Gender Influence on Students' Enrolment and Academic Performance in Chemistry: An Assessment of Science and Technical Schools in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

Scientific, Technological and Medical courses in Nigeria are dominated by male gender, an imbalance rooted from secondary science education where Biology, Chemistry and Physics are considered by laymen as male subjects. It was in view of this that this research aimed to determine percentage of female students' enrolment in secondary school science and whether students' gender has any influence on their academic performance in chemistry in particular. Two research questions were asked to determine the percentage of female students' enrolment and the difference in the academic performance between male and female students in Sokoto State science and technical secondary schools' chemistry. Population of the study comprised all senior secondary three (SS III) students in science secondary schools under Sokoto state Ministry of science and Technology numbering 1,719 from which a sample of 90 students were purposively selected for the co-relational design. Two instruments, Students' Enrolment Evaluation Form (SEEF) and Students' Academic Performance Test in Chemistry (SAPTC) were used to obtain data for the study. The results obtained revealed that only 13% of the students who offered chemistry at science and technical secondary schools are female and that there is no significant difference between the academic performance of male and female students in chemistry. The research concludes that gender affects students' enrolment and has no influence on students' academic performance in chemistry. The paper suggested for further research to be conducted in other aspects of chemistry and different locations and finally recommends for the establishment of more female science and technical schools, to encourage more female students to study science at secondary school education level which would increase the number at tertiary level.