Filipino? Or English? A study on the effect of medium of instruction on student performance in NASC 3 Physics in Everyday Life

Abstract

This is the first formal study to determine the efficacy of using Filipino as the primary medium of instruction in NASC 3, Physics in Everyday Life, one of UPLB's general education courses under the Revitalized General Education Program during the second semester, 2006–2007. The performance of two intact groups of NASC 3 students was compared using the reverse treatment nonequivalent control group design. For eight weeks, one group was taught using Filipino as the medium of instruction while the other group was taught using English as the medium of instruction. The English group performed significantly higher than the Filipino group in the first eight weeks as shown by an analysis of covariance. In the next eight weeks when the treatment was reversed, no significant difference was found in the performance of the two groups. The result implies that a longer treatment may be needed for the result to be more conclusive and to consider other variables in the replication of the study.