EFFECT OF KELLER SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION ON FEMALE AND MALE STUDENTS' ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN BIOLOGY IN ABAKALIKI EDUCATION ZONE, EBONYI STATE

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of the Keller system of Instruction (KSI) on secondary
school female and male students' academic achievement in biology. One research
question guided the study and one null hypothesis was tested. A quasi-experimental
research design was adopted. The study sample comprised three hundred and thirty-two
(332) students drawn from the population of 7612 students in four schools in Abakaliki
Education Zone using a multistage sampling technique. The instrument for data collection
was the Biology Achievement Test (BAT). Data collected from the research questions
were analyzed using mean and standard deviation, and Analysis of Covariance
(ANCOVA) was used to test the formulated hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance.
Though the female students had higher achievement mean scores than the male students
in biology when KSI was used, the difference in their biology achievement mean scores
was not statistically significant. In line with the study's findings, recommendations were
proffered among others that science teachers should adopt the Keller system of
Instruction in teaching.

Keywords: Biology; Keller System of Instruction; lecture method; male and female;
students’ academic achievement.