Improving Students' Retention in Junior Secondary School Statistics using the Ethno-mathematics Teaching Approach in Obi and Oju Local Government Areas of Benue State, Nigeria * 1

ABSTRACT This study was designed to determine the effect of the ethnomathematics teaching approach on Junior Secondary three (JS3) students' retention in statistics. It is also aimed at determining whether any of the sexes (male and female) would retain statistics concepts more than the other from the teaching. The study was carried out in Obi and Oju education areas of zone C in Benue state of Nigeria using a sample size of 248 junior secondary three (JS3) students. The study employed Quasi-experimental design of non-equivalent but culturally homogenous group. Intact classes were used for both the experimental and control groups. The experimental group was taught using the ethnomathematics approach while control group was taught using conventional approach. Two research questions and two research hypotheses were formulated to guide this study. Statistics Retention Test (SRT) instrument with the reliability coefficient of 0.80 was used as pre, post and retention tests though reshuffled each time for data collection. Mean and Standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while an ANCOVA was used to test the null hypotheses at a 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed among others that the ethnomathematics teaching approach was more effective in facilitating and improving students' retention in statistics than the conventional approach. The ethnomathematics teaching approach did not significantly differentiate between the sexes (male and female) retention scores in statistics. These findings have implications for all Mathematics teachers and stakeholders in mathematics education. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that the ethnomathematics teaching approach be adopted in schools particularly in our junior secondary school education, while teaching statistics since it has proved to be a viable option in promoting meaningful learning and affected students' retention rate positively. Again, the ministry of education and professional bodies such as Mathematical Association of Nigeria (MAN) and Science Teachers Association of Nigeria (STAN) should be involved in promoting this method through conferences, seminars and workshops so as to expose to teachers an ethno method in teaching mathematics