TOWARDS AN ELIMINATION OF THE GENDER GULF IN SCIENCE CONCEPT-ATTAINMENT THROUGH THE USE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ANALOGS

The search for instructional strategies capable of supporting effectiv e conceptual change within a constructivist paradigm shows that analog ies are a useful tool. The use of analogy has been found to be benefic ial in science learning by motivating students, providing visualizatio n for abstract concepts, providing a basis for comparing similarities of students' world views with new concepts, promoting associations wit h other appropriate experiences, overcoming misconceptions, and coping in the classroom with the complexity of students' beliefs. Gender ine quity in science, mathematics and technology is most pronounced in non -Western environments where socio-cultural factors contribute to an ac hievement and attitude differential between boys and girls. To date, n othing effective appears to have been done to eliminate this gulf This study was based on the assumption that the use of analogical linkages derived from the socio-cultural environment can successfully act as a psychological bridge for the learning of science concepts. A total of 248 (205 boys and 43 girls) senior secondary (sss) II (equivalent to grade level 11) students with a mean age of 16.8 years in two classes, selected from two schools in the Zaria township of Kaduna state in Ni geria, participated in this experimental study. Using an adaptation of Glynn's Teaching-With-Analogy (TWA) model, a pre-test and a delayed p ost-test comparison showed that both girls and boys attained an equiva lent cognitive outcome after a six-week treatment period. The limitati ons associated with an experimental design of this type suggest that w e err on the side of caution when acting on the results.