Exploring the Effect of Intrinsic Motivation on Chemistry Students' Achievement and Retention in Ogidi Education Zone, Anambra State: A Gender-Based Analysis

Abstract

The study examined the effectiveness of intrinsic motivation on Chemistry students' academic achievement and retention in the Ogidi education zone of Anambra state. Employing a quasi-experimental, non-randomized control group design, the research was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses. The study population encompassed 2,154 Senior Secondary (SS) 1 Chemistry students (1,141 females and 1,013 males) from 26 state-owned co-educational secondary schools in the Ogidi Education Zone. Using simple random sampling, two out of three local government areas were selected, and 158 Chemistry students (76 males and 82 females) were included in the sample. Schools were randomly assigned to either the intrinsic or extrinsic group. Data collection utilized the Chemistry Achievement Test (CAT), which was validated and demonstrated a reliability index of 0.81. Data analysis employed mean, standard deviation, and ANCOVA, with null hypotheses tested at a 0.05 significance level. The results indicated that female students taught Chemistry using an intrinsic motivational strategy significantly outperformed their male counterparts in achievement scores. Moreover, females taught using the intrinsic approach showed marginally better retention scores compared to males. However, no significant differences were observed in the mean achievement and retention scores between male and female students when both were taught Chemistry using the intrinsic motivational strategy. The study concluded with recommendations based on these findings.