EFFECT OF CONCEPT MAPPING ON GENDER AND RETENTION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN BUSINESS STUDIES

This study investigated the effect of concept mapping on gender and retention of junior secondary school students in business studies in South-East, Nigeria. This study adopted a non-equivalence pre-test, post-test, post-post-test quasi-experimental design. The population for the study was 10, 882 second year junior secondary school (JSSII) students in public secondary schools in Orumba South Local Government Area, Anambra State. The sample size of the study was 115 year two junior secondary school students from two intact classes (comprising 52 in control group and 63 in experimental group; 29 female and 23 male students in the control group; and 36 female 27 male students in the experimental group). The instrument used for data collection was 50-objective item Business Studies Achievement Test (BUSAT). BUSAT was validated by experts from the Department of Technology and Vocational Education and Measurement and Evaluation, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability of the study was tested using split-half method on Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient which yielded a coefficient index of 0.96. Experimental procedures were observed in the study. The mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while the hypotheses were tested with t-test statistic using the SPSS version 23. The study found among others, that students taught business studies using concept mapping strategy had higher retention scores (8.92>-16.25) than students in the control group. The mean retention score of the male students taught business studies using concept mapping strategy was higher than the that of the female students (59.67>58.0). The study however, found non-significant differences in the mean retention scores of male and female students taught business studies using concept mapping strategy. The study recommended among others, that business studies teachers should adopt the concept mapping strategy in the teaching of business studies in junior secondary schools in order to improve students’ learning outcome. Adequate fund and opportunity also should be provided by government for the training of business studies teachers in the art and principle of concept mapping so that they can employ the strategy effectively in the schools.

Concept mapping, gender, retention, Business studies, secondary school,

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