Facebook Instructional Strategy and Knowledge Retention in Business Education: Evidence from Southwestern Nigerian Colleges of Education

ABSTRACT: This study examined whether a structured Facebook instructional strategy can improve delayed retention in Business Education Practicum among students in Nigerian colleges of education. A quasi-experimental pretest-posttest-delayed posttest design with non-randomised control groups was used. Two intact NCE II Business Education classes (N = 182) participated: an experimental group taught through a closed Facebook learning environment (n = 50) and a control group taught through the lecture method (n = 132). Data were collected with the Business Education Practicum Achievement Test (BEPAT), a 50-item multiple-choice instrument with a KR-20 reliability coefficient of .827. Retention was measured through a delayed posttest administered two weeks after the immediate posttest. The mean scores addressed the research questions, and analysis of covariance tested the hypotheses. Students exposed to Facebook-supported instruction recorded higher delayed posttest scores than those taught through lecture. Gender and the treatment-by-gender interaction were not statistically significant. The findings suggest that a low-cost, familiar social media platform can serve as a structured supplementary learning environment, extending interaction beyond class and strengthening retention in teacher education.