Effect of Collaborative Learning Strategies on Junior Students’ Environmental Knowledge and Attitude towards Social Studies

Rezumat

This study investigated the impact of collaborative learning strategies on students' environmental knowledge and attitudes towards social studies in Junior Secondary Schools in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group pre-test post-test design was employed, involving 180 students (93 males and 87 females) selected through multistage sampling. Six co-educational secondary schools were purposively chosen based on the presence of environmental challenges in their immediate surroundings and were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Data collection instruments included the Environmental Knowledge Test (EKT) and the Social Studies Attitude Scale (SSAS). Both instruments demonstrated high reliability coefficients of 0.81 and 0.85, respectively. Results indicated that students taught using collaborative learning strategies significantly outperformed those taught using conventional methods in terms of environmental knowledge and attitudes towards social studies. Additionally, gender did not significantly influence the outcomes of the collaborative learning strategy. The study recommends incorporating collaborative learning strategies into social studies curricula to enhance students' engagement and knowledge retention. Further research is suggested to explore the long-term effects of collaborative learning on students' academic performance and attitudes.