Investigating the Effectiveness of Web-Based Instruction on Junior Secondary School Students’ Retention in Basic Technology in Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the Effects of Web-Based Instruction on Junior Secondary School Students’ Retention in Basic Technology in Nigeria. Quasi-experimental design (pretest-posttest, non-equivalent, non-randomized control group design) was adopted in this study. 119 Junior Secondary School class two (JSS II) students were drawn from four co-educational registered private secondary schools in Minna Metropolis, Nigeria. Three research questions with corresponding hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) consists of 50 items, multiple choice objectives question was used for data collection. Web-based instruction (WBI) and BTAT were validated by education technology experts, computer experts, industrial and technology education lecturers, secondary school basic technology teachers and basic technology students. BTAT was subjected to pilot test and 0.90 reliability coefficient was obtained using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient. BTAT was administered on students in experimental and control groups and data obtained were analyzed using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) to test the hypotheses. The results of the study indicated that students exposed to Web-Based Instruction retained basic technology concepts than their counterparts exposed to Conventional Teaching Method. There was no significant difference between the mean retention scores of male and female student exposed to Web-based instructions; high, medium, and low achievers’ students exposed to WBI retained the concept of Basic Technology equally. Based on the above findings it was recommended that Web-Based Instruction should be used to improve students’ retention in Basic Technology.