Study of Students’ Responses to the Integration of Indigenous Knowledge in the Geography Curriculum in Nasarawa State

The integration of indigenous environmental and geographical knowledge into formal Geography curricula offers potential for increased curriculum relevance and student engagement, and examining student responses in Nasarawa State provides practical evidence for contextually sensitive curriculum design. This study examined student responses to the integration of indigenous geographical knowledge in Senior Secondary School Geography classes in Lafia and Keffi Local Government Areas, Nasarawa State, North Central Nigeria. A quasi-experimental design compared the responses of two groups of SS2 Geography students: one group taught with standard curriculum only and one group taught with indigenous knowledge integration supplements for eight weeks. End-of-unit achievement tests and attitude surveys were administered to both groups (n = 80 per group). Results showed that the indigenous knowledge integration group achieved a significantly higher mean test score (72.8) than the standard group (61.4, p < 0.001). Attitude survey results showed that 78.8 percent of the integration group found the lessons more personally relevant, compared to 42.5 percent of the standard group. Female students showed the highest engagement gains in the indigenous knowledge integration condition. The study concludes that indigenous knowledge integration significantly improves both Geography achievement and curriculum relevance perception among Nasarawa State students. Recommendations include a framework for contextualised Geography curriculum adaptation in North Central Nigeria and pre-service Geography teacher training in indigenous knowledge elicitation and pedagogical integration. Keywords: indigenous knowledge, Geography curriculum, secondary school, Nasarawa State, curriculum relevance