Utilization of Ict Tools and Accounting Software on Accounting Student’s Academic Performance in Lagos State Public Senior Secondary School
CHAPTER ONE
Objectives of the Study
The primary objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ICT tools and accounting software on the senior secondary school students‘ accounting performance and in more specific terms the study equally has the following objectives to;
- determine the effect of ICT tools and accounting software on students‘ academic performance in accounting particularly in solid shapes
- investigate the effect of ICT tools and accounting software on retention ability of senior secondary schools‘ students in accounting
- determine the differential effect of gender on students‘ accounting performance when taught using ICT tools and accounting software(PowerPoint animated presentation) teaching strategy
- determine the differential effect of gender on students‘ retention ability in accounting
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
This chapter presents an overview of the research and literature pertaining to this study. The theoretical framework, the synergism between Information Communication Technology (ICT), academic performance and retention in accounting, gender inclination and performance.
Theoretical Framework
This study adopted the constructivist theory of learning. The constructivist theory was chosen because it builds on prior knowledge: students use what they already know to make connections to new material. When students make these connections, they are learning new material and relating it to what they already know (Dewey, 1916). McClintock, Jiang, and July (2002) discussed how ICT is based on the constructivist theory of learning, because knowledge is actively constructed by the students while they are making constructions and analyzing figures instead of knowledge being passively received and accepted. Many educators today believe that the constructivist theory is a relatively new theory in education although the tenets of constructivism can be traced
back to Socrates. Socrates was well known for asking his students questions that would stretch their minds and force them to think on a higher level (Tredennick and Tarrant, 1993).
John Dewey was the creator of the project method, a method that encourages students to work together in groups and to figure out the solutions to different problems that may arise as they continue to complete the assigned project (Dewey, 1916). John Dewey and Jean Piaget were the leading Progressive Education theorists of the last century. Dewey (1916) stated that the project method is a method of discovery and proof in so much as ―all thinking results in knowledge, ultimately the value of knowledge is subordinate to its use in thinking‖ (p. 151). The way that we interpret things is the eye that we see them through. Dewey thought that the student is dynamically involved in the learning that is going on around him/her, and the instructor should only be considered a director of the learning and not an actor (Joyce, Weil and Calhoun, 2002).
Piaget (1971) stated that the mind‘s primary function is to create and to see things in a way that can be organized into a schema that helps the mind to see them as being real. Piaget was a strong proponent of cognitive development. He believed that as children grow older, they look at the world through different experiences, and that children have completely different perspectives than adults (Robinson, 2004). Piaget (1980) stated that, when knowledge is constructed within oneself, it is examined against what is happening in the real world in much the same way that a scientific idea is tested. Some modern day constructivist theorists are Vygotsky, Brunner, and Von Glasersfeld (Von Glasersfeld (1987). Von Glasersfeld (1987) has stated that the constructivist view involves two principles:
- Knowledge isalways being created, built up by It is not inertly established;
- Coming to know is a course of action based on the learner‘s constant adaptations tothe experiences of the world. Examples presented in the power point animated package being used in this study caused students constructive and creative thinking.
Von Glasersfeld (1996) is a major proponent of abstract ideas that reflect one‘s situations to build conceptual structures through self-regulation. He has stated that real learning happens when one takes ownership of the problem. Huitt (2003) stated that, while Vygotsky was a social constructivist theorist, activity theory and situated learning, however, were the main tenets of his research. Vygotsky developed a ―zone of proximal development,‖ which is basically the difference between what a child knows and what that child is taught by others (Vygotsky, 1978). He believed that children learn through social interaction and by learning to solve problems with others. He called this process ―scaffolding.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
The study aimed at investigating the effects of the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the students‘ academic performance and retention in accounting at senior secondary school level.
Research Design
This study was quasi-experimental in nature. It was non- equivalent pretest, posttest, post-posttest control group in design. This design was adopted because it is not possible to undertake true experiment in social sciences. There was no randomization of subject since this might disrupts school organization, hence, intact classes of SS II students were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups respectively.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSIONS
Introduction
In this chapter, the results obtained from the analysis of the data collected and the discussions of the results are presented. The data collected was analyzed using standard statistical package.
Presentation and Analysis of Data
The major objective of the study was to test the effectiveness of the ICT-used teaching method on the academic performance in accounting of secondary school students. The presentation of data, analysis and interpretations are organized around the research questions and hypotheses of the study. The treatment of the Accounting Performance Test (GPT) for the 128 sampled students was administered to both experimental and control groups within the period of eight (8) weeks. The test scores collected from pretest, post-test and post-post-test were recorded accordingly and formed the data tabulated for the following analysis using relevant statistical techniques. The raw data for the study is presented as APPENDIXD. The variables studied in this research are; students‘ performance, student‘s retention ability and the gender differential effect of the ICT teaching method. There are two independent variables involved which are called factors in a two-way ANOVA. The idea is that these two variables, factors, satisfying the necessary assumptions, affect the dependent variable. The descriptive statistics on each of the research questions are as follow:
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
The study dealt with the Utilization of ICT tools and accounting software on Senior Secondary School Students‘ Accounting Performance and Retention in Lagos State, Nigeria.
Summary
The research work explored to find the effects that ICT method of teaching has over the lecture method. Several literatures were reviewed in the course of this study ranging from the theoretical framework, teaching of accounting at senior secondary schools, ICT and accounting teaching, retention and performance in accounting, gender and performance in accounting, gender and ICT, overview of similar studies to the implications of all these literatures on the present study. Two senior secondary schools were randomly selected out of twenty-four state owned senior secondary schools making a total of eight thousand four hundreds and forty-two (8200) students in the Lagos metropolis. One hundred and twenty-eight students were sampled although the initial
numbers were more, those who scale through the three tests, their scores formed the data of this study. The instrument used, Accounting Performance Test, validated by three experts (Professors in the faculty of education) was pilot tested with the reliability coefficient as 0.86 using the spit-half (odd-even) ranking method. The researcher taught both the control and the experimental groups on curved and lateral surface areas, volumes and other parameters of the solid shapes popularly known as mensuration. Four research questions were formulated and their corresponding hypotheses were tested at
0.05 level of significance. Independent t-test and two-way ANOVA were the statistics employed for the work. The findings of the research revealed that the student who weretaughtusingICTmethodofteachingshowedsignificantimprovementintheir
performance in accounting than the students who received instruction through the traditional method. Reason being that the calculated p value of 0.001 is lower than the
0.05 alpha level of significance while the t-calculated value of 9.62 is higher than the t- critical value of 1.96, at df 126. The calculated mean performance of students taught accounting using lecture method and those taught accounting using the ICT method were 36.85 and 46.20 respectively, indicating a mean difference of 9.35which suggested that ICT used i n t h e teaching contributed towards raising the performance of the students in accounting and their retention ability since the calculated mean retention ability of students taught using the lecture method and those taught using the ICT method were also 36.00 and 40.89 respectively particularly when their respective p-values were less than equal to 0.05. The research also revealed that male and female taught using ICT tools and accounting software method did not differ significantly both in performance and retention in accounting.
Conclusions
It may be concluded from the findings of this study that
- ICT used teaching strategy significantly improved students‘ performance on theperformance test and their retention level also proved that learning through ICT proves more meaningful and effective than the traditional classrooms
- Using ICT tools and accounting software was gender friendly in that male and female taught using ICT tools and accounting software did notdiffer significantly both in performance and retention in
- Although significant differences have been found within the two groups, it isnoteworthy to point out that the retention and performance of the students taught using ICT tools and accounting software outweighed those taught using conventional method, hence ICT be used to teach accounting particularly
The fundamental variables of the study included: (1) The learning strategy, especially ICT used strategy; (2) the learning outcomes in terms of performance; (3) the retention level measured by the post post-test questions were all significantly in favour of ICT use.
Contributions of Study to Knowledge
The study showed that ICT has portrayed an alternative and more effective teaching and learning tool in accounting education. The study showed that students can indeed develop deep understanding that does not fade overtime. Computerand related tools actively engage students in the learning process. Other researchers can adapt or adopt as the case may be the PowerPoint animation package developed with many adapted images to teach accounting.
The findings of the study have added frontier knowledge to the existing literature. The ICT method provides the three-dimensional pictures of the content to motivate the students and to satisfy the queries and curiosity about various scientific concepts, which a teacher may generally fail to do in the classroom teaching. While accounting is strongly related to abstractions that require particular representations or forms that allow students to relate concepts to what they already know, teachers need to know how to translate these abstractions into understanding representation as established by this study.
The findings were to establish that the use of ICT particularly in teaching accounting has enhanced students‘ academic performance and retention ability of many senior secondary school students in Lagos state. ICT can have appositive effecton students‘ motivation on their attitude toward technology, instruction and the subject matter they are expected to learn and absorb. The study revealed that changing from a traditional lecture method to an ICT used teaching method did not simply enrich class room teaching, it also significantly improved their performance.
These all imply that ICT used teaching strategy proves to be more tangible in its effectiveness on performance than the traditional classroom approach. It seems more practical and is widely acceptable to students and has no repute for individual differences and enables all types of students to perform better. In a nutshell, ICT is gradually growing aloft to provide an chorage to prop up the process of schooling in quite a big way. It is high time for the teachers, teacher educators and the teaching– learning community to make the best use of technological inputs, as available, to improve the quality of schooling at all levels and in turn raise the quality of life of the people in knowledge society. When t hese are expressed in terms of their global importance for educational purposes vis-à-vis the tested hypotheses of the study, prima- facie, the main focus of the study address esthemulti-sensorial approach of the innovative learning process and its impact on education for sustainable development of each and every individual learner in a school situation which is deemed to be a miniature technology-based society in itself.
Recommendations
Based on the findings of the study, the following recommendations are therefore made:
- Relevant curriculum should be developed or upgraded periodically where inexistence by the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to accommodate dynamism of ICT applications in all levels of accounting teaching in secondary schools
- The government of Lagos state should seek partnership with private and non-governmental organizations to provide the ICT facilities like LCD projectors, slide screens, laptops and improvise for alternative source of power supply like solar panels for consistent power supply in schools since the use of ICT depends largely on The government should fast-track efforts to procure and provide necessary ICT materials.
- Lagos state ministry of education should organize accounting teachers‘ forum and workshop periodically (during long vacation or at the end of each term) to share updates and development on this strategy to enhance teaching capability.
- The ministry of education, in Lagos state should train teachers on the use ofICT to teach other science based subjects such as Biology, Chemistry and Physics among others in secondary
- Textbook writers should include ICT as formal, convenient and not a supplement approach for teaching accounting (mensuration) in their
- Challenge Your Disabilities Programme (CYDP) unit established in Lagos, might find the method more interactive for better performance in accounting to the hearing-impaired students such as dump and deaf but with
Limitations of the Study
The following are the limitations of the studies;
- This study was carried out in Lagos State metropolis only and consequentlydoes not permit generalization for the population of class students in
- Insufficient time allocation by the Ministry of Education (four weeks)and theschool time table(four periods of 35 minutes per week as against five period of 40 minutes) as a result of other newly introduced core subjects, although the school principals permitted extra afternoon and Saturday classes when they discovered the students‘ willingness in the programme. All of these limited the time spent for the research.
- The research was conducted in schools where inadequate power supply and equipment hindered full maximization of the strategy, although power generator and other equipment were made available by the researcher, the situation could have been made
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