EFFECT OF GAMIFICATION ON SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN CHEMICAL REACTIONS IN ENUGU EDUCATION ZONE OF ENUGU STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of gamification on senior secondary school students’ academic achievement in chemical reactions in Enugu Education zone of Enugu State. Two research questions guided the study while three null hypotheses were tested at .05 level of significance. Quasi experimental research design was adopted for the study. The population for the study comprised 3,142 Senior Secondary School II (SS II) chemistry students. The sample size of 258 SS II students was drawn using purposive random sampling technique. The instrument for data collection was Chemical Reactions Achievement Test (CRAT) which was developed by the researcher and validated by three experts from Department of Science Education, Enugu State University of Science and Technology. Kuder-Richardson 20 (K-20) formula was used to estimate the reliability of the instrument and a reliability index of .80 was obtained. Mean and standard deviation were used for answering the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null hypotheses. The findings of the study showed that students who were taught chemical reactions using gamification had improved academic achievement than their counterparts who were taught using lecture method. It was also found that male students had improved academic achievement than their female counterparts when exposed to gamification. In line with the findings, the study recommended that teachers should integrate gamification strategies, such as interactive quizzes, rewards, and problem-solving games, into teaching chemical reactions to enhance students' academic achievement.