Flipped Learning Method: Possible Antidote for Achieving Gender Equality in Mathematics in Secondary Schools in Cameroon and Nigeria

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to compare the effectiveness of the flipped learning method in enhancing students’ achievements in mathematics, and also to determine the possibility of this method in minimizing gender inequality noticed in both Cameroonian and Nigerian secondary school mathematics classrooms. The study employed a pretest-posttest non-equivalent control group design. The population size was 5348 Form 3 students (2684 females and 2664 males) in Mezam Division – Cameroon and 5891 Junior Secondary (JS) 3 students (3236 females and 2655 males) in Awka South Local Government Area – Nigeria. A sample of 180 Form 3 and JS3 students from four schools (two from each country) were selected through a combination of simply random and purposive sampling techniques. A Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT) consisting of 20 items and validated by experts, was used in collecting data for the study. The Kudder-Richardson 20 (K-R 20) reliability of the MAT was found to be 0.79. Treatment lasted for six weeks. Mean was used to answer the research questions while the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings of this study revealed that the flipped learning method enhanced the achievement of students in mathematics no matter their gender or their country of origin. Furthermore, the flipped learning method enhanced the achievement of female students from both countries better than that of the males. It was recommended that curriculum planners and policy makers in education in Cameroon and Nigeria should consider effective alternative teaching-learning methods to be used in teaching mathematics, especially the flipped learning method considered in this study which did not only prove to be an effective enhancer of students’ achievement in mathematics but also provided activities which enabled the females to be as competent as or even more competent than the males.