Effects of Audio-visual Aids on the Academic Performance of Nursery Schools Pupils in Alphabets Reading in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria

Abstract

The study aims to determine the effects of audio-visual aids on the performance of nursery school pupils in alphabet reading in Sokoto metropolis. The study sets out three research objectives, three questions, and two hypotheses. The study adopted a survey design method. All Nursery school pupils in Sokoto metropolis form the population of the study. A purposive sampling technique was used to select two schools (New Dawn and Nagarta College) to participate in the study. New Dawn and Nagarta College were respectively allocated to experimental and control groups through balloting. An intact class from each of the two schools was used for the study. An achievement test instrument was developed by the researchers, validated by experts. To ensure the reliability of the instrument, a pilot study was conducted and a reliability index of 0.94 was obtained using KR-21. The research questions were answered using descriptive statistics, and the two hypotheses were tested using independent sample t-test statistics. Results from the study reveal that the treatment was effective in improving pupils’ academic performance. It was also found that there was a significant difference between the academic performance of the pupils taught using audio-visual aids and those taught the same using the conventional approach in favour of those exposed to the treatment. The study concludes that pupils’ poor academic performance could be a result of poor utilization or inadequacy of instructional media. Therefore the study recommends that Schools management should make audio-visual aids available for effective delivery in the instructional processes, and schools authorities concerned should encourage teachers to make efficient use of the audio-visual teaching aids during the instructional process.