Influence of Cognitive Styles and Gender on Upper Basic III Science Students' Achievement in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of cognitive styles and gender on upper basic III Science students' achievement in Keffi, Nasarawa State, Nigeria. The study was a descriptive survey research design. The population consisted of 1,890 upper basic III Science students in 25 coeducational schools in Keffi Education zone. The sample of the study comprised 245 upper basic III Science students drawn from six intact classes of six coeducational schools in the zone. The schools were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified random sampling techniques from the schools that satisfied the condition that their students were taught by qualified teachers over the years. Two instruments were employed for data collection namely; Cognitive Style Checklist (CSC) with a reliability coefficient of 0.79 and Basic Science Achievement Test (BSAT)with a reliability coefficient of 0.83. Descriptive statistics of means and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions while Z-test was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study revealed that Basic Science students in the Field Independence (FI) group achieved significantly better than the those in the Field Dependence (FD). The findings also revealed that male students in both the Field Independence (FI) and Field Dependence (FD) groups achieved better than the female students significantly in Basic Science. Based on the findings of this study, it was recommendation that seminars and workshops should be organized to adequately equip teachers with the needed skills to create an environment where students with different cognitive styles can experience meaningful learning of Basic Science.