Effect of Gender and Location on Students’ Achievement in Chemistry in Secondary Schools in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of gender and location on students’ achievement in chemistry in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. It was guided by three research questions and three hypotheses. The sample of the study was made up of 827 students comprising 473 males and 354 females. Eight secondary schools were sampled using simple random sampling techniques. A proforma was the instrument which enable the researchers to copy results from the school past records in the respective schools through the help of the school principals was used to collect data for the study. Means and standard deviations were used to answer the research questions and t-test statistics were used to analyze the hypotheses. The findings showed that male students achieved significantly better than the female students in both urban and rural schools. Also there was no significant difference in the academic achievement of student in urban and rural schools. It was recommended among others that adequate incentives from federal Government, parents and stake holders of education should be provided to female students to encourage them to achieve better.

Keywords: Gender, Location, Achievement, Chemistry, Science and technology, Sex, West African Senior Secondary School Certification Examination.