ENHANCING COMMITMENT TO PHYSICS USING LOCALLY SOURCED INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

Physics is an integral part of the science curriculum in the educational landscape of Nigeria. The subject has attracted extensive research attention primarily due to its relevance and growing concern about the accompanying poor performance. Numerous literatures abound that suggest varying approaches to increasing students interest, motivation, and performance in the subject. However, effort geared towards improving students commitment to the subject is scarcely documented. The present study was aimed to determine whether there would be a difference in commitment to physics between students taught with locally sourced materials and those taught with the conventional learning materials in a convenience sample of 201 senior secondary school students. The students were pooled from the Kogi state secondary education system. A quasi-experimental pre-test and post-test research design were adopted. The result found a statistically significant difference between the research conditions. Thus, the study concludes that the locally sourced instructional materials are an indispensable teaching approach that might increase students commitment to physics. The practical implication of the study is discussed.