EFFECTS OF INTEGRATED GROUP-BASED MASTERY LEARNING MODEL ON JUNIOR SECONDARY II SOCIAL STUDIES STUDENTS' ACHIEVEMENT IN JOS SOUTH, PLATEAU STATE

Abstract

The quest for the effective methods of teaching Social Studies in Nigerian schools is a continuous one. This research was designed to investigate the effects of Integrated Group-Based Mastery Learning Model on Social Studies Students'Achievement in Junior Secondary Schoolsin Jos South, Plateau State. Three research questions and three corresponding hypotheses were raised to guide the study. A quasi-experimental design of non-equivalent control group was adopted. Two mixed secondary schools were purposively selected from Jos South out of which, two in-tact classes were selected. One of the two classes was used as the experimental group, taught with integrated Group Based mastery learning model and the other as control group, taught with the traditional/expository instructional model. There were 50 students in the two groups combined. The instrument used for the data collection was the Social Studies Achievement Test (SSAT). The data collected were analyzed using t-test of independent sample for hypotheses one, two, three while hypotheses were tested using one-wayANOVA, at 0.05 level ofsignificance.The result of the study showed that there was a significant effect of treatment on Social Studies students' achievement. This means that the integrated Group-Based mastery learning model was more effective than the traditional expository method. The result of the study also showed that initial ability level did not have any significant influence on the effect of ML on students' achievement in Social Studies. It was concluded that students' achievement in Social Studies is more likely to improve if more teachers employ the mastery learning. It is recommended that Social Studies teachers should be encouraged through in service training, seminars or other forms of on-the-job training to employ mastery learning models. Also, teacher-education in the universities and colleges of education should intensify the teaching of skillsrelated to the application ofmastery learningmodel.