IMPACTS OF INQUIRY-BASED INSTRUCTION ON STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND ATTITUDES IN BIOLOGY AMONG SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS STUDENTS IN KATSINA ZONAL EDUCATION QUALITY ASSURANCE

This study investigated the impact of inquiry-based instruction on student academic performance and attitudes in biology among secondary students in Katsina zonal education quality assurance. The study employed descriptive research design,with three research questions followed by three research hypothesis, while the population of the study comprised of three thousands seven hundred and sixty-six (3,766) senior secondary school students drawn from two (2) of the eleven (11) secondary schools in Katsina State. The instrument used for data collection was the questionnaire and the data collected were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. All the null hypothesis were tested using Pearson product-moment correlation statistics, while mean count and standard deviation was used to answer the research questions. Findings of the study indicated that significant difference exist on the effect of inquiry method on academic performance of students taught biology in Secondary Schools in Katsina State. Likewise, finding showed that there wassignificant effect in the performance of male and female students taught biology Studies using inquiry method in SSS in Katsina State. Based on the findings, recommendations were made to the effect that Katsina State Ministry of Education should recruit more qualified professional Biology teachers to meet the present demand in SSS. School supervisors and administrators should ensure that teachers use inquiry method of teaching which is learned centered. A study such as this should be carry out in other states of the federation so that generalizations could be arrived at, because result from one state is too limited in nature. Also Major findings revealed that Biology students taught using inquiry teaching method performed significantly better than their counterparts taught using traditional teaching method. Hence the study concluded that the inquiry teaching method produced students with significantly higher academic performance in Biology.The study therefore recommend among others that the use of Inquiry teaching method should be encouraged in all Secondary Schools that offer Biology to its students in Katsina State and other states in Nigeria, also Government should sponsor teachers to attend various workshops and seminars on appropriate and effective use of the inquiry teaching method.