Abstract

The study examined the influence of students’ understanding and goal commitment on their academic achievement in Introductory Technology in secondary schools in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. An ex-post facto survey design was used and a random sample of 2,500 junior secondary three (13-14 years old) students from a population of 48,302 JSS three students in the state public schools in 2008/2009 session. Data on independent variables were gathered with researchers – developed instrument called Students’ Understanding and Goal Commitment in Introductory Technology (SUGCIT). The instrument had a Kuder-Richardson (KR-21) computed reliability index of .86. The data on students’ academic achievement were obtained from Introductory Technology examination results of first semester 2008/2009. Two null hypotheses were tested at P<.05 using the Z-test statistics and multiple analysis of variance. Results showed that: 62.4 per-cent of respondents did not understand the concept of Introductory Technology, while 37.6 per-cent did; Students who understood the concept of Introductory Technology had higher academic achievement in the subject than those who did not; 70 per-cent of the respondents were not committed to the pursuit of engineering/technology after the high school, while 30 per-cent were committed; Students who were committed to technology had higher achievement in Introductory Technology than those who were not. It was recommended that more proactive policies should be put in place by government and other agencies to provide technology – friendly environment and qualified staff in schools for effective teaching of Introductory Technology in order to stimulate youth interest in technology.

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