Peer Learning Strategy and Students’ Academic Achievement in Economics in Imo State

Abstract

This study examined the effect of Peer Learning Strategy on students’ academic achievement in Economics in Imo State. It has been observed that there has been a decline in the academic achievement of students in Economics, especially in Imo State. Scholars attribute this recent development to the use of wrong pedagogy in the classroom. The researcher, therefore, wonders if improvement of classroom instructional method through the use of Peer Learning Strategy will stimulate and also improve students’ academic achievement in Economics. Quasi-experimental, Pretest-posttest design was used for the study. The population of the study consisted of all the senior secondary school II (SS2) students from all the public secondary school in Imo state. The sample of the study comprised of eighty (80) SS2 students drawn from two public schools within the population. Purposive sampling techniques were used to select the schools while random sampling technique was used to assign the school to experimental groups. Intact classes were used for the study in the sample schools. The instrument for data collection was a teacher-made Economics Achievement Test (EAT) and Economics Instructional Package (EIP).  The validity of the instrument was established by two experts in Measurement and Evaluation, one Economics teacher and two Educational Psychologists who fine-tuned them, and after the correction, declared them fit for administration. The instrument had reliability coefficient of 0.75, established using the Pearson’s Product moment correlation. Descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation) were used to answer the two research questions, while the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to test the two hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Findings indicated that Peer Learning Strategy improved student’s achievement in Economics. Based on the findings, some recommendations were made which includes that Peer Learning Strategy should be encouraged in the classroom so that the bright students who may be fast in understanding classroom instructions might help others to comprehend quicker. Also, Government should sponsor teachers for workshops and training towards using Peer Learning Strategy to improve students’ achievement in Economics.