GENDER AND ACQUISION OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE SKILLS IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS: VIDEO TAPED INSTRUCTIONAL APPROACH

The study investigated the effect of video-taped instruction on the acquisition of slashing and raking skills in practical agricultural science among male and female secondary school students. Quasi experimental research design was adopted for the study because there was no randomization. The sample consisted of 80 students from two co-educational public secondary schools in Fika Local Government Area of Yobe State, Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance guided the study. Two instruments were used namely: Practical Agricultural Achievement Test (PAAT) with reliability coefficient of 0.72 and a Rating Scale Form (RSF). Data Analysis was done using mean and Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). The results indicated that male students taught slashing skills with videotaped instructional package performed better than females while the reverse is the case with the acquisition of raking skills. However this gender difference is not significant. Based on the findings of the study, recommendations were made that conducive environment should be provided for male and female students for the effective utilization of video-tape as instructional procedure when teaching practical agriculture in secondary schools