EFFECT OF ROLE-PLAY AND SIMULATION ON STUDENTS’KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDES TOWARD INHERITANCE IN SOCIALSTUDIES IN EDO STATE

Abstract

This study examined the effect of role-play and simulation instructional strategies on students’ knowledge and
attitudes toward inheritance concepts in Social Studies in Edo State. The study adopted a 3 × 2 × 2 factorial
pretest–posttest non-equivalent control group design structured into instructional strategies (role-play, simulation,
and conventional teaching), sex (male and female), and measurement phases (pretest and posttest). The population
comprised all Junior Secondary School II (JSS II) students offering Social Studies in public secondary schools in
Edo State. A sample of 422 students was selected through a multistage sampling technique from four public
secondary schools across three local government areas. Intact classes were used to avoid disruption of normal
classroom activities. The instrument for data collection was the Inheritance Knowledge and Attitude Test (Ikat)
developed by the researcher. The instrument consisted of a 40-item multiple-choice test measuring students’
knowledge of inheritance concepts and a 20-item Likert-scale questionnaire measuring students’ attitudes toward
inheritance. The instrument was validated by three experts in Social Studies Education and Measurement and
Evaluation. A pilot study involving 30 students outside the sampled schools produced reliability coefficients of
0.86 using Kuder–Richardson Formula 20 (KR-20) for the knowledge test and 0.84 using Cronbach’s alpha for
the attitude scale. Data collection lasted six weeks and involved pretest, treatment, and posttest administration.
Mean and standard deviation were used to answer research questions, while paired sample t-test, ANOVA, and
ANCOVA were used to test hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that simulation
and role-play strategies significantly improved students’ knowledge and attitudes toward inheritance concepts
compared with the conventional method. Simulation produced the highest knowledge gain, while role-play
recorded the highest improvement in attitude. Sex significantly influenced knowledge but had no significant effect
on students’ attitudes. The study concluded that learner-centred strategies enhance meaningful learning in Social
Studies.