INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND IT INFLUENCE ON BIOLOGY STUDENTS PERFORMANCE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN AWKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

The study investigated inclusive education and its influences on biology students' performance in secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Three research questions guided the study. A descriptive survey design was adopted for data collection. The population of the study consisted of 2,096 senior secondary two (SS. 2) biology students from 19 public secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Purposive random sampling was used to select a sample of 150 students from three (3) schools in the population. The instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by two experts, one from the Department of Educational Foundations and the other from the Department of Science Education, both from the Faculty of Education, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria. It has a reliability coefficient of 0.75 using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. The collected data were analyzed using standard deviation and a weighted mean to answer the research questions. The results revealed that inclusive education on the interaction and participation of students without special educational needs and students with special educational needs in the biology classroom in secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. Also, inclusive education positively influences the interaction and participation of students without special educational needs and those with special educational needs in the biology classroom in secondary schools in Awka South Local Government Area of Anambra State, Nigeria. The study recommended that secondary school authorities should do their utmost to ensure that students with SEN and those without coexist peacefully in an inclusive educational environment to help them achieve maximum performance in biology.