Variations in Thinking Levels Among Senior High School Students Across Different Study Programmes

The study investigated whether senior high school students’ thinking levels in permutation and combination differ by the programme of study. Therefore, the Structure of the Observed Learning Outcome (SOLO) taxonomy was used as a theoretical framework to assess their thinking levels in permutation and combination. Quantitative research method that employed descriptive research design was used as a strategy of enquiry in this present study. Three senior high schools were purposively selected and a sample of 360 students which comprised 256 males and 104 females were randomly selected for the study. The data were collected using tests. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics (percentages, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Kruskal-Wallis tests). The results indicated that, the majority (73.9%) of the students reached the lower levels of the SOLO taxonomy (pre-structural, uni- structural and multi- structural) while a few (26.1%) reached the higher levels (relational and extended abstract). Furtherance to this, the Kruskal-Wallis H test indicated that there was a statistically significant difference in the thinking levels of the SOLO taxonomy across the various programme of study where General Science students differed significantly from General Agriculture and Business students. Therefore, it is recommended that educators should use differentiated instructional methodologies, including active learning techniques adapted to each subject of study. Again, to overcome the identified disparities, curriculum developers may incorporate discipline-specific cognitive skill-building activities.