Effect of Cooperative Learning Strategy on Students’ Attitude in Senior Secondary School Mathematics

This study investigated the effect of cooperative learning strategy on senior secondary school students’ attitudes toward mathematics in Owen East Local Government Area of Edo State, Nigeria. The study employed a quasi-experimental setting of non-equivalent and control group design (pretest, posttest). The study population comprised 1,268 senior secondary school students. Using a purposive sampling technique, coeducational schools were selected, followed by a multi-stage random sampling procedure to choose two schools. Intact classes of Senior Secondary School II (SS II) students were utilized, resulting in a total sample size of 131 students. Data were collected using the Mathematics Students’ Attitude Scale (MSAS), which demonstrated a reliability coefficient of 0.822. Analytical techniques included mean and standard deviation statistics, independent sample t-tests, and interaction effect analysis at a 0.05 level of significance. The results revealed a significant improvement in the attitudes of students taught using the cooperative learning strategy compared to their peers in the traditional instruction group. However, there was no significant difference in the attitudes of male and female students exposed to the cooperative learning strategy. The findings underscore the potential of cooperative learning strategies to enhance students’ attitudes toward mathematics, suggesting its adoption as a viable instructional approach in senior secondary school mathematics classrooms.