Effect of Prior Knowledge and Text Familiarity on Word Retrieval among Secondary School Students in Makurdi Metropolis

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of prior knowledge and text familiarity on word retrieval among secondary school students in the Makurdi metropolis. The performance of secondary school students is worrisome over the years and research efforts have pointed to the roles of academic and social factors. However, the role of cognitive factors such as prior knowledge of students and their familiarity with text have received less attention. Therefore, this study covered the knowledge gap by investigating the effects of prior knowledge and text familiarity on word retrieval among secondary school students in the Makurdi metropolis. The study employed a Between-Subject factorial design where 60 participants comprising of 30 (50%) male and 30 (50%) female students were used for the study. Their ages ranged from 12-18years with a mean age of 15.50 (SD=2.08). The sample for the study was drawn using Stratified random sampling. Word Retrieval test was used for data collection. Three hypotheses were tested using Two-Way ANOVA. Findings indicated a significant effect of prior knowledge on word retrieval among secondary school students. The finding also indicated participants who had previous knowledge of words had a higher mean score on word retrieval than their counterparts who had no previous knowledge. The finding further revealed no significant effect of text familiarity on word retrieval among secondary school students. Finally, there was no significant interaction effect of prior knowledge and text familiarity on word retrieval among secondary school students. The researchers recommended students to expose themselves to many concepts, materials, and textbooks so that they will be more familiar with concepts so as to enhance their vocabulary. However, a major limitation of the study was difficulty having students to volunteer participating in the study despite the orientation they were given.