EVALUATION OF POSTERS AS EFFECTIVE INSTRUCTIONAL TOOLS FOR ENHANCING HEALTH EDUCATION IN PUBLIC PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN SABON GARI, NIGERIA

Inadequate and outdated instructional materials have impeded the effective teaching of health education in many Nigerian public primary schools. This study, was conducted to assess instructional posters aimed at improving pupils’ understanding and performance in health education. The study employed a combination of survey and quasi-experimental research designs. The target population consisted of sixty-two (62) public primary schools in Sabon Gari Local Government Area, with a total of 13,367 pupils and 1,778 teachers. Using simple random sampling, six schools were selected for the quasi-experimental phase, while five schools were chosen for the survey. Data collection involved questionnaires and performance tests. A total of 125 questionnaires were administered. Findings indicated that the current instructional materials for teaching health education are largely ineffective and fail to engage learners. However, the posters developed for the study—designed based on core principles and aligned with the health education curriculum—were found to be successful. Pupils taught with these posters significantly outperformed their peers who were taught without them. The study concludes that visually designed posters are more effective instructional tools for health education than the traditional materials presently in use. It recommends that the government and relevant stakeholders invest in the renewal and development of instructional materials, involving professional graphic designers. Teachers should be encouraged to adopt such materials to foster interactive and learner-centred health education.