Effect of Peer Tutoring Strategy on Colleges of Education Agricultural Students’ Retention in Genetics in North Central, Nigeria

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of Peer Tutoring Strategy on retention in genetics of colleges of education agricultural education students in north central Nigeria. The study guided by two research objectives and two hypotheses were also formulated and tested. Quasi-experimental design was adopted. The population of the study are all NCE II students of agricultural education in colleges of education in north central geopolitical zone of Nigeria and a sample size of 109 Students, from two colleges (one experimental group and a control group) and a self-designed researcher’s instrument; the Genetics Achievement Test (GAT) served as the instrument for this study. It was administered to students as a pre-test and post-test and then re-administered two weeks after the post-test to assess their retention levels. The research questions were addressed using mean scores and standard deviations, while the research hypotheses were tested with t-tests and ANCOVA at a 0.05 level of significance. The findings indicated that students taught genetics through the peer tutoring strategy demonstrated better retention compared to those who received traditional instruction. Additionally, male students in both the peer tutoring and traditional instruction groups showed higher retention levels than their female counterparts. Based on these findings, the study concluded that the peer tutoring strategy is effective for teaching genetics, as it improved students’ retention. The study therefore recommended, amongst others, that peer tutoring strategy be utilised by teachers and schools should be sensitised on the use of innovative strategies in teaching, as it has proved effective in teaching difficult concepts.