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 the study. The researchers 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 J.S.S II 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. The BSTII, training manual, Blended if 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 BSTII items was carried out using Cronbach Alpha. The reliability coefficient computed for the BSTII 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 favouring boys. There were no interaction effects of treatments and gender on interest of JSS 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 thereafter recommended that Ministries of Education, National Science and Technical School Board (NSTSB) should organize workshops. seminars and conferences for basic sc^c7andteLolo& teachers on regular basis to enlighten and improve their knowledge and skills on the use of the blended ICT techniques among other recommendations. This is with a view to stimulate students interest and thus encourage recruits.