Effect of Constructivist Teaching Approach on Secondary School Students’ Achievement and Retention in Chemistry in Kano State

This study examines the effect of a constructivist teaching approach on secondary school students' academic achievement and knowledge retention in Chemistry in Kano State, North West Nigeria. Chemistry continues to record low achievement rates in national examinations across Nigerian states, with conventional didactic teaching identified as a contributing factor. The study employs a quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-delayed posttest control group design, selecting 280 Senior Secondary School Two Chemistry students from eight schools in Kano Municipal and Tarauni local government areas. The experimental group received constructivist instruction based on the 5E Learning Cycle over ten weeks, while the control group received conventional teaching. Achievement was measured using a Researcher-Developed Chemistry Achievement Test at pretest, immediate posttest, and six-week delayed posttest. Vygotsky's Constructivist Theory and Ausubel's Meaningful Learning Theory inform the framework. ANCOVA and repeated measures ANOVA were applied. Findings are expected to demonstrate significantly higher achievement and retention scores in the constructivist group, with gender showing no significant moderating effect. The study examines teacher readiness and training adequacy as implementation fidelity factors. Recommendations address the Kano State Ministry of Education and teacher education institutions on scaling constructivist chemistry instruction through pre-service pedagogy training and provision of laboratory consumables. Keywords: constructivist teaching, Chemistry achievement, knowledge retention, Kano State, secondary education