GENDER, BIRTH ORDER, STUDENTS’ ATTITUDE AND COGNITIVE ACHIEVEMENT IN BASIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY IN MKPAT ENIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

The study investigated gender, birth order, students’ attitude and cognitive achievement in Basic Science and Technology in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. Three research questions and three hypotheses were formulated to guide the study. This study adopted descriptive survey research design. The population of the study consisted of 2,093 Junior Secondary Two students in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. Simple random sampling technique was used to choose four (4) secondary schools out of sixteen secondary schools in Mkpat Enin Local Government Area. The sample consisted of 203 JS II Basic Science and Technology students. The instruments for the study were Students’ Attitude Questionnaire (SAQ) and 3rd terminal examination results of JS 2 students in Basic Science and Technology. The instrument SAQ was validated by two lecturers in the Department of Science Education, Faculty of Education. The reliability index obtained for SAQ was 0.87 using Cronbach Alpha. The data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation), independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results showed that there is no significant difference in cognitive achievement between male and female Basic Science and Technology students. The results also showed that there was no significant influence of birth order on students' cognitive achievement in Basic Science and Technology. The results further showed that students' attitudes significantly influence their cognitive achievement in Basic Science and Technology. It was therefore recommended among others that, parents and teachers should be giving equal care and attention to children irrespective of their birth order and by so doing motivate and encourage them to develop positive attitude towards Basic Science and Technology.