Influence of Prior Knowledge Questions on Pupils’Performance in Reading Comprehension in Primary Schools - Volume 4 - No. 1 - January 2013

Oct 15, 2026

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This study determines how prior knowledge questions affect pupils’ performance in reading comprehension in primary schools in Kaduna, Nigeria. Two schools participated, with Ungwar Dosa as the experimental school and Ungwar Rimi as the control school. Thirty primary five pupils from each school were assessed, totaling sixty participants. Pre-tests and post-tests were administered, with post-testing after six weeks of instruction. Mean, standard deviation, and t-test analysis showed a significant performance difference favoring the approach using prior knowledge questions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages6

Reading Time15 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction/Background of the study

State of the problem

Advances in Language and Literary Studies Vol. 4 No. 1; January 2013 Copyright © Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Influence of Prior Knowledge Questions on Pupils’Performance in Reading Comprehension in Primary Schools in Kaduna, Nigeria Hanna Onyi Yusuf Department of Educational Foundations and Curriculum, Ahmadu Bello University, Samaru-Zaria, Nigeria [E-mail: hannayusuf@yahoo.com](E-mail: hannayusuf@yahoo.com) Sadiq Mohammed Department of Arts and Social Science Education Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Nigeria Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.4n. 1p. 134 URL: [http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.4n.1p.134](http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.4n.1p.134) Received: 01/ 12/2012 Accepted: 03/01/2013 Abstract This study was carried out to determine the influence of prior knowledge questions on pupils’performance in reading comprehension in primary schools in Kaduna, Nigeria. Two schools were used for the study. Ungwar Dosa primary school was used as the experimental school while Ungwar Rimi primary school was used as the control school. Thirty (30) primary five pupils from each of the two schools were used for the study. A total of sixty pupils were used for the study. A pre-test was administered on both groups of pupils before the commencement of teaching. A post-test was administered after six weeks of teaching. Data was analysed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The findings revealed significant difference in the performance of pupils taught reading comprehension using prior knowledge questions. Based on the findings, teachers are encouraged among others, to use prior knowledge questions to motivate and stimulate pupils to use their relevant background knowledge to interpret and understand new information in their reading comprehension texts. Curriculum planners and textbook writers are encouraged to include prior knowledge questions as part of the activities pupils should be exposed to during reading comprehension lessons. Keywords: prior Knowledge, performance, Nigeria 1. Introduction/Background of the study In Nigeria ’s new National Policy on Education (2009) the inculcation of permanent literacy occupies number one position among the educational objectives of primary education. This, of course, is an indication of the primary of literacy in the curriculum for primary education. Reading plays an important role in the life of the individual and the society. The main purpose of reading is for understanding, interaction and comprehension of the author’s experiences represented in symbols. Reading becomes meaningful only if a reader identifies and evaluates symbols and ideas. For pupils to achieve the above mentioned intellectual tasks, it is important to develop reading strategies as an aspect of the reading process. In recent years, many studies have been carried out on reading strategies and skills. Most researchers in their findings have attributed pupils’ poor performance to lack of appropriate methods of teaching reading. For instance, Oyetunde (2009) recognised the fact that the root cause of poor reading in the primary school is the method of teaching reading. Hence, in his words,“a comprehensive examination of the teaching of reading in the primary school is required”. The research is also motivated by the observation made, by this researcher during one of her visit to some primary schools in Kaduna, to conduct a trial test of some instruments for assessing academic achievement. This researcher discovered with dismay that majority of the pupils could not read the passages given to them let alone answer the questions. The situation was so bad that this researcher feet she should investigate the cause of this problem. By assessing the influence of prior knowledge questions on pupils’ reading comprehension perhaps this researcher will be able to advise teachers on possible ways of improving the teaching of reading comprehension. Experimental background h

FAQs

What is the main purpose of the study in Kaduna, Nigeria?

The study investigates the influence of prior knowledge questions on pupils’ performance in reading comprehension in primary schools in Kaduna, Nigeria.

How were the experimental and control schools selected?

Ungwar Dosa primary school served as the experimental school, while Ungwar Rimi primary school served as the control school.

How did the researchers evaluate pupils’ reading comprehension performance?

The researchers used a pre-test and a post-test, analyzing results with mean, standard deviation, and a t-test.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Cipher