EFFECT OF THINK PAIR SHARE INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGY ON SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENT ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT RETENTION AND SELF EFFICIACY IN FINANCIAL ACCOUNTION IN ABIA STATE

Background to the Study

Business organizations are set up with the principal objectives of creating wealth for the owners and ensure the continuous growth of the entity. Business organizations are increasingly becoming more complex in their operations, thereby requiring accounting knowledge so as to communicate complete, reliable and accurate financial information to interested groups (creditors, directors, employees, government and its agencies, and shareholders). Furthermore, for a business owner to effectively control, monitor, interpret financial transactions, manage finances and grow business entities, the business owner needs to understand the basics of accounting, because poor knowledge of accounting principles and processes may lead to wrong decision and invariably business failure.

Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and summarizing in terms of money, transactions and events which are in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the result thereof (The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Baru & Osahon, 2012). According to Okoli (2013), accounting is the process of recording, classifying, measuring, interpreting, summarizing and reporting financial data of an organization to the users for objective assessment and decision making. Accounting is important to the development of Nigerian economy because it prepares future managers, accountants, entrepreneurs, and other financial controllers who evaluate the performance and profitability of business organizations, prevent financial fraud, monitor enterprise‟s progress and make economic comparisons.

In view of the importance of accounting to the development of Nigerian economy, Francis (2014) proposed that students should be taught accounting at the secondary and tertiary

institution levels to enable them acquire financial knowledge and skills with which to take important economic decisions as future leaders. In senior secondary schools, financial accounting is taught as part of the business subjects designed to equip secondary school students with relevant knowledge, skills and work habits for gainful employment or self-employment. The accounting curriculum is designed to give students a broad knowledge of business with adequate focus on financial accounting practices as applied in business

Financial accounting is the art of preparing financial statements that companies use to show their financial performance and position to investors, creditors, suppliers, and customers. Eze, Ezenwafor and Obidile (2016) defined financial accounting as the classification and recording of monetary transactions and presentation of the financial results of the activities of an entity for decision making. To Abbey and Okorogba (2017), financial accounting entails recording, classifying, selecting, measuring, interpreting, summarizing and reporting financial data to external users. It is an occupationally-oriented subject which provides trained manpower for the development of the nation. It differs from managerial accounting in that managerial accounting prepares detailed reports and forecasts for managers inside the company. The above definitions mean that the understanding of financial accounting can expose the students to a plethora of skills and competences required in the world of work. Bell (2014) stated that students‟ financial accounting skills have a significant positive effect on their employability, entrepreneurial career, wealth generation and poverty eradication prospects.

In recognition of this, the Federal Republic of Nigeria in her National Policy on Education (FRN) (2013) mandated that financial accounting should be one of the elective subjects in the senior secondary school geared towards preparing students for employment in a wide range of business careers such as payroll clerk, bookkeeper, storekeeper and cashier among

others. In the same vein, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) (2007) highlighted the goals of studying the subject as follows: equipping students with the necessary knowledge about the various reforms, changes and adjustments in the country‟s economic and financial system, enabling students to understand the rudiments and fundamentals of the Nigerian financial system and the public sector accounting, which will inculcate in them the spirit of transparency and accountability in public financial management, and inculcating the interest and the needed foundation in the students to encourage them to become professionally qualified accountants.

To meet these stated goals requires accounting students to understand the subject matter and achieve high grade in both internal and external examinations. Unfortunately, this is not the case as information from West African Examination Council Chief Examiner‟s Report (2016) and Ubulom and Ogwunte (2017) showed that the achievement of students in financial accounting in Nigeria has not been encouraging.

The situation is not different in Abia State as the WAEC analysis of results of students in financial accounting for 2015, 2016 and 2017 academic years showed a percentage failure rate of students in the subject to be 62.69%, 58.87% and 57.15% respectively (WAEC Chief Examiner‟s Report, 2015, 2016 & 2017). Similarly, the researcher‟s personal discussion with some financial accounting teachers and students in secondary schools in the area of the study revealed that financial accounting has not recorded the needed success. About 60 percent of the students who offered the subject in Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) in 2015 and 2016 scored below 48 percent. This ugly situation could make it difficult to produce future competent accountants who are highly needed in business organizations. This suggests that students with poor academic achievement in financial accounting are less likely to be employed in business

organizations. As a result, academic achievement of students should not be taken for granted as it is one of the most important scholastic indicators of ability of students to gain employment in business organizations upon graduation.

Academic achievement is defined as knowledge attaining ability or degree of competence in school tasks usually measured by standardized tests and expressed in a grade or units based on pupils‟ performance (Ganail & Ashral, 2013). Awan and Noureen (2011) stated that academic achievement is examination marks, teachers‟ given grades and percentiles in academic subjects. Achievement is both indicative and predictive. It is indicative when it pin-points a students‟ level of success, thus a student who made A grade in a financial accounting examination is adjudged to have had a higher achievement than one who made B grade in the same subject. It is predictive when it is a criterion for determining the ability of a student to undertake another task such as the case of a student who is adjudged able to offer accountancy in tertiary institutions because of a high score in SSCE in financial accounting (Ekhasemomhe, 2010). Therefore, academic achievement in the context of this study is the test scores of students in financial accounting examinations after being taught the subject using different instructional strategy.

Poor academic achievement of students in financial accounting has been attributed to various factors such as lack of qualified teachers, lack of motivation of teachers, lack of teaching aids, poor remuneration of teachers and inadequate teachers‟ teaching methods (Ezeagba, 2014). Poor academic achievement of students in financial accounting is also due to teachers' insensitivity to the nature of financial accounting when planning instructional activities, inadequate workbooks and business teaching materials, and improper counseling (Nwagu, Nwaukwa & Nwagu, 2016). Financial accounting is not a subject that can be mastered by mere memorization of the basic rules. It requires sound theoretical knowledge and intensive practice in

its application. Based on this assertion, the effectiveness of accounting teachers in teaching financial accounting should have a positive link with the level of knowledge achieved by students. In other words, for financial accounting to be effectively taught, financial accounting teachers must employ appropriate instructional strategy that can help students to develop skills and knowledge with which to take important business decisions in future. Similarly, teachers‟ instructional strategy could have significant effects on students‟ academic achievement in internal and external examinations.

Indeed, there are numerous instructional strategies available for teachers to employ for effective teaching and promotion of life-long learning. However, the conventional teaching method has continued to dominate the instructional processes in the Nigerian education system. The conventional teaching method is a method that focuses on the intellectual aspect of learning while neglecting the experiential learning aspect (Umar & Abdulmutallib, 2017). The conventional teaching method may not be an effective teaching method for enhancing students‟ achievement in skill-based subjects because the students‟ participation in the learning process is less. In agreement, Sagor (2008) posited that an over-reliance on the conventional teaching method molds students into passive recipient of information transmitted by the teacher and make students highly dependent on the teachers for much of their learning needs.

The conventional teaching method is effective in dealing with large classes and in clarifying text materials; however, it is a one-way mode of communication in which learners are passive. This could make it inappropriate for practical-based subjects such as financial accounting. It therefore means that since acquisition of financial accounting skills requires the full participation of students in their learning process, the use of conventional teaching method may be deemed

inadequate. As a result of this, students need different kinds of learning experience such as think- pair share instructional strategy.

Think-pair-share instructional strategy developed by Layman (1981) is a questioning technique used to keep all students actively involved in the class discussion. It provides an opportunity for every student to share an idea and answer to every question posed by the teacher. It is thus a cooperative instructional strategy that includes four basic components: time for teacher to pose a question, time for students to think, time for sharing in pairs and time for each pair to share back to the whole class. Sunita (2014) stated that think-pair-share instructional strategy is recommended for its benefits of allowing students to express their reasoning, reflect on their thinking, and obtain immediate feedback on their understanding. Sunita further stated that think-pair-share instructional strategy has many advantages over the conventional teaching method in that it develops students‟ interest in learning and helps students to learn concepts more precisely and clearly. In agreement, Mutakinati, Mudzakir and Suriyanti (2015) revealed that the use of think-pair-share strategy leads to positive change in students‟ communication skills, give students opportunities to learning problem solving skills and ensures that no student is left out of the classroom discussion.

Additionally, the use of think-pair-share instructional strategy could help financial accounting students: to change their learning style from listening and taking notes given by a traditional “chalk and talk” teacher to an activity-based learning where students get more involved in their learning and to learn from other students. It could also enhance students‟ academic achievement and the acquisition of financial skills which are needed for effective record keeping, and so meets the goals of financial accounting at the secondary school level.

Academic achievement of students in financial accounting can be facilitated when the think-pair-share instructional strategy is used because it encourages students‟ active participation and acquisition of practical skills. Ahmad (2016) revealed that students taught using think-pair- share strategy perform significantly better in achievement and retention test in English language than those taught using conventional teaching method. Retention is the ability of the student to remember what was taught after a period of time and is measured through academic achievement. The think-pair-share instructional strategy can enhance students‟ retention ability in financial accounting. This is because the strategy is designed to differentiate instruction by providing students with time and structure for thinking on a given topic in order to formulate individual ideas and share these ideas with a peer. This strategy also engages learners in higher- order thinking, and acts as a feedback mechanism both for students and teachers. Additionally, it provides an opportunity for all students to share their thinking with at least one other student which in turn increases their retention ability. Kabalan (2012) stated that by taking the steps of thinking, discussing, and sharing conclusion with other classmates, the student is processing, organizing and discussing a topic which will help the student retain it.

Furthermore, students‟ self-efficacy in financial accounting could be influenced when think-pair-share instructional strategy is used. This is because the strategy ensures that no student is left out of the discussion as students who may usually be uncomfortable with large classes as audience, are offered a very small audience and can practise the necessary attributes in self- efficacy. Students‟ self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation could also be influenced by cooperative instructional strategy such as think-pair-share instructional strategy.

Self-efficacy refers to a student‟s confidence in his or her ability to achieve specific academic tasks (Gaumer-Erickson, Soukup, Noonan & McGurn, 2016). Self-efficacy is the

strength of one‟s belief in one‟s own ability to complete tasks and reach goals. It is concerned with perceived capability and is phrased in terms of “can do” rather than “will do”. „Can‟ is a judgment of capability while „will‟ is a statement of intention. Self-efficacy could play a key role in students‟ learning because it stimulates their behaviour not only directly, but by its impact on other determinants such as goals and aspirations, and outcome expectations. Self-efficacy influences students to think erratically or strategically and could predict students‟ academic achievement levels in financial accounting. Its beliefs could contribute to accomplishments both motivationally and through support from think-pair-share.

Students‟ achievement could also be influenced by their genders. Gender is the range of physical, biological, mental and behavioral characteristics pertaining to and differentiating between the feminine and masculine (female and male) population (Adigun, Onihunwa, Irunokhai, Sada & Olubunmi, 2015). The importance of examining achievement in relation to gender is based primarily on the socio-cultural differences between girls and boys. Ogundola (2017) revealed that there was a differential academic achievement in Vocational Education subjects in secondary schools as a result of gender, while Owodunni and Ogundola (2013) earlier found no gender differences in Vocational Education subjects‟ achievement at the secondary school level. Wally-Dima and Mbekomize (2013) found that female students outperformed males in Financial Accounting examinations.

When a subject is delivered using appropriate instructional strategy, learning increases, however, with inappropriate instructional strategies, the academic achievement of students decreases. Based on this assumption, no instructional strategy is ineffective in itself but, every subject requires its own appropriate and effective instructional strategy. This premise shows that financial accounting teachers should be able to choose and apply appropriate instructional

strategy such as think-pair-share that will ensure that learners participate actively in their learning process to enhance high academic achievement. It is against this background that this study was carried out to determine the effect of think-pair-share instructional strategy on secondary school students‟ academic achievement, retention and self-efficacy in financial accounting in Abia State.