The Influence of Age and Gender on Class Attendance plus the Academic Achievement of Undergraduate Chemistry Education Students at University of Calabar

This article investigated the influence of age and gender on class attendance as well as Chemistry Education students' academic achievement in SED 281, at the University of Calabar. Descriptive survey research design was employed for the study. The target population was two hundred and twenty Chemistry Education students in the Department of Science Education, University of Calabar. A sample size of sixty-four (64) Chemistry Education students of 2018/2019 academic session was used for the study. Data were obtained from existing records for the research. These were: 2018/2019 first semester result of Secondary Chemistry Content 1 and students' register that had their ages. Results obtained showed that the mean score of the female students' class attendance was 83.76, which was greater than that of the males (67.2). The young and matured students had mean scores of 82.11 and 57.20, respectively. Independent t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used in the study. The null hypothesis that there is no significant difference in the academic performance of the students with regard to class attendance was not accepted. This paper recommends that class attendance should be made compulsory for all undergraduate students in Chemistry Education, University of Calabar.