Instructional aids, school variables and pupils' mathematics achievement in primary schools in Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine the effects of the use of instructional aids, and school variables on pupils’ Mathematics achievement in both public and private schools in Cross River State, Nigeria. The study adopts the quasi ‐ experimental research design involving pretest ‐ posttest with the use of instructional aids as the treatment for the experimental group. School variables (school location and school type) were the main variables, while gender was the moderator variable. A random sample of 600 pupils was selected using the multi stage sampling technique for the study. The experimental group was subjected to the treatment, which was teaching with instructional aids. The administration of the treatment lasted for six weeks. A 20‐item multiple-choice Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), designed by the researchers, with a split‐half reliability index of 0.67 was the instrument used to gather data. The MAT was used as pretest and posttest for both the experimental and the control groups. Data collected from the study were subjected to the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) with the pretest scores as the covariate. The results of the analysis showed that pupils’ Mathematics achievement was significantly dependent on the treatment, school type and school location but not on their gender. Also all the interactions of the treatment, gender, school type, and school location were statistically significant in explaining pupils’ Mathematics achievement. In fact, in the urban areas, pupils in the experimental group in private schools achieved significantly higher than their counterparts in the public schools. However, in the rural areas, the difference between the mean Mathematics achievement of the pupils in private and public schools was not statistically significant.