Improving Creativity through Inquiry-Based Learning: Evidence from STEM Secondary School Students in Kaduna State, Nigeria

Abstract

Creativity is a key twenty-first-century competency and a valued STEM education outcome, yet instruction in many Nigerian secondary schools remains teacher-centred, limiting students’ opportunities to develop creative thinking. This study investigated the effect of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) on the creativity of Senior Secondary II STEM students in Kaduna State, Nigeria, and examined whether the effect varied by gender. We adopted a quasi-experimental, pretest–posttest, nonequivalent experimental and control group design involving 180 students (96 males, 84 females) selected through multistage sampling from four public secondary schools. Data were collected using an adapted Scientific Creativity Test (reliability = 0.84). The experimental group received a six-week IBL intervention; the control group received conventional teacher-centred instruction. Data were analysed using descriptive statistic and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at α = .05. Students exposed to IBL achieved significantly higher creativity scores than those in the control group, F(1, 177) = 86.46, p < .001, partial η² = .328, but gender had no significant influence, F(1, 176) = 0.21, p = .648, partial η² = .001. We conclude that IBL effectively enhances creativity among secondary STEM students irrespective of gender and recommend integrating inquiry-based pedagogy into STEM classroom practice and teacher professional development