information from the respondents. The population of the study was two hundred and ten (210) private pre schools in Oredo Local Government Area. The sample size used for the study was 25% of the total population. ballot method was used to draw the sample in each school selected, twelve (12) private schools was selected and visited in Oredo Local Government Area. Ten (10) subjects from these schools was drawn through
purposive sampling technique giving a total number of one hundred and twenty (120) subject . The research instrument used in this study was a structured questionnaire titled Investigating the impact of technology on academic development among pre school children. It was divided into two sections: section A sought to elicit information about the bio-data of the respondents, while section B was on the Investigating the impact of technology on academic development among pre school children in Oredo Local Government Area, Benin, Edo state. This section consists of sixteen (16) items. The likert scale of four points was used, SA-4, A-3, D-2, SD-1 points respectively was used for the study. The reliability of the instrument was carried out using test
re-test method which gave the reliability score of 0.70. The data collected through the questionnaire was analyzed by the researcher using the simple percentage, frequency count, mean, standard deviation to interpret the result for the various findings and questions listed in the study. The study concluded that it is important that teachers beliefs, roles and experiences
are considered, if changes are to be made to foster and optimize opportunities for young children’s learning and how the roles and experiences influence and shape the ways in which teachers implement and integrate technology among pre school children context. The study also reveals the positive impact of technology and how it makes learning more fun and also helps in
enhancing children engagement in the classroom and also the negative impact of technology on pre school children if not handled well. Findings revealed that technology have significant impact in children learning outcome, based on the findings it was recommended that researchers and educators should encourage the use of technology in ECE from the perspectives of children
and families, technological resources center should be established in various early childhood education centers in Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State.

This study was to explore the influence of socioeconomic background on the academic performance of school children in Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State. The research was centered around five key research questions: Does the financial status of parents impact their children's academic performance? What roles do parental education and occupation play in shaping school children's academic achievements? How does the availability of educational resources andc facilities in schools affect the academic performance of students from various socioeconomic backgrounds? Are there disparities in the academic performance of
students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds attending public versus private schools? A descriptive survey research design was employed, incorporating both qualitative and quantitative methodologies. Data was collected using questionnaires, and the analysis involved computing frequencies and simple percentages. The study focused on school children within Oredo Local Government Area, Edo State, with a sample size of 80 respondents selected from eight primary schools in the region. Each of the eight chosen primary schools contributed 10 respondents. The research instrument consisted of a questionnaire containing sixteen items. To ensure the reliability of this instrument, a preliminary test was conducted by administering the research questionnaire to a group of individuals with similar characteristics as the research sample, utilizing the split-half method