Abstract
The study was carried out to investigate the effects of guided discovery on technical college students‟
academic achievement and retention in block/bricklaying and concreting (BBC) in Anambra State,
Nigeria. Two research questions and two null hypotheses guided the study. A quasi experimental
research design was used. The area of the study was Anambra State, Nigeria. The total population
comprised of 192 National Technical Certificate (NTC) II students. The sample size for the study was
113 students purposively drawn from four technical colleges. A 26-item test instrument tagged
“Block/Bricklaying and Concreting Achievement Test (BCAT)” was validated by three experts from
Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka and Federal Polytechnic, Oko, all in Anambra State, Nigeria. The
data obtained was analyzed using mean, adjusted mean, to answer the research questions while
ANCOVA was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed among
others that there was a significant difference between the mean achievement and retention scores of
the experimental group taught with guided discovery (GD) and that of the control group taught with
lecture method. Based on the findings, the researchers recommended the use of guided discovery
teaching method for enhancement of technical college students‟ academic achievement and retention
in BBC.
Keywords: Guided discovery, academic achievement, retention, technical college.
Publication Date: 2018-12-06