Effect of a Trauma-Informed Chemistry Instructional Model on Reintegration and Academic Achievement of Displaced Senior Secondary Students in Benue State, Nigeria

Jane Ngunan Adzape & Paul Terkura Torkula

Abstract

This study examined the effect of a Trauma-Informed Chemistry Instructional Model (TIICM) on the reintegration and academic achievement of displaced senior secondary school students in Benue State, Nigeria. The persistent herdsmen-farmer conflicts and inter-communal crises in Benue State have produced a growing population of internally displaced students whose educational continuity has been severely disrupted, yet no empirical study has investigated a trauma-sensitive instructional framework specifically designed for chemistry learning among this population. A quasi-experimental pre-test post-test non-equivalent control group design was adopted. A purposive and stratified sample of 70 displaced Senior Secondary School Two (SSS II) Chemistry students drawn from two resettlement schools in Makurdi and Gboko were assigned to experimental (n = 35) and control (n = 35) groups. Two instruments were developed and validated: the Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT; KR-20 = 0.84) and the Reintegration Index Scale (RIS; Cronbach’s α = 0.81). Data were analysed using means, standard deviations, and Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. Results showed that students taught using the TIICM significantly outperformed those taught through the conventional lecture method on both academic achievement, F(1, 67) = 53.96, p < .001, η² = .44, and reintegration, F(1, 67) = 41.22, p < .001, η² = .38. Significant differences were found by gender and displacement duration within the TIICM group. The study concludes that TIICM is an effective, context-sensitive instructional approach for improving chemistry learning and school reintegration among conflict-affected students and recommends its systematic adoption in schools serving displaced populations in Benue State.

Keywords: Trauma-Informed Instruction, Chemistry Achievement, School Reintegration, Displaced Students, Benue State.