Effect of Blended Information and Communication Technology on the Interest of Junior Secondary School Students in Basic Science and Technology for Sustainable Development

Abstract

The effect of blended information and communication technology on the interest of junior secondary school students in basic science and technology for sustainable development is the main concern of this study. The researcher adopted a quasi-experimental research design, precisely, pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent group design which involved groups of students in their intact classes. The population for the study was 195 JSSII Basic Science and Technology students in the technical colleges in Minna Niger State. Two research questions and three null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The instruments used for data collection was the Basic Science and Technology Interest Inventory (BSII). The BSII, training manual, blended lesson plans were all subjected to face and content validation by three experts. The trial test for determining the coefficient of internal consistency of the BSII items was carried out using Cronbach Alpha. The reliability coefficient computed for the BSII was 0.85. Mean was used to answer the research questions, while ANCOVA was employed to test the hypotheses. The study revealed that both blended ICT and lecture method stimulate students interest but that the blended ICT instructional technique was more effective in stimulating students interest than the lecture method in basic science and technology. The study also revealed that there was effect of gender on students’ interest in basic science and technology favoring boys. There were no interaction effect of treatments and gender on interest of JSSII students in basic science and technology. Thus the effectiveness of guided inquiry instructional technique on students’ interest in auto mechanic was independent of gender. It was therefore, recommended that Ministries of education, National Science and Technical School Board (NSTSB) should organize workshop, seminars and conferences for basic science and technology teachers on regular basis to enlighten and improve their knowledge and skills on the use of the blended ICT techniques among recommendations. This is with the view to stimulate students interest and thus encourage recruits.