EFFECT OF HANDS-ON LEARNING ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF UNDERGRADUATE AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION STUDENTS IN FARM PRACTICE IN NORTH-EAST NIGERIA

Abstract This study determined the effect of Hands-on Learning on academic performance of undergraduate Agricultural Education students in Farm Practice in North-East Nigeria. The study was motivated by the persistent poor academic performance of students in practical agricultural courses, attributed largely to the continued use of conventional lecture-based instructional methods. A quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted. The population comprised 131 undergraduate Agricultural Education students offering Farm Practice in Federal Universities in North-East Nigeria during the 2024/2025 academic session. A purposive sample of 76 students from two universities was used. The experimental group comprised 40 students from Modibbo Adama University, Yola, while the control group comprised 36 students from the University of Maiduguri. Data were collected using an adapted Farm Practice Performance Test (FPPT), validated by experts and with a KR-20 reliability coefficient of 0.81. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, and independent samples t-test at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed no significant difference between the pre-test mean performance scores of the two groups. However, students taught using Hands-on Learning performed significantly better in the post-test (Mean = 69.48, SD = 6.73) than those taught using the Conventional Teaching Method (Mean = 49.92, SD = 6.17), t(74) = 13.74, p = .000. The study concluded that Hands-on Learning significantly improves students' academic performance in Farm Practice and recommended its adoption alongside the provision of adequate practical facilities by universities.