Predictive Validity of Students’ Achievement Scores in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) on Achievement in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) Conducted by NECO in Mathematics

This study, investigated Predictive Validity of Students’ Achievement Scores in Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) on Achievement in Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE) conducted by NECO in Mathematics. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The sample of the study comprised 3910 candidates sampled from 7 randomly drawn unity schools within Ebonyi and Abia states of Nigeria for the period under study (2014 – 2019). The official BECE scores and SSCE scores in mathematics of the students domiciled in NECO headquarters Minna, Niger state, Nigeria served as data for the study. Data collected were analyzed using Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation to answer the research questions and Multiple Regression statistics to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The analysis of the data revealed that BECE scores have a strong validity with the students’ achievement in SSCE mathematics examination. Furthermore, there was a statistically significant relationship between the students BECE scores and their achievement in SSCE mathematics examination. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended among others that the BECE preparation of the students should be given serious attention because of its proven predictive value on achievement at the SSCE level. Keywords: Mathematics, Predictive Validity, and Academic Achievement DOI: 10.7176/JEP/12-21-03 Publication date:July 31st 202

Computer-Based Programmed Instructional Strategy and Tertiary Institution Students’ Achievements in Nigeria

This study was conducted to determine the effect of computer-based programmed instructional strategy (CBPIS) on tertiary institutions students’ achievement in Nigeria with the intention of proffering solution to the evident need to improve tertiary students’ low achievements. Poor achievement is one of the problems facing educationists which hindered them in the appropriate implementation of their educational missions. It has been seen in various researches that poor academic achievement presents problems which may lead to the presence of a group of students not being able to pursue their courses with others because of their weak potentials. Therefore, the need to carry out this research to proffer solution to the issue of poor achievement of students in tertiary institutions became necessary in this period of time.  Three research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study was delimited to Year two cost accounting students in the tertiary institutions in the South East zone of Nigeria. It adopted the Quasi-experimental design of pre-test, post-test non-randomized control group. Two (2) universities were simple randomly sampled for the experiment. The sampled universities were divided into two groups again by simple random sampling, one university in each group. One of the groups comprised 45 students of both gender and was used as the treatment group. The other group made up of 31 students of both gender used as the control group. All the classes used in the experiment were intact classes. The instructional package developed for the treatment group was a computer-based programmed instructional strategy conventional teaching strategy was the package for the control group. The instrument for data collection was a 50-item multiple choice Cost Accounting Achievement Test (CAAT), which was validated by three experts in measurement and evaluation and cost accounting experts. The reliability was tested using (K-R20) approach and obtained a reliability coefficient of 0.89 and test re-test estimate of reliability with the coefficient of stability of 0.84. Data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions while the null hypotheses were tested using (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data analysis, the result revealed that: students taught Cost Accounting using computer-based programmed instructional strategy had significantly higher achievement scores than the control group taught with conventional lecture method, there were no gender differences on students’ achievement in Cost Accounting and there was no interaction effect of treatments and gender on students’ academic achievement in Cost Accounting. The implication of the study is that Computer-based Programmed Instructional Strategy enhances students’ interaction with the learning environment which in turn helps to sustain students’ interest in learning and consequently improve students’ achievements generally. It was recommended based on the findings that (i) Every Department in the tertiary institutions should be firm in ensuring that newly admitted students come along with their computer systems for effective implementation of this strategy. (ii)Lecturers and students were advised to adopt computer-base programmed instructional strategy in the teaching/learning of cost accounting and all other courses studied in the tertiary institutions. (iii) A software that can centrally monitor its usage should also be developed by software designers to guard against inappropriate application of this strategy by the students. Keywords: Computer-based Instructional Strategy, Cost Accounting, Achievement, gender and Tertiary Institutions DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-16-18 Publication date:June 30th 202

Effect of Computer-Based Programmed Instructional Strategy on Tertiary Institution Students’ Retention in Nigeria

This study was conducted to determine the effect of computer-based programmed instructional strategy (CBPIS) on tertiary institutions students’ retention in Nigeria with the intention of proffering solution to the evident need to improve tertiary students’ low retention of knowledge. Three research questions and hypotheses guided the study. The study was delimited to Year two cost accounting students in the tertiary institutions in the South East zone of Nigeria. It adopted the Quasi-experimental design of pre-test, post-test non-randomized control group. Two (2) universities were simple randomly sampled for the experiment. The sampled universities were divided into two groups again by simple random sampling, one university in each group. One of the groups comprised 45 students of both gender and was used as the treatment group. The other group made up of 31 students of both gender used as the control group. All the classes used in the experiment were intact classes. The instructional package developed for the treatment group was a teaching procedure that made use of the computer-based instructional strategy while another teaching procedure that used the conventional teaching strategy was the package for the control group. The instrument for data collection was a 50-item multiple choice Cost Accounting Achievement Test (CAAT), which was face and content validated by three experts in measurement and evaluation and cost accounting experts. The reliability was tested using Kuder Richardson 20 (K-R20) estimate of reliability with a coefficient of internal consistency of 0.89 and test re test estimate of reliability with the coefficient of stability of 0.84. Data collected were analysed using mean and standard deviation for the research questions while the three null hypotheses were tested using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) at 0.05 level of significance. Based on the data analysis, the result revealed that students taught Cost Accounting using computer-based programmed instructional strategy had significantly higher retention scores than the control group taught with conventional lecture method. The study revealed that there were no gender differences on students’ retention in Cost Accounting. Also there was no interaction effect of treatments and gender on students’ knowledge retention in Cost Accounting. The implication of the study is that Computer-based Programmed Instructional Strategy enhances students’ interaction with the learning environment which in turn helps to sustain students’ interest in learning and consequently improve students’ retention generally. It was recommended based on the findings that (i) Every Department in the tertiary institutions should be firm in ensuring that newly admitted students come along with their computer systems for effective implementation of this strategy. (ii)Lecturers and students were advised to adopt computer-base programmed instructional strategy in the teaching/learning of cost accounting and all other courses studied in the tertiary institutions. (iii) A software that can centrally monitor its usage should also be developed by software designers to guard against inappropriate application of this strategy by the students. Keywords: Computer-based Instructional Strategy, Cost Accounting, Achievement, gender and Tertiary Institutions DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-18-09 Publication date:June 30th 202