EFFECT OF SELF-DIRECTED LEARNING BASED ON STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND INTEREST IN BASIC TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The study adopted quasi-experimental design. The study was carried out in technical colleges in Niger State. The population of the study consists of seven technical colleges in Niger State. The sample of study was two hundred and forty seven (247) NTCII, Basic Technology students in technical colleges in Niger State. Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) and Basic Technology Interest Scale (BTIS) were used as the instrument. The two instruments were validated by three experts from the Department of Industrial and Technology Education, Federal University of Technology, Minna. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to compute results of the trial testing after test re-test instrument administration and the results indicated positive correlation coefficients of 0.85 and 0.88 for BTAT and BTIS respectively. The researcher administered the instrument with the help of two research assistants. Data for the study were collected through pre-test and posttest using the Basic Technology Achievement Test (BTAT) and the Basic Technology Interest Scale (BTIS). Data collected were analyzed using Mean and Standard Deviation to answer the two research questions while Analysis of Co-variance (ANCOVA) was used to test the two null hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. From the findings, the study revealed that self-directed learning enhances students' achievement in Basic Technology in technical schools more than the lecture method. The finding also revealed that self¬ directed learning promotes students ’ interest in Basic Technology in technical schools more than the lecture method among others. The study therefore concluded that students ’ poor achievement and interest in Basic Technology informed the need for the study on the effect of self-directed learning on students ’ achievement and interest in Basic Technology in Technical Colleges in Niger state.