ENHANCING MATHEMATICS ACHIEVEMENT AMONG PRIMARY SCHOOL LEARNERS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PEER TUTORING AND COOPERATIVE LEARNING STRATEGIES​

The study compared the impacts of two teaching strategies: peer tutoring and cooperative learning on pupils’ Mathematics academic achievement in Enugu-North Senatorial Zone, Enugu State, Nigeria. For the proper structuring of the inquiry, three research questions and hypotheses were developed. The research adopted a quasi-experimental approach using a non-equivalent pretest-posttest group arrangement, and a total of 137 pupils selected through a multistage sampling process for participation in the study. For the execution of the intervention, four pre-existing classrooms were used. Two groups were exposed to peer tutoring, while the remaining two experienced cooperative learning. For the purpose of data collection, the study adopted a Mathematics Achievement Test (MAT), which was administered to the participants before and after the intervention, and the data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) to address the research questions, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed a significant difference in achievement between the groups, in favour of the learners exposed to the cooperative learning approach. Performance variation was also evident across gender, with female pupils demonstrating higher mean achievement scores than their male counterparts. Furthermore, an interaction between instructional strategy and gender further influenced achievement outcomes. Based on these findings, it is suggested that primary school teachers should priorities the use of cooperative learning strategies to enhance learners’ academic achievement in mathematics.