IMPACT OF VIRTUAL FIELD TRIPS ON STUDENT’S KNOWLEDGE RETENTION AND ATTITUDES IN SOCIAL STUDIES IN ILORIN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

The persistent challenges of poor knowledge retention and declining student interest in Social Studies have continued to undermine effective learning outcomes in Nigerian secondary schools. This study investigated the impact of Virtual Field Trips (VFTs) on students’ academic performance, knowledge retention, and attitudes toward Social Studies in selected secondary schools in Ilorin, Kwara State. A quasi-experimental one-group pretest–posttest research design was adopted. Thirty (30) secondary school students, comprising fifteen (15) males and fifteen (15) females, participated in the study. Data were collected using the Social Studies Knowledge Retention Test (SSKRT) and the Students’ Attitude toward Social Studies Questionnaire (SASSQ). The instruments were validated by experts in Educational Technology and Social Studies, and their reliability coefficients were established. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to answer the research questions, while paired and independent samples t-tests were employed to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that the use of Virtual Field Trips significantly improved students’ academic performance and knowledge retention in Social Studies. Students’ attitudes toward Social Studies also improved significantly after exposure to Virtual Field Trips. While no significant gender difference was found in students’ performance and knowledge retention, a significant difference existed in students’ attitudes toward Social Studies, with male students exhibiting more positive attitudes than female students. The study concludes that Virtual Field Trips are effective instructional tools for enhancing cognitive and affective learning outcomes in Social Studies and recommends their integration into secondary school teaching with gender-responsive instructional support.