EFFECTS OF ACTIVITY-BASED METHOD AND CONCEPT MAPPING STRATEGIES ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS IN KADUNA STATE

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the effects of activity-based learning and concept mapping on students’ academic achievement in financial accounting in secondary schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two specific objectives are to determine the difference between the mean academic achievement scores of financial accounting students taught using the activity-based method and the lecture method in secondary schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria. Two research questions guided the study, which include: - What is the difference between the mean academic achievement scores of financial accounting students taught using the activity-based method and the lecture method in secondary schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria? Two null hypotheses were formulated, namely: there is no significant difference between the mean academic achievement scores of Students taught financial accounting using the activity-based method and those taught using the lecture method in secondary schools in Kaduna State, Nigeria. A quasi-experimental research design was adopted for this study. The study population comprised 751 SS 11 students. A total of 71 students were sampled using a purposive sampling technique. Three secondary schools were selected and randomly assigned to experimental groups and a control group. The instrument for data collection was the Financial Accounting Achievement Test (FAAT). This instrument was trial-tested and the reliability coefficient obtained was 0.72. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while the null hypotheses were tested at 0.05 level of significance using t-test and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The study found a significant difference in the mean academic achievement scores of students taught financial accounting using activity-based learning versus those taught using the lecture method. Both activity-based learning strategies had a significant effect on students’ academic achievement in financial accounting. It was recommended that school administrators encourage financial accounting teachers to use activity-based learning strategies when teaching financial accounting in secondary schools. Kaduna State