Effects of Inquiry-Based and Team-Based Instructional Strategies on Students’ Academic Retention and Interest in Motor Vehicle Mechanics in Niger State Technical Colleges

Haruna Danladi, M. Abdulkadir

Abstract


The study determined the effects of inquiry-based and team-based instructional strategies on students’ academic retention and interest in motor vehicle mechanics in Niger State technical colleges. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. Multi-method research design involving quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design and descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The target population of the study was 255 NTC II MVMW students selected from four technical colleges actively offering MVMW in Niger State in 2025/2026 academic session. A sample of 188 MVMW students drawn from four technical colleges in Niger State using purposive sampling technique. Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work Retention Test (MVMWRT) and Motor Vehicle Mechanic Work Interest Inventory (MVMWII) were used for data collection. The instruments were subjected to face and content validation by three experts. The reliability coefficients obtained for MVMWART and MVMWII were 0.85 and 0.91 respectively. Reliability was determined using Kuder-Richardson Formula 21 (K–R21) for MVMWART, Cronbach Alpha reliability technique for MVMWII using 28 NTC II students of MVMW in Government Science and Technical College Garki FCT Abuja. The experimental exercises were carried out in five weeks covering five topics in MVMW. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings revealed among others that inquiry-based, team-based and conventional instructional strategies were effective in improving students' retention in MVMW, but the team-based instructional strategy produced the highest retention of learning, followed by the inquiry-based instructional strategy, while the conventional method produced the lowest retention. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that Government and educational stakeholders should organise training workshops and seminars for MVMW teachers to demonstrate the effective use of the inquiry-based and team-based instructional strategies in order to enhance students' retention in the trade. 


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