Effects of Scaffolding Instructional Strategy on Students' Performance, Gender and Location In Biology among Secondary School Students in Ekiti State, Nigeria

The study examined the effects of scaffolding instructional strategy on students’ performance, gender and location in Biology among secondary school students in Ekiti State, Nigeria. Specifically, the study ascertained the difference in the pre-test and post-test mean scores of students exposed to scaffolding instructional strategy and conventional method of teaching Biology in secondary schools. The study investigated of gender and location on students’ performance. This study adopted a two group quasi-experimental of pre-test, post-test and control group design. The population for the study comprised 12,585 SSII students in 205 public secondary schools in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The sample for the study consisted of 159 SS II students in the selected schools using multistage sampling procedure. An instrument was designed to collect data for the study, Biology Performance Test (BPT). The instrument was validated by experts. The reliability of the instrument (BPT) was established using test-retest method of testing reliability. The reliability coefficient of 0.81 was obtained A question was raised and answered while four hypotheses were generated and tested. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Research question was answered using mean and standard deviation. Hypotheses were tested using t-test. The findings of the study showed that: there was significant effect of scaffolding instructional strategy on the performance mean scores, also gender and location has no effect on students’ performance in Biology after treatment. Based on the findings it was recommended that, implementing scaffolding as instructional strategy can significantly enhance students’ academic performance in Biology, Therefore, the use of scaffolding instructional strategy should be included into Biology curriculum. Keywords: Scaffolding, Performance, Gender, Location,