Assessing Problem-Solving Ability of Secondary School Students in Balasore, Odisha: A Comparative Analysis by Gender, Locality and School Type

Abstract

Problem-solving skill is a core cognitive ability that equips students to confront difficulties, make decisions and act with resolve in uncertain situations. This study set out to examine the problem-solving ability of secondary school students in Balasore District, Odisha, giving particular attention to overall ability and to group differences by gender, locality, and school type. Adopting a descriptive survey design, the researchers drew a stratified random sample of 380 Grade 9 students from Government and Private Schools located in Rural and Urban areas. Respondents completed the Problem-Solving Ability Test, and the responses were analysed through percentage, mean, standard deviation, and t-test. Based on the results obtained, it is evident that most of the respondents had a moderate level of problem-solving ability (39.74%). There was no significant difference between the problem-solving ability of both genders. However, there is a significant difference between the problem-solving abilities of Urban and Rural students. Urban students excelled over their Rural counterparts, and similarly, students in Private Schools outperformed those in Government Schools. From the results, one can conclude that the problem-solving ability varies with the location and the type of institution but not with gender. The study recommends that schools can play a significant role in enhancing students’ problem-solving abilities if they implement new methods in teaching. The results also emphasize the need to develop students’ problem-solving abilities and address the disparities between Government and Private Institutions.