EFFECT OF GENDER ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS EXPOSED TO ACTIVITY-BASED INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY IN MATHEMATICS IN NUMAN EDUCATION ZONE, ADAMAWA STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study examined the gender difference in academic performance of senior secondary school students taught Mathematic through the use of activity-based instructional strategy in Numan Education Zone, Adamawa State. The study centred on two research questions and two hypotheses that were tested at a significance level of 0.05. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted. A sample size of 169 from the population of 8734 out of 84 senior secondary school students (SS2) was used, which entailed four intact classes from four different schools. The experimental group was taught Mathematics using activity-based while the control group was taught using conventional lecture method. In order to test the null hypotheses of the study, Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) was administered at the pre and post-tests stages. The instrument was validated by three experts, pilot tested with a reliability coefficient of 0.80 obtained using Guttmann split-half statistics. The data obtained from the MAT were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics (t-test). The analysis revealed that there is no significance difference in the relative academic performance of male and female students exposed to activity-based instructional strategy. The female gained the highest mean scores (Mean = 43.45), while their male counterparts gained (Mean 41.11) and (t = 1.12, df = 84, p> 0.05 in Numan Education Zone. The study therefore concluded that gender has no effect on activity-based instructional strategy for improving students’ academic performance in Mathematics in senior secondary schools. Hence, it was recommended among others that training programmes for Mathematics teachers should emphasize the benefits of activity-based instructional strategy, ensuring that all students, regardless of gender, have equal access to engaging and effective learning experiences in Mathematics.