Learner-Centered Teaching Strategies for Widening Participation: Imperative to Improvement of Secondary School Students’ Attitude Towards Physics

Abstract

This study employed a descriptive survey research design to investigate how learner centered teaching strategies can improve secondary school students’ attitudes and participation towards physics. The population of the study is all senior secondary school physics students in Umuahia Education Zone of Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State. Purposive sampling technique was used to select 100 senior secondary school physics students from four coeducational senior secondary schools in Umuahia North Local Government Area of Umuahia Education Zone of Abia State.  The instrument for data collection was the researchers’ developed structured questionnaire of the Likert type on senior secondary school students’ assessment of learner centered teaching strategies as a way to improve secondary school students’ attitudes towards physics. Two research questions and one null hypothesis tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. The instrument was validated and the reliability index of 0.89 was obtained. The research questions were answered using mean while the null hypothesis was tested with chi-square statistics. Results showed that brain storming, role playing, demonstration, classroom debate, learning through research, group working and concept mapping are learner centered teaching strategies that widen students’ participation, and could improve their attitudes towards the study of Physics. Recommendations were made based on the findings.