Effects of individualized learning technique on achievement of upper basic social studies students in Pankshin local government area of plateau state, Nigeria

The study investigate the Effects Of Individualized Learning Technique On Achievement Of Upper Basic Social Studies Students In Pankshin Local Government Area Of Plateau State, Nigeria. The research employed quasi-experimental, non-equivalent pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental research design. The population consisted of 1,191 students of the public secondary schools. The population is presented in Table 2. It is made up of 663 male and 528 female. The sample was 153 Social Studies students in the intact classes. The experimental groups consisted of 44 males and 41 females while the control groups was made of 38 males and 30 females. The stratified sampling technique was adopted to select the sample for the study. This technique is deemed appropriate because the researcher intended to use students in urban and rural schools for the study. Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT), as instrument for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer all the research questions while inferential statistics specifically, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The use of ANCOVA helped to control any initial differences that existed between the group in the dependent variables and other extraneous factors that could affect the results other than the treatment. The findings revealed that The experimental groups have a mean score of 34.04 with a standard deviation of 10.21 in the pre-test and a mean score of 66.96 with a standard deviation of 10.15 in the post-test, higher than the pre-test mean score with a mean gain of 32.92. This means that there was an improvement in the achievement of students after treatment. The findings reveal that students in the experimental group had a higher achievement mean score (66.96) after treatment using individualized learning technique as against those in the control group (40.54) who were not given treatment, with a mean difference of 27.2. The study recommends among others that Educational authorities in Plateau State should consider integrating individualized learning strategies into the curriculum for Social Studies and other subjects. This can be done through the development of teaching materials that cater to diverse learning styles and paces.