This research investigated the influence of guided-discovery, lecture methodand gender on the performance of business education students in principles of accounting in state Colleges of EducationSouth-West Geo-Political Zone, Nigeria, with a view to establishingwhetheror not guided-discovery, lecture teaching method and gender have influence on students‟ performance in Principles of Accounting. The study has four specific objectives, four research questions and four related null hypotheses. The target population comprised 6 colleges of education in south-west geo-political zone Nigeria with total population of 1764 while 64 students were used for the study as the sample. The instrument for the study comprised of Instructional Package for Principles of Accounting (IPPA) and Principles of Accounting Achievement Test (PAAT) were used for data collection. Pre-test and Post-test were administered to the sampled students. Table and frequency distribution were used in answering the research questions while t-test was employed in testing null hypothesesat 0.05 level of significance. Only one hypothesis was retained while the remaining three null hypotheses were rejected. Thefindings revealed that Guided-discovery teaching method was effective for teaching and learningPrinciples of Accounting in Colleges of Education. Therefore, it was concluded that Guided-discovery teaching method can enhance business education students‟ performance in Principles of Accounting. It was recommended that guided-discovery teaching method should be applied in teaching Principles of Accounting.

Education is a veritable instrument for effecting positive change in the behaviour of citizens. National Policy on Education (2004) emphasizes the goals of education in Nigeria to include inculcation of the right type of values, attitudes, communication skills as well as life-long skills. These goals are attainable through effective classroom interaction. Interaction occurs between the teacher and the learner through the process of teaching and learning. Teaching, which is the primary function of a teacher, entails giving instruction, imparting knowledge, facts, skills, attitudes, interests, and aptitude. Modebelu (2007) defines teaching as an activity consisting of a body of actions and programmes planned and directed towards inculcating learning through conscious and deliberate efforts of the teacher. A teacher in this situation is expected to be a professional who consciously and deliberately utilizes his or her wealth of experience, skills, competencies, attitudes, interest and mastery of the subject matter to facilitate learning in students. The product of teaching is learning (acquisition of knowledge).

Before learners can imbibe the right skills and attitudes, teaching must be effective. Effective teaching according to Mkpa (2009) consists of four elements: Purposeful and planned teaching mastery of subject matter, display of conceptual-skills, and instructional materials. Mkpa (2009) opines that teaching method is the totality of all the strategies, techniques and ways that a teacher employs to maximize and facilitate classroom interaction. It is a means of conveying facts and decoding messages that eventually result in the realization of stated educational objectives. Teaching method is therefore the procedure, orderliness in planning and execution of teaching with an appropriate integration of instructional materials to achieve the objectives at the classroom level. There are several teaching methods that can be employed in the teaching and learning process: Lecture, demonstration, activity, peer teaching, play-way and guided discovery. Therefore, different teaching methods can be applied during teaching and learning financial accounting in order to make students learn better.

According to Asaolu (2002), “Financial Accounting is the process of recording, classifying, selecting, measuring, interpreting, summarizing and reporting financial data of an organization to the users for objective assessment and decision making”.

Accounting data are processed into accounting information through the use of accounting principles and conventions. The accounting principles are known as