MOTIVATING UNDERGRADUATES ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE AND RETENTION THROUGH BUZZ GROUP STRATEGY IN EKITI STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This paper examined the motivational effects of buzz group strategy in motivating undergraduates’ performance and retention in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test, control group design. Three null hypotheses were generated and tested at 0.05 level of significance. The sample for this study comprised 120 selected 200 Level students from the three public universities in Ekiti through purposive sampling technique. The instrument that was used for the study was Science Education Performance Test (SEPT). It is a self-designed instrument that consisted of information on bio-data of the respondents and 40 multiple-choice items. Expert judgments were used to ensure face and content validity. Split-half method was used to determine the reliability and reliability Coefficient of 0.74 was obtained. The data were analyzed using inferential statistics of t-test. The study found out that there was a significant difference between the posttest performance means scores of students exposed to buzz group strategy and conventional strategy. It was also revealed in the study that there was no significant difference between the posttest performance and retention means scores of students exposed to conventional strategies. Based on this finding, it was recommended among other things that the state government should organize a seminar among the lecturers in universities on the effective use of buzz group strategies in their various classes to enhance learning outcomes.