Re-thinking instructional strategies for enhancing gender equity in learning primary science: let’s try cooperative small group instructional mode

The study investigated the effect of cooperative small group instructional mode on the cognitive achievement of boys and girls in primary science. Eighty-two pupils (41 girls and 41 boys) were drawn from 2 randomly selected primary schools and from 2 intact primary 5 classes in Uyo Local Government Education Authority. The subjects were exposed to 5 weeks of instruction in selected science concepts from primary 5 curriculum module. Two modes of instruction used were the cooperative small group and the whole class instructional modes. Instrument for collecting the data was the Primary Science Achieve ment Test (PSAT). Data analysis involved the use of t-test statistic. Results revealed no statistically significant difference in the achievement of boys and girls in primary science. The paper claims that cooperative small group instructional mode could remove gender bias in female pupils’ achievement in science. Keywords : cooperative small group instruction, gender bias in achievement, science achievement