COGNITIVE STYLE AS A PREDICTOR OF SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN COMPUTER STUDIES IN ONITSHA EDUCATION ZONE

The study investigated cognitive style as a predictor of secondary school students’ achievement in computer studies in Onitsha Education zone. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. The design adopted for the study was Predictive correlational. The population of the study was 5, 455 senior secondary year two (SS2) students offering computer studies in the zone. A sample of 1,000 students drawn using multi-stage sampling procedure involving random and purposive sampling techniques was involved in the study. The instrument for data collection was Cognitive Style Test (CST) validated by three experts in Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. The reliability of CST established using Kuder-Richardson Formula 20 which yielded reliability coefficient value 0.93. The students’ achievement scores in Computer studies for two terms were obtained and the average scores were used as the students’ achievement in Computer studies. The data obtained were analyzed using simple and multiple linear regressions. The findings of the study revealed among others that 0.4% of the variance in achievement in Computer studies was predicted by cognitive style. Also, achievement scores in computer studies was significantly predicted by students’ cognitive style. It was recommended that instructional objectives should be drawn across activities needing teachers’ directives and guidance and those not needing the teachers’ guidance in order to afford both the field dependent and field independent learners the opportunity to properly understand what is taught.