This study investigated the effects of field trip instructional strategy on students’ achievement, and retention in secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study employed a quasi-experimental study of non- equivalent control group design. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. A sample size of 207 (male = 93; Female = 114) senior secondary school II (SSSII) students from two purposively selected co-educational secondary schools in Enugu State, Nigeria was used for the study. Economics Achievement Test (EAT) was developed, validated and used for data collection. Mean and Standard Deviation were used in answering the research questions while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used for testing the null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that students taught Economics in secondary schools using field trip instructional strategy performed better than those taught with lecture method. It was also observed that students taught Economics in secondary schools with field trip instructional strategy have higher retention scores than those taught with the lecture method among others. It was found that gender does not affect students’ achievement, and retention when field trip instructional strategy is used in teaching Economics in secondary schools. The study recommended among others that curriculum planners should emphasize the use of field trip instructional strategy in teaching and learning Economics in secondary schools in Nigeria.

Keywords: Field trip, instructional strategy, achievement, retention, economics, economics achievement.