EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED LEARNING ON SENIOR SECONDARY STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT IN PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE IN ENUGU EDUCATION ZONE

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of project-based learning on senior secondary students’ academic achievement in programming in Enugu Education zone of Enugu State. Two research questions guided the study while three hypotheses were tested at .05 alpha level. The study adopted quasi-experimental research design of pre-test post-test non-equivalent. The target population consisted of 2411 SS II students. The sample size was 286 SS 2 students and it was drawn using purposive random sampling technique. It comprised 155 SS 2 students in experimental group (64 male and 91 female SS II students) and 131 SS II students in control group in the 2023/2024 session. A teacher-made test called "Programming Language Achievement Test (PLAT)" was used as the data collection instrument. The validity of the PLAT was established through face and content validation, while its reliability was tested on a group of 20 students in public senior secondary schools in Nsukka Education zone. Kuder-Richardson 20 (K-20) formula was used to estimate the reliability of the instrument and a reliability index of .81 was obtained. The research process involved administering the PLAT as a pre-test to both the experimental and control groups before implementing the project-based learning treatment. The research questions were answered using mean and standard deviation, while analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the hypotheses. The findings of the study showed that students taught programming language using project-based learning in the experimental group outperformed those used lecture method in the control group, as evidenced by their higher mean achievement scores in the post-test. Furthermore, male students in the experimental group achieved higher scores than their female counterparts in the post-test. Based on these findings, the study recommended that Enugu State government should adequately train and support teachers in using project-based learning approach effectively for teaching programming language.