Gender Differences in Performance, Interest, and Knowledge Retention Within a Moodle-Supported Advanced Real Analysis Cohort

This study examined gender differences in academic performance, mathematics interest and knowledge retention among undergraduate mathematics students exposed to Moodle-supported instruction in Advanced Real Analysis at Gombe State University. The study addressed three objectives and was guided by three corresponding research questions and null hypotheses focusing on gender differences in post-test academic performance, post-intervention interest and knowledge retention. A secondary analysis of a Moodle-supported cohort comprising 31 undergraduate mathematics students, including 22 male and 9 female students, was conducted. Data were collected using the researcher-developed Advanced Real Analysis Performance Test (ARAPT) and the Mathematics Interest Questionnaire (MIQ). The instruments were subjected to face and content validation by three experts comprising two mathematics educators and one specialist in Measurement and Evaluation. The ARAPT yielded a KR-20 reliability coefficient of .83, while the MIQ produced a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of .87. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at the .05 level of significance. The results showed no statistically significant gender difference in post-test academic performance after controlling for pre-test performance, F(1, 28) = 1.023, p = .321, ηp² = .035; post-intervention interest after controlling for pre-intervention interest, F(1, 28) = 0.221, p = .642, ηp² = .008; or knowledge retention after controlling for post-test performance, F(1, 28) = 1.964, p = .172, ηp² = .066. The findings indicate that male and female students demonstrated broadly comparable outcomes within the Moodle-supported cohort. However, given the small and unequal gender groups, the results should be interpreted cautiously and should not be taken as evidence of statistical equivalence or a causal effect of Moodle.