Immediacy and Contingency as Predictors of Active Class Participation among Public Primary School Pupils in Rivers West Senatorial District

This study investigated immediacy and contingency, as predictors of active class participation among public primary school pupils in Rivers West Senatorial District, Rivers State, Nigeria. The study was anchored on B. F. Skinner's Operant Conditioning Theory, which posits that behaviour is strengthened when desirable consequences follow appropriate responses. A correlational research design was adopted. The population comprised 4,702 teachers in public primary schools across the eight Local Government Areas of Rivers West Senatorial District. A sample of 369 teachers was determined using Taro Yamane’s (1967) formula for finite population. Data were collected using the Teachers' Reinforcement Questionnaire (TRQ) and the Classroom Participation Questionnaire (CPQ), which were validated by experts in Educational Psychology and Measurement and Evaluation. The reliability of both instruments was established using Cronbach's Alpha which yielded 0.70 for Teachers' Reinforcement Questionnaire (TRQ) and 0.70 for Classroom Participation Questionnaire (CPQ). The simple regression was used to answer the research questions, while the Regression related to ANOVA was used to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The findings revealed that immediacy had a significant positive relationship with pupils' active class participation. Similarly, contingency showed a significant positive relationship with active class participation. The study concluded that timely and behaviour-dependent reinforcement enhances pupils' motivation, confidence, and willingness to participate actively in classroom activities. The study recommended that teachers should provide immediate feedback and ensure that reinforcement is consistently contingent upon desirable classroom behaviour to improve learner engagement and educational outcomes. The findings contribute to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 by promoting effective teaching practices that foster inclusive and quality education.

active class participation, contingency, immediacy, public primary schools, reinforcement, rivers west senatorial district

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