Utilisation of Science Textbooks and Its Effect on Biology Achievement in Public Secondary Schools in Ebonyi State

This study investigated the pattern of science textbook utilisation and its effect on Biology achievement in public secondary schools in Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Textbooks remain the most widely available instructional resource in Nigerian secondary schools, and understanding how their use relates to student learning outcomes is important for both policy and pedagogy. A descriptive correlational design was used. The sample comprised 280 SS2 Biology students and 40 Biology teachers from public schools in Abakaliki, Izzi, and Ivo Local Government Areas. A Textbook Utilisation Inventory for teachers and a Biology Achievement Test for students were employed as instruments, both validated with reliability indices of 0.76 and 0.80 respectively. Descriptive statistics and Pearson's correlation were used for data analysis. Findings showed that majority of Biology teachers used the recommended textbook as the primary instructional resource and rarely supplemented it with other materials. Students from classes where teachers used multiple textbooks and supplementary reference materials achieved higher scores. Dependence on a single prescribed textbook was associated with narrow topic coverage and underperformance in extended biology topics. Recommendations included provision of multiple recommended Biology textbooks per school, teacher orientation on diversified reading resources, and review of the textbook approval policy to permit supplementary usage. Keywords: textbook utilisation, Biology achievement, secondary education, Ebonyi State, instructional resources.