Effects of Cooperative Instructional Strategy on Senior School Students' Achievement In Agricultural Science in Ilorin, Nigeria

Abstract

Poor performance by secondary school students in Agricultural Science is a persistent issue in the Nigerian education system, and one factor contributing to this poor performance is the use of teacher-centred teaching strategies. The primary purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of cooperative instructional strategy on senior school students’ achievement in Agricultural Science in Ilorin, Nigeria. The study used a quasi-experimental design with a non-randomised, non-equivalent pre-test and post-test. Control group involving a 2x2x3 factorial design. The target population comprised all Senior Secondary School One (SSS 1) students in Ilorin, Nigeria. Two hundred and thirty-six (236) students participated in the study drawn through multi-stage sampling techniques. The Cooperative Instructional Strategy Manual (CISM) and the Agricultural Science Achievement Test (ASAT) were the two instruments used for data collection. Three experts validated the two instruments. ASAT reliability was assessed using the test-retest method, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.84 (Pearson Product-Moment Correlation). Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test, and ANCOVA were used to analyse the data at the 0.05 significance level. The study found a significant difference in achievement between students taught with a cooperative instructional strategy and those trained with a conventional teaching method, in favour of the experimental group. The study concluded that the cooperative instructional strategy was more effective at enhancing students’ achievement than the traditional strategy. It is recommended that teachers adopt it to teach Agricultural Science, as this study further demonstrates its effectiveness over the conventional method.