Effect of Reciprocal Peer Tutoring on Upper Basic Students’ Academic Achievement in Mathematics in Public Secondary Schools in Akwa Ibom State

Abstract

This study investigated the Effect of Reciprocal Peer Tutoring (RPT) instructional strategy on students’ academic achievement in Mathematics at the Upper Basic 2 school level. The study which adopted quasi-experimental, pretest posttest non-equivalent control group research design was carried out in Akwa Ibom State of Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. A sample of 83 Upper Basic 2 students drawn from a population of 63,344 using purposive sampling technique. One intact class was used in each of the three sampled schools which were assigned into two experimental groups and one control group. Data were collected using a 41-multiple choice instrument titled: “Basic Mathematics Achievement Test (BMAT)”. The instrument developed by the researcher was subjected to face and content validation by three experts. The instrument was tested for reliability and was subjected to analysis using Kuder Richardson (K-R20) formula to determine the internal consistency which yielded an index of 0.81. Before and after the treatment that lasted for six weeks, the BMAT was administered to the students by their regular Mathematics teachers. Data were analyzed using mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the null-hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. Results indicated among others that using RPT instructional strategy brought about enhanced mathematics achievement in Upper Basic 2 students across gender. It was therefore, recommended among others that, Mathematics teachers should use Reciprocal Peer tutoring strategy more regularly in teaching Mathematics in order to enhance the achievement and learning retention of students.