Abstract
Teachers, parents, and stakeholders in the Nigerian education sector are becoming increasingly concerned about low achievement levels in basic science, but little is known about how teaching approaches play crucial roles in pupils' achievement in the subject. The objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of the Reggio Emilia instructional approach among pupils in Basic science. In an explanatory sequential mixed-methods study, 50 pupils and four teachers were purposefully drawn from intact classes in two schools in Nsukka, a city in eastern Nigeria, and divided into a control and an experimental group. We conducted a six-week teaching intervention programme using the Reggio Emilia instructional approach with the teachers from the experimental group. We collected qualitative data from teachers in both groups via structured individual interviews with open-ended questions. Responses to the open-ended questions were transcribed and analyzed thematically. We collected quantitative data using an achievement test in three stages: pretest, posttest, and follow up. For quantitative analysis we used repeated measures analysis of variance-ANOVA. Findings from the experiments showed that the Reggio Emilia approach improved the achievement of the pupils at posttest. After the intervention, the teacher-participants also reported that the pupils' achievement in basic science had improved significantly. We concluded that Reggio Emilia is effective for teaching of basic science teaching.