Effect of Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach on Students’ Performance and Retention in Trigonometry in Rivers East Senatorial District, Rivers State, Nigeria

This study investigated the effect of the Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach (CTCA) on students’ performance and retention in trigonometry among senior secondary school students in Rivers East Senatorial District, Nigeria. The study adopted a quasi-experimental research design involving pretest, posttest, and post-posttest non-equivalent control groups. The population comprised 38,971 students offering mathematics in public Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) schools within Rivers East Senatorial District. A sample of 334 Senior Secondary School Two (SS2) students drawn from four public secondary schools participated in the study through a multistage sampling procedure. The instruments used for data collection were the Basic Trigonometry Test (BTT), Trigonometry Performance Test (TPT), and Trigonometry Retention Test (TRT). The reliability coefficients were established using the test–retest method, yielding 0.98 for BTT and 0.93 for TPT. Students in the experimental group were taught using the Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach, while those in the control group were taught using the Cooperative Learning Method. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. In contrast, Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) and Independent Samples t-test were used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that students taught using CTCA performed significantly better and retained trigonometric concepts more effectively than those taught using the Cooperative Learning Method. The study concluded that CTCA is an effective instructional approach for improving students’ performance and retention in trigonometry. It was therefore recommended that mathematics teachers adopt CTCA in teaching trigonometry and other abstract mathematical concepts in secondary schools.

Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach, trigonometry, performance, retention

1. Adam, U. A., Lameed, S. N., Owolabi, T., Onowugbeda, F. U., Oladejo, A. I., Okebukola, P. A., & Mustapha, G. A. (2024). The potency of culture, technology, and context in a biology classroom: Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach in action. International Journal of Science Education, 1–26. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Akinoso, A. O. (2016). Effects of cooperative and competitive learning strategies on senior secondary school students’ learning outcomes in mathematics. Journal of Mathematics Education, 9(1), 45–53. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Akintoye, H. O., Elemoro, S. A., & Ogunyemi, T. G. (2024). Impacts of the Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach on critical thinking of secondary school students in learning difficult concepts in physics. FNAS Journal of Mathematics and Science Education, 6(1), 138–145. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Akintoye, H. O., Oladejo, A. I., Onowugbeda, F. U., Oludipe, O. S., Abdulkareem, K. M., Bankole, I., & Adam, U. A. (2024). Investigating the impact of the Culturo-Techno-Contextual Approach on enhancing critical thinking in science: Gender dynamics and learning efficacy. Journal of Educational Sciences, 656–670. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Ausubel, D. P. (1962). A subsumption theory of meaningful verbal learning and retention. The Journal of General Psychology, 66(2), 213–224. https://doi.org/10.1080/00221309.1962.9711837 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Baddeley, A. (2020). Working memory. In Memory (pp. 71–111). Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Bekene Bedada, T., & Machaba, F. (2022). The effect of GeoGebra on STEM students’ learning of trigonometric functions. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2034240. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Dhungana, S., Pant, B. P., & Dahal, N. (2023). Students’ experience in learning trigonometry in high school mathematics: A phenomenological study. Mathematics Teaching Research Journal, 15(4), 184–201. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Ebisine, E. B. (2017). Effect of problem-solving instructional strategy on the academic performance of Nigerian students in mathematics based on gender. Educational Research Review, 3(1), 23. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Folake, A. C., & Ibidiran, R. J. (2021). A technique for exploring students’ views of the world through mathematical thinking. Physics Education, 15(6), 376–379. https://doi.org/10.1088/0031-9120/15/6/312 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Gómez-Chacón, I. M., Bacelo, A., Marbán, J. M., & Palacios, A. (2023). Inquiry-based mathematics education and attitudes towards mathematics: Tracking profiles for teaching. Mathematics Education Research Journal. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13394-023-00468-8 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Odor, E. E., Owan, V. J., & Agama, V. U. (2023). Trigtastrophe: Analysis of the process errors senior secondary students commit in solving trigonometric problems. Journal of Educational Research in Developing Areas, 4(2), 123–138. https://doi.org/10.47434/JEREDA.4.2.2023.138 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Okebukola, P. A. (2020). Breaking barriers to learning: The culture-techno-contextual approach (CTCA). Sterling Publishers. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Oladejo, A., Akinola, V., Ebisin, A., & Olateju, T. T. (2022). Culturally relevant pedagogies in enhancing students learning of ICT concepts: A test of the efficacy of CTCA. West African Journal of Open & Flexible Learning, 11(1). [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Oladejo, A. I., Olateju, T. T., Okebukola, P. A., Sanni, R., Akintoye, H., Onowugbeda, F., Ayanwale, M. A., Agbanimu, D. O., Saibu, S., & Adam, U. (2025). Breaking barriers to meaningful learning in STEM subjects in Africa: A systematic review of the culturo-techno-contextual approach. Sustainability, 17, 2310. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17052310 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Omeodu, M. D. (2020). Gender parity in mathematics and entrepreneurship education for national development. International Journal of Education, Learning and Development, 7(12), 1–10. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Tyata, R. K., Dahal, N., Pant, B. P., & Luitel, B. C. (2021). Exploring project-based teaching for engaging students' mathematical learning. Mathematics Education Forum Chitwan, 6(6), 30–49. https://doi.org/10.3126/mefc.v6i6.42398 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. WAEC. (2021). Chief examiner's report of West African Examination Council on the performance of candidates in Mathematics Paper 2. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. WAEC. (2022). Chief examiner's report of West African Examination Council on the performance of candidates in Mathematics Paper 2. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. WAEC. (2023). Chief examiner's report of West African Examination Council on the performance of candidates in Mathematics Paper 2. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

21. Wilcox, B. R., Pollock, S. J., & Bolton, D. R. (2020). Retention of conceptual learning after an interactive introductory mechanics course. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 16(1), 010140. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study