EFFECTS OF MICROCOMPUTERS AND GENDER ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES I (MATH, APTITUDE)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to compare the relative effectiveness of two instructional treatments with students who differ in gender, using the units of accounting cycle for a service business as the instructional content. A pretest-posttest, 2 x 2 quasi-experimental design was utilized. The subjects who participated in the study were drawn from a population of 3,260 students enrolled in the business program of University of Turabo located in Caguas, Puerto Rico, during the first semester of the academic year 1984-85. The sample consisted of 86 students: it included 43 males and 43 females. Two sections, randomly assigned, made up the experimental and the conventional groups. Scores of the CEEB in mathematical aptitude and the Accounting Cycle for a Service Business Tests were used for the statistical analysis. The experimental group was taught with the use of a microcomputer controlled by the professor, together with classroom lectures, while the conventional group was taught by the same instructor without the use of the microcomputer. Analysis of variance and covariance were the statistical techniques used in the study. The Cochran test was used to find out if groups were considered to be representative of the same population. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences computer program was used for the statistical processing of data gathered. The minimum level of significance was stated at .05. Significant difference on posttest scores was found among subjects instructed by the experimental group and the conventional group. Subjects instructed with the use of the microcomputer performed significantly higher than those instructed by the conventional method. There was no significant difference in academic performance between males and females, and there was not significant interaction between teaching methods and gender. Based upon the findings of the study, it was concluded that the instructional method used with the experimental group increased students' academic performance in accounting principles. Recommendations were made concerning follow-up studies with a similar population, considering other variables and other courses taught in the business programs.
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching
Recommended Citation
PEREZ, ALIA ESTHER, "EFFECTS OF MICROCOMPUTERS AND GENDER ON STUDENTS' ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES I (MATH, APTITUDE)" (1985). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8600100.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8600100
