Impact of Gender and Peer Group on the Academic Performance of Biology Students in Federal College of Education Zaria, Nigeria

Maikano Amos, Ezeaghasi Ngozi Eucharia, Aliyu Abdullahi

Abstract


This study set out to examine the Impact of Gender and Peer Group on the Academic Performance of Biology Students (IGPQ). The study was based on Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory, which considers learning as an interaction between environment, behaviour and one’s psychological processes. The research adopted a Correlation Research Design with Likert’s scale used in a structured questionnaire IGPQ. Open Data Kit (ODK) and Google Link Form (GLF) were used to administered questionnaires to the Respondents. Data was collected from a sample of 1,730 students comprising 603 males and 1,127 females from Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) 1, 2 and 3 Regular, Part-Time and Bachelor in Science Education (B.Sc Ed) 100, 200, 300 and 400 level students 2021/22 session using Krejcie and Morgan Table 1970. A 21 item instrument IGPQ developed by the Researchers with the reliability coefficient of 0.7 Cronbach’s alpha was used for data collection. Data collected were analysed using descriptive statistics of mean and standard deviation for answering the research questions. Independent t – test at 5% level of significance for testing hypothesis 1 while one tailed Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA) at 5% level of significance for testing hypothesis 2. The results showed that, there was no significant (P>0.05) difference of the impact of gender on the academic performance of Biology students, whereby M = 4.02, SD = 0.27 and F = 4.04, SD = 0.30. There was significant (P<0.05) difference of the impact of peer group influences on the academic performance of Biology students, whereby Fcal 82.23 is greater than Ftab 1.94. Based on these findings, it was recommended that there is need for Parents and Teachers to have greater supervisory and regulatory roles on their children and students while they are interacting at home and school because this will enhance the type of peer group they will belong to. Also trained Counsellors should play prominent and leading roles in the matter of peer group influences by organising lectures, seminars, career talk and symposia that can create positive awareness on influence of peer group on academic performance.

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