EFFECTIVENESS OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND CHALKBOARD INSTRUCTIONAL DELIVERY METHODS ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT OF ACCOUNTING EDUCATION STUDENTS IN IMO STATE

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of ICT instructional delivery method on the academic achievement of Accounting Education students in Imo State, Nigeria. The study was guided by 2 research questions and 2 null hypotheses tested at 0.05 level of significance. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design, specifically the pre-test, post-test, non-equivalent control group design. The population of the study comprised 120 Accounting Education students in public tertiary institutions in Imo State. All 120 students were used for the study. 60 students were assigned to the experimental group and taught using ICT instructional delivery method, while the other 60 students served as the control group and were taught using the conventional chalkboard instructional delivery method. The instrument for data collection was Accounting Achievement Test [AAT] consisting of 30 multiple choice items developed by the researcher. The instrument was validated by three experts and had a reliability coefficient of 0.84 using KR-20. The experimental group was taught for six weeks using ICT tools such as laptop, projector and accounting software, while the control group was taught the same content using chalkboard. Data collected were analyzed using mean, standard deviation and t-test statistic. The findings of the study revealed that: Students taught with ICT instructional delivery method had a higher mean achievement than those taught with conventional chalkboard method. There was a significant difference in the mean achievement scores of students taught with ICT and those taught with conventional method. There was no significant difference in the mean achievement scores of male and female students in both ICT and conventional instructional methods. Based on the findings, it was concluded that ICT instructional delivery method is more effective in improving the academic achievement of Accounting Education students than conventional chalkboard method. The results have implication for innovative use of ICTs and creating sound strategies for disseminating accounting education in the classrooms and recommendations were proffered It was therefore recommended that Business Education lecturers in Imo State should integrate ICT tools into teaching, government and school management should provide ICT facilities, and training should be organized for lecturers on the use of ICT for instructional delivery