The Effect of Scaffolding Teaching Strategy on the Achievement and Retention of Lower Basic 5 Special Needs Pupils in Abia State, Nigeria

The study investigated effect of Scaffolding Teaching Strategy on the Achievement and Retention of Lower Basic Five Pupils' in Special Needs Schools in Abia State, Nigeria. The study was a quasi-experimental research design. The study determined the difference in the mean achievement and retention scores of lower basic five male and female students taught Home Economics using scaffolding teaching strategy and those taught using lecture method. Three research questions and three null hypotheses guided the study. The sample consisted of 40 lower basic five pupils drawn from the population of 309 special needs pupils, using stratified simple random sampling technique. Home Economics Achievement Test (HEAT) which contained 34 multiple-choice questions and four options: three distractors and one correct answer, with stability of reliability index of 0.81 was used for data collection. The data collected from the pupils were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the three research questions that guided the study, while the Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null-hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed that scaffolding teaching strategy independently had increasing effect on the pupils’ academic achievement and retention in Home Economics respectively, having recorded higher mean gain than those in control group. It also showed that scaffolding teaching strategy independently had more increasing effect on the male pupils’ academic achievements and retention in Home Economics respectively than on the female pupils.